Applications and approvals
Triage athlete applications, set net commission, and approve or decline. Approval signs the insertion order and creates the tracking link.
Approve the athletes you want, decline the rest
Every athlete who applies lands in your applications queue. You review each one and either approve or decline. Approval is what creates the working relationship: it sets the commission, signs an insertion order, and creates the athlete's tracking link. Nothing is shared with an athlete until you approve.
Approval and acceptance both have to happen. The athlete applies, you approve, and the relationship is live. This is a two-way veto: you choose who promotes your brand, and the athlete chooses which brands they back. Neither side is auto-enrolled. See the athlete's view of applying for the other side of this.
Triage the queue
Open the applications queue from your brand dashboard. Each row shows what you need to decide:
- Athlete name and profile - their bio, audience, and the brands they already back.
- Click quality score - a sortable 0 to 10 signal from how their past traffic converts. You sort by it; it is never a gate and never an automatic clawback. A high score never auto-approves; a low score never auto-declines.
- How they applied - by invite, by browsing your program, or off-platform.
- Applied date - so the oldest applications do not sit waiting.
Sort by click quality score to put your strongest fits on top, then work down the list. Fit over follower count is the rule: a smaller athlete who genuinely uses your products is worth more than a large account that does not.
Curated and verified
Every athlete is identity-verified through Stripe Connect KYC and LLM-quality-scored before they reach your queue. Harmonia and Stripe never expose an athlete's SSN or bank details to you or anyone else.
Set net commission at approval
The program sets a default commission - a flat dollar amount or a flat percent you chose when you launched it. On the approval screen you can confirm that default or set a different net commission for this one athlete.
The number you confirm is the net commission: what the athlete earns, in full. The 20% platform fee is billed to you on top, never deducted from the athlete. For example, if you set $50 per sale:
$50athlete keeps, in full $1020% platform fee, billed to you $60your total cost per sale| You set net commission | Athlete receives | Platform fee (20%, on top) | Your total cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| $40 | $40 | $8 | $48 |
| $50 | $50 | $10 | $60 |
| 10% of a $200 order | $20 | $4 | $24 |
The fee is charged only when an athlete drives a real attributed sale. For the full fee model and how flat-$ and flat-% compare, see setting commission for a program.
What approval generates
When you approve, three things happen at once:
- An insertion order (EIO) is signed. A PDF records the brand, athlete, program, the net commission, and the attribution and refund windows, dated to the day you approve. It is the contractual record of the terms, attached to the approval email and saved to the application. See electronic insertion orders.
- The tracking link is created. The athlete gets one tracking link for your program - per relationship, not per product. Attribution is first-party and server-side through your Shopify store, so there is no discount code for the customer to enter.
- Both sides are emailed. The athlete gets their link and the signed EIO; you get a copy for your records.
Changing terms later
The EIO regenerates if the commission changes or the athlete is re-approved to a new program, so the signed record always matches the live terms.
Decline an application
Declining is a normal part of curation. Select decline, and the athlete gets a short, neutral message. You can add a reason, which helps the athlete understand the fit.
A decline is a brand decision for right now, not a permanent block. As your program changes or the athlete's profile grows, they can apply again. We never use guilt or false hope in the message either way.
Resend an invite
If you invited an athlete directly and their invite expired before they signed up, you can resend it. Open the invite in your applications tools and select resend. This issues a fresh email-bound invite with a new 30-day window. The original link stops working once a new one is sent.
Invites are single-use and time-limited
Each invite is bound to one email address and expires 30 days after it is sent. Resend rather than forwarding an old link - a forwarded or expired link will not let the athlete sign up.
FAQ
What happens when I approve an application?
Approval generates and signs an electronic insertion order (EIO) recording the commission and the attribution and refund windows, creates the athlete's per-program tracking link, and emails both. The athlete keeps the full commission you set; the 20% platform fee is billed to you on top, never deducted from the athlete.
Can I decline without notifying the athlete?
No. Declining always sends a short, neutral message so the athlete is not left waiting. You can add a reason. A decline is not permanent: the athlete can apply again as your program or their profile changes.
Can I set a custom commission per athlete at approval?
Yes. The program sets the default commission, and you can adjust the net commission for an individual athlete on the approval screen. The amount you confirm is what that athlete earns, in full, and what the signed EIO records.