Example · Partner with a VAT ID

Jana's agency writes an invoice and gets a bank transfer.

Jana runs a small agency in Hamburg and looks after the newsletter, Pinterest and collaborations with interior blogs for a garden furniture shop. She is paid by results: 10 percent of the net value of every order that comes through her links. As a business with a VAT ID she needs money in her account, a record of every payout and a settlement that matches her invoice with VAT. The affiliate program delivers the transfer as a SEPA file, the payout document as a PDF and, if you like, an order for your ERP.

Money by SEPA file

The agency requests the payout in the partner area, you approve it in the review list and upload one SEPA file to your online banking. No IBAN gets typed by hand.

One document per payout

Every payout gets a number from a number range of its own and a PDF with the orders it is made of.

Net, to match the invoice

For partners from Germany with a VAT ID, a payout can take only the net amount from the commission. The VAT comes on top.

How it works

How does the agency become a partner?

The agency needs a customer account with company, VAT ID and a billing address in Germany; the payout document and the net settlement depend on it. It never has to buy anything for that. Under Partners you create it with Create affiliate and choose Select an existing customer or Create a new customer. Jana can just as well register herself on the registration page.

  • Type of remuneration: at the partner, on the Remuneration tab, you set Payout for the agency, even if Voucher applies in the rest of the shop. Without a choice of its own, the partner inherits the type from the settings.

  • Company and VAT ID appear at the partner on the Base data tab. They come from the customer account and are changed at the customer.

  • Payout details: in the partner area under Settings, Jana enters Account holder, Bank, IBAN and BIC. A payout can only be requested with complete, valid details.

How does Jana request her payout?

In the partner area she picks the As a payout tile under Commission. With Payment in staggered amounts it lists fixed amounts, by default €10, €25, €50, €100 and €250, each marked available or with what is still missing. One click on "Pay out €250.00" creates the payout.

  • Number and document: the payout gets its number right away from the "Payouts" number range, which starts at 50000, and its payout document as a PDF.

  • History: in the partner area the payout first shows as Requested, after your review as Approved and at the end as "Paid on" with the date.

How does the money reach the account by SEPA file?

In the side menu under Payout, SEPA payouts lists all open requests by bank transfer, the oldest first. You review Jana's request, approve it and transfer all approved payouts with one file.

  1. 1The review window shows the recipient, hints such as First payout or New account, the earlier payouts and the Orders behind this payout. With Approve the request is ready.

  2. 2Create SEPA file shows the number of payouts, the sum, the debtor and the Execution date. Create file writes a file in the pain.001.001.09 format and marks the payouts as paid.

  3. 3You upload the file to your online banking. Jana's bank statement shows the remittance information "Partnerprogramm Auszahlung 50017", the same number as on the payout document.

What is in the payout document?

The PDF is titled "Payout 50017" and carries the agency's partner code. Header, sender and logo come from the configuration of your invoices in Shopware, the address from Jana's billing address.

  • Line items: Pos., Order date, Order number, Customer with first name and initial and the Commission from this order that is part of the payout. Manual bookings appear as Manual booking.

  • Payout to account: account holder and IBAN, with PayPal the PayPal account.

  • Where to find it: in the administration at the payout as a download, attached to the "Payout confirmed" email as soon as the payout counts as paid, and, if you like, in the partner area as Receipt (PDF).

How does your ERP learn about the payout?

With Generate order when requesting a payout, the plugin creates an order in the agency's customer account for every request. It contains a pseudo product with your product number, such as "COMMISSION", and the amount of the payout. Your ERP picks it up like any other order and can tell from the product number that money goes to a partner here.

  • Tax rate: customers with gross prices get Tax rate - consumers (gross), businesses with net prices Tax rate - businesses (net and/or tax-free). Without valid tax rates no order is created; the payout itself remains.

  • Shipping method and Payment method: the order runs like a normal checkout, so both have to be valid in the shop. With a Tag on the pseudo product, a rule can release a payment method of its own for these orders only.

  • No commission: the plugin books no commission for this order, not for the agency either.

The calculation

What does the agency earn in May?

In May three orders come through Jana's links, all with 19 percent VAT. Her rate: 10 percent of the net value of the goods. She had no commission open before.

Commission from three orders

Lounge set for €1,799.00, net€1,511.76

Parasol for €449.00, net€377.31

Garden table for €999.00, net€839.50

Freight shipping (does not count)€49.00

Commission for the agency, 10%€272.86

After the waiting period of 14 days, each of these commissions is booked. Jana's available commission then stands at €272.86.

What does a payout of €250 take off?

Jana requests the fifth staggered amount, €250.00. In the settings, Reduce available commission by the net amount for partners from Germany with a VAT ID is on, and her customer account has a VAT ID and a billing address in Germany.

Jana's commission

Available commission before€272.86

Payout requested€250.00

Taken off: €250.00 ÷ 1.19-€210.08

Available commission after€62.78

Jana's invoice for it

Commission, net€210.08

VAT 19%€39.92

Invoice total and transfer€250.00

Without the setting, the same payout takes the full €250.00, leaving €22.86. With it, the commission counts as a net amount, and the transfer includes the VAT, just as Jana's invoice shows it. The plugin always calculates with 19 percent.

How to set it up

Payout by SEPA bank transfer

Voucher can stay the rule in the shop; the agency gets Payout at the partner on the Remuneration tab. The staggered amounts and the remittance information apply to all partners.

Where to find them in the settings (affiliate program menu on the left under System → Settings):

  • Payout · Compensation card → Type of remunerationIn what form should your partners receive their commission?

    Voucher:
    The partner can convert their commission into vouchers independently and can redeem them directly in the shop.

    Payout:
    The partner can request payment of the commission, or it is created by the automatic payout. To do so, they enter their bank account or their PayPal account; you check and confirm the payouts and pay them out by SEPA file or through PayPal.

  • Payout · Compensation by payout card → Type of payoutIn what amount or on what scale may the partner have their credit paid out?

    Free amount:
    The partner chooses the amount, from the minimum amount up to their available commission.

    Payment in staggered amounts:
    The partner may only have their credit paid out in predefined scales. The individual scales can be defined below.

  • Payout · Compensation by payout card → Payout 5 (in EUR)Please enter the amount that the partner can withdraw.

  • Payout · Payout methods card → Offer SEPA bank transferPartners can enter an account holder and an IBAN. Payouts are paid with a SEPA file for your online banking.

  • Payout · Payout methods card → Remittance informationTwig as in the mail templates: {{ payout.number }} payout number, {{ payout.value }} amount, {{ partner.name }} partner. Empty or faulty, the default applies. At most 140 characters. Used in SEPA files and as the message of PayPal transfers.

The account the SEPA file transfers from

Each sales channel can have a shop account of its own. Without a valid IBAN no file can be created.

Where to find them in the settings (affiliate program menu on the left under System → Settings):

  • Payout · SEPA bank transfer card → Name of the shop accountAccount holder of the account the SEPA file pays from.

  • Payout · SEPA bank transfer card → IBAN of the shop accountIBAN of the account the SEPA file pays the payouts from; spaces are allowed. Required for SEPA files: if it is missing or invalid, no file can be created. A sales channel can have a shop account of its own.

  • Payout · SEPA bank transfer card → BIC of the shop accountThe international bank code (BIC, 8 or 11 characters, e.g. COBADEFFXXX) of the bank that holds the shop account. Optional: within the SEPA area the bank finds the account by its IBAN and does not need the BIC. Only enter it if your bank asks for it in the SEPA file. An entered BIC must be valid, otherwise no SEPA file can be created.

Document, email and net settlement

Everything here is off by default. The email also runs through its flow Partnerprogramm - Auszahlung bestätigt (payout confirmed); flow names stay German in every admin language.

Where to find them in the settings (affiliate program menu on the left under System → Settings):

  • Partners · Partner area card → Offer the payout document as a downloadShould the payout document be made available to the partner as a download?

  • System · Emails to partners card → Activate email when a payout is confirmedShould the partner be informed by email as soon as their payout has been confirmed?

  • Payout · Partners with a German VAT ID card → Reduce available commission by the net amount for partners from Germany with a VAT IDFor partners with a German billing address and a VAT ID in their customer account, should available commission be reduced by the net amount of a payout or voucher redemption? For example, requesting a EUR 10 payout creates a EUR 10 payout record but reduces available commission by only EUR 8.40 (EUR 10 excluding 19% VAT).

The order for your ERP

Product number and name apply to payouts only; tag, tax rates, shipping method and payment method are shared with the order for vouchers.

Where to find them in the settings (affiliate program menu on the left under System → Settings):

  • Payout · Order for each redemption card → Generate order when requesting a payoutWhen requesting a payout (for commission), should an order automatically be created for the customer?

  • Payout · Order for each redemption card → Product numberThe product number of the product for the order when requesting a payout.

  • Payout · Order for each redemption card → NameThe name of the product for the order when requesting a payout.

  • Payout · Order for each redemption card → TagYou can assign a tag to the product so that you can check for it in the Shipping and Payment Rule Builder.

  • Payout · Order for each redemption card → Tax rate - consumers (gross)The tax rate of the product for end customers. Select the 0 % tax rate here, since end customers are paid gross equals net.

  • Payout · Order for each redemption card → Tax rate - businesses (net and/or tax-free)The tax rate of the product for businesses. Select the standard tax rate (19 % VAT) here.

  • Payout · Order for each redemption card → Shipping methodThe shipping method for automatically created orders.

  • Payout · Order for each redemption card → Payment methodThe payment method for automatically created orders.

Common questions

Is the payout document an invoice or a self-billing invoice?

No. It is a commission statement as a PDF: it shows no VAT and records which orders, with which part of their commission, make up a payout. It carries a consecutive number from the Payouts number range. The agency issues the invoice for its service itself.

Which partners does the net settlement apply to?

To partners whose customer account has a VAT ID and a default billing address in Germany, and only when the switch in the settings is on. For all other partners a payout takes exactly the requested amount.

Does the commission have to cover the full payout amount?

Yes. Even with the net settlement, the requested amount may not exceed the available commission. For a payout of 250 euros the agency therefore needs at least 250 euros of available commission; 210.08 euros are then taken off.

Does an agency need a customer account?

For this process, yes. The payout document and the net settlement depend on the customer account with billing address and VAT ID, and the agency requests its payouts in the partner area of that account. It never has to buy anything for it.

Can I transfer without a SEPA file?

Yes. You make the transfer yourself and then confirm the payout on its detail page under Payouts with Confirm payout. The history then shows that it was paid outside the plugin.

What happens with a cancellation after the payout?

By default a negative booking offsets the commission of the cancelled order. The plugin does not reclaim money already paid out; the negative booking is settled against the agency's next commissions.

Is there an order for redemptions as vouchers too?

Yes, with a switch of its own: Generate order when creating a voucher, with its own product number and name. Tag, tax rates, shipping method and payment method apply to both orders.

In detail in the manual

More examples

Sales rep without a customer account Field sales and trade Partners who buy nothing themselves: created by you, rewarded per order. Read on → From request to run Payout and accounting Review list, SEPA file or PayPal, automatic payout and document. Read on → Partners recruit partners Multi-level marketing Partners earn from the orders of the partners they recruited, down to level 5. Read on →

Try it in the demo shop.

The demo shop shows the partner area and the administration fully set up. The manual shows every setting.

Open the demo shop Manual View in the store