Video Lifecycle

Internal creator videos in ViewsBase follow a payment lifecycle. Competitor/reference videos are tracked for intelligence only and do not enter this payment pipeline.

The Pipeline

Active -> Pending CPM -> Finalized -> Paid
                \-> Rejected (can be un-rejected)

The campaign has a default counting window and auto-reject minimum. Creator-level overrides can replace those defaults for specific creators.

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 show how long remains in the counting window. The default is 7 days unless the campaign or creator has a different window.

Pending CPM

After the counting window, videos that have not been finalized or rejected can 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(finalized_views, cap) x CPM / 1000

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

min(450000, 500000) x 0.50 / 1000 = $225.00

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

min(600000, 500000) x 0.50 / 1000 = $250.00

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

Views may continue refreshing after finalization for analytics, but the payable finalized view count stays frozen.

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.

Partial payments are not modeled. Mark the selected finalized posts paid after the external payment is complete.

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

When a video reaches the end of its counting window and has CPM/cap already assigned, it can be finalized. The payable view count is locked and earnings are calculated.

Auto-Reject

Videos below the campaign or creator auto-reject minimum after the counting window can be rejected automatically. These are excluded from creator earnings.

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 can continue to have their views tracked for analytics. This is read-only for payments - it doesn't change finalized views or earnings.

Finalize Early

Sometimes a video hits its view cap before the counting window ends. 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 while the counting window still allows it. After the window expires, finalization is permanent.

TikTok vs Instagram

Both platforms follow the same lifecycle pipeline for internal creator posts. See Integrations for platform-specific behavior and Tracking & Intelligence for competitor/reference tracking.