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How do I pay affiliates without doing it by hand?
Only partly. systeme.io generates the invoices on the 10th of each month and passes them to Wise or PayPal the same day, then stops and waits for you to press Pay invoices.
What runs on its own
Two of the three steps do. The last one does not.
| Step | When | Who does it |
|---|---|---|
| Invoices generated, status Pending | The 10th, 05:00 to 14:00 UTC | systeme.io |
| Invoice data sent on, status Processing | The same day, around 22:00 to 22:20 UTC | systeme.io |
| Transfer authorised | Whenever you get to it | You, by pressing Pay invoices |
systeme.io describes the process as hybrid rather than fully automatic. Clicking Pay invoices is what authorises Wise or PayPal to execute the batch transfer.
The two connections
Both are set up under your profile picture, then Settings, then Affiliate program.
Wise needs a multi-currency account, sometimes called a borderless account. Connecting sends you to Wise to sign in, and after that the Wise account has to hold enough funds to cover the payouts before any transfer is triggered.
PayPal takes a Client ID and Secret from a live app created at PayPal's developer site. After connecting, PayPal support has to be asked to activate the Payouts feature on the account.
The PayPal threshold
Automated batch payouts through PayPal need a minimum of 25 affiliate invoices with PayPal set as the payout method.
Below 25, the bulk payment cannot be processed automatically through the PayPal integration. A small programme pays through PayPal by hand.
Why an invoice never appears
Only invoices that have reached Processing show up in the Pay invoices list. Anything still on Pending is not there yet.
An invoice stuck on Pending after the 10th usually points at one of three things: the affiliate's bank details are invalid, there is a currency conflict, or the Wise or PayPal connection is misconfigured.
An invoice can also fail to exist. Affiliates have to complete their profile information and choose a payment method before systeme.io will generate one for them.
Paying by hand
The invoices live under Sales, then Affiliate invoices. Each row carries the invoice number, the affiliate's email address, the amount, their chosen payment method, a status of Payment sent or Unpaid, and the date.
The three dots at the end of a row download the invoice or mark it as paid.
Clicking the payment method opens the details needed to send the money.
- PayPal: the email address on the affiliate's PayPal account.
- Wire transfer, individual: account holder name, BIC or SWIFT, and IBAN.
- Wire transfer, company: the same, plus the company name and VAT number.
The rule that catches people out
SWIFT codes have to be exactly 11 characters long. Some are issued with only 8.
An 8-character code needs XXX added to the end before it will save, so ABCDUS33 is entered as ABCDUS33XXX. This applies both to bank details you enter and to the ones your affiliates enter for themselves.
What your affiliates have to do
They pick their own payout method under Settings, then affiliate commissions payment settings. PayPal takes an email address. Wire transfer takes the bank details above.
Two limits sit on their side. Wire transfer needs a separate payment method configured for each currency they have earned in, while one PayPal setup covers every currency. And wire transfer cannot be selected at all until they have made at least one affiliate sale.
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