> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.pingtree.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Sub-Source Payouts

> Set granular payout amounts for individual sub-sources (publisher IDs) within a marketing partner's traffic, separately by media type.

## Overview

**Sub-Source Payouts** give you granular control over how much individual sub-sources are paid within a marketing partner's traffic. Rather than applying a single payout rate to an entire marketing partner, you can configure distinct payout amounts for each publisher ID (PID) that the partner sends traffic from.

Navigate to a **Marketing Partner** source within a campaign and open the **Sub-Source Payouts** tab to access these settings.

***

## What Are Sub-Sources?

A marketing partner typically aggregates traffic from multiple publishers, each identified by a unique **Publisher ID (PID)**. These PIDs are referred to as sub-sources within Pingtree.

For example, a single marketing partner may send traffic from dozens of individual publishers. Sub-source payouts allow you to reward high-performing publishers with a higher payout, or reduce payouts for lower-quality traffic — all without changing the global payout settings for the marketing partner as a whole.

***

## Payout Field Selection

Before setting individual sub-source payouts, you must select which field is used to identify sub-sources. The available payout field options are:

| Field                       | Description                                                          |
| --------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Sub IDs** (`sub1`–`sub5`) | Standard sub-ID parameters passed with each lead or click            |
| **Buyers**                  | Override payouts at the buyer level rather than the sub-source level |

Once a payout field is selected, all configured sub-source values are matched against that field on incoming traffic.

> **Note:** When **Buyers** is selected as the payout field, you cannot add custom field values — payout overrides are applied directly to each buyer configured in the campaign.

***

## Configuring Sub-Source Payout Amounts

For each sub-source value (PID), you can set a payout override per media type:

### Media Types

| Media Type      | Description                                                         |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Click**       | Payout applied when the sub-source generates a click event          |
| **Lead (Form)** | Payout applied when the sub-source generates a form lead submission |
| **Call**        | Payout applied when the sub-source generates a call event           |

### Payout Structure Options

Each sub-source payout can use one of two payout models:

| Model             | Description                                                           |
| ----------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Fixed Cost**    | Pay the sub-source a fixed dollar amount per event                    |
| **Revenue Share** | Pay the sub-source a percentage of the revenue received for the event |

These settings override the global payout configured at the marketing partner level for any sub-source that has an explicit override defined.

***

## Adding Sub-Source Values

To add a new sub-source PID for payout configuration:

1. Navigate to the **Sub-Source Payouts** tab for the marketing partner source.
2. Select the **Payout Field** (e.g., `sub1`, `sub2`) to use for matching.
3. Click **Add Field Value** and enter the PID or sub-source identifier.
4. Set the payout amount and model for each applicable media type.
5. Save the configuration.

> Each added field value must exist in the selected payout field's list. Duplicates are automatically de-duplicated.

***

## Scrub Settings

Sub-source payouts also include **Scrub Settings**, which allow you to automatically stop paying a sub-source after it reaches a defined threshold — either by number of leads (unit-based) or by total payout amount (revenue-based).

### Enabling Scrub Settings

1. Toggle **Enable Scrub** on for the sub-source.
2. Select the scrub basis:
   * **Unit-Based**: Stop paying after a set number of leads (must be greater than 1).
   * **Revenue-Based**: Stop paying after a set revenue amount is reached (must be greater than \$1).
3. Configure the threshold separately for **Click** and **Form** media types.

> You cannot enable both unit-based and revenue-based scrub simultaneously for the same media type.

***

## Use Cases

* **Reward high-quality sub-sources**: Set a higher fixed payout or revenue share for publisher IDs that consistently deliver high-converting leads.
* **Penalize low-quality traffic**: Reduce or zero out the payout for sub-sources with high rejection rates or low conversion quality.
* **Scrub unprofitable sub-sources**: Use scrub settings to automatically cap payouts once a sub-source has been paid a certain amount, regardless of volume.
* **Buyer-level payout overrides**: Use the Buyers payout field to adjust what each buyer is credited per sub-source-driven lead.

***

## Audit Trail

All sub-source payout changes are automatically recorded in the platform's **Audit Logs** (Settings Logs) under the `payout` log type. Each change captures the old and new payout values, the affected source, and the user who made the change.