MerchantStandard AffiliateVIP PartnerOverview

Payments and billing

Compare free access and monthly or yearly merchant subscriptions, then understand Shopify billing and payout workflows across both sides of the app.

Last reviewed: Sep 15, 2026UI path: Merchant sidebar → Plans & billing, Payouts, or Settings → Payout Settings; Partner dashboard → Payout Settings

Go here if...

I have a PayPal payout questionFind answers about merchant credentials, Payouts access, webhook setup, partner confirmation, schedules, statuses, and troubleshooting.I have a Stripe payout questionFind quick answers about merchant setup, partner onboarding, payout eligibility, schedules, statuses, security, and troubleshooting.I am a merchant choosing or changing a planCompare free access and paid plans, choose monthly or yearly billing, and review limits, trial rules, and Shopify approval.I am a merchant configuring payout readinessOpen the merchant settings page for gateways, readiness, and default thresholds.I am a merchant reviewing requestsOpen the merchant payout operations page for queue review and payout records.I am a partner requesting payoutOpen the partner payout page for account linking, activation, threshold overrides, and request history.

When to use this page

You need to choose free access or a monthly or yearly merchant subscription and understand Shopify billing.
You need the shared payout explanation before opening role-specific payout pages.
You are trying to understand thresholds, request eligibility, readiness, or approval flow.

Before you start

Complete the payout setup that matches your role.

Top tasks

PayPal payout questions and answersReview PayPal setup and payout answers for merchants and partners.Stripe payout questions and answersReview production-focused answers for merchants and partners.Subscription plans and billingCompare free access and monthly or yearly plans, then manage the live subscription through Shopify.Merchant payout settingsConnect gateways and verify automated payout readiness.Merchant payout operationsApprove or decline requests and review history.Partner payout settings and historyLink your own payout account and request payout when eligible.

Success looks like

A merchant can find the live plan, monthly and yearly pricing, limits, and subscription controls.
A merchant can tell whether setup belongs in Settings or the payout queue.
A partner can tell whether the blocker is account linking, active method, threshold, or pending status.

Where to find it

Merchant sidebar → Plans & billing, Payouts, or Settings → Payout Settings; Partner dashboard → Payout Settings

For current connection and destination examples, see the illustrated PayPal guide.

Steps

Merchants looking for Affilyn plan pricing or subscription controls should start with Subscription plans and billing. Paid plans offer a Monthly / Yearly choice: monthly renews every 30 days, while yearly is approved as one annual Shopify payment with a plan-specific discount. The payout steps below cover how merchants and partners move earned commissions; they are separate from the merchant's recurring Affilyn app subscription.

Merchant payout methods and separate Stripe and PayPal provider account cards — Merchant payout providers and availabilityCurrent provider and availability controls with fictional Sandbox PayPal readiness, disconnected Stripe and Manual / Other enabled. No provider or availability setting was changed.

View full-size image: Merchant payout providers and availability

Partner payout summary, threshold notice and destination setup cards — Partner payout settings and balanceCurrent partner payout screen with fictional balances, Manual / Other preferred, and PayPal and Stripe destinations not configured. No payout or preference was changed.

View full-size image: Partner payout settings and balance

Payout request queueA fictional USD 125 PayPal request awaiting merchant review. Status, method, amount and review actions are shown; no request was approved, rejected or paid.

View full-size image: Payout request queue

Payout History table with a fictional completed manual payment and status, method and search filters — Manual payout history exampleCurrent history filters and a fictional USD 50 completed manual record for Alex Morgan. The table scrolls horizontally to reveal later dates and actions. DEMO-TRANSFER-001 is a sample reference; no money moved and no payout record was created.

View full-size image: Manual payout history example

Manual payout form with partner lookup, payment details and recording action — Record a manual payoutCurrent manual-payout form before partner selection, with empty amount, reference, notes and proof fields. Neither Record Manual Payout nor Review and queue payout was used. No payment or financial record was created.

View full-size image: Record a manual payout

Merchants should confirm payout readiness in Settings → Payout Settings before handling requests.
Partners should open Payout Settings in the correct store, link the needed payout account, and only then choose the active payout method.
Partners can request payout only when the active method is automated, the linked account is verified, the threshold is met, and no earlier request is in flight.
Merchants review requests in Request Queue, approve or decline them, and use Payout History or Record Manual Payout as needed.
Both sides can review recent request and payout history afterward.

Settings explained

Merchant payout settings define store policy and method availability. Merchant-owned PayPal Business and Stripe accounts support automated execution after provider validation; Manual / Other records payments sent outside Affilyn.
Partner payout settings separate destination linking, confirmation/verification, and preferred-method selection. Saving a PayPal email sends a one-time 24-hour confirmation link; it cannot become preferred until confirmed.
Thresholds can come from the shop default or a creator override. The current override is stored on the creator profile and therefore applies across store contexts rather than being truly store-specific.
Manual / Other and None (disable payout requests) are valid partner states, but they do not allow automated payout-request submission.
Test mode notices appear only when the UI is running in test mode. Test execution uses the provider sandbox associated with the configured merchant credentials and remains isolated from live credentials.
Reservations are created transactionally when a request is submitted, tying the exact eligible commission rows to that request and preventing duplicate requests for the same balance.
Lifecycle normally progresses from pending to under review, approved, processing, and paid; it may instead become rejected, cancelled, failed, or reversed.

Example

A partner confirms a PayPal payout email for one store, marks PayPal preferred, waits until the threshold and holding period pass, submits a payout request, and then waits for merchant approval and provider-confirmed settlement.

Tips and limits

Requesting payout too early will fail if account linking, verification, threshold, or pending-request rules are not satisfied.
Partners can cancel a pending or under-review request, which releases its reserved balance.
Merchant payout approval should always happen after gateway readiness and fraud checks.
If one store shows different payout options than another, trust the current store context first before assuming something is broken.
Merchant app charges and partner payouts are separate workflows. Use Plans & billing for the Affilyn subscription and the payout pages for commission payments.