When credit is issued
This article's section starts at 4:26 in the video.
Cashback has two clocks: the trigger (which order event starts the credit) and the holding period (how long the credit stays pending before the customer can spend it). This page explains both, and what happens to pending credit when orders change.
The trigger: which order event pays
DollarBack admin → Settings → Trigger & Timing → Give cashback when offers three options:
Order Created
The order is placed
You want instant gratification: credit appears while the thank-you page is still open (default)
Order Paid
Payment is captured
You use manual capture or want to avoid crediting unpaid orders
Order Fulfilled
The order is shipped/fulfilled
You want credit only after goods actually leave, for the fewest clawbacks
The trigger is global: it applies to all purchase programs at once.
The holding period: pending before spendable
Holding period (same settings section) delays the credit by 0–365 days:
0 days (default): credit is spendable immediately on trigger.
1–365 days: the credit is issued in a pending state and released automatically when the period ends.
While pending:
The customer sees the pending amount in the widget and account (marked as pending, not spendable).
You see it in DollarBack admin → Analytics → Scheduled Rewards, alongside birthday and other delayed credits.
It cannot be spent at checkout.
A holding period roughly matching your return window (e.g. 14–30 days) means refunded orders usually cancel out before the customer could spend the credit. That's the cleanest refund story.
What cancels or changes pending credit
When an order is refunded, cancelled, or edited (with order edit tracking enabled, a plan-gated setting under Settings → Advanced), DollarBack recalculates the order's cashback and reconciles as a diff:
Order value went up (item added) → the difference is issued as additional pending credit.
Order value went down (refund, item removed) → the difference is offset against pending credit for that program first; only what's left is debited from the customer's live balance.
Entries already credited are never rewritten; the log keeps the original credit and shows the adjustment as its own row, so history stays auditable.
Full scenarios (partial refunds, full cancellations, spent-credit cases): Refunds, cancellations & order edits.
Verify it works
Set a short holding period (e.g. 1 day) and place a test order that qualifies.
Confirm the credit shows as pending in the widget and appears in Analytics → Scheduled Rewards.
Refund the test order and watch the pending entry offset instead of a balance debit.
Set the holding period back to your production value.
Common issues
"Credit hasn't appeared": with Order Paid or Order Fulfilled, nothing is issued until that event actually happens; check the order's payment/fulfillment status first, then A customer didn't receive cashback.
"Customer says credit vanished": a refund likely offset it; find the row in Analytics → Activity, under the Clawbacks view.
"Credit shows but can't be spent": it's pending; the release date follows the holding period. Also see Store credit isn't available at checkout.
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