Why we recommend Disapproving over Deleting
The platform does not recommend the deletion of actual conversions. It is always better to disapprove them instead.
We have designed the system this way for several critical reasons:
Irreversibility: Once a conversion is deleted, it is removed permanently and cannot be recovered or restored.
Transparency: Affiliates cannot see deleted conversions in their portals. By disapproving a conversion instead of deleting it, you maintain a transparent record for your affiliates, showing them exactly why a commission was not awarded (e.g., due to a refund or cancellation).
Data Integrity: Keeping a record of disapproved conversions helps in long-term reporting and prevents confusion regarding missing transaction IDs.
Deletion should be reserved primarily for removing test conversions that were tracked during your initial setup.
Understanding why we separated Customers vs. Conversions
We separated the concepts of "Customers" and "Conversions" to provide a more sophisticated tracking environment. For many businesses, a referral is not just a single event but the start of a long-term relationship.
Why track Customers separately?
Tracking customer IDs enriches the affiliate marketing experience and provides deeper insights into your program's health:
Life-cycle Tracking: It allows you to evaluate if a lead or trial user successfully converted into a paying customer over time.
Recurring Revenue: You can quickly check if an affiliate is eligible for additional commissions in the future, such as in recurring payment models.
Accountability: You can see if a specific account is actively earning affiliate commissions at any given time.
Data Mapping: It provides a clear way to verify which specific Conversions or External IDs are tied to one unique Customer.
Control: Tracking customers enables you to create caps on commissions per customer, ensuring your program remains profitable.
Customers vs. Conversions Defined
For many businesses, tracking the person (Customer) separately from the purchase/action (Conversion) is essential.
Feature | Customers (People) | Conversions (Actions) |
Represents | People that signed up for a service (e.g., trial user, lead form filler). | Actions for which you want to award a commission (e.g., one-off purchase, monthly subscription payment). |
Status | A person who has been referred but has not yet completed an action you wish to reward an affiliate for. | An event that triggers a commission for the referring affiliate. |
It is possible to track both simultaneously. For example, if customers make immediate purchases, the system can record both the new Customer and the initial Conversion simultaneously.
What Happens if a Conversion or Customer is Deleted
Deleting a conversion or a customer has permanent, irreversible impacts on your records and affiliate payouts.
Impact of Deleting a Conversion
Affiliate Balance Adjustment: If the deleted conversion had commissions that were already paid out to the affiliate, the affiliate's balance will be set back (reduced) by the paid-out commission amount.
Impact of Deleting a Customer
Customer Release (Recurring Programs): In the context of a Lifetime or Recurring commissions program, deleting the customer effectively releases the customer's identity from the platform.
New Affiliation Opportunity: Because the customer no longer exists in the platform's records, a different affiliate could refer them back to you in the future and earn commissions for any subsequent conversions they drive. All association with the original affiliate is permanently removed.
Practical Use Cases for Changing IDs
Sometimes you don't need to delete a record; you just need to fix the data. Here are 3 common scenarios:
Case 1: Correcting Manual Errors. If you manually imported data and made a typo in an External ID (e.g., ORD-123 instead of ORDER-123), you can simply edit it in the details panel to match your CRM.
Case 2: Platform Migration (Merging Data). If you move from one payment processor to another (e.g., Stripe to PayPal) and a user's internal ID changes, you can update the Customer ID in Tapfiliate so future renewals continue to track correctly.
Case 3: Resolving Tracking Conflicts. If two systems generated the same ID by mistake, you can modify the ID in Tapfiliate to ensure each record remains unique without losing the affiliate's history.
The Guide: How to Delete or Change IDs
A. Deleting a Conversion or Customer (Recap)
Deleting a Conversion: Go to your Conversions page, click the conversion, open the three dots menu in the right panel, and select Delete conversion.
Note: If commissions were already paid, the affiliate's balance will be set back by that amount.
Deleting a Customer: Go to your Customers page, click the customer, open the three dots menu in the right panel, and select Delete the customer.
Note on Recurring Programs: Deleting a customer "releases" them. If that customer returns later, they could potentially be referred by a different affiliate and earn new commissions.
B. Changing a Conversion's External ID or Customer's Customer ID
Change a Conversion's External ID
Go to your Conversions page.
Click on the conversion to open the right-hand side details panel.
Click on the original External ID. This makes the field editable.
Enter the new External ID.
Press the Enter key to save the change.
Change a Customer ID
Go to your Customers page.
Click on the Customer to open the right-hand side details panel.
Click on the original Customer ID. This makes the field editable.
Enter the new Customer ID.
Press the Enter key to save the change.
FAQ
❓Can I show customer IDs to my affiliates?
No, it is not recommended. Sharing sensitive, identifying customer information with a third-party (your affiliates) without explicit customer consent may violate regulations like the European GDPR or California's Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
❓When does a customer status change?
Customer statuses will change primarily based on: 1) If conversions are attached to the customer, and 2) If the customer has been canceled.
❓Can I issue a reward when tracking a customer?
No, rewards cannot be issued solely when tracking a customer. Rewards are tied to specific actions or conversions (like a purchase). If you need to create a conversion alongside your customer, use the dedicated attribution flow: tap('conversion', external id, amount, {customer_id: "the-customer-id"}).
❓Can I limit the commissions an affiliate gets per customer?
Yes, if you have Recurring/Lifetime commissions enabled, you can set a limit (Cap) on the number of commissions an affiliate receives per customer. Refer to the relevant help article for details on setting up Caps.
❓I need help figuring out the best attribution flow for me—can you help?
Of course! You can submit a detailed explanation of your specific use case and goals to the support team. They will evaluate your needs and provide tailored advice on the best approach.
Still need help?
If you have any questions or if something in this guide is unclear or If you want to unlock this feature and collect more details about your affiliates, please don't hesitate to contact us at support@tapfiliate.com-we're happy to assist!
Next Steps
After managing deletions and corrections, you may need to handle approval workflows, reporting, or troubleshoot tracking issues. Refer to these related articles for further guidance:
How to Approve, Disapprove or Modify Conversions: Learn the standard procedure for managing the status and details of conversions outside of deletion.
How to Export Performance Data to CSV/XLSX: Get instructions on how to download your conversions, customers, and other performance data for external analysis and reporting.
Troubleshooting: Why is a Conversion Not Being Tracked?: Find common causes and solutions for issues related to conversion tracking codes, ensuring proper data capture.