Discount codes & payouts

A discount code is the alternative to your referral link, not an add-on. The subtitle of the Discount Codes page sums it up: when your customer redeems a code, you get a flat commission instead of your tier rate.

Note

This page covers the affiliate program on photogala.net. How to become a partner in the first place is described in Getting started as an affiliate.

The two code slots

You have exactly two slots. The code is generated for you — the hint on the button reads: “We generate the code automatically (based on your referral code).”

Tool used	Customer saves	Your commission
Referral link (no code)	—	Tier rate (20 / 25 / 30 %)
10 % discount code	10 %	15 %
15 % discount code	15 %	10 %

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Both code slots sit on one page — with discount, usage and status.

The more discount you hand over, the less commission stays with you. Each slot card says it directly: Customer saves 10 %, you earn 15 % commission.

1. Open Discount Codes in the sidebar.

2. On the slot you want, click Create 10 % code or Create 15 % code. The code appears on the card immediately.

3. Copy puts it on your clipboard (confirmation: Code copied).

4. To take a code out of circulation, click Deactivate code. The confirmation reads: “Really deactivate this code? Customers can no longer redeem it afterwards.” The slot is then free for a new code.

If support agreed individual rates with you, they are shown above the cards as Individual 10% code commission rate or Individual 15% code commission rate together with the percentage.

Tracking redemptions

Every code card shows three numbers:

Every code card tracks three numbers: Redemptions (how often the code was used), Revenue (gross revenue of those purchases) and Commission (your share of it). Revenue is what the customer paid, not what you earn.

• Redemptions — how often the code was used at checkout.
• Revenue — the gross revenue it generated.
• Commission — what reached you out of that.

In the Referrals list, code purchases carry the source Code at Checkout. The commission column then shows Code with the applied percentage; link purchases show Tier with your tier rate.

Rules

The Rules box below the cards lists three points:

The Rules box sits below both code slots: each purchase pays either tier commission or code commission, code redemptions do not count towards tier progression, and a redeemed code overrides an earlier cookie attribution.

• Per purchase: either tier commission or code commission — never both.
• Code redemptions do not count toward tier progression (rolling 12-month window). A code sale therefore does not move you towards Silver or Gold.
• Discount code overrides cookie attribution: if the customer uses your code, you earn the commission — even if another partner’s link was clicked earlier.

That is the flip side of the last-click rule from Getting started as an affiliate: the most recently used referral link or discount code before the purchase gets the commission — and a redeemed code is the strongest possible last touch.

Tip

The app recommends defaulting to the link: “Default to your referral link — that’s where your tier commission (up to 30 %) kicks in. Only drop the discount code when a client hesitates on price.”

Link or code?

• Use your link when… “…the customer is already sold. Then you keep your full tier commission (up to 30 %) and give away no discount.”
• Use a discount code when… “…the customer is on the fence about price. A 10 % or 15 % saving can close the deal — you trade some commission for a higher conversion rate.”

From sale to bank account

A commission travels through four stations:

• 30-day hold period — “Commissions are released 30 days after the sale — this covers the refund and revocation window. Refunded sales do not pay commission.”
• €50 minimum threshold — released balance is paid out monthly once it reaches €50. Smaller amounts roll over to the next month. When the program ends, the remaining balance is paid regardless of threshold.
• Wise with four payout options — SEPA (EUR), UK Local (GBP), US ACH (USD) or SWIFT worldwide. Wise converts at the mid-market rate.
• Self-billing invoices — Photogala issues a monthly credit-note invoice on your behalf. If your tax details are incomplete, payouts are paused.

Commission statuses

The payout-status column tells you where an individual commission stands:

In the referral table the Payout Status column tells you where each individual commission currently stands. A row without a payout is not an error — it is simply waiting for the next run.

• Settlement Pending — payment received, final settlement data still missing. The amount is an estimate and updates automatically.
• Pending — the commission is still under review (hold period).
• Confirmed — no chargeback, the commission stands.
• Approved — ready for payout in the next cycle.
• Paid — transferred.
• Reversed — taken back because of a refund.
• Forfeited — for example when an account is suspended.

Payout history

Under Payout History every payout is listed with Date, Gross, Clawback, Net, Status and Reference. The status is Pending, Processing, Completed or Failed. If nothing has happened yet, you see No payouts yet with the note that payouts are created monthly once you have at least €50 in approved commissions.

Above the history sits the Processing & compliance review notice: every payout is reviewed first. If an approved amount does not show up in the history right away, that is normal, not a fault.

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The payout history states the threshold and the status of every payout.

Caution

The area explicitly flags a Processing & compliance review: all transfers are automatically analysed for fraud prevention and regulatory compliance (PSD2 / AML). Because of that review, payouts can be delayed by up to 4 weeks before the funds arrive. You are notified as soon as the transfer is executed.

Payout settings and tax details

Save Settings sits right at the bottom. Without that click your method, account details and tax data stay unchanged — the page does not ask when you leave.

Settings holds everything the transfer needs. At the top a banner shows either Payout settings incomplete or Payout settings complete — you’re ready for payouts.

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Payout method, bank details and tax details are gathered under Settings.

Payout method

In the Payout Method section, Receive payouts via offers four options:

Receive payouts via decides which account fields appear below it — SEPA asks for an IBAN, the UK for a sort code, the US for a routing number. The filled account fields are deliberately blurred in this screenshot.

• SEPA bank transfer (EUR) — EU/EEA accounts — paid in EUR, no currency conversion. Field: IBAN.
• UK Local transfer (GBP) — UK accounts — Sort Code (6 digits) and Account Number (6–8 digits).
• US ACH transfer (USD) — US accounts — Routing Number (ABA) (9 digits), Account Number and Account Type (Checking or Savings).
• SWIFT international wire — worldwide — BIC / SWIFT Code (8 or 11 characters), Account Number / IBAN and your preferred Receiving Currency.

On top of that: Account Holder and Contact Email.

Note

Commissions are tracked in EUR. If you choose a non-EUR method, Wise converts at the mid-market rate at payout time. The EUR amount in your dashboard is what you earn; the amount actually transferred depends on the FX rate on payout day.

Address & tax residence

The second section is required for tax reporting and international transfers:

Country of Tax Residence drives the rest of the block: Austria adds a date of birth, the US, Canada and Brazil add a state field. So set the country first, then fill in the address. Existing entries are blurred here.

• Country of tax residence
• Street & number, Postal code, City
• State / Province — as a 2-letter code (e.g. CA, NY, TX for the USA; ON, QC for Canada). Wise requires it for certain countries.
• Date of birth — required for Austrian tax reporting (§109a EStG).

Save Settings applies your entries.

Example

A customer hesitates over the price — link or code?

Say the package costs 119 € and you are on the 25 % tier:

Route	Customer pays	Your rate	Counts towards the tier?
Referral link	119.00 €	25 %	yes
10 % code	107.10 €	15 %	no
15 % code	101.15 €	10 %	no

What the rate applies to: not the purchase price, but the EUR earnings – what reaches Photogala after VAT and the payment provider’s fee. Your commission is therefore noticeably below “25 % of 119 €”; the exact amount appears in the commission column once the payment provider has settled (until then the row sits at Pending). It does not change the ordering, because all three routes use the same basis: a discount code only pays off when the sale would not happen without it.

Creating it: sidebar Discount Codes → on the card click Create 10 % code → Copy. Later you take it out of circulation with Deactivate code; the slot is then free again.

Tracking it: in the Referrals list this purchase carries the source Code at Checkout, and the commission column shows Code with the percentage instead of Tier.

The money is not on your account right away: a 30-day hold, then Approved, and payouts run monthly from 50 € upwards.

The special case: if the customer clicked another partner’s link beforehand, your code still wins — a discount code overrides the cookie attribution.

Troubleshooting

• No payout arrives. Check the threshold first: payouts only run from €50 of approved commission. Then check Settings — if address, country or (where applicable) VAT ID are missing, payouts are paused. Earned commission is not lost, it just waits.
• The Payout settings incomplete banner stays. A required field of the selected method is missing. The method determines which bank fields are demanded.
• A payout shows Failed. You then see a Payout failed notice with the amount and a Check settings button — usually a bank detail is wrong.
• The transferred amount differs from the dashboard. With non-EUR methods the difference comes from the FX rate on payout day.
• My code sale did not move me towards Gold. Code redemptions deliberately do not count towards tier progression.
• I only got the code rate although the customer came via my link. As soon as a discount code is redeemed at checkout, the flat code rate applies and your tier rate is dropped for that sale.
• The discount code no longer works. Deactivated codes cannot be redeemed. Create a new one on the same slot.

Related pages

• Getting started as an affiliate — sign-up, referral link, tiers and attribution
• Reseller basics — credits, setup links and your own brand
• Setting up brand & domain — legal details and business data of the brand
• Plans & upgrades — what discount and commission relate to