18.4 Tracking & Paying Referral Commissions

This section covers how commissions are generated, approved, and marked as paid within the Affiliate Manager.

Accessing Commissions:

Go to Affiliate Manager → Payouts tab.

Viewing Commissions:

  • This tab displays a detailed list of all generated commission records.
  • Information shown typically includes: Affiliate Name, Customer Name/Email (who was referred), Commission Amount, Date Generated, Associated Campaign, and crucial Status (Pending, Approved, Paid, Denied).
  • Use filters and search to find specific commissions (e.g., filter by Affiliate, Status: Approved, Date Range).

How Commissions are Generated:

  • Automatic Generation (Online Sales Only): If an affiliate campaign is directly linked to a Close Master Funnel that sells an online product/service via an Order Form, a commission record *might* be generated automatically in Pending status when a successful purchase is made through the affiliate's unique tracking link (relies on cookie tracking). This is less common for standard real estate referral fees paid on closing.
  • Manual Generation (CRUCIAL for Real Estate Closings): For typical real estate referrals where the fee is paid *after* the referred client closes their transaction, the commission record almost always needs to be created manually by you or your admin staff *after* the deal has successfully closed and your agency has received its commission.
    • Use the + Add Manual Sale feature (detailed in 18.5). This action creates the commission record in the Payouts list, usually with a Pending status, ready for approval.

Approving Commissions:

Commissions typically need to be reviewed and approved before they are eligible for payout.

  1. Filter the Payouts list by Status: Pending.
  2. Verify Eligibility: For each pending commission, confirm that the referred deal actually closed successfully and that the referral fee is genuinely due according to the terms of the specific Campaign the affiliate was assigned to.
  3. Select Commissions: Check the boxes next to the valid commissions you want to approve.
  4. Bulk Action: Use the Bulk Actions dropdown (or similar buttons) and select Approve.
  5. The status of the selected commissions will change to Approved.

Processing Payouts (Usually Manual for Real Estate):

This involves actually sending the money to the referral partner and then updating the record in Close Master.

  1. Identify Payable Commissions: Filter the Payouts list by Status: Approved. You might also filter by Affiliate if paying one partner specifically, or by date range if processing monthly payouts.
  2. (Optional) Export for Payment Processing: Select the approved commissions you are about to pay. Use an Export CSV option if available. This can generate a list to help you process payments through your external accounting system or banking platform.
  3. Pay the Partner Externally: Issue the actual payment to the referral partner using your agency's standard procedures (e.g., cut and mail a brokerage check, initiate an ACH/Direct Deposit transfer via your bank, send a Zelle payment, manually send funds via PayPal outside the Close Master system). Refer to the payout method notes you recorded for the partner if needed.
  4. Mark as Paid in Close Master (CRUCIAL for Tracking): After sending the payment externally, come back to the Payouts list in Affiliate Manager.
    • Select the same commissions you just paid.
    • Use the Bulk Actions dropdown and select Mark as Paid.
    • You may be prompted to enter the Payment Date.
    • Confirm the action.
    • Result: The status of these commissions changes to Paid in Close Master. This updates the affiliate's dashboard and provides an accurate historical record of payments made.

(Alternative) PayPal Payouts Integration:

If The Close Agency has set up the advanced PayPal Payouts integration (See 18.1):

  1. Filter for Approved commissions.
  2. Select the commissions to be paid via PayPal.
  3. Use a specific Pay via PayPal bulk action.
  4. Confirm the payout initiation. Funds are sent automatically via PayPal Mass Payments (requires sufficient balance in your connected PayPal account).
  5. The commission status in Close Master should update to Paid automatically.

Denying Commissions:

  • If a Pending or even Approved commission is found to be ineligible (e.g., the referred deal ultimately fell through before closing, referral didn't meet campaign terms), select the commission record.
  • Use the Bulk Actions dropdown and select Deny.
  • You might be prompted to enter a reason for the denial.
  • The status changes to Denied.