Net-30 / Net-60

What is Net-30 / Net-60?

Net-30 and Net-60 are payment terms indicating that commissions approved in a given month are paid 30 or 60 days after the end of that month — creating a structured delay between when you earn a commission and when it lands in your account.

Net-30 / Net-60 In Practice

Net-30 means commissions approved in January are paid on or around March 1st — 30 days after the end of January. Net-60 means those same January commissions are paid on or around March 31st. This delay exists for two reasons: to allow the merchant time to process refunds and chargebacks before paying commissions on sales that may be reversed, and to create a predictable, manageable payout schedule for the merchant. For affiliates managing cash flow across multiple programs, payment terms matter as much as commission rates. A $200 commission earned in January that pays out in early February (net-30, standard monthly) is meaningfully different from a $200 commission that pays out in late March (net-60, end-of-month processing). Most major affiliate networks process monthly payments on a defined date — CJ Affiliate within 20 days of month end, Impact on a defined schedule per program, PartnerStack around the 13th of the following month. Self-hosted programs with net-60 or longer terms create the largest cash flow gap and warrant the most scrutiny on payment reliability before promoting heavily.

Example of Net-30 / Net-60