How to run affiliate marketing software selection for your brand

What to take away

Affiliate marketing software selection means matching a platform's tracking, attribution and payout features to the commission model your programme runs.
Affiliate networks such as Awin, CJ and Rakuten Advertising are not the same purchase as platform-first products such as Impact, Partnerize, Refersion and Tapfiliate; shortlist both kinds before you decide.
Start with a written requirements document covering tracking method, attribution window, integrations and reporting, then score vendors against it.
Budget beyond the licence feeimplementation, tag management and support usually sit outside the headline price.
Check how VAT is treated on costs passed to affiliates, because the invoicing route changes what you can reclaim.
Get commercial terms, data-processing terms and exit provisions reviewed before you sign.

Start with a requirements document

Selection fails when the shortlist comes before the specification, so write down how your programme earns money first. A voucher-led retailer needs different tracking from a content publisher paid on tenanted deals.

Requirements document: four areas

Clicks and conversions tracked
Attribution window length
Networks that must connect
Monthly reporting for finance
Expected affiliate count
Monthly click volume

Cover four areas in the document: how clicks and conversions are tracked, how long the attribution window runs, which networks must connect, and what reporting finance needs each month. Add your expected affiliate count and monthly click volume, because pricing tiers move on both.

Our own affiliate marketing tools and supplier guide for 2027 sets out the wider supplier categories, helping you decide whether you are buying a network, a tracking platform or both.

Compare tracking and attribution properly

The shortlist normally mixes two kinds of supplier. Networks such as Awin, CJ (Commission Junction), Rakuten Advertising and Tradedoubler bring a pool of publishers with them, while platform-first products such as Impact, Partnerize, Refersion and Tapfiliate are bought for their tracking, attribution and partner-management tooling. Decide which side of that line you need before you book demos, and shortlist two or three of each.

Ask every vendor to demonstrate tracking on a live test page, not in a slide deck. Server-side tracking, cookie-less measurement and cross-device matching behave differently, and those differences surface in reconciliation.

Request the attribution rules in writing: is it last click, first click, linear, position-based or data-driven? What happens when a paid search click and an affiliate click land in the same session? Google Ads Help sets out how its own attribution works, which helps you explain channel overlap to paid media colleagues.

Questions to put to every vendor

Can you show live conversion tracking through your platform today?
How do you handle deduplication against paid search and email?
Which attribution models are available out of the box, and can the window be configured?
Do you support server-side or cookie-less tracking, and how does that change reconciliation?
What is your standard data retention period and deletion process?
Is pricing tiered on tracked clicks or on programme revenue, and where do the thresholds sit?

Red flags in a demo

Reporting shown only from a sandbox account with no client data.
No clear answer on how commission is calculated when a return is processed.
Pricing quoted per click without a stated ceiling.

Work out the true cost and VAT position

Licence fees are rarely the whole bill. Implementation, tag management and support often sit outside the quoted platform price, so ask for a three-year total cost of ownership. Licence pricing itself is quoted on tracked clicks or on programme revenue, so establish which basis each vendor uses before you compare quotes.

VAT treatment matters when you pass costs to affiliates or absorb network charges. HMRC's VAT Notice 700 (The VAT Guide) sets out when a payment is a disbursement rather than part of your own supply, which changes how the invoice is raised and what you can reclaim.

For smaller teams, the IAB UK SME toolkit for digital advertising covers the commercial basics of buying digital services, useful background before a procurement conversation.

Plan the implementation before you sign

Signature is the start of the work, not the end. Data feeds, tag placement, partner onboarding and finance reconciliation all need owners, and tag work often runs through Google Tag Manager, which IT has to approve. For example, a team paying £1,500 a month for a platform licence might spend a further £6,000 on implementation in year one.

Our guide to affiliate marketing tool implementation walks through the migration steps, including how to run parallel tracking while the old platform is live.

Use a selection checklist

Requirements document signed off by marketing, finance and IT.
Tracking and attribution rules confirmed in writing.
Deduplication agreed with the paid search owner.
Three-year total cost of ownership modelled, including implementation.
VAT treatment of pass-through costs confirmed with your accountant.
Data processing agreement and retention terms reviewed.
Exit provisions covering data export and notice period checked.
Two reference calls with comparable clients completed.

Common questions

How long should software selection take?

For a mid-market retailer, allow six to ten weeks from requirements sign-off to contract. Compressing that shifts the delay into implementation.

Should we choose a network or a standalone tracking platform?

It depends on where your partners already sit. If most of them work through a single network — Awin, CJ, Rakuten Advertising or Tradedoubler — joining it is faster than recruiting from scratch. A platform-first product such as Impact, Partnerize, Refersion or Tapfiliate suits programmes that recruit directly and want their own tracking, attribution and payout rules.

Do we need legal review before signing?

Yes for data processing and exit terms. A data-processing agreement is required under UK GDPR, and the ICO publishes guidance on what it must contain. Ask your accountant about VAT on pass-through costs at the same time.