Referrals, commission and payout

Attribution begins with the official link

Each approved Partner receives an official referral link. When a customer uses it, AlphaBlue validates the referral identity and carries the attribution into checkout.

The browser does not decide the commission rate. The backend applies the approved policy, accepted terms, Partner status, and any individual override when payment succeeds.

If a customer does not use an attributable path, AlphaBlue may not be able to connect the payment to the Partner. A Partner should never edit the referral identity or add a commission rate to the URL.

Acquisition and renewal are separate

Acquisition commission applies to eligible value in the customer’s first qualifying purchase.

Renewal commission applies to eligible recurring items in later payments. It uses a separate tier because continuing services have different economics from the first website build.

A Partner may receive an approved individual override for acquisition, renewal, or both. The approvals are independent. Renewal revenue does not increase the acquisition tier.

How commission is calculated

Commission is not always calculated from the full amount paid.

actual successful payment
- excluded or non-commissionable value
= eligible amount

eligible amount
x effective commission rate
= gross commission

gross commission
- withholding
+ or - adjustments
= net payable

The system saves the eligible amount, effective rate, rate source, and policy version with the transaction. A later tier or override change does not rewrite an older sale.

For renewal, each item must have an explicit commission policy. Domain, Mailbox, free items, and unknown new items are excluded by default unless the current policy says otherwise.

Why there is a 14-day cooling period

Payment success is not always the final financial state. A customer may request a refund, a payment can be disputed, or a chargeback can arrive after checkout.

The 14-day cooling period gives these common early issues time to appear before commission becomes available for payout.

successful payment
-> pending commission
-> 14-day cooling period
-> available commission

Cooling does not reduce the approved rate. It changes when the commission can enter a payout.

Minimum payout and carry forward

AlphaBlue processes payouts in monthly batches. The current public rules below show the live minimum payout.

If available commission is below that minimum:

• the balance is not deleted;
• it remains visible as available;
• it carries forward into the next payout cycle;
• new available commission is added until the minimum is reached.

The minimum avoids repeated very small transfers and keeps statements, withholding, bank references, and reconciliation clear.

When payout information is incomplete

Commission can be recorded even when payout cannot yet be sent.

A payout may wait when:

• required payout or tax information is incomplete;
• the payout account cannot be verified;
• a compliance review creates a Payout Hold;
• the available balance is below the current minimum.

A hold is not the same as a paid payout. The Partner Console should show the reason and the next action without marking the balance as paid.

Refunds, disputes, and negative adjustments

The original commission entry remains in the ledger.

A full refund, partial refund, chargeback, or correction creates a separate visible adjustment. If a payout was already sent, a later negative adjustment can reduce a future payout balance.

This approach keeps the history auditable:

original commission
+ positive adjustment
- refund or chargeback adjustment
= current balance

What happens when a Partner exits

A normal voluntary exit stops new referral activity. The Partner cannot create or reactivate new referral links and the referral area becomes a read-only settlement view.

Pending, available, and paid history remains visible. Existing renewal rights and future payments follow the accepted terms and the order-level rights already recorded.

Suspension and termination for a policy or compliance reason are different from a normal exit. They can affect future referral or renewal rights according to the applicable terms. The public Academy cannot override the signed agreement or an account-specific decision.

Public rules and personal rules

The rules shown below are the current public program rules. They include:

• standard acquisition and renewal tiers;
• eligible and excluded renewal categories;
• cooling period;
• minimum payout;
• payout frequency.

The authenticated Partner Console is the authority for personal effective rates, individual overrides, payout holds, tax treatment, statements, and account status.

Do not use an old screenshot or copied number as the final authority.