impact.com Contract and Payout Best Practices

Quick Answer In impact.com, a Contract is the agreement that sets a partner's payout terms. The best practice is to use different contracts for different partner types and customer outcomes — paying more for new customers and incremental sales — and to set sensible locking windows so returns are caught before money goes out.

What it is

impact.com runs on Contracts: each partner is on a contract that defines what they earn and on what. Unlike a single flat rate, contracts can carry different payouts by action, product, or customer type, and you can issue different contracts to different partners. The locking window is the period between a sale being recorded and the payout 'locking' as payable — your chance to reverse returns and bad orders.

Think of a contract as an employment agreement rather than a one-size tip: terms are explicit, varied by role, and renegotiated as the relationship changes.

Why it matters

Flat payouts overpay the partners who close sales that were already going to happen and underpay the ones who introduce new customers. Contracts let you align pay with value. Locking windows matter because impact.com automates payouts — if your window is too short or you never review locked actions, you pay commission on orders that later get returned. Getting both right keeps your spend pointed at growth and your payables accurate.

How it works

Group partners by role — content, loyalty/cashback, deal, and tech — and decide what each is genuinely worth.
Set a default contract you'd offer any compliant partner, and treat richer terms as something to justify.
Build contracts that pay more on new customers and less on repeat buyers, using impact.com's customer-status conditions.
Use product- or category-level payouts so high-margin lines can pay more and thin-margin lines stay protected.
Issue premium contracts only to strategic partners whose traffic earns it, and keep the rest on the default.
Set a locking window long enough to capture typical returns before actions lock as payable.
Review contracts and locking settings quarterly against margin, and sunset terms that no longer pay back.

! Common mistakes to avoid

Putting every partner on one identical contract, which ignores how differently they create value.
Setting a locking window shorter than your return cycle, so you pay on orders that come back.
Issuing special contracts and never revisiting them, so premium terms outlive their reason.
Adding a new-customer payout without confirming your tracking actually distinguishes new from returning buyers.

💡 Reporting tips

Track new-customer share by partner next to payout, so you can see who brings fresh demand versus who rides repeat purchases. Watch your locking and reversal numbers too: a rising reversal rate on a partner can signal returns, fraud, or a mismatch between their traffic and your product. The goal of contract reporting is to make sure your most generous terms sit with the partners producing the most incremental, sticky customers.

In practice: a worked example

You put every partner on the same contract: 9% flat, locked after 7 days. Then you notice your returns mostly come back at day 20. By the time a return lands, you've already paid — you're chasing clawbacks every month. So you extend the locking window to cover the real return cycle and split partners onto role-based contracts: a richer new-customer payout for your content introducers, a leaner one for the loyalty partners closing repeat buyers. Two changes, two wins: your payables stop leaking on returns, and your most generous terms now sit with the partners bringing genuinely new customers. Nothing exotic — just matching the contract to how each partner actually creates value, and the locking window to how your business actually works.

When to lean in — and when to hold back

Use richer contract terms when	Keep the default when
A partner consistently brings new customers	The partner mostly closes repeat-buyer sales
The product line has margin to fund it	Margins are too thin for a higher payout
Your return cycle is covered by the locking window	You can't yet match locking to real return timing
A strategic partner has clearly earned a premium	You're reacting to a pitch with no data behind it

Related guides

Frequently asked questions

It's the agreement defining a partner's payout terms — what they earn, on which actions, and under what conditions. Different partners can be on different contracts within the same programme.

It's the period between a sale being recorded and its payout locking as payable. A sensible window lets you reverse returns and fraudulent orders before commission is paid out.

Use impact.com's customer-status conditions in the contract to set a higher payout for first-time buyers and a lower one for returning customers, and confirm your tracking flags them correctly.