Dokan Commissions and Vendor Withdrawals Explained: How the Money Flows

Money flow is the part of a marketplace that vendors care about most, and the part that causes the most support tickets when it is unclear. This guide explains how Dokan calculates commissions, how vendors get paid, and which settings to decide on before launch.

How Dokan commission works

When a customer buys from a vendor, Dokan splits the order value between the vendor and the marketplace according to your commission settings. Dokan supports:

• Percentage commission (for example, the marketplace keeps 10%)
• Flat commission (a fixed amount per order or product)
• Combined percentage plus flat amount

Commission can be set globally, per vendor, per category, and even per product. More specific rules override general ones: a product-level rate beats a vendor-level rate, which beats the global rate. Document your rules, because a single forgotten product-level override can create confusing payouts months later.

Who pays gateway fees, shipping and tax?

This is where most disputes start. In Dokan → Settings → Selling Options you decide whether shipping and tax are given to the vendor or kept by the admin, and whether gateway fees are deducted from the vendor’s share or the admin’s. There is no single right answer, but the rule must be written in your vendor terms and visible in the vendor’s order details.

Two ways vendors get paid

1. Withdrawal requests (manual)

Earnings accumulate in the vendor’s balance. The vendor requests a withdrawal from their dashboard, and the admin approves and pays it through PayPal, bank transfer or another configured method, then marks it as paid. This is simple, works in any country, and gives the admin control, but it costs admin time and vendors wait for payment.

2. Automatic split payments

With a gateway such as Stripe Connect or PayPal Marketplace, each order is split at checkout and the vendor’s share goes directly to the vendor’s connected account. Vendors are paid faster and the admin does less work. The trade-off: vendors must complete the gateway’s onboarding, and the gateway must be available in the vendor’s country.

Withdrawal settings that prevent problems

• Minimum withdraw limit: stops tiny payouts that cost more in fees than they are worth.
• Withdraw threshold (days): holds earnings for a set period after the order, so refunds can be processed before the vendor is paid.
• Allowed order statuses: usually only Completed orders should count toward the balance.
• Withdraw methods: enable only the methods you can actually pay with.
• Schedules: Dokan Pro can run withdrawals on a schedule (weekly, monthly), which vendors appreciate.

Refunds and partial refunds

A refund after the vendor has been paid is the hardest case. Dokan Pro lets vendors request refunds that the admin approves, and adjusts the vendor balance accordingly. With split payments the gateway handles reversal, but only if the vendor’s account has funds. A withdraw threshold of 7 to 14 days avoids most of this.

Reporting vendors will ask for

Vendors want to see, per order, the sale amount, commission, fees, shipping and their net earning, plus a history of withdrawals. Dokan’s vendor dashboard reports cover this, but many marketplaces add clearer earnings statements or monthly summaries by email. Clear statements reduce “where is my money?” tickets more than anything else.

Settings checklist before launch

1. Global commission type and rate decided and documented
2. Shipping, tax and gateway fee ownership decided and in vendor terms
3. Payout method chosen: manual withdrawals or split payments
4. Minimum withdraw limit and threshold days set
5. Only Completed orders count toward balance
6. Test orders, refunds and withdrawals run on staging, with real numbers checked