Running a Subscription Affiliate Program

A renewal charge can create an obligation for the referring partner. Before including that obligation in a payout, compare the charge with the partner agreement. The agreement may cover ongoing renewals, a fixed period, or a set number of eligible renewal charges. If you are still choosing a term, see How Much Should You Pay Affiliates and Partners?.

Prepare the program and agreement

Check the Integration Feature Matrix before offering renewal commissions on your commerce stack. WooCommerce renewal support requires WooCommerce Subscriptions; Easy Digital Downloads renewal support requires Recurring Payments.

For initial-sale setup, start with the Basic Affiliate Program recipe. If the agreement calls for ongoing customer revenue sharing, see the Business Partner Revenue Share recipe. Neither recipe replaces the terms you agree with the partner.

Before the first payout review, record the collaborator, customer or subscription, commission rate, and when the term begins. Specify an end date or eligible renewal count if the term has a limit. Define which charges and revenue count, whether the first paid charge counts toward any limit, and how the agreement treats cancellations, refunds, upgrades, and downgrades. Keep this record available to whoever reviews obligations.

Review subscription affiliate renewal commissions

Use the agreement for each renewal obligation in a fulfillment run:

1. Match the obligation to the customer or subscription and its renewal charge. Resolve any unclear match before selecting the obligation.
2. Compare the charge date and renewal count with the agreed start and end points. Count from the event specified in the agreement, distinguishing the first paid charge from later renewals.
3. Check the charge against the agreed definition of eligible revenue. Apply the recorded rules if the customer changed plans, received a refund, or cancelled.
4. Select eligible obligations using How to Pay Collaborators. For each obligation left out of the fulfillment run, keep the charge reference and the agreement-based reason in your review record.

Example: first charge and later renewal

At a 20% commission rate, a referred first sale of 10,000 units produced a 2,000-unit obligation. A later 5,000-unit renewal produced a 1,000-unit obligation for the same referrer. The amounts show how the commission follows each charge. Whether the renewal belongs in a payout still depends on the agreed term and eligible revenue.