How does the affiliate manager work?#
A visitor clicks an affiliate's link, becomes a lead on your form, booking page or funnel, and later pays. Agent Studio connects each step and writes the commission for you.
- The affiliate shares a link like
/ref/CODE/campaign. The click is recorded and the visitor lands on your page. - The referral is remembered for the campaign's cookie window, on your CRM sites, forms, booking pages and pay pages, custom domains included.
- When that visitor fills a form, books or orders, the new contact is credited to the affiliate on first touch.
- When the contact pays an invoice, payment link or funnel order, a commission is created on the covered amount.
- After the hold period it is approved, then it lands in Ready to pay for your next payout.
How do I set up an affiliate campaign?#
Add what you sell in Payments, create a campaign on Affiliates, and share the portal. The Overview tab walks you through it as a launch checklist.
Launch your affiliate program
Step 1: Add products or payment links
Commissions pay on what the CRM sells, so add your products and payment links in Payments first.Open PaymentsStep 2: Create a campaign
On the Campaigns tab press New campaign, set the commission, cookie window, hold period and approval, then Create campaign.Open CampaignsStep 3: Write the program settings
On Settings, add the Program name, Welcome text, Program terms and How payouts work. Affiliates see them in the portal and on the signup form.Open SettingsStep 4: Add your first affiliates
On Affiliates, press Add affiliate, pick a contact and tick Email them their links and portal sign-in. Or press Copy signup link on a campaign and let partners apply.Open AffiliatesStep 5: Share the portal
Copy the portal link from Settings and send it with your welcome. Affiliates sign in with their email, no password needed.
| Setting | Choices |
|---|---|
| Pays on | Every payment the CRM takes, or only the products and payment links you choose |
| Commission | Percent of the payment, or a flat amount per payment |
| Recurrence | A customer's first payment only, or every payment with renewals included, for as many months as you set |
| Levels | Add a level to pay the affiliate who recruited the seller |
| Cookie window (days) | How long a click keeps earning credit |
| Hold period (days) | How long a commission waits before approval, so refunds settle first |
| Approval | Automatic once the hold period ends, or you approve each commission |
| Minimum payout | The balance an affiliate reaches before a payout |
How do affiliates get credit for a sale?#
First touch wins: the first affiliate whose link brought a contact in gets the credit for that contact's payments.
- Links work on any landing page. Pages on another site receive the referral details on the URL.
- Coupon codes credited to an affiliate pay them when a customer uses the code.
- Credit a contact to this affiliate covers a customer they sent you who skipped the link.
- Commission overrides set a different rate for one affiliate on a campaign.
- An affiliate never earns on their own purchases.
How do I approve and pay commissions?#
Commissions move from held to approved to paid, and the Payouts tab shows who is owed. Pay by PayPal, Wise, bank transfer or check, then record the payout so balances and the portal stay exact.
- On Commissions, approve one early or decline a suspicious one.
- Ready to pay groups approved commissions per affiliate once they reach the campaign minimum.
- Record payout saves the method and a transaction id or check number, and marks the commissions paid.
- Export for a mass payout downloads a CSV for PayPal, Wise or your bank.
- Batch payouts automatically groups what is due on a schedule with a minimum balance.
- A refund reverses the commission on that payment. If it was already paid, the next payout nets it out.
What do affiliates see in the partner portal?#
Each affiliate signs in to your portal with a one-time email link and sees their own results: referral links, clicks, leads, customers, pending, approved and paid commissions, payouts and a form for their payout details.
- Customers show as first name and last initial, so referral data stays private.
- Each campaign with signup on has its own application page. Applicants land as pending for you to approve.
- The portal reads in English or Spanish.
- Suspending an affiliate signs them out everywhere and stops their links.
Can I automate my affiliate program?#
Yes. Triggers fire when an affiliate joins, earns a commission, gets paid or has a commission reversed by a refund. The Add to Affiliate Program step enrolls any contact in a campaign and emails their link.
Give affiliates something worth sharing: a coupon for their audience or one of your SaaS plans.