Awin batch validation file builder (free CSV)

What each column means

Accepted and declined files use the same four fields:

• Order Reference: the order number the network tracked (your Shopify order number).
• Transaction Date: in the date format your programme locale uses.
• Status: “Accepted” or “Declined”.
• Status Note: the reason; for declines Awin asks you to use one of the reasons listed in its template.

The amend file has seven:

• Order Reference: as above.
• Transaction Date: as above.
• Status Type: AMENDED.
• Status Note: why, for example “Part return”.
• Sale Amount: the new total sale amount, what the customer kept.
• Sale Breakdown: commission group and new amount, for example DEFAULT:92.00.
• Currency: your programme currency.

You amend the sale amount, and Awin recalculates the commission; changing only the commission goes through Awin support. A full refund is a decline, not an amend to zero, and only pending transactions can be amended.²

Where to upload it

On Awin Classic: Commission → Validate → Batch Process Commission → Manual Upload. Tick “Contains column headings” if you kept them and “Remove duplicates”, and clear “Leave amended commissions as pending” unless you want amends to wait.³ On the new Awin platform, approve or decline in the pending list instead; the batch upload is documented for Classic.

Some practitioners upload the amended file before the accepted and declined files, since only pending transactions can be amended. Awin doesn’t document an order, so the builder numbers the files in that safe sequence.

Common upload errors

Results appear under Batch Process History; download the report and filter for failed rows. Awin lists the usual causes: dates in the wrong locale format, missing required columns, formulas in cells, and headings left in when the box says there are none. Save as plain .csv with values only.

Decline and amend reasons

Awin names returns and cancellations, a sale that should have been credited to another channel or partner, programme terms violations such as unauthorised voucher use, orders that can’t be fulfilled, and fraudulent sales as legitimate reasons to decline. A specific note (“Order returned, refund #8812 on 12 Jan”) saves you a publisher query later. The full method is in our guide to declining Awin commissions for returns.