What is a Validation Policy?

A Validation Policy (also referred to as ‘Cancellation Policy’) is set by the advertiser to provide information about when they will validate (or, approve) transactions that have been tracked through Webgains, and the terms for Validations/Commission Payout.

For example, a customer may have purchased 3 items in a transaction, but returned 2 of them within the returns window. The Validation Period allows the advertiser to adjust a tracked transaction to the updated order value, so that commission is only paid out for the item that the customer did not refund.

It is important to set a validation period long enough to have time to validate (approve or cancel) the transactions. Once the validations period passes, the transaction will auto-approve and the commission will be invoiced. For this reason, it’s important to set a sensible window for validating sales, and also ensuring that the transactions are being monitored.

Typically, the validation period is dependent on your company’s refund / return period and how long you need to process a return.

It is imperative that your publishers are aware of your validation policy so that they know when and what they are getting paid for. Validating your sales as quickly as possible allows your publishers to invest in your program and can incentive them to promote you over your competitors.   

Please also note that having a low cancellation rate is very important for publishers for long term partnerships. A shorter validations period will help incentivise publishers, as ultimately they will be receiving payment sooner for their transactions generated.

Within the Webgains platform commission set up, this is called a Recall Period. Learn more: How do I adjust my recall period?