What brands pay: commission pool + 20% fee | Harmonia

An affiliate program on Harmonia costs two things: the commission pool your athletes earned, plus a 20% platform fee on top. We bill both on one monthly Stripe invoice, net-30, on the 1st of the following month. You set the commission per program, a flat dollar amount or a flat percentage. The athlete receives the full commission. The 20% fee is added to your bill, never taken out of what the athlete earns. There is no subscription, no setup fee, and no commission bond, and the fee is charged only when an athlete drives a real attributed sale.

This guide shows the exact math, what lands on your invoice, when you pay, and the two billing rules worth knowing up front: the in-flight commission cap and the reversal-only-month skip.

The short version

• You set the commission. A flat dollar amount or a flat percentage, per program. Say $50 per sale.
• The athlete keeps 100% of it. Set $50 and the athlete receives the full $50.
• The 20% fee is on top. We add a 20% platform fee, billed to you. On a $50 commission that is $10.
• Your total cost is commission plus 20%. A $50 commission costs you $60: the $50 the athlete earns plus the $10 fee.
• Billed monthly via Stripe. One invoice on the 1st of the following month, net-30: the commission pool plus the 20% fee.
• Charged only on real sales. The fee applies only when an athlete drives an attributed sale.

The per-sale math

You decide the commission when you launch a program. The fee follows from it. Here is one attributed sale at a $50 commission:

$50athlete receives, in full $1020% platform fee, billed to you $60your total cost for the sale

The same math holds whether you set a flat dollar amount or a flat percentage. If you set 10% of order value on a $400 order, the commission is $40, the fee is $8, and your total cost is $48. The athlete receives the full $40.

For the line-by-line fee breakdown, see how our fee works and the platform fee glossary entry.

The monthly invoice: what's on it and when

We invoice you monthly through Stripe Billing, net-30, on the 1st of the following month. The invoice has two parts:

• Commission pool. The total commission your athletes earned from attributed sales that month.
• 20% platform fee. Twenty percent of that commission pool, added on top.

So a month with $5,000 in earned commission produces an invoice of $6,000: the $5,000 commission pool plus a $1,000 fee.

There is no subscription, no setup fee, and no commission bond. You pay for results, on net-30 terms, once a month.

Athletes are paid after the invoice clears

Commission moves through a few states before it reaches an athlete. The short version: athletes are paid only after your invoice clears.

1. Attributed. An athlete drives a sale, credited server-side with no discount code.
2. Eligible. The commission settles past the refund window and is owed.
3. Invoiced. It lands on your monthly Stripe invoice with the 20% fee on top.
4. Funded. Your invoice clears, and the commission is ready to pay out.
5. Paid. Payouts run automatically through Stripe Connect, daily once your invoice clears, with a $25 minimum. Balances under that roll forward. On December 15 we pay out any remaining balance regardless of the minimum.

For the full billing flow and how to update payment details, see invoicing and billing.

Two billing rules worth knowing

The in-flight commission cap

Each brand has a per-brand cap on the commission that can be accrued but not yet invoiced at any one time. It bounds how much commission can stack up between invoices, so your in-flight exposure stays predictable.

The cap does not change what you owe. It is a guardrail, not a charge. If you expect a high-volume month and want the cap reviewed, reach out to support@harmonia.llc before you launch.

The reversal-only-month skip

A refund can reverse a commission, proportionally, during the refund window. If a billing month nets out to reversals only, with no new commission to bill, we skip the invoice for that month rather than send you a zero or negative bill.

How this fits a curated program

The cost model is the same whether you launch one program or several. You set each program's commission, the athlete keeps it in full, and you pay the commission pool plus 20% on one monthly invoice. To see the full setup path, from connecting Stripe to publishing, read running a curated affiliate program, or follow launch your affiliate program step by step.

FAQ

How much does it cost to run an affiliate program?

You set the commission per program, a flat dollar amount or a flat percentage. The athlete receives the full commission. We add a 20% platform fee on top, billed to you. We invoice you monthly via Stripe Billing, net-30, on the 1st of the following month: the commission your athletes earned plus the 20% fee. There is no subscription, no setup fee, and no commission bond. The fee is charged only when an athlete drives a real attributed sale.

Is the 20% fee taken from the athlete?

No. The 20% platform fee is billed to you, the brand, on top of the commission, never deducted from the athlete. If you set $50 per sale, the athlete receives the full $50 and you pay a separate $10 fee. The athlete keeps 100% of the commission you set.

When am I billed and what's on the invoice?

We invoice you monthly through Stripe Billing, net-30, on the 1st of the following month. The invoice has two parts: the commission pool your athletes earned that month, plus the 20% platform fee on top. Athletes are paid from the cleared commission once your invoice clears.

What is the in-flight commission cap?

Each brand has a per-brand cap on the commission that can be accrued but not yet invoiced at any one time. It is a guardrail that keeps your in-flight exposure bounded between invoices. It does not change what you owe; it limits how much can stack up before billing.

What happens if I don't pay the invoice?

Athletes are paid only after your invoice clears, so an unpaid invoice pauses payouts for that period. The eligible commission stays recorded and is paid once the invoice clears. Keep your Stripe billing details current so payment goes through on the net-30 terms.