Managing advertisers in your network requires careful setup and ongoing administration. This guide covers all administrative capabilities available for advertiser management.
The advertiser management features are available exclusively to users on the Network plan.
Overview
The advertiser management system allows network administrators to onboard, configure, and oversee advertisers. Advertisers represent the businesses that generate revenue through your affiliate tracking platform, and proper management ensures accurate tracking, billing, and reporting.
Getting Started
Before working with advertisers, configure the foundational settings:
Navigate to Settings → Advertisers → General
Configure access controls and approval workflows
Manual Approval: New advertisers require admin approval before activation
Auto-Approval: Advertisers are immediately activated upon registration
Set up communication templates and contact information
Contact Information: Configure the support contact that advertisers see in their interface:
Contact name (required, up to 255 characters)
Email address (optional)
Phone number (optional)
Messenger platforms (Signal, Skype, Telegram, WhatsApp)
Dashboard Messaging: Set up informational notes for advertisers:
Dashboard Note: Displayed on advertiser dashboard (up to 10,000 characters)
Registration Page Note: Shown during advertiser signup process
Pending Registration Note: Message for advertisers awaiting approval
Define payment method information
This information appears on settlement statements and invoices.
Configure data visibility for advertisers
Control which parameters and metrics advertisers can see across reports and dashboards
Operates independently from affiliate data visibility settings
Adding Advertisers
Administrators can create advertisers through two distinct approaches: with account and without account.
Option 1: Add with Account
Creates a complete advertiser profile with login capabilities:
Advertiser receives login credentials and can access their dashboard
Full account functionality including reporting and data visibility
Advertiser self-service: advertisers with platform access can view their open balance and edit their own billing details, reducing admin overhead
Requires email, optional password setup, and complete billing details
Includes welcome email options and account status configuration
See Advertiser User Role for the full advertiser-side experience.
Option 2: Add without Account
Creates a revenue origin for tracking purposes only:
No login access for the advertiser
Admin manages all aspects through the admin interface
Billing and settlement handled entirely by admin
Can upgrade to full account later if needed
Both options require:
Advertiser name (1-255 characters)
Email address (must be unique)
Complete billing details including address and invoicing information
Admin notes (optional, up to 255 characters)
Managing Individual Advertisers
Advertiser Profiles
Each advertiser profile contains:
Basic Information:
Name and email (email cannot be changed after creation)
Registration date and country
IP address from registration
Current account status
Account Status Management:
Enabled: Full access and tracking capabilities
Pending: Limited access, awaiting approval
Disabled: No access, tracking disabled
Tracking Status:
Independent tracking status control
Billing Details:
Legal name and address information
Invoicing email (can differ from account email)
VAT number (when required)
Country-specific requirements
Administrative Tools:
Admin notes (private, up to 255 characters)
Financial Management
Balance Tracking
Open Balance Monitoring:
View unsettled amounts per advertiser
Currency-specific balance tracking
Minimum settlement thresholds
Advertiser self-service: Advertisers with login access can view their own open balance directly in their dashboard.
Manual Settlement Creation
Generate settlements for specific advertisers on demand
Set settlement periods and amounts
Include custom notes and payment method information
Requires complete billing details for processing
Automatic Settlement Generation
For high-volume operations or to reduce manual work, you can configure Trackdesk to generate advertiser settlements automatically on a weekly or monthly schedule, with minimum-balance thresholds to avoid processing trivial amounts.
See Advertiser Settlement Autogeneration for setup and configuration details.
Settlement Statuses
Each settlement has a status that tracks its progression from creation through payment. Bulk status changes and paid-progress counters are available, and Tipalti payouts sync settlement status automatically. See Settlement statuses for the full status model and notification options.
Settlement History
Track all past settlements per advertiser
Export settlement data
Generate invoices and statements
Best Practices
Initial Setup
Configure approval workflows before advertiser onboarding
Set up communication templates early in the process
Define payment method information before processing settlements
Test the advertiser registration flow
Ongoing Management
Regularly review pending advertiser approvals
Monitor settlement requirements and billing detail completeness
Update communication notes as business requirements change
Maintain accurate contact information for advertiser support
Data Organization
Use admin notes consistently for internal tracking
Implement naming conventions for advertiser identification
Regularly export and backup advertiser data
Monitor account status changes for compliance
Technical Limitations and Common Issues
Account Management
Cannot delete advertisers with active revenue origins
Email addresses cannot be reused once associated with an advertiser
Revenue origins cannot be transferred between advertisers
Protected default revenue origins cannot be modified
Advertisers do not appear in the internal users list at Settings → Users - they are managed exclusively from the Advertisers section
Payment Processing
Settlement requires complete billing details
Minimum balance thresholds apply
Currency conversion handled at settlement time
Registration Problems
Email already exists: Each email can only be associated with one advertiser
Missing billing details: Complete address information required for settlements
Settlement Issues
Billing details incomplete: All required fields must be populated
Minimum balance not met: Check balance thresholds in filter settings
Advertiser Lifecycle Overview
A typical end-to-end flow for managing an advertiser:
Registration - advertiser signs up via the registration page, or admin adds them manually (with or without account)
Approval - admin approves the advertiser if manual approval is enabled
Configuration - billing details, data visibility, and tracking setup are completed
Tracking and reporting - conversions and revenue accumulate against the advertiser's revenue origins
Settlement - open balance is settled either manually or automatically on schedule, and progresses through settlement statuses to paid
Ongoing - advertiser status, billing details, and data visibility settings can be adjusted at any time