A hold period is the waiting time between a commission being created and it becoming eligible for payout. It exists for one reason: refunds.
The defaults
| Reward type | Hold | Why |
|---|---|---|
| LEAD | 3 days | Leads aren't usually refunded; 3 days catches the rare case of a miscategorized or fraudulent lead. |
| SALE | 30 days | Covers most refund windows on card networks and common SaaS policies. |
| RECURRING | 30 days per month | Every renewal starts its own 30-day hold. Covers cancellations and chargebacks. |
During the hold, a commission sits in PENDING. When the hold expires, it flips to PROCEED — only then is it eligible for a payout batch.
When to shorten
Short holds get partners paid faster, which keeps good partners motivated. Worth shortening in specific cases:
- High-trust B2B partnerships where refunds are rare — shorten SALE to 14 or 7 days.
- Lead campaigns with very low refund/reversal risk — LEAD can go to 1 day.
- Pre-paid annual plans — the refund window on a €2,400 annual plan is often ~14 days; you can match that.
Be careful: the hold is your only automatic insurance against paying commission on money you'll have to give back.
When to extend
Extending makes sense when your refund window is longer than 30 days:
- Extended money-back guarantees (60 or 90 days) — match the guarantee length.
- Enterprise contracts with clawback clauses — some contracts let the customer reverse within 90 days. Match it.
- New partners you haven't vetted yet — keep them at 60 days until you see clean behavior.
How to configure
Dashboard → Missions → [mission] → Rewards tab → Hold period (days).
Set it per mission. You can run different holds across your programs:
- Mission A (SALE, trusted creators): 14 days
- Mission B (SALE, new creators): 60 days
- Mission C (LEAD, demo bookings): 3 days
- Mission D (RECURRING, subscription plan): 30 days
What happens during the hold
- The commission is visible to the partner in their portal, marked as "Pending".
- It's counted in your Dashboard → Commissions filters.
- It's not eligible for payout — the batch page skips PENDING commissions entirely.
If a refund lands during the hold, the commission is simply deleted. No clawback drama, no negative balance. This is why the hold exists in the first place.
Related
- Commission lifecycle — PENDING → PROCEED → COMPLETE
- Clawbacks and refunds — what happens if a refund arrives after the hold
- Reward types — how SALE / LEAD / RECURRING differ beyond the hold