> 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/what-changed-in-v3.md). # What changed in version 3 A summary of what is different from version 2. For the upgrade itself, follow [Upgrading from version 2](/start-here/upgrading-from-v2.md). Version 2 tracked cashback. Version 3 runs a cashback programme: it keeps the balances, handles payout requests, gives members somewhere to log in and look, and pays referral bonuses. Most of what follows exists because of that shift. ### Read this first #### The myCred money mirror is gone Version 2 could mirror approved cashback into myCred points, and members spent points. Version 3 accounts for cashback in its own ledger and nowhere else. * Points your members already hold stay in myCred and remain spendable there. Cashback Tracker stops adding to them. * There is nothing to migrate and nothing to reconcile. * myCred and GamiPress are now **gamification only** — badges, ranks and engagement rewards, with amounts you set yourself. #### The ledger asks you two permanent questions On the first admin page load after the upgrade you choose a site currency and what to do with your existing order history. Both are difficult to undo, and a site that previously paid in myCred points must answer the second one a particular way. [Upgrading from version 2](/start-here/upgrading-from-v2.md) covers both. #### The shop card was redesigned `[cashback-shops]` grids draw the new directory card. Themes with their own copy of the template are unaffected; sites that only styled `.cbtrkr_grid_item` will see the change. ### New in version 3 **Money and members** * A **cashback ledger** — an append-only record of every change to every member's balance. * **Pending, available and paid** balances, with a configurable holding period between approval and availability. * A **member area** with a dashboard, cashback history, payouts and referrals. * **Payout requests**, with payout methods you define and a minimum you set. You still send the money yourself; the plugin records it. * **Referrals** — bonuses for both sides, an ongoing share of a referred member's cashback, and qualifying rules that stop people farming the bonus. * **Manual adjustments**, for goodwill payments and corrections. **Networks** * **Postbacks** — networks can notify your site the moment a sale happens instead of waiting for the next import. * A **custom network builder**, for networks with no built-in module. * **Shop status policies** — decide what happens to a shop page when a shop is paused, rejects you, or disappears from the network's list. See [When a shop is paused, rejected or disappears](/affiliate-networks/shop-status-policies.md). * **Visible shop loading.** Switching a network on starts loading its shops straight away, and the Networks screen shows how far it has got, what it last did, and anything it could not read. See [Loading shops from a network](/affiliate-networks/loading-shops.md). **Storefront** * A **shop directory** with archive pages, category archives, search, filters and paging. * **Ratings and reviews** on shop pages. * **Blocks** for the block editor: shops, coupons, shop search and member balance. * A **rebuilt admin**, with an overview dashboard and screens for orders, payouts, networks, coupons, referrals and members. **Content** * **AI writing** for shop descriptions, meta descriptions, SEO titles, taglines and coupon text, using your own API key. Nothing is charged per word by us. * **Bulk generation** across many shops or coupons at once, with a cap you set. * **SEO metadata** that cooperates with Yoast SEO, Rank Math, SEOPress and The SEO Framework. Their fields always win; Cashback Tracker reads them and never writes over them. * **Translations** — the admin is translatable again, which it was not for part of version 2's life. ### Changed * **Coupons** — import, storage and display were all reworked. An automatic import now removes coupons the network has stopped sending; coupons you added by hand are never touched. See [Importing coupons](/coupons/importing-coupons.md). * **Settings** are split across `General`, `Coupons`, `Member area` and `AI`, plus one page per network. * **Currency** — all cashback is converted into a single site currency, with manual exchange-rate overrides if you need them. * **One word for a shop.** The admin used to say "advertiser" in some places and "shop" in others for the same thing. It now says shop everywhere. Two menus were renamed: **Cashback shops** is now **Shops**, and **Advertisers** is now **Shop catalog**. Nothing moved and no data changed — see [The Shop catalog](/shops-and-cashback-rates/shop-catalog.md). * **Shop lists load in the background** in small batches instead of one long request, so a large network no longer times out part-way through, and a refresh that is interrupted picks up where it left off. A refresh that fails to read some shops now leaves your shop list alone rather than treating those shops as gone. * **A warning when scheduled tasks stop running.** If your site's scheduler breaks, nothing updates in the background and previously the only sign was data going stale. See [Scheduled tasks](/running-your-site/scheduled-tasks.md). ### Requirements Version 3 needs **WordPress 7.0 or later** and **PHP 8.0 or later**. Check both before upgrading.