The terms, in plain English.
Every word an affiliate program uses, defined the way we use it: clear, specific, and grounded in how Harmonia actually works.
1099-NEC
The US year-end tax form for non-employee earnings, issued automatically by Stripe for athletes who clear the IRS threshold.
Accrual (pending)
A commission that has been earned but is waiting for the brand's invoice to clear before it can be paid.
Affiliate marketing
A way for brands to pay partners only when they actually drive a sale: no upfront ad spend, all performance.
Athlete
A vetted partner on Harmonia who promotes a brand and earns commission on the sales they drive.
Attribution window
How long after a click a purchase still counts for the athlete, set per program by the brand.
Brand
The business running a program on Harmonia: the only paying party, since everyone else earns from the brand's commission.
Cart attribute
The hidden tag Harmonia writes into a Shopify cart (the ?ref= value) that ties a purchase back to the athlete who referred it, with no discount code needed.
Click
A tap on an athlete's tracked link, logged by Harmonia's tracking edge.
Click quality score
A health signal Harmonia computes on an athlete's traffic (IP and fingerprint diversity, bot health, conversion sanity); a sortable signal for brands, never an automatic clawback.
Commission
What an athlete earns per sale, set by the brand as a flat dollar amount or a flat percentage.
Conversion
A completed, attributed purchase that earns commission.
Conversion rate
The share of clicks that turn into attributed sales.
December 15 force-pay
A year-end guarantee that any positive balance is paid by December 15, even if it is under the $25 floor.
Eligible
A commission that has passed its windows and is cleared to be funded by the brand's invoice.
EPC (earnings per click)
Average earnings per click on a tracked link: a quick read on how well your audience converts.
First-party attribution
Crediting a sale using the brand's own store data instead of third-party cookies, so it keeps working when cookies do not.
Funded
A commission backed by a brand invoice that has cleared, ready to pay out.
Insertion order (EIO)
The signed agreement that locks a program's terms (commission, windows) when a brand approves an athlete.
Invoice (brand billing)
The monthly Stripe bill a brand pays, which funds athlete payouts; athletes are paid only after it clears.
KYC (identity verification)
The Stripe-hosted ID check an athlete completes before their first payout; required once, not per brand.
Net commission
The full commission the athlete keeps; Harmonia's fee is added on top and billed to the brand, never deducted from this.
Paid
A commission that has been transferred to the athlete's bank via Stripe.
Payout
A transfer of funded earnings to an athlete's bank account through Stripe Connect.
Payout floor ($25 minimum)
The smallest balance that triggers a payout; below it, earnings roll forward until they clear $25 or hit the year-end force-pay.
Platform fee
Harmonia's 20% fee, charged to the brand in addition to the athlete's commission; it never reduces athlete earnings.
Program
A single brand's offer to athletes: the commission amount, the terms, and the tracked link, all in one place.
Refund window
The separate period during which a refunded order can reverse a commission, distinct from the attribution window.
Reversal (clawback)
A commission removed, or proportionally reduced, because the underlying order was refunded.
Server-side attribution
The sale is matched on our server when Shopify fires the orders/create webhook, not in the shopper's browser, so it is accurate even with ad blockers or iOS tracking limits.
Stripe Connect Express
The payout rail that verifies an athlete's identity and bank, handles payouts, and issues year-end tax forms; Harmonia never touches your SSN or bank details.
Tracked link
One link per brand relationship that credits every sale you drive: no per-product setup, no codes to manage.
Two-way veto (curated marketplace)
Both sides approve: a brand accepts an athlete and an athlete accepts the brand, with no open mass-marketplace.
Verified partner
A signal that an athlete has completed identity verification and met Harmonia's quality bar.