> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://ctracker-docs.keywordrush.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://ctracker-docs.keywordrush.com/how-cashback-works/order-statuses-and-holding-period.md).

# Order statuses and the holding period

### The three statuses

Every order carries one of three statuses, and the affiliate network decides which:

| Status       | What it means                                 | The member's cashback                         |
| ------------ | --------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| **Pending**  | The sale is reported but not confirmed        | Counted as pending. Visible, not requestable. |
| **Approved** | The network has confirmed it and will pay you | Becomes available                             |
| **Declined** | The network has rejected it                   | Removed                                       |

You do not set these. They arrive from the network and change when the network changes them, on every refresh.

### Why approval takes so long

A network will not confirm a sale until the shop's returns window has closed and it is confident the money is real. That is normally **30 to 90 days**, sometimes longer for travel or insurance.

It is not the plugin being slow, and there is nothing to configure that speeds it up. What you *can* do is tell your members up front — an expectation set on your FAQ page prevents most support email.

### Declined orders

An order can be declined at any point, including weeks after it was reported as pending. The usual reasons are a returned purchase, a cancelled booking, a voucher code from outside the network, or the network deciding the sale did not qualify.

When it happens, the cashback is removed from the member's pending balance and the order stays on their history marked declined. Nothing is hidden — a member who watched cashback appear and then vanish will ask, and both of you can see the reason.

{% hint style="info" %}
If a member disputes a decline, you are the one who has to take it up with the network. The plugin only records what the network reported.
{% endhint %}

### The holding period

`Cashback Tracker` → `Settings` → `General` → **Cashback holding period (days)**

This is an extra wait *after* the network approves, before the member can request the money.

**The default is 0** — approved cashback becomes available immediately.

Zero is the right starting point for most sites, because two things already protect you: the network has done its own validation before approving, and you review every payout request by hand anyway.

### When to set one

Set a holding period if you would rather not pay a member until the network has actually paid **you**.

Networks approve on one schedule and pay out on another. Approval means "this sale is genuine"; it does not mean the money has reached your bank. If your network pays 30 days after approval, a 30-day holding period means you are never funding payouts out of your own pocket.

A sensible number is however long your slowest network takes to pay you after approving. If you do not know it yet, leave it at 0 and check your first few network payments.

{% hint style="warning" %}
A holding period is a real cost to your members — it is added to a wait that is already months long. Do not set one "to be safe" without a reason you could explain to them.
{% endhint %}

### How the date is worked out

When an order is approved, the plugin marks the cashback as becoming available that many days later. Until then the member sees it as pending, with the date it will land.

**Changing the setting only affects orders approved after the change.** Cashback already waiting keeps the date it was given. Members are never told a date and then made to wait longer.

If you shorten the setting, money already in a holding period still lands on its original date. If you need it released sooner, adjust that member's balance by hand — see [Adjusting a member's balance](/running-your-site/manual-adjustments.md).

### Related

* [The life of one cashback order](/how-cashback-works/the-life-of-an-order.md)
* [Balances: pending, available, paid](/how-cashback-works/balances.md)
* [Importing orders](/affiliate-networks/importing-orders.md)