Australian Affiliates and Payment...

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tonybogs

tonybogs

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Nov 6, 2008
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Hey Guys,

I know there are a few Australian affiliates hopefully someone can help me out. This will apply for any international affiliates. Ca, UK etc.

Been going strictly SEO for 6 months or so with the occasional PPC for testing. Just recently started PPC - CPA and its going ok but I'm finding it very hard to track my profit accurately.

Since I work in Australian dollars I prepay for ads in USD which is fine. Then run a campaign and earn in USD. But the dollar is never the same by the time I get paid as it was when I spent the cash intially. So I might have a small profit but by the time I get the cash its turned into a loss (which is happening right now with our dollar getting stronger)

How do you guys do it? My thoughts are to open up a US bank account and process everything through that. Just let the money accumulate in there until such a time as I can withdraw larger sums.

I can live OK off my SEO Sites, dont need flash car or watches (yet) but I REALLY need to keep track fo exactly what Im spending vs. what Im earning.

Thanks in advance
 


Well, opening a US bank account does sound like your best bet.
However, are the dollar prices fluctuating SO much that profits turn into losses in a few days?
Probably you aren't getting a profit margin that is good enough :)
 
With the way the AUD is going I've been happy getting paid the earlier the better, since every day it keeps fucking going up.

I don't have a USD account, I'm happy doing the conversions as quickly as possible so everything just goes right into my regular NAB account.

For tracking, I just compare the charges on my AUD credit card with the deposits that get put into my account, also in AUD. It's not that difficult to track what credit card transaction came from what day.
 
Yeah i just do the conversion and hope for the best. It is bullshit the aussie dollar get stronger cause it already costs me like $18 to cash a U.S cheque (check) that I keep getting from clickbank and I have no idea why or what site i have a aff link on haha.
 
pax said:
Yeah i just do the conversion and hope for the best. It is bullshit the aussie dollar get stronger cause it already costs me like $18 to cash a U.S cheque (check) that I keep getting from clickbank and I have no idea why or what site i have a aff link on haha.
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What bank are you with?

I get charged $10 for US cheques with the NAB, and $8 incoming wire fee.
 
Actually I can send $ in whatever country you are in so it translates in proper currency and won't fluctuate, but that's just how I do it -- or you can prob. get a bank account setup here.
 
hannahmcintyre said:
What bank are you with?

I get charged $10 for US cheques with the NAB, and $8 incoming wire fee.
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$10 is damn good. Westpac charge me $20 now.

Tony - I don't think there is really much you can do, other than start a US account. And even then, you have to pay yourself sometime so you are going to run the currency gauntlet eventually.

And remember the dollar comes down sometimes too...doesn't it? Maybe sometime soon :(
 
Shit westpac are a bit steep, Bankwest only charge $15 for usd conversions but you know what sucks ass, it takes 30 business days with no other way of faster deposits as most networks dont pay in AUD. Amazon seriously need to get their shit together and do international deposit especially when they are some decent amounts to deposit that warrant the cost, I would not mind paying a fee for this so at least we get express clearance on earnings.

USD bank accounts can be tricky, complicated tax issues as money is technically earnt and held in us you may need to file us tax forms I dunno need to speak to a international specialist accountant I guess.

Keep this thread posted but as Im sure others will benefit from a suitable outcome.

Peace.
 
You may also find that to open an US dollar account with citibank or hsbc etc you will need to have a minimum deposit of US$10,000.

CBA only charge $10 to cash a foreign currency chq. Of course don't forget the 21 working day hold before funds are released.

As far as Clickbank is concerned. I get the money direct deposited straight into my Aus bank account weekly. No charges. Except for the clickbank $2.50 Charge.
 
Guys! Talk to your manager! They should waive the 20 working day clearance period if you are doing consistent business with them. No excuses!

And yeah Westpac sucks (fees are unbelievable). I'd much rather be with Bendigo or BankWest but the Big 3 are more recognisable overseas, which helps when it comes to getting checks cleared. Or at least it used to.
 
Where possible, I tried to get paid in Euro or Canadian dollars. They're a lot more stable, so whilst the math gets a bit more fucked up with all the conversions, you're less likely to lose money when we find out once again that Chairman Rudd's People's Party are actually doing a half decent job with the shitty economy (Competency in Government!?!? THAT'S NOT WHAT I VOTED FOR!!!).

If your network offers ePassporte, seriously consider getting an account. You can get a VISA "electron" debit card attached to the account, so the balance stays there in USD, and you can just buy shit or pay for your ads directly from it. Or use it to withdraw actual cash from an ATM if you feel like it.

Lastly, for the cheques, considering the fees for cashing them, I've set all my minimum payouts at $500. Doesn't make too much of a difference in the end, and the transaction fee represents a much smaller percentage of the money being taken out.
 
HarveyJ said:
Where possible, I tried to get paid in Euro or Canadian dollars. They're a lot more stable, so whilst the math gets a bit more fucked up with all the conversions, you're less likely to lose money when we find out once again that Chairman Rudd's People's Party are actually doing a half decent job with the shitty economy (Competency in Government!?!? THAT'S NOT WHAT I VOTED FOR!!!).
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Shame isn't it. I was hoping they would be much worse than this. Where's our recession? No fair!

Nice idea about the alternative currencies. Do you pay your outgoings in those currencies too?
 
I've opened all my ppc accounts in US dollars and just compare everything in US dollars to work out if something is profitable. Any fees associated with converting between currencies is taken into account at the end of the month (or whenever I get around to doing it).

I'm going to apply for a USD credit card with american express (need 2 years worth of profit/loss and tax returns from your accountant) which should make calculating the funding a little easier.
 
I use Westpac - $20 - but they let me deposit 5-6 at once for that fee, as long as they are all $US from US banks, and I provide a schedule (just a print out of the check details). And they negotiate it as cash - no waiting 30 days. Ask you bank if they can do this for you. The downside is that they might not like it if the total approaches $1K or more...

For larger checks I use St George - roughly $5 each, and you can deposit 3 at a time. Takes 30 days to clear.

If you will eventually use the money in Australia, deposit the money in Australia. If you keep it in a $US account, then you are currency trading, and that is gambling. Even the best of the best currency traders regularly get it wrong. We could be at 0.60 next week, or 0.90 - no way of knowing.

Of course if you spend time in the USA, or you have major expenses in the USA, then it may be useful having it in an account over there.
So I might have a small profit but by the time I get the cash its turned into a loss (which is happening right now with our dollar getting stronger)
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In terms of ROI, if you margins are that slim, perhaps try something else. Especially if you are having to wait 30, 60 or even 90 days between earning and receiving the cash...
 
Ferbent said:
Agreed, you need to rethink your strategy if currency fluctuations are eliminating your profits.
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Exactly. If you are doing 100% ROI, then you're the exchange rate on your gross profit is hedged by the exchange rate on your expenses.

If that makes sense.

Actually I just like using the term 'hedging'.
 
neonlights said:
Exactly. If you are doing 100% ROI, then you're the exchange rate on your gross profit is hedged by the exchange rate on your expenses.

If that makes sense.

Actually I just like using the term 'hedging'.
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I'm not sure I get your point, but by my understanding you're slightly off on this.

I get paid weekly.

Lets say from June 1st to June 7th I made $10 000 USD and spent $5000 USD. However, lets say the Australian dollar went from 78 cents to 81 cents by the time I get paid, Friday the week after.

On June 1st, I spent lets say $800. That's getting charged to my credit card at 78 cents. When I get that $800 back, next Friday, it's only getting exchanged at 81 cents, so I've lost 3% profit that day just on the currency exchange alone, in the course of one week.

I definitely agree that if you've got such a low profit margin that currency fluctuations are sending you from profit to loss you really need to find something with higher margins, but if you're running everything in AUD, with the way it's going, your expenses aren't going to be charged at the same rate as your income, unless you get paid and pay daily.
 
hannahmcintyre said:
On June 1st, I spent lets say $800. That's getting charged to my credit card at 78 cents. When I get that $800 back, next Friday, it's only getting exchanged at 81 cents, so I've lost 3% profit that day just on the currency exchange alone, in the course of one week.
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Obviously that's not good but there are other times when the reverse is true and you'll gain 3% instead of losing it. In the long run, it'll more or less balance out.

I just see it as a cost of doing business and leave it at that.
 
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