This article explains how Buzzbassador receives order data from Shopify, calculates commission, and handles refunds.
Overview of the process
A sale is attributed to a member through one of Buzzbassador's five attribution methods (referral code, referral code link, UTM-only link, UTM link with auto-applied code, or BuzzLink).
Shopify sends Buzzbassador the order data in real time.
Buzzbassador identifies the eligible commission amount based on your program settings.
Commission is calculated: eligible amount × commission rate.
If the order is refunded or updated before the commission is paid or declined, Buzzbassador updates the commission to reflect the change.
Step 1: Shopify passes order data
For every order attributed to a member, Shopify sends Buzzbassador the following in real time:
Order status: Paid, Partially Refunded, or Refunded.
Total items price: the cost of items only, before discounts, taxes, or shipping.
Discount code used (if any): the member's referral code, an auto-applied code from an affiliate link, or a BuzzLinks code.
Total discounts: amount deducted by the code.
Total shipping.
Total taxes.
Order total: the final amount paid by the customer.
Not every attributed order has a discount code. UTM-only links attribute sales via the tracking cookie, with no code applied at checkout, so the order data Shopify sends will not include a discount code for those orders. The commission calculation still works the same way; the eligible amount just uses the items price without any code-based discount to subtract.
Notes:
"Items price" and "subtotal" are not the same thing. Shopify's subtotal factors in discounts and sometimes included taxes. Buzzbassador uses the items price (pre-discount, pre-tax), which Shopify passes on the backend but doesn't display as its own line item in the admin.
You can reverse-engineer it: take the subtotal, add back discounts, and subtract any included taxes.
In some cases (like California state tax), tax is already included in the items price and should not be added again.
Step 2: Determine the eligible commission amount
Buzzbassador checks your program settings to determine which parts of the order count toward commission.
Example A, shipping and taxes included, discounts excluded:
Items price − Discounts + Taxes + Shipping = Eligible amount
Example B, discounts included, shipping and taxes excluded:
Items price = Eligible amount (discounts are not subtracted because your setting includes them; taxes and shipping are not added because your setting excludes them)
If you have multiple programs with different commission settings, each order is sorted into the correct program and the appropriate settings are applied on an order-by-order basis.
Step 3: Calculate the commission
Commission amount = Eligible amount × Commission rate
Example (10% commission rate): $44.75 eligible amount × 10% = $4.48 commission
Commission is calculated as soon as the order comes in. It can still be updated if the order changes (see Step 4).
If the member's program has rewards turned off, the order is still tracked and attributed to the member, but a $0 reward is created and automatically declined. No commission is generated.
Step 4: Refunds and order updates
If an order is refunded or partially refunded before the commission is paid, marked as paid, or declined, Buzzbassador automatically recalculates the commission using the updated order total.
Important: when refunds don't update in Buzzbassador.
In some cases, a refund won't trigger a commission update. This happens when the refund was processed via a third-party app or manually (outside Shopify's standard refund flow). If the refund doesn't correctly update the order status and "Net payment" in Shopify, Shopify won't send Buzzbassador any update, so the commission stays as-is.
For a refund to update a commission, two things must happen in Shopify:
(1) the order status must update (e.g. to "Partially Refunded" or "Refunded") and
(2) the "Net payment" must update to reflect the refund.
Always process refunds through Shopify's native refund flow.
Why Shopify reports may not match Buzzbassador totals
Merchants sometimes compare their Shopify "Sales by Discount" report to Buzzbassador totals and find the numbers don't match. This is expected for several reasons:
Shopify reports can have a 12-72 hour delay; Buzzbassador receives orders in real time (max 1 hour delay).
Shopify reports don't account for the specific commission settings, tax handling, and refund timing Buzzbassador uses per order.
Shopify's "Total Refunds" includes all refunds; Buzzbassador only adjusts for refunds that happened before a commission was paid or declined.
Shopify's "Total Net Sales" excludes discounts, shipping, and taxes, but those may have been factored into your commission calculation.
Shopify's "Sales by Discount" report only includes orders where a discount code was used. Buzzbassador also tracks orders attributed via UTM cookie alone (no code on the order), so Buzzbassador totals may include orders that never appear in Shopify's discount report.
This doesn't indicate an error. Buzzbassador calculates commission per individual order, and the only reliable way to audit is order by order.
How to audit commissions manually
Identify the date range of the commissions you want to audit.
Export your Shopify orders for that date range, including: order date, order number, order status, items price, discount code, discount amount, tax amount, tax type (included vs. added), shipping, and refund date and amount if applicable.
For code-based attribution (referral codes, referral code links, UTM links with auto-applied codes, BuzzLinks): filter to orders where a member's code was used. For UTM-only attribution there's no code on the order, so use Buzzbassador's Orders page to see those.
Sort by discount code so each member's orders are grouped.
Open the member's profile in Buzzbassador.
Go order by order: apply your program's commission settings to each order and compare your result to what Buzzbassador shows.
Notes:
Commissions that have already been paid or marked as paid will not be updated by subsequent refunds.
If you believe a commission was calculated incorrectly, reach out to support with the order number.
If a member's program has rewards turned off, all of their attributed orders generate $0 declined rewards instead of payable commissions. Turning rewards back on later does not retroactively update those declined rewards; if you want to credit a member for an order placed during a no-rewards period, you'll need to pay them manually outside of Buzzbassador or contact support to adjust the amount on the backend.