Comparison
Do I need a plugin for this at all?
There are three ways: the Shopware standard, an external affiliate network or this plugin. They do different things and cost different amounts. This overview shows both, including the row where a network comes out ahead.
Shopware standard
Two fields, two rule conditions, two flow actions. No partner, no commission, no payout.
External network
Brings publishers who do not know your shop yet. Takes a cut on every commission, and the partner data lives at the network.
This plugin
A whole partner program in your own shop: registration, promotion material, commission rules, review and compensation as a voucher or a payout.
What Shopware brings and where it stops.
The standard is better than its reputation and less than the name suggests. It knows two fields, but nobody they belong to.
What it does
The parameters affiliateCode and campaignCode in the address are recognised and kept in the session. On registration they are stored on the customer, on checkout on the order.
On top come two conditions in the Rule Builder and two flow actions that set the codes afterwards.
Where it stops
There is no partner as a record, no registration and no partner area. There is no commission, no balance and no payout.
The code also lives in the session only: whoever closes the browser and comes back later belongs to nobody.
37 rows side by side.
present limited not present
| Feature | Shopware standard | External affiliate network | This plugin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Promoting and assigning | |||
| Code arrives through a link | affiliateCode parameter | tracking link of the network | partner link to any page |
| Short link and QR code | no | varies by network | short link, QR code as PNG |
| A discount code of their own per partner | no | varies by network | partner voucher created automatically |
| Type the code into the cart | no | no | cart and checkout |
| Remembered beyond the visit | session only | cookie of the network | cookie, then fixed on the customer |
| Rules for duration and poaching | no | network rules | months, new customers only, poaching |
| Clicks with source, device and UTM | no | at the network | in your own shop |
| Partners | |||
| Partner as a record of its own | a code only | at the network | in the shop |
| Registration in the customer account | no | at the network | registration page in the shop |
| Application with a review | no | the network reviews too | you decide |
| Partners without a customer account | no | yes | yes, a blog for example |
| Partner area with figures | no | at the network | in the customer account |
| Small referrers such as regular customers | no | hardly | yes |
| Commission | |||
| A commission is calculated | no | yes | yes |
| Percentage, fixed amount per order or per piece | no | varies by network | all three |
| Own rate for subsequent orders | no | varies by network | yes, 0 too |
| Rates per customer, product, category, dynamic product group | no | varies by network | commission rules with priority |
| Period and Rule Builder rule | no | varies by network | per commission rule |
| Partner groups with automatic promotion | no | varies by network | by turnover, orders, customers |
| Minimum order value and maximum commission | no | varies by network | per partner and group |
| Calculation log per order | no | no | step by step |
| Control | |||
| Waiting time and order status | no | yes | yes |
| Cancellation books back automatically | no | yes | yes |
| Fraud check | no | at the network | five checks in the shop |
| Manual booking with a comment | no | no | private and public |
| Dashboard with open tasks | no | at the network | in the admin |
| Compensation | |||
| Voucher for your own shop | no | no | fixed steps or a free amount |
| Payout to the partner | no | the network pays | SEPA file or PayPal connection |
| Review list before every payout | no | the network reviews | with the orders behind it |
| Automatic payout | no | yes | weekly to monthly |
| Document with a consecutive number | no | credit note | PDF with number range |
| Order for the ERP | no | no | per redemption, optional |
| The frame | |||
| Where the partner data lives | in the shop | at the network | in the shop |
| A cut on every commission | none | yes, to the network | none |
| Emails through flows | Flow Builder | emails of the network | 18 ready flows |
| Reach from outside | none | many publishers | your own customers and partners |
| Commission over several levels | no | rarely | with an add-on plugin, down to level 5 |
The statements on the Shopware standard are checked against the source code of Shopware 6.7. The column External network describes the usual model of large affiliate networks, not one specific provider; terms differ a lot. The column This plugin describes the plugin as it is today; commission over several levels needs the multi-level marketing add-on plugin.
Honestly
One row where we are not ahead.
An overview in which the author wins every row is not an overview. You should know this point before you decide.
No reach from outside
A network brings many publishers who do not know your shop yet. A program of your own reaches the people who already know it: customers, influencers, blogs, clubs, your field sales.
Both work together
Many shops run a network for the professionals and a program of their own for their own people. Partners without a customer account, a blog for example, you create directly in the administration.
Common questions
Can Shopware run a partner program out of the box?
No. Shopware knows two fields, affiliateCode and campaignCode. They arrive as parameters in the address, stay in the session and are stored on the customer on registration and on the order on checkout. There are also two Rule Builder conditions and two flow actions. But there is no partner, no commission calculation and no payout. It is a label, not a program.
Is the Shopware standard enough for customers refer customers?
Only if you build everything else yourself. The Rule Builder can tell that an order carries a certain code, and flows can react to it. Who gets how much, when it is due and how it is paid out is written nowhere. The standard also keeps the code in the session only, not in a cookie.
When is an external affiliate network the better choice?
When you want to buy reach you do not have. A network brings many publishers who do not know your shop. In return it takes a cut on every commission, usually plus a base fee, the partner data lives at the network, and small referrers such as a regular customer or a club hardly fit in there.
Can I run both at the same time?
Yes, and many shops do. The network serves the professional publishers, your own program serves your customers, influencers and referrers. The two do not get in each other's way because they reach different people.
What can this plugin not do?
It brings no reach of its own. It organises the referrals of people who already know your shop, it does not find new referrers for you. Commission over several levels needs the multi-level marketing add-on plugin.
When do I need the multi-level marketing add-on plugin?
Only when partners should also earn from the orders of the partners they recruited themselves. The add-on plugin books a commission of its own on up to four further levels, level 2 to 5, each with its own rate. For customers refer customers, influencers and blogs the plugin alone is enough.
The standard recognises the code. This plugin does the rest.
See it working in the demo shop, or read in the manual how each part is set up.