Run the cookie overlap, then cut over to one platform
After this lesson you can
Run both trackers for the old cookie window (30 to 60 days), connect Stripe on the first of a month so nothing is double paid, and decide deliberately whether a longer parallel test is worth the focus it costs.
Run the cookie overlap, then cut over to one platform
The cutover has two clocks: the cookie window, which decides how long both trackers run, and the first of the month, which decides when commissions switch platforms. Get both right and nothing is attributed twice or paid twice.
The cookie overlap
Clicks that happened before the move were never cookied by the new tracker. Someone who clicked an affiliate link three weeks ago and signs up tomorrow would land nowhere if the old tracker were switched off today. So both run in parallel for the length of the cookie window you had on the old platform: 30 days for most programs, sometimes 60.
The overlap is shorter in practice than it sounds. Most referred signups happen within a day of the click, nearly all within seven days, and the rest by fourteen. Mismatches decay fast. Put the date both trackers come off in the calendar now, at the end of the old cookie window plus a few days, and take the old one down on that date.
The first of the month
Connect Stripe on the first of a month. From that date, commissions are generated on the new platform. Commissions from earlier months are carried over by hand, and anything already paid in the old tool is marked as paid, so both sides reconcile and nothing is paid twice. Edge cases get a manual check. If you are not on Stripe, the same boundary applies through the API: payment data starts flowing to the new platform on the first, and the old tool stops generating commissions on the same date.
Running both for a while
Some companies keep both platforms running longer than the cookie window, to test the new one against the incumbent before committing. It works, and it is not ideal: two dashboards, two payout runs, and affiliates who are not sure where to look. If you do it, decide the end date before you start rather than letting the comparison drift. The overlap is for the cookie window, not for avoiding a decision.
What to do the week after
Two questions almost nobody asks after a migration, and everybody should: how many hours a week will you spend on recruitment from now on, and what will you pay affiliates upfront for specific work? A network produces inbound applications. Motivation stays your job. That is what Track 3 is about, and it is where this track hands you back to the timeline.
What to expect
Ballpark figures for this stage. Not promises: your trial length and how you recruit move them in both directions.
Want the band for your own program? Run the timeline calculator. Two minutes, no signup.
Key takeaways
- Both trackers run for the old cookie window, 30 days typical and sometimes 60. Most mismatches resolve within a week.
- Connect Stripe on the first of a month. Earlier commissions are carried over, paid ones are marked paid, nothing is paid twice.
- A longer parallel test is legitimate and costs focus. Set the end date before you start.
- After the move, the questions that matter are weekly recruitment time and what you will pay upfront. Continue at Track 3.
The detail lives in the help centre
This lesson tells you the order and the judgement. The clicks are in the articles below. Open one, do the step, and you will find a way back to this lesson at the top of the article.
Step-by-step: do this now
The exact clicks live in the help centre. Open the article, do the step, come back.
Reference: read if you need the detail
Background you can skip on a first pass.
Do this before the next lesson
Each step says how much counts as done. Doing a third of it and moving on is how programs stall.
Questions we hear at this point
What if we are not on Stripe?
The same first-of-the-month boundary applies. Payment data starts flowing to the new platform through the API on the first, the old tool stops generating commissions on the same date, and earlier commissions are carried over by hand.
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