> 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/start-here/upgrading-from-v2.md).

# Upgrading from version 2

Version 3 changes how cashback is accounted for. The upgrade itself is a normal plugin update, but it asks you two questions that are hard to undo, so read this page before you start.

If you are installing Cashback Tracker for the first time, skip this page and go to [Quick start](/start-here/quick-start.md).

### Before you start

* **Back up your database and files.** There is no downgrade path once the ledger is initialized.
* Read [What changed in version 3](/start-here/what-changed-in-v3.md) so nothing on the other side is a surprise.
* Note which currency you actually pay your members in. You will be asked, and the answer is permanent.
* If your site awards cashback as myCred points, read the myCred note below before you touch anything.

### Step 1 — Update the plugin

Update through `Plugins` → `Updates`, or upload the new ZIP the way you installed the old one.

Database changes are applied for you. Version 3 uses database version `37`, and it is applied the first time the admin loads. There is no script to run and no manual database step.

Your shop URLs are rebuilt at the same time, so nothing needs saving under `Settings` → `Permalinks`. If a shop page does return a 404 later — usually on a site with an unusual permalink setup — open that screen and click `Save Changes` once.

### Step 2 — Initialize the cashback ledger

After the update, a yellow **Initialize cashback ledger** box appears at the top of every Cashback Tracker admin page. Nothing is recorded in the ledger until you complete it, so do this first.

It asks two things.

#### Site currency

Every piece of cashback, from every network, is converted into this currency and stored in it.

{% hint style="danger" %}
**Choose carefully — this cannot be meaningfully changed later.** Balances are stored as converted amounts, so changing the site currency afterwards does not re-convert your history; it just relabels it. Pick the currency you actually pay your members in.
{% endhint %}

#### What to do with your existing order history

Two options, and the right one depends on whether your members have already been rewarded for those orders.

* **Treat historical approved cashback as already paid out** — the default, and the right answer for almost every existing site. Your order history stays visible, but it does not create a balance anyone can withdraw.
* **Carry historical approved cashback as available balance** — every approved order in your history becomes real, requestable money. Only choose this if your members have never been paid or rewarded for those orders in any form.

{% hint style="danger" %}
**If your site used myCred to reward cashback, you must choose the first option.** Your members already received those rewards as points. Carrying the same history into the ledger means the site owes them twice, and every one of those balances is immediately withdrawable.
{% endhint %}

When you submit the form, the backfill runs in the background. On a large site it takes a while. Live ledger recording starts only once it finishes, so give it time before you judge whether the numbers look right.

### Step 3 — Check your shop listings

The shop card was redesigned in version 3. `[cashback-shops]` grids now draw the new directory card.

* If your theme contains a copy of the old template, it keeps rendering your version. Nothing changes, and nothing breaks.
* If you only added CSS for `.cbtrkr_grid_item`, you will see the new design and some of your CSS will no longer match. Compare it against [Colours and CSS](/putting-it-on-your-pages/colors-and-css.md).

### What you lose

**Cashback no longer becomes spendable myCred points automatically.** In version 2, an approved order could be mirrored into a myCred points balance, and members spent points. Version 3 accounts for cashback in the ledger and nowhere else.

* Points your members already hold stay in myCred and remain spendable there. Cashback Tracker simply stops adding to them.
* There is nothing to migrate and nothing to reconcile. The two systems no longer talk about money.
* myCred still works, as gamification — see [myCred](/integrations/mycred.md).

If paying cashback in points was central to how your site worked, plan the switch with your members before you upgrade, not after.

### After the upgrade

Work down this list before you announce anything:

* The ledger backfill has finished, and the yellow box is gone.
* A shop page opens at its normal URL.
* The shop archive and a shop-category page both open.
* Your networks still show as connected under `Cashback Tracker` → `Networks`.
* A member's account page loads, and the balance shown is the one you expected from the mode you chose.
* A test click still reaches the network with the sub ID attached.
* Coupons still appear where they used to.

If a balance looks wrong, stop and check which backfill mode you chose before making any manual adjustment.