Partner programs and commissions
Referral links and coupon codes with first-referral-wins attribution, a per-referral status timeline in the partner portal, milestones with bonuses and stepped-up rates, a review queue for flagged accruals, partner tax-document upload — and an append-only commission ledger on collected revenue.
Run a partner or affiliate program whose commissions live inside your books. Turn on Partner programs in Modules & features (beta). Finocket never moves money — it computes exactly what each partner is owed and your accountant executes the payout.
Programs & partners
On Partners, create a single-tier program with a rate in basis points, a cookie window and a hold period, then invite a partner by name and email. The invite email (or the copyable invite link) points them at the self-serve portal: they sign up with the email you invited, and their account is linked to your program automatically — no manual matching. Once linked, a partner sees their referral links, attributed-lead count and what they're owed — and only their own rows.
Attribution
Referral links (/r/<code>) attribute leads to a partner on a first-referral-wins basis — the first partner to refer a lead keeps the attribution, and later touches never overwrite it — within a configurable cookie window; the attribution flows through to the ledger. Coupon codes (below) attribute the same way, without needing a cookie at all.
What your partner sees
The portal isn't just a balance. Each referral shows its partner a step-by-step status timeline: captured → lead → first invoice → payment collected → commission accrued → on hold until a date → released → paid. "Where's my commission?" answers itself, because the partner can see exactly which step each referral is on and why a hold is still running. Partners only ever see their own rows.
The portal also carries your share kit: WhatsApp-ready messages and links you write once on Partners, which partners copy with their referral link already appended — no mangled links, no off-brand pitches. And if the program has milestones, the portal shows each partner their progress toward the next bonus or rate step.
Coupon codes
Links need a click; a lot of real referrals happen over WhatsApp or in person. Coupon codes cover those: on Partners, mint a code for a partner — with an optional usage cap and expiry — and the partner shares it however they like. When the referred client gives you the code, you enter it on their invoice: the referral attributes to that partner (first referral still wins — a code never overwrites an earlier attribution), and if the program has a referee discount, it's applied automatically to that client's first invoice as a visible line. The partner earns, the new client saves, and nothing depended on a cookie.
Milestones and bonuses
Set milestones on a program as conversion or revenue thresholds. When a partner crosses one, Finocket posts a one-time cash bonus to the commission ledger (once — replays never double it), and the milestone can optionally step the partner up to a higher commission rate that applies automatically to accruals from then on. Bonuses live in the same append-only ledger as commissions, so they land on the monthly statement like everything else — and, as always, your accountant executes any payout.
The commission ledger
Commission accrues on collected revenue — not clicks — with holds and clawbacks. The ledger is append-only and idempotent: corrections are new rows, replaying a payment yields exactly one effect, and money is stored as integer minor units so it never drifts.
When an accrual is held for review
If a referral's email or phone matches the partner's own, the accrual is still recorded — the books stay honest — but it's flagged and held out of the payable balance until you look at it. A review queue on Partners shows every flagged accrual; approve it and it joins the normal hold-and-release flow, reject it and it never becomes payable. Nothing is silently blocked, and nothing flagged reaches a statement's payable total without your say-so.
Tax documents
Invite a partner with their email and the portal links itself when they sign up with it; from there they submit their own tax details — PAN (India), ABN with a GST-registered flag (Australia) or tax ID (US) — and can upload the document itself (PAN card, W-9, ABN declaration) from the portal. Uploads go to a private vault only you and your accountant use; statements show a per-partner docs-on-file chip, and anyone missing details is flagged on the statement so your CA knows exactly who can be paid correctly.
Related: Commission statements.