Video Lifecycle

Every video in ViewsBase follows a status pipeline. Understanding this pipeline is key to managing your campaign efficiently.

The Pipeline

Active → Pending CPM → Finalized → Paid
                ↘ Rejected (can be un-rejected)

Statuses in Detail

Active

A video enters the system as Active. During this phase:

• TikTok: Views, likes, comments, and shares are refreshed automatically every 6 hours. No manual work needed.
• Instagram: Views, likes, and comments are refreshed automatically every 6 hours. No manual work needed.

Active videos have a countdown timer showing how long until the 7-day tracking window ends. The timer appears in the "Posted" column of the Posts table.

Pending CPM

After 7 days of tracking, videos that haven't been finalized or rejected transition to Pending CPM. This means:

• The tracking window has closed
• The video needs a CPM rate and cap assigned before earnings can be calculated

What you need to do: Go to the Posts tab, find the video, click the edit (pencil) icon, and select or enter the CPM and cap. If the creator has a tiered deal, a dropdown lets you pick the appropriate tier based on the video's audience quality (e.g., T1 percentage).

Once CPM and cap are set, the video automatically moves to Finalized.

Finalized

A finalized video has locked-in earnings. The calculation is:

earnings = min(views, cap) × CPM ÷ 1000

For example: a video with 450,000 views, a $0.50 CPM, and a 500,000 view cap earns:

min(450000, 500000) × 0.50 ÷ 1000 = $225.00

If the same video had 600,000 views, it would still earn based on the cap:

min(600000, 500000) × 0.50 ÷ 1000 = $250.00

Finalized videos appear as Payment Ready in the Posts tab and show up in the Payments tab summary.

Paid

Once you've paid the creator, mark the video as Paid in the Posts tab. This is a manual step — ViewsBase calculates the amount but doesn't process the actual payment.

You can optionally add a payment reference (e.g., a transaction ID) when marking as paid.

Tip: Use the Payments tab copy button to export all finalized amounts, then bulk-select and mark videos as paid after processing.

Rejected

Videos that don't meet campaign requirements can be Rejected with a reason. Rejected videos:

• Are excluded from all earnings calculations
• Don't appear in payment summaries
• Don't count toward campaign stats
• Can be un-rejected if you change your mind — they return to their previous status

Common rejection reasons: off-brand content, wrong product, duplicate post, too few views.

Automatic Behaviors

These happen automatically for both TikTok and Instagram videos with no manual intervention:

Auto-Finalize (7 days)

When a video reaches 7 days old and has CPM/cap already assigned, it's automatically finalized. The view count is locked and earnings are calculated.

Auto-Reject (7 days, under 1,000 views)

Videos with fewer than 1,000 views after 7 days are automatically rejected. These are considered underperforming and excluded from the campaign.

View Cap Detection

When a video's views reach or exceed the view cap, ViewsBase records the timestamp. This is informational — the cap is applied in the earnings formula regardless.

Continued Tracking

Even after finalization or payment, videos on both platforms continue to have their views tracked daily. This is read-only — it doesn't affect earnings — but lets you see how videos perform long-term.

Finalize Early

Sometimes a video hits its view cap before the 7-day window. In this case, you can finalize early to lock in the earnings immediately instead of waiting.

Click the checkmark icon on the video row in the Posts tab. The current view count becomes the finalized count, and earnings are calculated on the spot.

Note: Early finalization can be undone (unfinalized) as long as the 7-day window hasn't expired. After expiry, finalization is permanent.

TikTok vs Instagram

Both platforms follow the same lifecycle pipeline. See Integrations for more details on platform-specific behavior.