The risk
Every affiliate program pays a commission on a conversion that might later reverse. A customer refunds, a subscription is charged back, a trial never converts. If you pay the affiliate the instant a sale is confirmed, a later reversal leaves you having paid a commission on revenue you no longer have.
The hold
A hold is a deliberate delay between confirming a commission and making it payable. Most refunds and chargebacks happen soon after purchase, so holding a commission until that window passes catches the reversals before any money leaves. Attribloom holds a matured commission between 7 and 60 days. Early in a program, when patterns are still unknown, a tighter regime with closer review is prudent.
The clawback
When a conversion does reverse, the commission is clawed back. Where it lands depends on timing. A commission still pending reverses cleanly. One that has matured but not been paid comes out of the available balance. One that was already paid out is recorded against the affiliate's future balance, and written down as a loss only if it cannot be recovered.
Because all of this runs on a double-entry ledger in integer minor units, every hold, payout, and clawback is a balanced, auditable entry. There is no rounding drift and no way for a duplicate event to double-pay.