Affiliate Program
With the built-in affiliate program, you can reward affiliates, influencers, or promotional customers for orders they refer. This guide shows you how to create affiliates, how the store assigns an order to an affiliate via an affiliate link, coupon code, or fixed customer loyalty, and how to settle commissions.
At a Glance
- Settings: under Settings → SEO / SEA → Affiliate Program. By default, an affiliate receives 10% of the net value of all items in a referred order.
- Create a Partner: Every partner is a customer. Under Customers → Customers, enable “Customer is a partner” in the “Affiliate Program” tab. Partners cannot register themselves.
- Assignment: via a partner link with
?ref=(applies to the current visit), via a coupon with a partner, or via a fixed customer association (applies every time the customer logs in). - Coupon Code Only: For influencers with a discount code, disable promotional materials and affiliate links for the affiliate and assign the coupon to them.
- Settlement: Under Tools → Affiliate Program → Commission Payments. The store generates the commission statement; you transfer the funds yourself.
In this guide
Not covered in this guide: Vouchers and coupons in general ( Vouchers & Coupons Guide), newsletters ( Newsletter Guide), and the “We also recommend” product recommendations on the product page—see Frequently Asked Questions.
How the store assigns an order to an affiliate
A partner is a customer whom you have activated as a partner. Their partner ID is their customer ID. Whenever an order is completed, the store checks which partners are associated with the order and records a sale with commission for each one.
| How | How | How long the assignment is valid |
|---|---|---|
| Partner link | The visitor arrives at the store via a link containing ?ref= and the partner ID. | For the visitor’s current session |
| Coupon with affiliate | The customer redeems a coupon to which you have assigned one or more partners. | For the order in which the coupon actually applies a discount |
| Fixed Customer Association | You assign one or more partners to a customer in the backend. | For every order the customer places while logged in, as long as the assignment remains in effect |
| Manually | You select the partner in the order editor or via a marketing response. | For this specific order |
What Never Generates a Commission
- Ordersplaced by the affiliate themselves, whether via their own link or their own coupon.from 4.9.128
- Page views that the store identifies as search engine bots. They generate neither a click nor an attribution.
- Affiliates you have since deleted, even if they are still in an active session.from 4.9.128
Basic Settings
The settings for all affiliates are located under Settings → SEO / SEA → Affiliate Program. First, enter the email address; a placeholder is displayed by default.
The default settings for the affiliate program, shown here with a custom email address and without “Returned/Canceled” in the order status for billing, as recommended. Click to enlarge.
| Setting | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| “Email Address” | Placeholder | Sender of emails to partners, such as for billing, and default for “Send Email to Partner” |
| “Percentage per Partner Sale” | 10 | Commission as a percentage. Also serves as the minimum rate for individual partners. |
| “Individual Partner Percentage” | true | displays the “Commission per Sale” field for the partner. If “ false ” is selected, the general rate applies to all partners. |
| “General Commission” | true | true: All items in the order count. false: Only items assigned to the partner count; see Commission. |
| “Order Status for Billing” | “Shipped,” “Payment Received,” “Returned/Canceled” | Only sales from orders with these statuses are included in the overviews and are billed. |
| “Payment Hold” | 30 | This is the number of days after the purchase that a sale is held before you can settle it. This allows time for revocation and cancellation. |
| “Payout Threshold” | 40.00 | The minimum net commission amount a partner must reach before a payment is generated during settlement |
| “Email to Partner When a New Statement Is Available” | true | Sends the partner an email titled “New Commission Statement Available” with the statement attached as a PDF |
| “Partner Payment via PayPal,” “Partner Payment via Bank Transfer” | true | only indicate the payment method in a statement. You handle the payment itself outside the store. |
| “Automatic confirmation of Partner Terms and Conditions” | true | See Partner Terms and Conditions |
| “Coupon: Affiliate Behavior in Case of Conflict” | replace | See Coupon with Affiliate |
| “Cookie Lifetime” | 2592000 (30 days) | Not currently tracked; see “How It Works” |
Create and Activate Partners
You create partners in the backend. Each partner needs a customer account; they use this to log in to the partner area.
- Under Customers → Customers, open the partner’s account or create a new one.
- In the “Affiliate Program” tab, toggle the “Customer is an affiliate” switch to “On.”
- Enter the commission rate as a percentage under “Commission per Sale.” A value of 0 applies the general rate. A rate lower than the general rate will not take effect.
- Under “Permissions,” specify what the partner is allowed to view and use; see Permissions.
- Save your changes. The partner ID is the customer ID that you see in the “ID” field on the customer screen.
- The partner logs in to the store using their customer account. If they were already logged in, they must log in again for the partner area to appear. If they do not yet have a password, send them a link from the customer screen using “Generate Password Link.”
A partner who earns solely through their discount code: 15% commission, promotional materials and partner links disabled; the coupon ERIKA10 is assigned to them. Click to enlarge.
Partner List
Tools → Affiliate Program → Affiliates opens the customer list with the “Affiliates” tab, filtered to show only your affiliates. In the regular customer list, affiliates are marked with the “Affiliate” label. The main administrator can view an affiliate’s statistics by selecting the action menu for that row.
Remove a Partner
If you disable “Customer is also a partner,” the store will remove the partner along with their customer assignments. Coupons will no longer be assigned to them. Sales that have already been booked will remain unchanged.
- Under Tools → Affiliate Program → Contact, you can send an email to affiliates. Enter the addresses there as the “Recipient List”: “All Affiliates.” The affiliate newsletter under Tools → Affiliate Program → Newsletter currently reaches only those affiliates whose addresses are still in the old affiliate record—for example, from previous self-registrations.
- Only users with edit permissions for Tools → Affiliate Program → Affiliates in the Permissions Editor can save affiliate data. With read-only permissions, the tab is write-protected.from 4.9.128
- If a customer becomes a partner themselves, the store removes its own fixed association with other partners.
- Prospective partners can no longer register on their own; old registration links lead to the affiliate program information page.from 4.9.128
store-affiliate-login.php displays your text from the CMS page “$cms_partner_info” and the “How It Works” process. The “Partner Program” box under CMS → Box Manager (disabled by default) links to the page as “Partner Registration.” Write on the information page how interested parties can contact you.Permissions per Partner
In the “Affiliate Program” tab, three toggles under “Permissions” control what a partner sees in the partner area and how the store assigns them.from 4.9.128
| Switch | Default | Off |
|---|---|---|
| "Customer Overview" | Off | The partner cannot see either the “Assigned Customers” page or the buyer names in their sales list. |
| “Promotional Materials in the Partner Area” | On | Banners, text links, and the link tools disappear. The overview remains accessible. |
| “Assignment via Partner Links (?ref=)” | Regarding | Links containing this partner’s partner ID no longer track anything. Click reports and click metrics are hidden. Coupons associated with this partner continue to count. |
Only via the coupon code
Turn off “Promotional Materials in the Partner Area” and “Attribution via Partner Links (?ref=).” Then the partner will only receive commission if a customer redeems their coupon or through a fixed customer retention arrangement. In the partner area, they’ll see an overview, sales, commissions, partner terms and conditions, and the newsletter. This works well for influencers with their own discount code.
Without tools, using your links
Just disable “Promotional Materials in the Partner Area.” The partner will then not create links on their own, but links containing their partner ID—which you provide—will still be attributed to them.
Restricted pages remain restricted even when accessed via a direct URL; the partner will then see the message “This area is not enabled for your partner account.” A custom template without the new toggles may still display the menu items, but the restriction will still apply.
The Partner Area in the Store
After logging in with their customer account, the partner will find the “Affiliate Program” section in the account menu. The “Summary” menu item opens the “Affiliate Program Overview”: It greets them with “Your Affiliate ID” and displays their key metrics.
The partner area in the store: Summary with Partner ID and key metrics; on the right, the account menu with all pages of the partner program. Click to enlarge.
Reports and Statistics
“Clicks” with date, clicked item, and referring page. “Sales” showing order number, date, net value, commission rate, commission amount, and order status. “Commissions” with settlement statements as PDF files. “Assigned Customers” shows only the customer overview.
Banner, Text, and Product Links
“Banner Overview,” “Banner Links,” “Product Links,” “Category Links,” “Text Links,” as well as “Create Custom Product Link” and “Create Custom Category Link.” Each tool generates ready-to-use HTML code that includes the partner ID.
Terms and Conditions and Newsletter
“Affiliate Terms and Conditions” displays your terms of participation. Under “Newsletter,” the affiliate can sign up for your affiliate newsletter. In the “Affiliate Program” box, “Questions and Answers” links to the text on the CMS page “$cms_partner_faq.”
The “Affiliate Program” box displays the same pages as a list for registered affiliates. Permissions determine what is hidden.
Affiliate Links and Marketing Materials
An affiliate link is a standard store URL with the suffix ref= and the affiliate ID. It works on any page of the store, such as https://ihr-shop.example/?ref=123 or appended to a product page.
What Happens When You Click
- The store checks whether the partner exists and whether their “Assignment via Partner Links (?ref=)” is enabled.
- It records the click along with the date, IP address, browser, referring page, and product, and saves the affiliate for the current session.
- A subsequent link from another partner replaces the first one.
- If a customer logs in with a permanent customer account, the store replaces the link partner with the customer’s assigned partner.
Invalid links
Only numbers are valid. The store ignores ref=instagram, unknown, or blocked partner IDs: no click, no assignment; an existing assignment remains intact.from 4.9.128
“Create Custom Product Link” generates ready-to-use HTML code for image and text links; the partner ID appears after “ref=”. Click to enlarge.
Provide Banners for Affiliates
Under Tools → Affiliate Program → Banners, you can create promotional materials that your affiliates will find in the affiliate area:
- “Banner Name (Title)” and “Image File”
- “Product Number”: The banner links to this item. 0 links to the homepage.
- “Category Number”: The banner links to this category. 0 links to the home page.
All banners are listed under “Banner Links” and “Text Links”; banners linking to specific products are listed under “Product Links”; and banners linking to specific categories are listed under “Category Links.” The store tracks clicks on banners by banner, partner, and day.
Discount Code for Partners and Influencers
You can assign one or more partners to a coupon. If a customer redeems the coupon, the order is credited to the partner—even without a partner link. This is how you compensate influencers who share their own discount code.
- To create a partner, see “Create a Partner.” For a code-only partner, disable promotional materials and partner links.
- Create a coupon under Products → Vouchers & Coupons → Coupon Admin, for example, with a 10% discount. See the Vouchers & Coupons guide for instructions.
- In the coupon form, select the partner under “Affiliate Partner.” Alternatively, go to the partner’s dashboard and navigate to the “Affiliate Program” tab → “Assigned Coupons” → “Assign Coupon”; there you’ll find all active coupons that haven’t yet been assigned to this partner.
- Provide the code to the partner. The partner area does not display this code.
Rules for Coupon Partners
- To redeem the coupon, the customer must be logged in. If they are not, the store will first direct them to log in.
- The coupon is only valid if it reduces the order total. If the order fails to meet the minimum order value or due to the items selected, a previously clicked partner link takesprecedence.from 4.9.128
- A customer can never credit themselves with a commission using a coupon.
- The commission is calculated based on the merchandise value before the coupon discount is applied; see Commission.
Partner Link and Coupon in the Same Order
If a customer arrives via one affiliate’s link and redeems another affiliate’s coupon, the following settings apply : Settings → SEO / SEA → Affiliate Program → Coupon: Affiliate Behavior in Case of Conflict:
| Value | Who Receives Commission |
|---|---|
replace (Default) | Only the coupon affiliate. They also establish a permanent customer relationship.from 4.9.128 |
add | Coupon partner and link partner, each receives their own commission |
keep | First come, first served: The coupon partner only counts if no other partner is already in the session. |
A partner link that the customer clicks only after redeeming the coupon does not displace the coupon partner at replace and keep.from 4.9.128
Fixed Customer Loyalty and “Customers Refer Customers”
With a permanent customer association, a partner earns commission on all of a customer’s orders, not just the first visit. You set up the association in the backend; the store never creates it on its own, not even when a customer registers via a partner link.
For the customer
Under Customers → Customers, open the customer’s profile and go to the “Affiliate Program” tab. If the customer is not an affiliate, “Assigned Affiliates” will be displayed there. Click “Add Affiliate” to assign them to one or more affiliates, or click “Delete” to remove an assignment.
For the Partner
In the partner’s “Affiliate Program” tab, under “Assigned Customers,” use “Add Customers” to add customers. The partner can only see them in the partner area if “Customer Overview” is enabled.
Permanent customer assignment: The customer is assigned to partner Erika Musterfrau; the store saves changes immediately. Click to enlarge.
- The store saves changes to this assignment immediately, without needing to click “Save.”
- The assignment takes effect every time the customer logs in. If the customer places an order as a guest or without logging in, the assignment does not apply.
- If there are multiple partners, each receives their commission.
- A changed association takes effect starting with the next login. You can modify orders that have already been placed in the Order Editor (below).
Customers Refer Customers
There is no dedicated referral feature; you set it up using the partner program: Activate the referring customer as a partner and provide them with their partner link or a personal coupon. If they bring in a new customer, assign that customer permanently to them. If the referrer is to receive store credit instead of a cash payout, manually enter the amount from the invoice as customer credit; see Vouchers & Coupons.
Assign an Order Retrospectively
Under Orders → Orders, open the order in the order editor. In the “Affiliate” section, select one or more affiliates or deselect them. When you save, the store recalculates the commission. The order view displays the affiliates under “Affiliates.” For more information on the editor, see the Orders Guide.
How the store calculates the commission
Commission = commissionable merchandise value × commission rate. The merchandise value is the net price of the items multiplied by the quantity, excluding shipping, surcharges, and tax, and before deducting coupon, discount, and cash discount lines.
Example: A customer orders two items at €50.00 net each and redeems a partner’s 10% coupon with a 15% commission.
- Commissionable merchandise value: 2 × €50.00 = €100.00
- Commission: 15% of €100.00 = €15.00
- The coupon reduces the invoice amount, not the commission base.
Which rate applies
- With “Individual Partner Percentage” on
true, the partner’s “Commission per Sale” applies, but never less than the “Percentage per Partner Sale.” - If you want one partner to receive less than the others, lower the general rate and enter higher rates for the remaining partners.
- Commissions are paid only as a percentage. The affiliate program does not offer fixed amounts per sale, tiered rates, or pay-per-click compensation.
Which items count
- “General Commission” on
true: all items in the order. - On
false: only items to which you have assigned the affiliate. The “Affiliate” field then appears under Products → Categories / Products in the item’s “Miscellaneous” tab. - With
false, the commission is already correctly displayed in the affiliate dashboard immediately after the purchase, not just after settlement.from 4.9.128
Recalculation occurs before settlement
If you modify an order in the order editor—for example, in the case of a partial return—the store recalculates the commission. Before each settlement—even in the preview—it recalculates all sales it intends to settle once more: using the current order contents and, if “Individual Partner Percentage” is set to true, the partner’s current rate. A changed rate therefore also applies to sales that have not yet been settled.
You can view all sales with order value, rate, and commission amount (net) under Tools → Partner Program → Sales; totals across all partners can be found under Tools → Partner Program → Summary.
Commission for Restored Orders
If a customer abandons the checkout process after making a payment, some payment providers will create the paid order retroactively on their own. In this case, the storewill stillpost the commission.from 4.9.135
| Payment Provider | What the store knows |
|---|---|
| Stripe, Adyen | Affiliate link, coupon with affiliate, and fixed customer loyalty from the visit during which the customer made the payment. The same rules apply as for a normal order completion. If this information is missing—for example, for a payment made before the update—only the fixed customer loyalty counts. |
| PayPal Checkout | Only the fixed customer loyalty applies. The restoration process does not recognize affiliate links or coupons. |
| Datatrans, Unzer, VR Payment, manual restoration | These orders go through the normal checkout process, and the commission is posted as usual. |
If the affiliate is missing from a restored PayPal order, assign them in the Order Editor; see “Assign Order Retrospectively.” The store never records the same affiliate twice for the same order.
Settlement and Payment
Under Tools → Affiliate Program → Commission Payments, consolidate the billable sales for each affiliate into a commission statement. You transfer the payment yourself, via bank transfer or PayPal.
- Open the “Start Settlement (Preview)” tab.
- Under “Commission Calculation Settings,” apply any necessary filters: “Time Period” with start and end dates, “Payment Hold” (ignore or specify your own “Number of Days”), “Payment Threshold” (ignore or specify your own “Minimum Payment Threshold”), and “Limit Settlement” to a single partner. Then click “Confirm.”
- Review the “Settlement Preview” showing the orders for each partner.
- Click “Process Settlement.” A settlement with the status “Pending” is created for each partner. If “Email Partner on New Settlement” is enabled, the partner will receive it as a PDF via email.
- Transfer the amount and set the settlement to “Paid.” Clicking “Notify Partner” sends the partner an email with the new status.
Before generating the statement, specify the time period, payment conditions, payment limit, and partner; clicking “Confirm” opens the preview. Click to enlarge.
What Is Included in the Settlement
- Sales that are not yet included in any settlement
- from orders with a status listed under “Order Status for Settlement” that have not been canceled
- older than the payout hold
- if the partner’s total reaches the payout threshold
- If “Individual Invoice Number Range: Mode” is enabled (Settings → Checkout → Number Ranges), only orders with an invoice number.
The commission settlement
- The name and address are taken from the billing address in the customer account.
- The settlement adds sales tax to the net commission at the rate of your first tax class (set to “Normal” by default) for the partner’s country.
- The store does not record the partner’s bank account information.
- The partner can find all settlements in the Partner Area under “Commissions.”
Partner Terms and Conditions and Information Pages
You can manage the texts for the partner program under CMS → CMS Manager. Placeholder texts are provided by default.
| CMS Entry | Appears |
|---|---|
$cms_partner_agb | as “Partner Terms and Conditions” in the partner area and in the confirmation window |
$cms_partner_info | on the partner program’s information page for prospective partners |
$cms_partner_faq | as “Questions and Answers” in the partner area |
Confirmation of the Partner Terms and Conditions
- With “Automatic Confirmation of Partner Terms and Conditions” at
true, the store displays a window with the Partner Terms and Conditions to a partner after registration until the partner confirms them by checking the box. - If you change the page later, the store will prompt each partner again the next time they log in.
- The store saves each confirmation as proof, along with the date.
- The store only saves the confirmation if the checkbox is actually checked. from 4.10
Partner Links in Feeds and on Marketplaces
If links from price comparison sites, marketplaces, or product feeds lead to your store, you can assign them to a partner—such as an agency that manages these channels for you.
Marketplaces
Under Multichannel → (Marketplace) in the “Settings” tab, “Products” section, select the “Partner for Deep Links.” The store will then append the partner ID to the product links it sends to the marketplace. Currently, the feed to Galaxus uses these links.
Google Product Feed
Append &ref= and the partner ID to the feed address. All product links in the feed will then include the partner. For instructions on how to generate the feed address, see the Google Merchant Center guide.
CSV Export
If you retrieve an export from the xoPort CSV Import/Export Manager via its address using &ref= and the partner ID, the “Product Link (External)” column will include the partner, for example, for price comparison sites.
Here, too, only numbers are allowed; ref=idealo does not assign any values. Orders placed on the marketplace itself do not generate a commission; only purchases made in the store after clicking through do.
External Affiliate Networks
Instead of managing your own affiliates, you can offer your program through a network. The network connects you with affiliates and handles payments with them; the store simply reports the order.
Adtraction
- Under Settings → Interfaces → SEO/SEA → Additional Services → Adtraction Conversion URL, enter the address from your Adtraction program. Leaving this field blank means the feature is disabled.
- When an order is completed, the store retrieves the address directly from the server and populates it with the order number, net merchandise value (excluding shipping), coupon code, and the click ID.
- An order is only reported if the customer arrived via an Adtraction link. The store stores the ID for 365 days if the visitor agrees to “Adtraction” in the cookie banner; otherwise, it is stored only for the current visit.
- One click counts toward exactly one order. Test it this way: Click the test link and place an order during the same visit. Only Adtraction can see whether Adtraction has accepted the order.
Other Networks
- AWIN: “AWIN Tracking ID” under Settings → Interfaces → SEO/SEA → Other Services.
- ADCELL: under Settings → Interfaces → SEO/SEA → Adcell.
- Sovendus: Displays coupons from partner stores on the order confirmation. Set it up under Settings → Interfaces → SEO/SEA → Sovendus; by default, it only loads after consent is given via the cookie banner. For Swiss stores, Sovendus also requires the landing page script, which you can enable there.
Advertising Disclosure, Data Protection, and Taxes
An affiliate program involves competition law, data protection law, and tax law. The following points are guidelines, not legal advice.
Labeling Advertising
Anyone who promotes your products in exchange for a commission must generally label this as advertising—including influencers using discount codes. Require your affiliates to do so in the affiliate terms and conditions.
Data Protection
For every click, the store logs the date, IP address, browser, and referring page. Mention the affiliate program in your privacy policy. An affiliate can only view buyer names if the “Customer Overview” feature is enabled; it is disabled by default.
Taxes
The commission statement includes sales tax. There are no settings per partner, such as for private individuals, small business owners, or partners abroad. Check with your tax advisor to ensure the billing is appropriate for your partners.
Troubleshooting: Missing Commission
The most common causes, listed in the order you should check them.
The order has no partner
- Partner link: Did the customer place the order during the same visit? If they returned days later without the link, the store no longer recognizes the partner.
- Does the link contain the partner ID as a number, and is “Assignment via Partner Links (?ref=)” enabled for the partner?
- Did the affiliate place the order themselves? If so, no commission is paid.
- Coupon: Is it assigned to the affiliate, and did it apply a discount to the order? If both a link and a coupon are present, “Coupon: Affiliate Behavior in Case of Conflict” determines the outcome.
- Fixed Customer Association: Was the customer logged in when placing the order?
- Did a payment provider create the order retroactively (PayPal Checkout)? In that case, assign the affiliate in the Order Editor.
Partner present, but €0.00 or no billing
- “General Commission” is set to “
false,” and no item in the order is assigned to a partner. - “Percentage per Partner Sale” and the partner’s rate are set to 0.
- The order is not in any status from “Order Status for Billing,” or it has been canceled.
- The payout hold is still active, or the total is below the payout threshold.
- If you have your own invoice number range, the order is missing an invoice number.
- The sales were already included in a settlement that was removed using “Delete” instead of “Delete and Reset.”
The partner cannot see their area
- They are logging in via the standard customer login. If they were just activated, have them log out and log back in.
- Message “This area is not enabled for your partner account”: The toggle for this page is off; see Permissions.
- The window with the partner terms and conditions keeps popping up: The partner must check the box and confirm. If your store uses a custom template, have the window’s template checked; the store only saves the confirmation if the box is checked.from 4.10
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I set up a partner with a commission for a discount code?
How do I set up affiliate links with commissions for influencers?
?ref= and her customer ID; she can find ready-made links and banners in the Partner Area. Since a link is only valid for the current visit, also give her her own discount code; see Partner Links.Can I combine commissions and discount codes for affiliates?
How long is a partner link valid?
How do I change a customer’s affiliate after the fact?
How do I implement “Customers Refer Customers”?
Where can I find the Partner Terms and Conditions in the backend?
$cms_partner_agb.” You can enable the mandatory confirmation under Settings → SEO / SEA → Partner Program by selecting “Automatically confirm Partner Terms and Conditions.”Does a partner receive a commission on their own orders?
Can a partner receive a commission rate lower than the standard rate?
Do shipping costs and discounts count toward the commission?
Can I include an affiliate link in a newsletter?
?ref= and the affiliate ID to the links in the newsletter, for example, when running a campaign with an influencer. Orders resulting from that visit will then be credited to you. For instructions on how to write newsletters, see the Newsletter Guide.How do I pay out the commission?
Can affiliates register themselves?
Are the “We also recommend” product recommendations part of the affiliate program?
Additional Guides
We’ll set up your affiliate program with you
We’ll help you set up affiliates, create coupons for influencers, handle your first payout, and figure out why a commission is missing.
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