How Usage & CAP Works

On paid plans, StockSweep uses a pay-for-performance model: you are charged a small commission only when your discount actions result in actual sales. A monthly CAP protects you from surprise bills.

Estimated time: 7–10 minutes

What you'll accomplish

• Understand the 7-day attribution window and what qualifies as an attributed sale
• Know exactly how commission is calculated
• Understand the CAP (why it exists, progress tracking, and what happens at 100%)
• Read the billing dashboard and attribution ledger

Requirements

• You are on a paid plan (Growth, Pro, or Enterprise)
• Free plan users: attribution is not tracked and this article does not apply

How attribution works

The 7-day window

When you apply a discount to a dead stock item, a 7-day attribution window opens for that variant. If the variant sells within those 7 calendar days, the sale is attributed to StockSweep.

Day 0: You apply a 20% discount to Variant A
         ↓
Day 1–7: Attribution window is open
         ↓
Day 4: Customer buys Variant A → ATTRIBUTED (commission charged)

If the variant does not sell within 7 days, the window closes and no commission is charged for that discount.

What counts as an attributed sale

For a sale to be attributed, all of these must be true:

What does NOT count as an attributed sale

How commission is calculated

The commission is based on the line item revenue for the specific variant, not the entire order total.

Commission = line item price x quantity x commission rate

Example

The charge description in Shopify reads: Dead stock sale: Order #1234 - $160.00 (2.0% commission)

Commission rates by plan

Higher plans have lower commission rates — the more you invest in your subscription, the less you pay per attributed sale.

Usage charges in Shopify

When a sale is attributed, StockSweep creates a Shopify usage charge via the Usage Charges API. This charge appears on your regular Shopify invoice alongside other app charges.

Charge lifecycle

1. Attributed sale detected (via orders/paid webhook)
2. Usage charge created in Shopify (status: Pending)
3. Shopify processes the charge (status: Charged)
4. Charge appears on your invoice at the end of the Shopify billing cycle

Failed charges and retries

If a usage charge fails to create (e.g., transient Shopify API error):

• The charge is retried automatically up to 3 times with exponential backoff
• A background retry job runs every 6 hours to pick up any remaining failed charges (up to 72 hours old)
• If all retries fail, the charge is recorded as Failed in your attribution ledger

Monthly CAP

The CAP is a monthly ceiling on total usage charges. It exists to protect you from surprise bills in a great sales month.

CAP by plan

What happens when you approach the CAP

StockSweep sends CAP warning notifications at three thresholds (each notification is sent only once per billing period):

What happens when CAP is reached (100%)

• Usage charges stop — no more commission fees for the rest of the billing period
• Attribution tracking continues — sales are still recorded in your ledger as "CAP Blocked"
• You keep the upside — any additional revenue from discounted items is yours at zero additional cost
• All features remain active — detection, discounting, tagging, email digests continue working normally

This is a benefit, not a penalty. Hitting the CAP means your discount strategy is working well.

When does the CAP reset?

The CAP resets on the 1st of each month (based on your Shopify billing cycle). A background job runs at midnight on the 1st to reset the billing period counters.

Billing dashboard

The Billing page in StockSweep shows everything you need to track your usage:

Current plan card

• Plan name and monthly base price
• Commission rate
• CAP limit

CAP progress bar

A color-coded progress bar showing how much of your monthly CAP has been used:

Current month metrics

• Attributed sales count — how many discounted items sold within the 7-day window
• Attributed revenue — total revenue from attributed sales
• Total commission charged — sum of usage charges created
• Commission blocked (CAP) — commission that would have been charged but was blocked because CAP was reached

Attribution ledger

A paginated table (20 per page) showing every attributed sale:

You can filter the ledger by:

• Billing period (current month or previous months)
• Charge status (to see only failed or CAP-blocked entries)

6-month billing history

A summary table showing monthly totals:

• Month
• Attributed sales count
• Attributed revenue
• Total commission charged
• CAP blocked amount

What success looks like

• The CAP progress bar is predictable — you can estimate when you will hit the CAP based on your discount activity
• Attributed revenue >> commission charged — the revenue you recover from dead stock far exceeds the commission you pay (if your commission is $500 but you recovered $25,000 in revenue, the ROI is clear)
• No surprises — the CAP ensures your maximum monthly cost is known in advance

Troubleshooting (symptom-first)

"A usage charge failed"

Likely cause: transient Shopify API error. Fix: StockSweep retries automatically (up to 3 times immediately, then every 6 hours for up to 72 hours). Check the attribution ledger after a few hours. How to confirm: the charge status transitions from Failed to Charged in the ledger.

"CAP reached but I still see attributed sales in the ledger"

Expected behavior. When the CAP is reached, attribution tracking continues but charges are blocked. New attributed sales appear with status CAP Blocked instead of Charged. This is a benefit — you are seeing revenue recovered at no additional cost. How to confirm: the "Commission blocked" metric on the billing dashboard shows the amount that was not charged.

"I see a charge for a sale I think should not be attributed"

Likely cause: the sale occurred within the 7-day window after the discount was applied. Attribution is automatic. Fix: verify the discount application date and the order date. If the order is within 7 days, attribution is correct. If the discount was reverted before the sale, contact support — reverted discounts should not generate charges. How to confirm: the attribution ledger shows the discount date and order date for the entry.

"CAP did not reset on the 1st of the month"

Likely cause: the reset job may be delayed or your Shopify billing cycle does not align with calendar months. Fix: wait a few hours after midnight on the 1st. If the CAP is still showing last month's usage, contact support. How to confirm: the CAP progress bar resets to 0% and the billing period updates to the new month.

"Charges appear during my trial period"

Likely cause: this should not happen — during the 14-day trial, attribution is tracked but charges are not created. All entries should show status Trial. Fix: if you see charges with status Charged during your trial, contact support immediately. How to confirm: all ledger entries during the trial period show status Trial, not Charged.

FAQ

Is attribution the same as Shopify discount codes?

No. StockSweep attribution is an internal tracking mechanism. StockSweep modifies prices directly (compare_at_price + price), it does not create Shopify discount codes. Attribution simply tracks whether a price-modified variant sells within 7 days.

What if the same variant is discounted twice?

Each discount application creates a new attribution window. If you revert and re-apply a discount, the new 7-day window starts from the re-application date.

Can I see attribution data on the Free plan?

No. Attribution tracking is only active on paid plans. On Free, you can still see Discount History (Active/Sold/Reverted) but without commission or billing data.

What happens to pending charges if I downgrade to Free?

Any charges already created in Shopify are processed normally (they are already on your Shopify invoice). After the downgrade takes effect, no new attribution charges are created.

Related articles

• Plans Overview (and how to upgrade)
• Discount History Explained
• Apply Discount (step-by-step + safety notes)