What order amount is the commission calculated on?

A percentage commission is calculated on the order subtotal after discounts. Shipping and tips are never part of it, and tax is part of it only when your Commission on tax setting includes it. A fixed-amount group pays its fixed amount for each referral, whatever the order total. A first-time customer commission can replace either one on the first order of a new customer.

Example

An affiliate with a 15% commission refers an order with $110 of items, a $10 discount, $10 shipping, and $15 tax. The subtotal after the discount is $100. With tax not included, the commission is 15% of $100, which is $15.

Choose whether tax counts

1. Open Settings > Referral.
2. Choose Always, Never, or Only on orders that include tax under Commission on tax.
3. Click Save.

Only on orders that include tax counts the tax only when your Shopify prices include tax, and new stores start with it. Tax on shipping and duties never counts.

Group settings that change the commission

Open the group in Groups and select the Commission tab. These settings change the commission:

• Set default first time customer commission percentage (or fixed amount in a fixed-amount group): the first order of a new customer pays this commission in place of the group commission.
• Minimum order amount: an order whose subtotal after discounts is below this amount gets no referral. Your Commission on tax setting decides whether tax counts in that subtotal. A referral that you add by hand skips this check.
• Maximum commission amount: the commission of one referral can't go above this amount, also in a fixed-amount group.

Product and collection rates on Pro and Premium change the percentage of their items, not the amount that the percentage uses. The details are in Do I pay commission on discounts, shipping, and tax?