Networks 
4 Comments Late Payments – What Options Are Available For An Affiliate?
Merchant pays Network late = Network pays Affiliate late = :(
We’ve all been there and we know this is the business model adopted by some of the larger networks, the ones who can afford not to adopt this model surprisingly. But what options are available to us affiliates who month in, month out, get let down?
Incase you hadn’t guessed, I am grumbling about TradeDoubler. For starters they pay monthly despite saying for a very long time, that they will be introducing bi-monthly payments and improving their payment process. I appreciate TradeDoubler aren’t only UK based, and any changes to payment processes may affect other countries and regions and therefore take time. However, since TradeDoubler have been saying they are improving their payment process (over 2 years to me), we have seen other networks introduce bi-monthly or even weekly payments, some of which operate in more than one country, so that excuse no longer stands.
What about the merchant? Should the merchants who constantly pay invoices late be penalised? To them it makes sense to keep hold of the money as long as possible, and if TradeDoubler don’t implement any penalties then what incentives is there for a merchant to pay on time?
There is no denying it that when it comes to linking to a merchant, payment does influence my decision. Wherever possible I move links to a network who pays bi-monthly, visibly and successfuly chases payment and pays affiliates whether or not the merchant has paid. However this isn’t always possible as some merchants are with a single network and therefore you have to sit and wait to be paid.
What can we do? Can we start charging interest on invoices that are outstanding where we should have received the monies owed? I don’t mind if it’s £10 here or there, but when you are talking over £1500, to a sole trader like myself, this is quite a sum of money that could have been heading off for re-investment in time for Christmas.
Would appreciate comments from those in the know, as to which networks offer what;
- Network Name
(i.e. GoodNetwork) - Payment
(i.e. Bi-Monthly £50 minimum threshold) - Invoicing
(i.e. Payment not dependant on merchant paying invoices)