I'm not sure why all of these affiliate trackers for Joomla are calculating commissions on total sale... this is terribly wrong! I'm guessing businesses aren't really using these affiliate components to pay out much money? Let's look at a scenario:

If we have a $100 product and are paying a commission to an affiliate of 30%, we should pay them $30, correct?

BUT, the way Affiliate Tracker (and others like AWOAffiliate) is on total sale... so let's say we have a sales tax ($9.50), and shipping ($50) the total sale is now $159.50... If the 30% commission is calculated on that amount, we are going to be paying out $47.85 (on a $100 product)- so, we're actually paying that affiliate 47.85%, not 30%!!!!

Anyone that is using this component: If you're wondering why you're losing money, now you know!