Do you keep screenshots or similar records of reported affiliate earnings?

[MichaelCorfman]

Sometimes earnings reported by affiliate programs change. Maybe historical data is no longer available online, or maybe an issue was discovered and corrected. The bottom line is that there is no guarantee the exact information reported one day will be available the next. Sometime it can vanish, or change is ways that are not readily understood.

For example, so far today a couple folks reported that the Affiliate Edge statistics have been wiped out in the following thread: Affiliate Edge Reports - Zero.

For this week's poll I ask whether you keep actual screenshots of historical data reported, or similar digital records such as actual downloads of data made available by a program in spreadsheet format.

Besides voting in the poll, be sure to share your experiences around changed data and the reasons for the changes. And how frequently you trust and distrust the changes.

Michael

[-Shay-]

Anything that is available for download regarding player/payment data is downloaded by me and retained on a very regular basis. If it is not available via download, it is likely I've taken a screen capture. I track damn near everything, so it makes sense to gather and retain as much info as the programs will provide. My obsession to this end has identified issues on multiple occasions.

[Top Domains]

I'm the same way with record keeping. Shay's use of the word "obsession" is particularly apt. I was taught at a very early age in my professional life how important it can be to document things. So I recommend multiple formats: screen shots, saving complete-html web pages, saving html-only pages, on rare occasions even taking screen capture video recordings. I'm talking about everything of importance, not just affiliate accounts. Some get more treatment and some less according to importance of course.

P.S. Here's a tip from experience: when saving a web page, sometimes you have to choose the "complete" option instead of html-only, otherwise the pertinent data will not appear. On other occasions for the former, the data will not appear but you can find it buried in the html.

P.P.S. Would be interested in hearing what people think are the best, fastest and easiest screen capture programs in lieu of built in hardware/OS options.

[matthewt]

I write my commissions received in notepad, under the affiliate program. E.g., buffalopartners.com $1545.00(Aug'17cnfrmd@PayPal).

[tal84s]

I keep updating my excel tables everyday with the updated numbers (usually signups, ftds and revenues).

This way I found sometimes few players who have been disappeared...

[Triple7]

No, but I should do this.

I hear from too many people that are having a detailed look at stats, that they see weird things happening.

[ocreditor]

I do keep screenshots of stats on regular basis, unfortunately it's a must action since data is sometimes changing without any update from the program side..

[Roulette Zeitung]

For some time I recorded with a web cam the monitor activities 24 hours a day.
With Opera browser you have the possibility to refresh the website automatically in your browser as you want, e.g. every 30 seconds, so you can refresh the statistics.

It's like a haunted house live ghost web cam. You recognizes the smallest changes, e.g. when a player name and his first deposit that day at once disappears which was in the statistics before.

Leopold

[baldidiot]

We periodically download up to date versions of the full player databases and monthly earnings for our bigger programs.

Smaller ones are probably a once every 6 months or year type deal.

[sweetbet]

The more dodgy and questionable the program is, the more screenshots I will take, especially when it's a large commission.

[Top Domains]

Talk about a timely discovery, folks. I literally just discovered this:

https://screenshots.firefox.com/

[PROFRBcom]

For those users who don't use Firefox, get yourself a copy of Gyazo if you want to instantly upload shots to the web, or greenshot if you want a screenshot program to save locally and easily.

[TheGooner]

The more dodgy and questionable the program is, the more screenshots I will take, especially when it's a large commission.

I suggest a better mantra ...

The more dodgy a program is .. the less likely that I will promote them to players ...
So I won't have to worry about being caught out.

[baldidiot]

I suggest a better mantra ...

The more dodgy a program is .. the less likely that I will promote them to players ...
So I won't have to worry about being caught out.

So pretty much just 365 left then at this point

[joeggg]

Don't trust anyone. Always keep proof..

[celena]

It depends on the programs.
Once I had a worry with TTRpartners.
There was a change and I had not uploaded the stats.
But as I am serious in my work, I have had no problems to get my affiliated earnings.
I truly appreciated the trust between us.

But for some affiliations, I screenshoot or upload and I keep

[TravG]

I do not keep screenshots but that isnt a bad idea to do. What I do keep is a pretty detailed spreadsheet showing the earnings across all the brands I earn with. It is broken out monthly and also allows me track how I am doing month vs month or year over year. I update the spreadsheet just about daily, but if a program stated I did not earn what I have tracked it would be my word against theirs.

Going forward I may start to take sceenshots at the end of the month just to have proof what is owed.

[Cash Bonus]

Hello,

I like to take screenshots every now and then and keep them as backups just in case there are any errors in reporting or if my computer suddenly just decides to crash on me. It also helps me to keep track and stay right on top of things also. Every now and then, I will do regular backups of all of my work. This is very important.

[RacingJim]

I have been extremely lax in not taking very many screenshots or documenting very much bar my actual accounting. The recent changes in the industry mean I'm going to have to go through a lot of my programs and take backups of all historical data available.

[Buddy M]

Several years ago I had a program decide to kick me out of their program for not bringing in more players; they owed me over 3 grand. I went to someone on another forum and asked them to help me and they did; I received what I was owed thanks to him, but the program told the one who helped me I did not promote them. I had no proof, by then I pulled them from my site and so I went to "Way-back" to get the proof I needed. I'll do snapshots now and then of earnings, some of my pages showing who I promote, and sign-ups and deposits. I don't do it on all my partners, but there are a few......