In our reports, we use a lot of terminology that we'd like to define clearly. If you have any questions about this glossary or don't see the term you would like us to define, please email support@flexoffers.com. We'd be glad to help you!
Transaction Date
This is the date and time when the payable action occurred. In the case of a purchase by a consumer, this is the date when they made the purchase.
Posted Date
This is the date when the advertiser acknowledged the transaction in our reports, giving you credit for the event. Many times, the Posted Date might match the Transaction Date, but for some advertisers, the date of the transaction might be days, weeks, or even months apart from the Transaction Date. One example is airlines, where the advertiser does not award credit until a booked flight is actually consumed/taken.
Pending Sales, Transactions
A pending action is an action that has not yet locked. A pending action will eventually be approved, modified, or rejected by the advertiser before the locking date (see that definition below). That date may be defined in the program’s terms. Actions may no longer be changed when the locking date has passed. Credit for all approved actions will then be assigned to your account. Compensation will then be scheduled for payment from FlexOffers in accordance with our network terms.
Locking Period
A “locking period” or “lock date,” when specified in the advertiser’s terms, is the amount of time merchants give themselves to reverse or adjust a transaction. Affiliate-referred transactions can get canceled for any number of reasons, but once the “locking period” or the “lock date” has passed, the commission is authorized for payment. Note that final payment to your account is still subject to actual payment by the advertiser for the authorized transactions.
Cookies and Cookie Duration
Cookies are files used to track user behavior on a website. In affiliate marketing, we use cookies to credit you when a visitor using your link takes the desired action(s) that would cause you to earn a commission, such as making a purchase or submitting a lead.
Imagine a typical browsing experience, where an ad or link is clicked, the user is then delivered to the advertiser website and buys something. The cookie’s duration defines how long between the initial visit and the desired action (purchase, lead, etc.) is still valid and commissionable and therefore would be credited to you. For example, if the Cookie Duration is 30 days, a user can click your link, visit the advertiser site, leave, return up to 30 days later, make a purchase, and it is still credited to you. However, if a commissionable action happens after the cookie duration has expired, the sale is not credited to your account. Cookie duration varies from advertiser to advertiser, so be sure to read their terms for those details.