Compensation and payout

How commission reaches the partner: as a voucher or as a payout.

Partners redeem their available commission themselves in the partner area. A voucher is created at once and is only valid in your shop. A payout is checked by you in the review list and transferred in one go by SEPA file or directly through PayPal; if you like, the plugin also creates the requests automatically. Every payout comes with a PDF document.

Marketing → Affiliate program → side menu Payout with Payouts, PayPal payouts, SEPA payouts, Payout runs, Commission vouchers

Voucher, payout or both

How do partners receive their commission?

The card Payout · Compensation in the settings decides how partners redeem their commission: as a Voucher (the default), as a Payout or as Voucher and payout to choose from. The setting applies per sales channel and can be changed for a single partner. What the partner sees is described in the chapter Partner area.

  • Voucher: the partner turns their commission into a voucher themselves and redeems it with the next purchase. There is no work in the administration, and the money stays in the shop, because the voucher is only valid there.

  • Payout: the partner stores their bank account or PayPal address and requests the payout. You check the request and transfer the money by SEPA file or through PayPal.

  • Voucher and payout: the partner decides with every redemption. A voucher bonus makes the voucher more attractive to them.

How do I set the compensation for a single partner?

The Remuneration tab of a partner holds four cards: the type of remuneration with the voucher bonus, the payout method with the recipient, the automatic payout and all payouts and commission vouchers of the partner so far.

  1. 1Open Partners → Partners, choose the partner and click the Remuneration tab.

  2. 2The purple bracket at Type of remuneration shows that the value comes from the settings. A click on the bracket releases it; your choice then applies to this partner only.

  3. 3If needed, switch on Activate bonus for vouchers and enter the Amount of the bonus as a percentage. The bonus raises the value of every voucher the partner creates from their commission; only the base amount is deducted. With a 10% bonus, €25.00 of commission becomes a voucher worth €27.50.

  4. 4The Payout card holds the Payout method and the recipient: the PayPal account, or account holder, IBAN, BIC and bank. Partners with a customer account maintain these details themselves in the partner area; for partners without a customer account you enter them here.

  5. 5Click Save.

Further down in the tab:

  • Payouts and commission vouchers: every redemption of the partner with date, type, number or code, value, state and order. Below are the total and the link All payouts, which filters the payout list to this partner.

Fixed amounts or a free amount: which amounts may partners redeem?

You set separately for vouchers and payouts in which amounts partners redeem. Staggered amounts are fixed amounts, up to five per method. With a free amount the partner chooses, from the minimum amount up to their available commission.

  • Vouchers in staggered amounts: in the card Payout · Compensation by voucher with the type of conversion “Convert in staggered amounts” you choose a promotion from Marketing → Promotions for each of Voucher 1 to Voucher 5. On installation the plugin creates three and selects them as vouchers 1 to 3: “Partner-Provision 10,-”, “Partner-Provision 25,-” and “Partner-Provision 100,-”. Every redemption creates a new individual code of that promotion.

  • Payouts in staggered amounts: the card Payout · Compensation by payout with the type of payout “Payment in staggered amounts” holds Payout 1 to Payout 5 in whole euros, by default 10, 25, 50, 100 and 250 euros.

  • How the partner sees them: every amount is a row. Reachable ones say “available”, and the highest of them is preselected. For the others a bar shows what is missing, such as “€2.17 to go” with €247.83 of commission and an amount of €250.

  • Free amount: the partner picks €10, €25 or €100, an own amount or “Whole commission”, which is preselected. Any amount from the Minimum amount (in EUR), at least €1, up to the available commission is allowed. The quick choice only shows amounts in between.

  • Voucher with a free amount: every redemption creates a promotion of its own with a fixed code that can be used once. Name, code pattern, “Not combinable with other promotions” (on by default), customer, cart and product rules and the scope are set in the card Payout · Voucher with a free amount.

Where do I see all vouchers partners created from their commission?

Under Payout → Commission vouchers you find every voucher a partner created from their commission, open and redeemed. The filter on the right narrows the list by status, type and partner; the “…” menu opens partner, promotion and order.

Where the money goes

Which payout methods can I offer?

In the card Payout · Payout methods you switch on Offer SEPA bank transfer (on by default) and Offer PayPal (off by default) per sales channel. With both on, the partner chooses. The Remittance information appears on every transfer.

  • SEPA bank transfer: the partner stores account holder and IBAN; BIC and bank are optional. Payouts go out with a SEPA file for online banking. For that, the card Payout · SEPA bank transfer needs the name and IBAN of the shop account, the BIC only if your bank asks for it. Each sales channel can have a shop account of its own.

  • PayPal: the partner stores the email address of their PayPal account. Payouts go out through the PayPal API. The card Payout · PayPal takes the Client ID and Secret of a REST app with payouts enabled, plus the Sandbox switch (on by default) for tests without real money. Test connection checks the saved access data.

  • Remittance information: a template as in the mail templates, by default Partnerprogramm Auszahlung {{ payout.number }}. You can use {{ payout.number }}, {{ payout.value }} and {{ partner.name }}, at most 140 characters. It applies to SEPA files and as the message at PayPal; if it is empty or faulty, the default applies.

How do partners store their account or PayPal address?

In the partner area under Settings → Your payout details the partner chooses the method and enters their details. A payout can only be requested with complete and valid details; the IBAN is checked for length and check digits.

  • Payout method: two tiles when both methods are offered: “SEPA bank transfer” to the bank account and “PayPal” to the PayPal account.

  • Account holder and IBAN are required, BIC and Bank are optional. For PayPal the email address of the PayPal account is enough.

  • New details apply to new payouts. A payout already requested keeps the recipient from the moment of the request. If the partner changes their details afterwards, the review list shows the hint “New payout details”, and you decide where the money goes.

  • If the details are missing, the Commission tab shows the notice “Payout details missing” with the button “Add payout details” instead of the amounts.

Review and transfer

Which states does a payout go through?

With the request the plugin deducts the amount from the available commission at once and creates the payout document. The payout then goes through fixed states; every change is listed in the History of the payout with time, user and reason. “Paid” and “Rejected” are final.

StateMeaning
OpenRequested, not yet approved or decided.
ApprovedApproved in the review list, waiting for the SEPA file or the PayPal run.
Being transferredPart of a run that is going on right now.
PaidIn a SEPA file, accepted by PayPal or confirmed by hand on the detail page.
RejectedRejected by hand. The commission stays deducted.

How do I review open payouts?

Under Payout → SEPA payouts and PayPal payouts there is a review list with all open payouts of that method, the oldest first. Review payouts opens the review window and takes you through all open requests in turn, with “1 of 4” in the title.

  1. 1Open Payout → SEPA payouts in the side menu.

  2. 2Click Review payouts. The number on the button is the number of open requests.

  3. 3At the top you see partner, amount and date of the request. Document 50005 downloads the payout document.

  4. 4A coloured hint tells you where to look closer, here “First payout.”: this partner has never been paid before.

  5. 5On the left is the Recipient from the request, on the right what the partner received so far and whether other requests are open.

  6. 6Below are the Orders behind this payout with turnover and commission. If orders and amount match, the request is plausible.

  7. 7Click Approve and next. The window shows the next request; Skip leaves a request open. At the end the window sums up what was approved, rejected and skipped and leads to the SEPA file or the PayPal transfer.

Rejecting:

  • Reject asks again in the same window. The Internal reason (optional) only appears in the history of the payout; the partner never sees it. The commission stays deducted. If the partner should be able to redeem it again, create a manual booking as a credit in the Bookings tab of the partner.

  • Approve, Take back approval and Reject are also in the “…” menu of every row of the review list. While a run holds the payout, none of them is possible.

Which hints does the review list show?

The Hints column marks payouts that need a second look. Red means the payout cannot go out like this. Yellow means look closer. Grey is information. The review window explains every hint.

  • First payout (grey): this partner has never been paid before.

  • New account (yellow): the payout goes to a different account than the last one. An account changed shortly before a request is the usual pattern of a taken over customer account.

  • New payout details (yellow): today the partner has different details than in the request. The payout goes to the request; Pay to the new details in the review window switches the open payout to today's details.

  • Name not fit for SEPA (red): the name of the recipient keeps no letter and no digit in the SEPA character set, for example a name made of symbols only. The payout does not go into the file; clear up the name with the partner. Other scripts such as Greek or Cyrillic are transliterated into Latin letters.

  • Email invalid and PayPal error (red): the PayPal address is not a valid email address, or PayPal refused the order. “Details” in the review window explains the error and what to do.

  • Name is shortened (yellow): the name has more than 70 characters in the SEPA character set; the review window and the run window show how it appears in the file.

How is the SEPA file for online banking created?

Approved SEPA payouts go together into one file in the format pain.001.001.09. You upload it to your online banking, and your bank carries out the transfers. Every transfer carries the name and IBAN of the partner, the amount and the remittance information.

  1. 1In SEPA payouts, click Create SEPA file. The number on the button is the number of approved payouts.

  2. 2The window shows Payouts, Sum and the Debtor, that is name and IBAN of the shop account from the settings.

  3. 3Choose the Execution date. The next working day is suggested; a date in the past is not possible.

  4. 4Check the list. Look at rows with a yellow or red hint once more before you continue.

  5. 5Click Create file. The payouts now count as paid, and your browser downloads the file, such as SEPA-2026-10-20-1.xml.

  6. 6Upload the file to your online banking. If it is missing from your downloads, use Download file in the window or under Payout runs.

How do I transfer payouts directly through PayPal?

Under PayPal payouts, Transfer now sends every approved payout to PayPal as an order of its own, one after the other, as long as the window is open. No export and no upload are needed.

  1. 1In PayPal payouts, click Transfer now. The window shows number and sum and the PayPal account of the shop with “Live” or “Sandbox”.

  2. 2Click Really transfer. With the click the orders go to PayPal.

  3. 3The run shows row by row what is with PayPal right now: “Transferred”, “Running” and “Waiting”. Keep the window open until the run has finished.

  4. 4Stop run ends the run after the order that is with PayPal right now. What has been transferred stays paid; the other payouts are approved again and go with the next run.

What PayPal accepts counts as paid; the reference of PayPal is stored with the payout. If PayPal refuses an order, for example because of an invalid address, the payout is open in the review list again, and “Details” explains the error. If an error concerns the account of the shop, such as the login or too small a balance, the run stops and the other payouts are approved again.

Where do I find all SEPA files and PayPal runs?

Under Payout → Payout runs you find every run, the newest first. A click on the date opens the run with every payout and its state, for PayPal with the order number of PayPal or its message. The search finds file names and PayPal messages.

Keeping track of payouts

Where do I see all payouts?

The list Payout → Payouts shows every payout of all methods and states, rejected and paid ones included. The filter on the right narrows it by method, state, partner and origin. In the “…” menu of every row, Download document loads the PDF.

  • Method: SEPA or PayPal.

  • Origin: “Partner” for a request in the partner area, “Automatic” for the automatic payout, “API” for a payout another system created through the Admin API.

  • State: Open, Approved, Being transferred, Paid or Rejected.

  • Paid date: when the payout was paid or rejected. Date is the day of the request.

Through the Admin API payouts can also be created, approved, rejected and reported as paid, for example from your accounting. More in the chapter Export and API.

What does the detail page of a payout show?

A click on the number opens the payout with the cards Information, Orders, Payout and History. The Payout card only appears while the payout is open.

  • Information: number, requested, partner, amount, payout method, state and the recipient from the request, for SEPA account holder, IBAN, BIC and bank, for PayPal the PayPal account and the reference.

  • Run: the SEPA file or PayPal run the payout went out with, with the file name.

  • Orders: which orders the commission comes from, with redeemed and total commission and the turnover of the order. The plugin recommends a plausibility check before every payout.

  • Payout: Confirm payout sets the payout to “Paid”, for example after you transferred the money by hand. Cancel payout sets it to “Rejected”. Both lead back to the list.

  • History: every change of state with time, user and reason, such as “Created automatically” or “SEPA file SEPA-2026-10-20-1.xml”.

Can the plugin create payouts automatically?

Yes. With Activate automatic payouts in the card Payout · Automatic payout the plugin creates a request on the payout day for every active partner with the type of remuneration “Payout”, over their whole balance rounded down to whole euros. The requests go into the review list like any other; the money moves with the SEPA file or the PayPal run.

  • Interval: “Weekly”, “Every two weeks” or “Monthly” (the default). Weekday or Day of the month sets the payout day: on the 1st, on the 15th or on the last day. “Every two weeks” counts from the first payout day after switching it on.

  • Limit: a request is only created from the smallest staggered amount or the minimum amount of the card “Payout · Compensation by payout”. Example: with amounts from €10 and a balance of €29.72 the plugin requests €29.00, and €0.72 stays. The partner area announces it: “Shortly we will automatically request a payout of €29.00.”

  • Skipped is a partner below the limit, with an open, approved or running payout, or without complete payout details.

  • With an automatic payout, partners may also request payouts themselves (on by default). When it is off, money only comes through the automatic payout; the partner area then shows “Automatic payout” with the limit instead of the amounts.

  • At the partner, the card Automatic payout holds two switches with a purple bracket: Automatic payout leaves a partner out, Also request payouts himself differs from the default. Below, the card names the next date and the limit.

  • Origin “Automatic”: that is how the requests appear in the lists, in the history as “Created automatically” and in the partner area with “Automatic”. The dashboard names the next automatic payout under “Balance of the partners”.

The scheduled task of the plugin creates the requests; the console command dvsn-affiliate:payout:create does the same. If the switch “Run the scheduled tasks” is off, a payout day that is due waits until the tasks are on again. If you like, the partner receives the email “Automatic payout created” and the shop a summary after every payout day.

Document and accounting

Which document belongs to a payout?

With every request the plugin creates a payout document as a PDF: the document type “Payouts” with a number range of its own starting at 50000. Company, address, bank details and logo are taken from the invoice configuration in Shopware.

  • Header: the address of the partner from their default billing address, “Payout” with the number and “Affiliate:” with the partner code.

  • Line items: Pos., order date, order number, customer with first name and initial, and the commission. A starting credit or a bonus appears as “Manual booking”.

  • Total: “Payout (net):” with the amount.

  • Payout to account: account holder and IBAN, or the PayPal account.

  • Download: in the administration in the list, on the detail page and in the review window; in the partner area as “Receipt (PDF)” for paid payouts when Offer the payout document as a download is on (off by default). Only the signed-in partner can load their own receipt. With the email “Payout confirmed” the document goes along as an attachment.

How do I settle with partners who have a German VAT ID?

For partners who invoice as a business from Germany there is the card Payout · Partners with a German VAT ID. With the switch on, a payout or a voucher only reduces the available commission by the net amount. It is off by default.

Request of the partnerPayoutCommission goes down by
€10.00€10.00€8.40 (€10.00 divided by 1.19)
€100.00€100.00€84.03 (€100.00 divided by 1.19)

A partner with a German VAT ID is a customer account with a stored VAT ID and a default billing address in Germany. The payout document does not show VAT; the tax document is created in your accounting.

How does a payout get into the ERP?

With the card Payout · Order for each redemption the plugin creates an order of the partner for every redemption, switched separately for vouchers and payouts. The order holds one line over the redeemed amount with a product number of its own; an ERP recognises the credit by it and processes it like any order.

  • Generate order when creating a voucher and Generate order when requesting a payout, each with the Product number and Name of the line.

  • Tag: a rule in the Rule Builder checks for this line by it, for example for a payment method of its own that only exists for payouts.

  • Tax rate: one for consumers, 0% recommended because consumers are paid gross equal to net, and one for businesses with the standard rate. Both must be selected, otherwise no order is created.

  • Shipping method and Payment method: without a choice the default of the sales channel applies, or the payment method the partner used last. Both must be valid in the shop, because the plugin orders like a customer.

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Common questions

Can I pay partner commission via PayPal?

Yes. With “Offer PayPal” partners store their PayPal address. “Transfer now” sends approved payouts through the PayPal API, each as an order of its own. You need the client ID and secret of a PayPal app with payouts enabled.

Does approving a payout already transfer money?

No. Approval is the review. The money moves with the SEPA file you upload to your online banking, or with the PayPal run. If you transfer outside the plugin, confirm the payout on its detail page afterwards.

What happens to the commission when I reject a payout?

It stays deducted, because it was already taken off with the request. If the partner should be able to redeem it again, create a manual booking as a credit under Bookings at the partner.

Which format does the SEPA file have?

pain.001.001.09, the XML format for SEPA credit transfers that online banking and banking software read. The file holds the shop account as debtor, the execution date and for every payout name, IBAN, amount and remittance information, in euros.

Does the partner get a receipt for the payout?

Yes, a payout document as a PDF with all orders behind the payout. The partner receives it as an attachment of the email “Payout confirmed” and, if you allow it, as “Receipt (PDF)” in the partner area. The document shows a net total without a tax rate.

Can payouts run automatically?

If you like, the plugin creates the requests automatically, weekly, every two weeks or monthly, over the whole balance in whole euros. Review and transfer then work as with every other request.

Can I set a minimum payout threshold?

Yes. With payouts in staggered amounts, the smallest amount is the threshold, 10 euros by default; with a free amount, it is the Minimum amount (in EUR), at least 1 euro. The automatic payout uses the same threshold, and below it the partner area shows what is still missing.

What speaks for a voucher instead of a payout?

The voucher is only valid in the shop: the partner shops with you, the money stays in your turnover, and there is no work in the administration. A voucher bonus, for example 10 percent, makes it more attractive to partners who could also choose a payout.

How do I book payouts in the ERP?

With the order for each redemption the plugin creates an order of the partner with a product number of its own for every voucher or payout. The ERP recognises the credit by it and processes it like an order.

In detail in the manual

More chapters

Partner area What partners see in their customer account: overview, redeeming commission, statistics, settings and which switches control them. Read on → Fraud check Five checks compare referred orders with the partner’s data; you decide every suspicion yourself. Read on → Emails and flows 18 ready-made emails to the shop owner and to partners, sent through Shopware's Flow Builder, with a switch per email and templates of their own. Read on →