A definitive look @ recurring commission iDev

Hi guys!

I know iDev integration has changed a couple of times with S2Member, some video tutorials are now outdated, and not all forum topics here on the site point to the same resolution.

For that reason, I wanted to start a thread where we can learn about the definitive way (Mach 2013) of integrating iDev with S2Member to handle recurring subscription commissions and one of post/ page purchase commissions.

I currently have my copy of iDev 7.2 (released 2nd March) integrated with S2Member by selecting S2 from the cart integration drop down.

I then have the tracking codes for signup/ modification and post/page set in the back end of S2.

An example of my signup tracking code is: img border=”0″ src=”http://www.mysite.com/idevaffiliate/sale.php?profile=83&idev_saleamt=%%initial%%&idev_ordernum=%%subscr_id%%” width=”1″ height=”1″

Now this WORKS 100% for INITIAL commission payments. I get notified, I approve the commission and all is good.

Now I have just noticed that a 2nd PayPal payment has gone through for a member’s subscription to my site, BUT NO 2ND COMMISSION has been paid.

I have iDEv turned off to deal with recurring commissions as it states that:

If you are only using PayPal Subscription buttons and have integrated with PayPal Buy Now & Subscription buttons, you do not need to use this feature. Leave recurring commissions turned off. The PayPal integration handle recurring commissions for you.

Obviously recurring payments ARE NOT being handled for us though when only regular tracking is integrated for some reason.

This leads me to asking you guys about the correct way to integrate S2 for recurring subscription payments.

Now I believe the way to go here is to use Payment Notifications instead of the tracking codes.

I have read in 2 different threads on here 2 different areas of iDev to look at, and I don’t know which is the correct one at time of writing.

One thread looked at iDevAffiliate -> Setup & Tools -> API Scripts -> Generate A Commission

The other pointed the user to using the cURL tracking pixel at iDevAffiliate -> Setup & Tools -> API Scripts -> Custom Functions

Jason, could you confirm the best setup here to ensure that all bases are covered for recurring commissions on paypal signups, modifications and ccap payments.

Does every section under s2Member® API / Notifications have to have a URL? How is it made exactly, and what do you guys use here on the S2 site?

Hopefully we can nail this for everybody then, so we are all using the latest and best method of integration.

Ross :)

Hi again Jason!

I have cleared out the standard tracking codes under API>Tracking and have gone with the cURL tracking pixel URL under API Notifications for both ‘Payments’ and ‘Post/Page’ Access.

I’ve tested for post/page and it works great.

I can’t really test for recurring just yet as I have no test subscriptions up and running.

Will this new method work in retrospect too?

So the subscriptions that HAVEN’T been generating recurring commissions now start generating them when the payments hit?

Is there anything else I need to set anywhere or is that simple cURL it?

Thanks!

KB created from this topic. Thanks Ross!
Please let us know if you have any questions about the KB article.
See: http://www.s2member.com/kb/idev-s2-commission-tracking/

Will this new method work in retrospect too?

So the subscriptions that HAVEN’T been generating recurring commissions now start generating them when the payments hit?

It sounds like you’re all set. Yes, those recurring commissions should start coming through now; assuming you’ve completed the integration properly; and that you’ve included the ip_address=%%user_ip%% Replacement Code.

Awesome Jason, thanks so much for clearing that up!

Just a quick question about the 3 options in the URL’s:

http://www.example.com/idevaffiliate/sale.php?profile=xxx&idev_saleamt=%%amount%%&idev_ordernum=%%txn_id%%&idev_option_1=%%item_name%%&idev_option_2=%%txn_id%%&idev_option_3=%%cv0%%&ip_address=%%user_ip%%

How do they work exactly?

I used to only include txn_id, but it would be cool to cover all bases. How does iDev choose which one to report, or does it report all that are present for that transaction?

Thanks :)