Affiliate Program Management

Set up and manage an affiliate program to expand your reach and drive sales through partner referrals

OpenCart’s affiliate program allows you to recruit partners who promote your store and earn commissions on sales they generate. This creates a performance-based marketing channel that can significantly expand your reach.

Accessing Affiliates

Navigate to Marketing > Affiliates in your admin panel to view and manage your affiliate partners.

How the Affiliate System Works

Affiliates receive a unique tracking code that they add to your store’s URLs. When customers visit through these tracked links and make purchases, the affiliate earns a commission.

Tracking URL Format: https://yourstore.com/index.php?tracking=AFFILIATE_CODE

Affiliates must be existing customers in your store. The affiliate program extends customer accounts with additional commission and payment information.

Creating a New Affiliate

1. Select Customer

   Click Add New and search for an existing customer account. Affiliates must have a customer account first.

2. Enter Company Details (Optional)

   If the affiliate represents a company:

   • Company Name: Business name
   • Website: Affiliate’s website URL
3. Set Tracking Code

   Enter a unique tracking code (automatically generated) that the affiliate will use in referral links.

4. Configure Commission

   Set the commission rate (percentage) this affiliate will earn on sales. This can be different for each affiliate.

5. Set Payment Method

   Choose how the affiliate will receive payments:

   • Cheque: Payable name
   • PayPal: PayPal email address
   • Bank Transfer: Bank account details
6. Tax Information (Optional)

   Enter the affiliate’s tax ID or VAT number if required for tax reporting.

7. Enable Affiliate

   Set Status to Enabled to activate the affiliate account.

Payment Methods

Cheque Payment

For affiliates who prefer check payments.

Required Information:

• Name to print on the check

// Controller: upload/admin/controller/marketing/affiliate.php:314
$affiliate_data = [
  'payment_method' => 'cheque',
  'cheque' => 'John Smith'
];

PayPal Payment

For fast electronic payments via PayPal.

Required Information:

• Valid PayPal email address

$affiliate_data = [
  'payment_method' => 'paypal',
  'paypal' => '[e-mail]'
];

PayPal is the fastest and most convenient payment method for international affiliates.

Bank Transfer

For direct bank deposits.

Required Information:

• Bank name
• Branch number
• SWIFT code (for international transfers)
• Account holder name
• Account number

$affiliate_data = [
  'payment_method' => 'bank',
  'bank_name' => 'First National Bank',
  'bank_branch_number' => '12345',
  'bank_swift_code' => 'FNBAUS33',
  'bank_account_name' => 'John Smith',
  'bank_account_number' => '9876543210'
];

Managing Affiliate Commissions

Viewing Affiliate Balance

Each affiliate has a running balance that shows total commissions earned:

1. View the Balance column in the affiliates list
2. Click Edit on an affiliate to see detailed transaction history
3. Navigate to the Transaction tab for a complete commission log

Processing Payments

When you’re ready to pay affiliates:

1. Select Affiliates

   Check the boxes next to affiliates with balances you want to pay.

2. Export Payment Data

   Click Export to download a CSV file with payment information formatted for each payment method.

3. Process Payments

   Use the exported data to process payments through your chosen method (PayPal Mass Pay, bank transfer, etc.).

4. Mark as Complete

   Select the paid affiliates and click Complete to:

   • Deduct the balance from their account
   • Record the payment in transaction history
   • Reset their balance to zero

The CSV export format varies by payment method to match the import format of popular payment processors.

Filtering and Searching Affiliates

Use the filter panel to find specific affiliates:

• Customer Name: Search by affiliate name
• Tracking Code: Find by tracking code
• Payment Method: Filter by payment type (cheque, PayPal, bank)
• Commission Rate: Find affiliates with specific commission rates
• Date Range: View affiliates who joined within a date range
• Status: Filter by enabled/disabled status

Tracking Affiliate Performance

Referral Reports

View detailed analytics for each affiliate:

1. Click Edit on an affiliate
2. Go to the Report tab
3. Review metrics including:
   • IP addresses of referrals
   • Store visited
   • Country of origin
   • Date and time of clicks

Commission Calculation

Commissions are automatically calculated when:

1. A customer clicks an affiliate’s tracking link
2. The tracking code is stored in their session
3. They complete an order
4. The order status changes to “Complete”
5. Commission is credited to the affiliate’s balance

Use the Calculate button to recalculate all affiliate balances based on current transaction data if you suspect discrepancies.

Practical Examples

Example 1: Blog Affiliate Partnership

Set up a blogger to promote your products:

• Customer: Existing customer account for the blogger
• Company: “Fashion Blog Weekly”
• Website: “https://fashionblogweekly.com”
• Tracking Code: “FASHBLOG” (memorable and brandable)
• Commission: 8% (standard rate for content creators)
• Payment: PayPal
• Status: Enabled

Share with affiliate: https://yourstore.com/index.php?tracking=FASHBLOG

Example 2: High-Volume Partner

Reward a high-performing affiliate with better terms:

• Customer: Top-performing affiliate
• Company: “Mega Deals Network”
• Tracking Code: “MEGADEALS”
• Commission: 12% (increased from standard 8%)
• Payment: Bank transfer
• Status: Enabled

Example 3: Influencer Campaign

Create unique codes for multiple influencers:

• Tracking Code: Use influencer name (e.g., “SARAH2024”)
• Commission: 10%
• Payment: PayPal (preferred by most influencers)
• Duration: Set to disabled after campaign ends

Best Practices

1. Clear Terms: Document commission rates, payment schedules, and terms in an affiliate agreement
2. Unique Tracking Codes: Create memorable, easy-to-share tracking codes
3. Regular Payments: Establish a consistent payment schedule (monthly, quarterly)
4. Monitor Performance: Review the reports tab to identify top performers
5. Tiered Commissions: Offer higher rates to top-performing affiliates
6. Marketing Materials: Provide affiliates with banners, product images, and promotional copy
7. Communication: Keep affiliates informed about new products and promotions

Consider creating a dedicated affiliate resources page on your website with tracking links, banners, and performance guidelines.

Technical Reference

Database Structure

Affiliate data is stored in the oc_customer_affiliate table:

• customer_id: Link to customer account (primary key)
• company: Company name
• website: Affiliate website
• tracking: Unique tracking code
• commission: Commission percentage (e.g., 10.00)
• balance: Current commission balance
• tax: Tax ID or VAT number
• payment_method: ‘cheque’, ‘paypal’, or ‘bank’
• cheque: Payable name for checks
• paypal: PayPal email address
• bank_name: Bank name
• bank_branch_number: Branch number
• bank_swift_code: SWIFT/BIC code
• bank_account_name: Account holder name
• bank_account_number: Bank account number
• status: Active status (0 or 1)

Model Methods

Key methods in /upload/admin/model/marketing/affiliate.php:

• addAffiliate($data): Create new affiliate
• editAffiliate($customer_id, $data): Update affiliate
• deleteAffiliate($customer_id): Remove affiliate
• getAffiliate($customer_id): Get affiliate details
• getAffiliateByTracking($tracking): Find by tracking code
• editBalance($customer_id, $amount): Update commission balance
• getReports($customer_id): Get referral analytics

Controller Location

• Admin Controller: /upload/admin/controller/marketing/affiliate.php
• Admin Model: /upload/admin/model/marketing/affiliate.php

Advanced Features

CSV Export for Mass Payments

The export function generates payment files in formats compatible with:

• PayPal Mass Pay: Email, Amount, Currency, Customer Name, Note
• Bank Transfer: Account details and amount
• Cheque: Payee name and amount

Access via: marketing/affiliate.csv (line 768)

Custom Commission Rates

You can set different commission rates for each affiliate:

• Default commission is configured in Settings > Store > Affiliate
• Individual rates override the default when set in the affiliate profile
• Useful for tiered affiliate programs or special partnerships

Commission rates are stored as percentages. Enter 10.00 for 10%, not 0.10.

Troubleshooting

Affiliate tracking not working

Check:

• Tracking code is correct in the URL
• Affiliate status is enabled
• Customer has cookies enabled
• Tracking code doesn’t contain special characters

Solution: Verify the tracking URL format and test with a different browser.

Commissions not calculating

Check:

• Order status is set to a “Complete” status
• Complete status orders are configured in Settings
• Affiliate was properly tracked before purchase

Solution: Click Calculate to recalculate all balances.

Cannot add customer as affiliate

Cause: Customer may already be an affiliate.

Solution: Search the affiliates list for the customer’s name to check if they already exist.

Export not including all affiliates

Cause: Export only includes selected affiliates with positive balances.

Solution: Select affiliates with balances > $0 before clicking Export.