When you write the Terms of Service for your affiliate program, you are describing rules that Tapfiliate enforces in the background. This article collects those rules in one place so your terms match what the platform actually does.
Where your terms live
Terms are set per program. If you run more than one program, each has its own terms.
Go to Programs > Signup page.
Pick the program you want in the program switcher in the top right.
Scroll to the Terms of Service field and edit the text there.
Save your changes.
That text is what affiliates agree to when they join. On your sign-up page they have to tick a required box, I agree to Terms and conditions, before they can register, and the link next to it opens the same text on its own page. If the Terms of Service field is empty, there is no terms checkbox and no terms page at all.
The field is intended for text rather than for complex layouts, so very large tables or heavily structured content can fail to save. If your legal text is long or needs its own formatting, one option is to keep a short summary in the field and link out to the full document.
Which affiliate gets the commission
Tapfiliate follows the Last Cookie Counts rule. If a visitor clicks several affiliate links before buying, the commission goes to the affiliate whose link was clicked last before the purchase.
Example: a visitor finds your shop through affiliate A's blog, leaves without buying, then a few days later clicks affiliate B's link and completes a purchase. The commission goes to affiliate B.
Coupon codes versus referral links
If a coupon code assigned to an affiliate is used at checkout, the conversion is attributed to that coupon.
If no coupon is used, the conversion is attributed to the affiliate link cookie.
This matters if you also run discount codes that are not tied to any affiliate, so it is worth stating in your terms which codes affiliates may and may not promote.
The cookie window
The cookie window is the period between a click on an affiliate link and the conversion, during which that affiliate still gets credit. The default is 45 days. You can set any value up to 365 days in Programs > General settings, under Cookie time in days, and each program can have its own value. Changes take effect immediately.
Once the cookie window has expired, Tapfiliate will not track the conversion at all.
When a commission is confirmed
A conversion creates a commission, and that commission is either approved or disapproved. You control which:
Manual review (default): commissions wait for you to approve them in the Commissions tab. Many programs review after their refund window has passed.
Automatic approval: turn on Automatically approve commissions in Programs > General settings and every commission is approved without review.
Only approved commissions form an affiliate's balance. Balances are calculated as approved commissions minus paid amounts. If you state an approval period in your terms, make sure it reflects how you actually work.
Refunds and cancellations
Refunds and cancellations are not adjusted automatically by the tracking integration. Decide and state in your terms how you handle a commission on an order that is later refunded, and how you handle partial refunds.
See how to handle refunds and void commissions here, and how those corrections affect affiliate balances here.
A short checklist for your terms
Which commission rate applies, and to what (order value, specific products or categories).
That the last affiliate link clicked receives the commission.
Your cookie window in days.
Which coupon codes affiliates may use, and that coupon attribution takes precedence over the link cookie.
When and how commissions are approved, and when they are paid.
What happens to a commission if the order is refunded or cancelled.
Promotional restrictions, for example bidding on your brand name in paid search.
Any eligibility requirements, for example a minimum age, which you can also ask about with a custom onboarding field on the sign-up form.
Still need help?
If you have any questions or if something in this guide is unclear, please don't hesitate to contact us at support@tapfiliate.com-we're happy to assist!