Affiliate tracking on creator and course platforms: what each one reports
Kajabi, Thinkific, Teachable, ThriveCart and the rest each tell an affiliate tool different things about a sale. Here is what each one reports, so you know which commissions you will approve, and which refunds you will reverse yourself.
The short answer
Creator and course platforms differ most in three things: whether they report refunds, whether a partner's coupon code reaches an affiliate tool, and whether what they send can be verified. Of the twelve routes below, seven take a refund's commission back by themselves, four let a partner's code credit every sale and one more on subscriptions, and seven send sales Refficks can verify, so their commissions can approve themselves.
Everywhere else, a person approves each commission, or reverses a refunded one by hand. That is a few minutes a week for most creators, and it is better to know before you choose.
| Platform | How sales reach Refficks | A partner's link credits | A partner's code credits | Refunds taken back by themselves | A commission can approve itself |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kajabi | A webhook | Only for a buyer your own site already knew | Yes, a coupon you make in Kajabi | Reversed by hand | No |
| Thinkific | Signed webhooks | Yes, when the thank-you page names the buyer | Yes, a coupon you make in Thinkific | On Thinkific Payments; by hand through Stripe or PayPal | Yes |
| Teachable | Webhooks | Yes, when each course's thank-you page names the buyer | Yes, a coupon you make in Teachable | Yes | No |
| ThriveCart | ThriveCart's server | Yes, through an ordinary link or button, not an embedded or popup checkout | No | Yes, part by part | Yes |
| SamCart (notifications) | SamCart's server | SamCart does not document it | No | Yes, part by part | No |
| SamCart (order page) | The buyer's browser | Yes | No | Reversed by hand; renewals not reported | No |
| Gumroad | Gumroad's ping | Yes | No | Reversed by hand | No |
| ClickFunnels | Signed webhooks | Yes, when the funnel's first page was opened with it | No | Full refunds; a partial one you decide | Yes |
| Podia | Your own Stripe account | Yes, when the conversion code names the buyer | No, Podia's coupons stay in Podia | Yes | Yes |
| Circle | Your own Stripe account | Yes, through the paywall's thank-you page | No, Circle's coupons stay in Circle | Yes | Yes |
| Memberstack | Your own Stripe account | Yes | Yes, partners' codes synced to Stripe | Yes | Yes |
| MemberSpace | Your own Stripe account | Yes, when the members code names them | On subscription plans only | Yes | Yes |
Every row is taken from Refficks's own guide for that platform, which lists what it can't do above its steps and links to the platform's pages it was built from. Each platform's name links to its page or guide.
What each column means
A partner's link credits
Most of these checkouts sit on the platform's own address, not yours, so a click on a partner's link has to be handed across. Some platforms carry it through the checkout; others need the thank-you page to name the buyer, so the sale can be joined to the visit the link started. Where a platform passes nothing on, only a buyer your own site already knew by email can be credited through a link.
A partner's code credits
A code credits a sale even when the buyer never clicked anything, which matters most for creators whose audience hears a code on a video or a podcast. It works only where the coupon typed at the checkout reaches Refficks. On Kajabi, Thinkific and Teachable you make each partner's coupon in the platform, spelt the same as in Refficks.
Refunds taken back by themselves
Where a platform reports a refund, Refficks writes a reversal beside the commission for the refund's share. If the partner was already paid, it comes off what they earn next. Where it doesn't, you reverse the commission on the Commissions page, and the reversal is recorded the same way.
A commission can approve itself
A platform that signs what it sends, or a payment that arrives from your own Stripe account, can be verified, so a commission plan that approves by itself works there. A platform that signs nothing gets every sale marked Unverified, and a person approves each commission.
Three things to settle before you choose
- Can your audience's codes reach the tool? If your partners mostly share codes, pick a route with a Yes in the code column, or move them to links.
- Who reverses refunds? On Kajabi, Gumroad and SamCart's order page, someone on your team does. Put it on the list for refund day.
- Are you running the platform's own affiliate program too? Thinkific, Teachable, ClickFunnels, Podia and Circle have their own. Run one or the other, or a sale can earn a commission in each.
How this table was made
From the twelve guides for these platforms in Refficks, as they read on 27 October 2026. Each guide is public and can be read without an account. A platform can change what it reports, so its guide is the final word.
Questions
Which course platforms report refunds to an affiliate tool?
Of the platforms here, Teachable, ThriveCart, SamCart's notifications, and Podia, Circle, Memberstack and MemberSpace through your own Stripe account report refunds, and Refficks takes the commission back by itself. Thinkific does on Thinkific Payments, and ClickFunnels for full refunds. Kajabi and Gumroad don't.
Does a Kajabi coupon code credit an affiliate?
Yes, in Refficks: make each partner's code as a coupon in Kajabi, spelt the same, and a payment with that code is credited to them. Kajabi signs nothing, so each commission waits for your approval.
Can I track ThriveCart affiliates by coupon code?
No. ThriveCart's report carries no coupon an affiliate tool can read, so ThriveCart sales are credited through the partner's link to your site.
Why does a platform signing its webhooks matter?
A signed delivery can be verified as coming from the platform, so its commission can approve itself. An unsigned one could come from anybody, so a person approves each commission.
More articles
Plain answers to the other questions that come up.
- How to start an affiliate programThe decisions to make before the first partner joins, in order.
- W-9, W-8BEN and the 1099-NECThe tax forms for paying affiliates, and what changed for payments made in 2026.
- Refunds and clawbacksWhat happens to a commission when its sale is refunded, before and after a payout.
- Cookies and consentWhat affiliate tracking may store before a visitor agrees, and what still works when they don't.
- Why affiliates go quietThe stage each quiet partner stopped at, and what each one needs from you.
- What affiliate software costsFourteen tools priced at $5k, $15k and $50k of monthly affiliate revenue, from their own pages.
Credit partners on the platform you already sell on
Paste one address, give every partner a link and a code, and see why each sale was credited.