> 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/shops-and-cashback-rates/cashback-rates.md).

# Cashback rates

The cashback rate is the one number that makes this your business rather than the network's. The network pays you a commission; you decide how much of it the member keeps.

### The three kinds of rate

| Kind                | What it means                                                   | Example                                       |
| ------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| **% of commission** | A share of what the network pays you                            | 50% of a 9% commission = the member gets 4.5% |
| **% of sale**       | A share of what the member spent, regardless of your commission | 3% of the purchase                            |
| **Flat amount**     | A fixed sum per order                                           | £5 per order                                  |

**% of commission is the safe one**, and the default. Your margin is a fixed proportion, so you cannot lose money on a shop whose commission turns out to be lower than you assumed.

The other two are promises about a number you do not control. If a merchant cuts your commission from 9% to 3% and you have promised members 3% of the sale, you are now paying out everything you earn. Use them deliberately, and check them when commissions change.

### Where rates are set

Three levels, most specific wins:

**1. The network default.** `Cashback Tracker` → `Networks` → **Configure** on a network → **Default cashback**. Applies to every shop from that network. Starts at 50% of commission.

**2. Per shop, in the network settings.** The same screen has **Cashback by shop**, where you can override particular shops without touching the rest.

**3. On the shop page itself.** The **Cashback notice** field under Shop Info — see [Shop info: every field](/shops-and-cashback-rates/shop-info-reference.md).

A shop with no override anywhere gets its network's default.

![Choosing how a shop pays a member](https://3545740495-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-M69sU0hfZj3QsteYxmI%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-8029e540e98bf0e79f56d59bd896aba0ada1cdd5%2Fcashback-rate-setting.webp?alt=media)

### Choosing a number

The default of 50% is a starting point, not a recommendation. What is left after the member's share pays for your hosting, your time, your marketing, and the cashback you will owe on orders the network later declines.

Things worth knowing before you pick:

* **Networks decline orders**, sometimes weeks later. You will occasionally pay out on cashback the network never paid you for, especially if members request payouts quickly.
* **High rates attract people who only visit for the rate.** They are expensive and they do not come back for anything else.
* **You can lower a rate**, but every member who earned at the old rate keeps what they earned. Rates apply to orders as they arrive, never retroactively.

### Changing a rate

Change it and save. From that moment, new orders use the new rate.

**Orders already imported keep the rate they were given.** Nothing is recalculated, and no member's balance moves. That is deliberate: a member was shown a figure and that figure is what they get.

{% hint style="warning" %}
Changing a network default changes every shop that has no override — potentially thousands at once. Check the **Cashback** column on the Shop catalog afterwards to see what you actually did.
{% endhint %}

### Seeing the result

`Cashback Tracker` → `Shop catalog`, the **Cashback** column. It reads like this:

```
4.5%
of 9% · EUR
```

The member gets 4.5%, which is half of the 9% the network pays you, and the commission is in euros.

That second line is the sanity check. A rate that looks generous next to a commission you did not realise was small is much easier to spot here than on the front end.

### Running without cashback

If you are running a coupon site with no cashback at all, do not set every rate to zero — switch the whole feature off instead. See [Running a coupon site](/running-your-site/coupon-site.md).

### Related

* [The Shop catalog](/shops-and-cashback-rates/shop-catalog.md)
* [Shop info: every field](/shops-and-cashback-rates/shop-info-reference.md)
* [Importing orders](/affiliate-networks/importing-orders.md)