A search for mangools affiliate usually means you are looking at how a software company pays the bloggers and creators who recommend it, and wondering whether the same model would work for your own business. This article answers the design question underneath: how to set the commission plan for your own partner programme, covering what to pay, for how long and to whom, and how to configure that plan in the platform's affiliate manager. It describes no third-party programme's terms. It gives you the decisions to make before a single partner sees a link.
Why the commission plan decides who joins
The plan you publish filters your partners. A small one-off payment attracts people with large audiences who mention many products. A large flat fee per client won attracts a few professionals who introduce clients one at a time. Recurring commission attracts partners who want a long relationship and will keep recommending you.
A software company selling a low-priced subscription to many buyers wants the first kind. A consultancy, an agency, a mortgage broker or an estate agency usually wants the second or third. Copying a software company's plan into a service business tends to attract the wrong partners and pay them for the wrong things.
The five decisions in every plan
- What earns commission: a booked meeting, a signed client or a payment received.
- How commission is calculated: a flat amount or a share of what the client pays.
- How long it lasts: the first payment only, a fixed period or for as long as the client stays.
- The referral window: how long after a click a sale still counts.
- Who qualifies: anyone who applies, approved applicants or invited partners only.
Write each answer in one sentence. Those five sentences are the core of your partner terms, and they map directly onto the campaign settings.
Before you start
- The offer or offers partners will refer, set up as products in Payments.
- A rough view of what a new client is worth to you over their first year.
- An idea of how long your sales cycle runs from first contact to first payment.
- The two or three types of partner you want, such as accountants, content creators or past clients.
- A landing page in Sites for each partner type.
How to set it up
- Open Affiliate Manager under Marketing and click + Add.
- Choose the campaign source for this partner type.
- Choose the landing page this partner type should use.
- Keep only the products that should earn commission.
- Set the default commission: a flat fee or a percentage.
- Add product-level commissions where one offer needs different terms.
- Enable multi-tier commissions under Advanced Commissions if you need tiers.
- Set cookie duration and payout terms in the additional settings.
- Publish, then repeat as a separate campaign for each partner type.
Content partners and introducers need different plans
Creators who write about tools for your buyers behave differently from professionals who introduce clients. A content partner sends a steady trickle of visitors who are early in their thinking. An introducer sends a few people who are already close to a decision. Paying both the same way either overpays the creator or underpays the introducer.
Run them as separate campaigns. Give content partners a shorter-term commission on a lower-value entry offer, such as a paid workshop or diagnostic. Give introducers a flat fee or recurring commission tied to the client's first engagement. The tracked link guide explains how each campaign gets its own links and landing page.
Say the average new client pays £3,000 a month and stays about eighteen months. An introducer plan could share the first six months of fees, paid monthly as the client pays, at a rate that comes to about £3,600 per client. A content partner plan could pay £150 for each paid strategy session booked through their link, with a 30-day window. Introducers who refer three clients in a year could move to a higher-tier campaign. All amounts here are invented to show the structure.
The trade-off you are choosing
Recurring commission costs more over the life of a client, but it gives partners a reason to care whether the client stays. One-off commission is cheaper and simpler, but partners have no stake in fit, so you may see more referrals that sign and leave. Neither is right in general. Choose recurring if retention matters most to your margins, and one-off if your problem is getting enough first conversations.
What it costs in time
Designing the plan takes a morning with whoever owns sales and finance. Configuring the campaigns takes an hour. The real cost is the quarterly review: looking at which partner types bring clients who stay, and adjusting terms. Plan two hours a quarter, using the affiliate dashboard as the source.
The mistake most people make
Paying on the lead instead of the payment. A plan that pays per form fill invites partners to send volume, not fit, and your sales team spends its week on enquiries that were never going to buy. Tie commission to a payment received, or at minimum to a meeting that actually happened.
When not to use it
Do not build a formal plan if you have two or three informal referrers who would be embarrassed by a commission. A thank-you, a dinner or a reciprocal referral may suit them better. Do not offer recurring commission either if you cannot predict your margins far enough ahead to honour it.
Troubleshooting
Partners say the commission is not what they were promised
The published terms and the campaign settings differ. Compare them line by line and correct whichever is wrong, then tell affected partners.
Commission appears on products you did not mean to include
Too many products are linked to the campaign. Remove the ones outside the plan.
Top partners never reach the higher tier
The threshold is too high for your sales volume. Base it on what your best current partners achieve in a year, not on an ideal.
Recurring commission keeps running after a client leaves
The client's payments were moved to a new product or invoice outside the campaign. Check how cancellations and changes are recorded in Payments, and automate the partner notice using workflows for partner programmes.
Frequently asked questions
Should I pay a flat fee or a share of the sale?
A flat fee is easier to explain and suits engagements with predictable value. A share suits offers whose value varies widely between clients.
How long should the referral window be?
At least as long as your typical sales cycle from first visit to first payment. Longer windows are fairer to partners and rarely cost much.
Can I offer different terms to different partners?
Yes. Use a separate campaign for each set of terms, and move partners between campaigns as their performance changes.
Is a software company's affiliate plan a good template?
Only if you sell something similar: a low-priced product bought quickly by many people. Most service firms need a plan built around fewer, larger clients.