COD Affiliate Documentation
Everything you need to set up and run an affiliate program built for Cash on Delivery.
Overview
COD Affiliate is an affiliate, influencer and referral program manager built for Cash on Delivery Shopify stores. You create affiliates, share their tracking links, and the app attributes orders and confirms commissions on delivery — so returned and cancelled orders are never paid. It is merchant-facing: you manage everything from your Shopify admin.
Create affiliates with custom commission rates and statuses.
Unique ?ref links with first-party cookie attribution.
Approve or decline in bulk, with commissions confirmed on delivery.
One-click Theme App Extension tracking, no code.
Getting started
You can be live in a few minutes. Install the app, turn on tracking, create an affiliate and share their link.
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1
Install the app
Add COD Affiliate from the Shopify App Store and open it from your Shopify admin. The 14-day free trial needs no credit card.
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2
Turn on storefront tracking
In the theme editor, enable the "Affiliate Tracking" app block so referral visits are recorded across your store.
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3
Set your defaults
In settings, choose a default commission, attribution window, approval rule and tracking parameter.
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4
Create your first affiliate
Add an affiliate to generate their unique tracking link, then copy it and share it.
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5
Place a test order
Visit your store through the affiliate's link and place a test order to confirm it is attributed correctly.
Creating affiliates
An affiliate can be an influencer, partner, reseller or loyal customer. Each one gets a unique link, its own commission rate and a status you control.
Add the affiliate's name and contact details; the app generates their unique tracking link automatically.
Use your default commission, or set a custom percentage or flat amount for this specific affiliate.
Set Approved, Pending or Disabled to control whether their link earns commissions.
Give a partner a working link that records orders but never earns a commission.
The affiliate list shows live stats — conversions, pending and earned — with a one-click button to copy each tracking link.
Tracking links & cookies
Every affiliate gets a clean link with a tracking parameter. A first-party cookie remembers the referral so the order is attributed even on a Cash on Delivery checkout.
Links look like yourstore.com/?ref=jessica. You can rename the parameter from the default "ref" in settings.
When a visitor clicks the link, a first-party cookie is set so the referral survives until they order.
Copy any affiliate's link straight from the affiliate list, ready to share.
Sessions, page views and events are tracked automatically once the storefront block is on.
Tracking links work anywhere you share them — social bios, WhatsApp, email or paid ads.
Commissions & approval
Commissions are confirmed on delivery by default, so you only pay for orders that actually arrive. Review and clear them from the Pending Commissions queue.
Set a percentage of the order or a flat amount, applied as your default or overridden per affiliate.
Choose when a commission is created: on order, on payment, on delivery or manual.
See every commission awaiting your decision in one place after delivery.
Approve or decline many commissions at once, and add a reason when you decline.
Payouts are manual and handled outside the app — the queue tells you exactly what each affiliate has earned so you can pay them your own way.
Attribution
Attribution decides which affiliate gets credit for an order. Configure the window and the model, and the app matches orders through several signals.
Credit an affiliate for orders placed within 1 to 365 days of the click (default 60).
Choose first-touch, last-touch, linear or position-based crediting.
Orders are matched by checkout token, then cart token, then hashed email, then cookie.
Include or exclude test orders so your stats stay clean.
Pick the window and model that fit your sales cycle — longer windows suit considered purchases, shorter ones suit impulse buys.
Storefront setup
Tracking runs on your storefront through a one-click theme block, with an automatic fallback so it works on any theme.
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1
Open the theme editor
From your Shopify admin, open Online Store and edit your live theme.
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2
Enable the tracking block
Add and enable the "Affiliate Tracking" app block — no code required.
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3
Rely on the ScriptTag fallback
On themes that do not support app blocks, a ScriptTag keeps tracking working automatically.
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4
Verify a referral
Open your store through a test ?ref link and confirm the visit and order are recorded.
Troubleshooting & FAQ
Quick answers to the most common setup questions.
Confirm the "Affiliate Tracking" block is enabled on your live theme and that you visited through a valid ?ref link within the attribution window.
If your trigger is set to on delivery, the commission only confirms once the order is marked delivered — returned or cancelled orders never confirm.
Check the custom tracking parameter in settings; links must use the same parameter name (default "ref").
Contact our support team from the link in the sidebar — we typically reply within minutes.
Launch an affiliate program COD can trust
Everything you need to set up and run an affiliate program built for Cash on Delivery.
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