Commission amount

The commission amount defines what a transaction is worth, both for you and for your partners. There are three types.

1. Fixed amount

A value that is always used, no matter what arrives in tracking. Only digits and the . separator are allowed.

Use it for standard CPA and CPL deals.

2. Percentage

• On workspace commissions, the percentage is taken from the value received in tracking. Value 100 with a 10% commission gives 10.
• On partner commissions, the percentage is taken from the workspace commission amount. A workspace commission of 10 with a partner commission of 50% pays the partner 5.

What the affiliate sees follows from that:

• If the workspace amount is fixed, the affiliate sees the calculated amount, not the percentage. You receive €100, the partner share is 20%, the affiliate sees €20.
• If the workspace amount is a percentage, the affiliate sees a percentage of the value. You receive 5% of the value, the partner share is 50%, the affiliate sees 2.5% of the value.

3. Calculation

A formula that PalDock evaluates when the transaction is created. Use it when the amount depends on what the advertiser sends.

Fields you can use

• {value}: the order value from tracking. Example: 0.05 * {value}
• {commission}: the payout amount itself, when the advertiser tells you what they will pay rather than what the order was worth. Example: {commission}
• {parent}: on partner commissions, the workspace commission amount. Example: 0.5 * {parent}
• {field_name}: any field from the lead’s structure, written exactly as the field is named. Example: 0.02 * {loan_amount}

Formulas accept lowercase letters, digits, ., brackets, and + - * /.

Combining several fields

The formula is not limited to one field. You can use everything the advertiser sends in the same calculation, so the payout reflects what you are actually being paid on.

Typical deductions from the reported amount:

• Tax or VAT
• Bonuses and free credit, which the advertiser does not pay you for
• Discounts and vouchers
• Chargebacks, fees, or any other cost you carry

Example for a gaming advertiser paying 25% of net revenue:

0.25 * ({value} - {bonus} - {tax} - {fees})

Two things to keep in mind:

• Every field in the formula has to arrive with the conversion. One missing field makes the whole amount 0, not just that part of it. Agree the full list with the advertiser before you go live.
• Wrap deductions in brackets. 0.25 * {value} - {bonus} subtracts the bonus after the percentage, which is almost never what you want.

Setting the amount in a scenario

{commission} is filled in two ways.

• The advertiser sends it in the tracking request, in the commission parameter.
• You set it yourself in the tracking scenario, which is the more common case.

In the scenario, use a Set node to write the amount into {commission}, and put conditions on the connections leading to each node to decide which amount applies. Then set the commission formula to {commission} and every lead gets the amount its own path produced.

This is how you pay tiered amounts without creating a separate commission for each tier.

Example: a consumer loan advertiser pays more for larger loans. One scenario, three Set nodes:

• Connection condition {required_amount} is less than 5000, Set node writes 40 into {commission}
• Connection condition {required_amount} is 5000 or more and less than 8000, Set node writes 70
• Connection condition {required_amount} is 8000 or more, Set node writes 90

The commission formula stays {commission} for all of them. Change the tiers by editing the scenario, not the commissions.

The same pattern works with any field the advertiser sends, such as product category, country, or plan name. Use {value} when the deciding field is the order value itself.

See Connection Creator in Tracking.

When a value is missing

If the request does not contain a field your formula needs, the amount is 0 and a transaction is still created. Watch for this when you switch an advertiser to a percentage or a formula.

• Agree with the advertiser which fields are sent with every conversion, and that they are sent even when they are zero.
• Check the conversion log after the first live conversions.
• Keep a fixed amount as the fallback commission if the advertiser is unreliable.

Keeping it readable

• Use Display amount to show a clean label such as “5%” instead of the formula.
• Use Commission detail for a short note in the commission table.

A common case: you receive 10% of the value from the advertiser and want to pay partners 5% of the same value, not 5% of your commission. Set the partner formula to 0.05 * {value} and the Display amount to “5%”.

Where to set it

• In the Commissions section, to edit several offers at once.
• In Offer settings, when you only need one offer.

PalDock calculates reporting metrics such as ROI from the difference between your amount and the partner payout.

See also Commission groups for paying different affiliates differently.