Why is my commission still pending
Every order moves through the same visible ladder: registered, in review, approved, payable, and eventually paid. Pending simply means an order has not reached the end of that ladder yet, not that anything is wrong.
A registered order is evidence that a click or code linked it to a creator. Review is where the brand's return window and any exclusion rules apply. Approved means the order survived that review; what happens after that is a payout question, not an order-state one. See Payouts for Creators for the ladder from approved to paid.
Why the brand's return window holds commission
A brand sets a return window on every campaign, 14 days is the starting value we suggest, and commission on an order stays in review for that entire period. The window exists because a product can still come back after purchase, and commission should reflect an order that actually stuck.
An order can attribute to a creator on day one and still spend the full return window in review; Attribution Windows Explained separates those two clocks in detail. Payouts for Creators picks up once review clears.
Chargebacks and exclusions on your dashboard
When an order is returned, disputed, or falls outside a campaign's rules, its state on the dashboard changes to reflect that: excluded orders show why they do not count, and a return during the review window takes the order out of the payable path before it ever reaches your balance. Once a commission has been approved it stays yours: a later return is settled with the brand, not clawed back from you, and any exception follows the published reviewed process.
Exclusions are set at the campaign level, for example certain products or discount codes, and apply the same way to every order regardless of which creator sent it. Read them on the campaign page before you apply; see Joining Campaigns.
Late refunds and the exception process
Occasionally a refund or a disputed charge lands after commission has already been approved. Your side of it does not move: the approved amount stays yours. What the platform opens instead is a reviewed recovery case on the brand's side, so the money is settled between the brand and ThreeStove rather than taken back out of your earnings.
The same process applies however the order originated, so a legitimate late return is handled consistently.
Why review protects both sides
Review exists for both roles at once. It stops a brand from paying commission on an order that never actually completes, and it protects a creator's legitimate sales from being second-guessed once they clear the same published rules everyone else's orders go through.
Neither side gets a shortcut: an order is reviewed against the campaign's own terms, not a case-by-case judgment call.
How long does review take?
As long as the campaign's return window runs, plus the time review itself takes. There is no fixed number that applies to every campaign; check the return window on the specific campaign rather than assuming a platform-wide default.
Can an approved commission be reversed?
Not on your side. Once a commission is approved your earning is final: a later refund or a confirmed chargeback does not reverse it and never comes out of your balance. It opens a recovery case owned by the brand instead, and if that is never collected the platform absorbs the loss rather than passing it back to you. Before approval it works differently: a return while the order is still in review takes it out of the payable path before it reaches your balance.
Payouts for Creators
From approved sale to money in your account: states, timing, self-billing, and boosts.
Attribution Windows Explained
How long a tracked link counts, what evidence an order needs, and how the attribution window differs from the return window.
Billing, Balance and VAT
Top-ups, escrow, country-aware VAT, and the monthly invoice, explained honestly.