Referrals

    Complete Guide

    Partners, reward programs, agreements, and the accruals and payouts that follow a paid invoice.

    By Sebastian StreiffertPublished Jan 10, 2026Updated May 4, 20267 min read

    What you can do here

    Referrals keeps track of the people and agencies who send you business: what you agreed to pay them, what they have earned, and whether it has been paid.

    It works off paid invoices rather than promises, so the number a partner sees is one your books already agree with. That is usually the end of the monthly email thread about whether a deal counted.

    • Pay an agency a share of what their referrals actually billed.
    • Show a partner their own numbers without giving them a login.
    • Hand finance one approved batch instead of a spreadsheet of maybes.
    • See which partners are worth keeping warm.
    A partner
    Partner: Harbour Digital

    9

    Sourced

    4

    Won

    1,850

    Pending

    InvoiceBasisStatus
    INV-104212,000Approved
    INV-10398,500Pending
    INV-102115,000Paid
    • 1
      Scorecard: Sourced, won, and what is owed
    • 2
      Earnings: One line per paid invoice, with its status

    Set up a partner

    1

    Create the partner

    A partner is always backed by a contact, and can be linked to an agency company. Choose the type: agency, advisor, past client, employee, or other.
    2

    Define the reward as a program

    A program is a reusable template you attach to as many partners as you like. Set it up once rather than retyping the terms for each agreement.
    3

    Create the agreement

    This is the deal with one particular partner: which program applies, and from when. It can be open-ended or run to a date, and moves through draft, active, expired, or terminated.
    Link the signed document from Contracts. When someone questions the terms in a year, the agreement and the paperwork are one click apart.

    Choose a reward model

    ModelPays
    Percent of revenueA share of each paid invoice. The usual choice for ongoing work.
    Fixed per invoiceA flat amount every time an invoice is paid.
    Fixed per dealA flat amount once, when the deal lands. Good for one-off introductions.

    What the percentage applies to

    Pick whether a percentage is taken from the subtotal, which leaves tax out, or the total amount. Subtotal is the normal answer, and it is worth being explicit in the agreement so nobody is surprised.

    Limits

    A program can also run for a set number of months and stop, and can carry a lifetime cap. Leave either blank for "forever" and "no cap".

    Credit the deal

    A partner only earns when a deal is credited to them. This is the step teams forget, and it is the first thing to check when the numbers look low.

    1

    Open the deal

    Find the Source & Referral panel.
    2

    Set the source and the partner

    You can also record the individual contact and company who made the introduction, separately from the partner they belong to.
    The chain runs partner, then agreement, then a credited deal, then a paid invoice. If any link is missing, nothing is earned and nothing warns you. Start at the deal panel.

    Approve what has been earned

    Earnings appear on their own as invoices get paid. Each line shows the partner, the customer, the invoice, what it was calculated on, and the amount.

    StatusWhat it means
    PendingEarned, waiting for someone to sign it off.
    ApprovedSigned off and ready to be paid.
    PaidSettled in a payout.
    VoidCancelled, with a reason recorded.

    Approve them one at a time or in bulk. Voiding asks for a reason, so a disputed line leaves a record rather than quietly disappearing. You can also add an earning by hand for the cases the agreement does not cover.

    Pay it out

    A payout groups approved earnings into one batch for finance, with a label, a period, a total, and a reference. Export it to CSV for whoever actually moves the money, then mark it settled once they have.

    • Only approved earnings can go into a payout.
    • A payout stays a draft until you settle it.
    • Settling marks everything in it as paid.
    Turn on a partner statement link and they can check their own numbers whenever they like. You can mask customer names on it, which matters when one agency refers several of your clients.

    When something looks wrong

    What you seeWhat to do
    A partner says a deal is missingOpen the deal and check the Source & Referral panel names them.
    A won deal earned nothingThe invoice has not been paid yet. Earnings follow payment, not the close.
    The amount looks wrongCheck whether the program pays on subtotal or total, and whether it has hit its cap.
    Nothing can go into a payoutOnly approved earnings are eligible. Approve them first.

    Quick reference

    Open it: Sidebar → Referrals
    Tabs: Partners · Accruals · Payouts
    Reward models: Percent of revenue · Fixed per invoice · Fixed per deal
    Earnings follow: Paid invoices, not closed deals
    Partner self-service: A statement link, no login needed

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