Install Event Payments

Pay your affiliates a flat fee each time a user installs your app through their short code or insert link. This is separate from commission-based payments — install event payments reward affiliates for driving downloads, regardless of whether those users make a purchase.

Why Pay for Installs?

Install event payments are a powerful tool for growth campaigns:

Drive downloads — Incentivize affiliates to actively promote your app, not just wait for purchases
Reward top-of-funnel activity — Affiliates who drive installs are building your user base, even if conversions come later
Attract more affiliates — Guaranteed per-install payouts are appealing to creators who may not want to wait for commission revenue
Campaign flexibility — Run time-limited install campaigns (e.g. "earn $1 per install this month") to boost growth during key periods

How to Enable Install Event Payments

Go to Settings
Scroll to the Install Event Payments section
Toggle Pay Affiliates for Install Events to enabled

Once enabled, you'll see configuration options for short code installs and insert link installs.

Configuration

Short Code Install Payments

Set the flat fee paid to an affiliate each time a user installs your app via their short code:

Setting	Description
Payment Amount ($)	The dollar amount paid per install (e.g. $0.50)
Short Code Event Cap	Maximum number of paid events per affiliate. Leave empty for unlimited. Set to 1 to only pay for the first install.

Insert Link Install Payments

If your company uses Insert Links as your deep linking platform, you'll also see settings for insert link installs:

Setting	Description
Payment Amount ($)	The dollar amount paid per insert link install (e.g. $0.75)
Insert Link Event Cap	Maximum number of paid events per affiliate. Leave empty for unlimited. Set to 1 to only pay for the first install.

You can set different payment amounts for short codes and insert links, giving you flexibility based on the value of each channel.

Per-Affiliate Overrides

You can override the company-wide install payment settings for individual affiliates:

Go to Affiliates
Search for and select an affiliate
In the affiliate details panel, find the Install Payment Overrides section
Set custom payment amounts and/or event caps for that specific affiliate

Per-affiliate overrides take priority over your global settings. This is useful for:

Rewarding high-performing affiliates with higher per-install rates
Running exclusive campaigns with select partners
Setting tighter caps on affiliates you want to monitor more closely

To revert an affiliate back to company defaults, clear their override values.

Event Caps

Event caps limit how many install events are paid per affiliate. This is your primary tool for controlling costs and reducing fraud risk.

Examples:

Cap = 1 — Only the first install from each affiliate is paid. Good for one-time bonuses.
Cap = 10 — The first 10 installs are paid, then no more. Good for capped campaigns.
No cap (empty) — Every install is paid with no limit. Use with caution.

Each affiliate's event count is tracked independently. The event number is visible in the install payments transaction table.

Viewing Install Payment Transactions

As a Company Admin

When viewing an affiliate's details in the Affiliates section, you'll see an Install Payments tab showing:

Summary cards with total, paid, and pending amounts
A filterable transaction table with date, source type (Short Code or Insert Link), amount, event number, and payment status
Buttons to mark transactions as paid or pay via Stripe Connect

As an Affiliate

Affiliates can view their own install payment transactions in the Affiliate Dashboard. The Install Payments tab shows their transaction history in read-only mode with earnings totals included in their dashboard summary.

Processing Payments

Install payment transactions follow the same payment workflow as regular commission transactions:

Mark as Paid — For payments processed outside the platform
Pay via Stripe — Process payment directly through Stripe Connect if both company and affiliate have connected accounts

Install payment transactions count toward your free tier of 100 transactions. Subscribe to a paid plan for unlimited transactions.

Fraud Warning

Important: Affiliates can potentially generate their own install events. Since install events are triggered by app opens via a short code or insert link, a dishonest affiliate could repeatedly trigger installs to earn payouts.

How to protect yourself:

Use event caps — Set a cap of 1-10 to limit exposure per affiliate. This is the most effective safeguard.
Review transactions before paying — Check the install payments table for suspicious patterns (e.g. many installs in a short time period)
Start with low amounts — Begin with small per-install fees (e.g. $0.25) and increase once you trust the affiliate
Run time-limited campaigns — Instead of always-on install payments, enable them for specific promotional periods

Despite the fraud risk, install event payments remain valuable because they incentivize affiliates to actively promote your app. The key is using event caps and reasonable amounts to keep your exposure manageable.

Best Practices

Start with event caps — Set a cap of 1 or a small number while you evaluate the impact
Different rates for different channels — Short code installs and insert link installs can have different values to your business
Use overrides strategically — Give higher rates to proven affiliates, lower rates or tighter caps to new ones
Combine with commission — Install payments work alongside commission-based payments. An affiliate can earn both a per-install fee and ongoing commission on purchases.
Monitor regularly — Review install payment transactions in your affiliate search panel before processing payments