> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.referly.so/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Approve or decline a reward
> Review affiliate rewards before they're paid in Referly. Turn automatic reward approval on or off, apply it across commission plans, and accept or decline rewards one at a time or in bulk.
By default, every reward an affiliate earns is accepted the moment it's tracked, so it's ready to be paid without you lifting a finger. That's the fastest way to run a program, but it isn't always what you want. If you'd rather check each reward first — confirm the sale is real, the affiliate deserves it, and nothing looks off — you can switch automatic approval off and review rewards yourself before they can be paid.
This page shows how to control automatic approval and how to approve or decline rewards, one at a time or in bulk.
This page is about approving the **rewards** affiliates earn. To review the **affiliates** themselves before they can promote, see [Manually approve or decline applications](/docs/help-center/getting-started/recruit/approve-or-decline).
## Turn automatic reward approval on or off
Whether new rewards are accepted on their own is controlled by your **Auto-approve settings**. These live on your base commission plan — the baseline terms for your whole program.
To find them, go to **Settings**, open **Program details**, and select **General**. Find the **Auto-approve settings** card and open it.
Inside, find **Auto approve rewards**:
* **On** (the default): every reward is accepted immediately and is ready to be included in a payout.
* **Off**: new rewards arrive **On Hold** and won't be paid until you approve each one. Its helper text reads **When disabled, rewards go on hold and must be manually approved. Sales on hold will not be paid out.**
The same card holds **Auto approve affiliates**, which does the same thing for affiliates joining your program rather than for the rewards they earn. Select **Save** when you're done.
## Apply the setting to every commission plan
Each [commission plan](/docs/help-center/getting-started/commissions/overview) carries its own approval setting, so switching off automatic approval on your base plan doesn't automatically change the custom plans you've built. The **Apply to all commission plans** toggle, in the same **Auto-approve settings** card, makes one choice stick everywhere.
When it's on, the choice you just made is pushed to **all current and future plans** — every custom plan is updated to match, and any new plan starts out the same way. Use this when you want a single rule across your whole program: review every reward, or review none.
When it's off, your base plan setting only affects rewards earned on your base terms, and each custom plan keeps its own setting — which the next section covers.
## Set approval per commission plan
If you'd rather review rewards on some plans but accept others automatically, leave **Apply to all commission plans** off and set each plan on its own.
Open the commission plan you want to change and expand its **Auto-approve settings**. It has the same **Auto approve rewards** switch, but it only affects rewards earned on that plan. Its tooltip reads **When enabled, rewards from this plan are accepted immediately. When disabled, rewards go on hold and must be manually approved. Sales on hold will not be paid out.**
This lets you mix approaches — for example, auto-approve rewards from a trusted partner's plan while holding everything from your public sign-up plan for review. If you later turn **Apply to all commission plans** back on, it overwrites these per-plan choices with your base setting.
## Approve or decline a single reward
When a reward is waiting for you, it shows an **On Hold** badge in the **Status** column of your [Rewards list](/docs/help-center/manage/rewards/overview). Hover that badge and a small panel opens with two buttons: a green **Accept** and a red **Reject**.
* Select **Accept** to approve the reward. Its status becomes **Accepted** and it's ready to be included in a payout.
* Select **Reject** to turn it down. Its status becomes **Declined** and the affiliate won't be paid for it.
Either way you'll see a **Status updated** confirmation. If the reward was held because it looked like a self-referral, the same panel explains why and lets you accept it anyway — see [Why a reward is on hold](/docs/help-center/manage/rewards/holds).
## Change a reward's status any time
You're not limited to rewards that are on hold. To change any reward, open its **⋯** menu on the right of the row and choose **Change status**, then pick **Accepted**, **On Hold**, or **Declined**. This is how you reverse a decision — for example, accepting a reward you previously declined, or putting an accepted reward back on hold while you look into it.
## Approve or decline rewards in bulk
When several rewards are waiting, you don't have to work through them one by one. Tick the checkboxes on the rows you want, then open the overflow menu in the bulk action bar:
Use the checkboxes to pick the rewards you want to decide on. To grab everything that matches your current filters, use **Select all**.
In the bulk action bar, open the overflow menu and choose **Accept rewards** or **Reject rewards**.
A dialog confirms what will happen. Accepting sets the selected rewards to accepted — and restores any that were previously refunded. Rejecting warns that **the affiliates will not receive commission for these transactions**. Confirm to apply it to all of them at once.
## Related
See every reason a reward waits for review.
A tour of the Rewards page and everything it shows.
Review who joins your program before they can promote.
Set the terms — and the approval rule — for each plan.