Example · Espresso mail order

The regular customer who would rather take a voucher.

Marie has bought her espresso from the same shop for years and tells everyone about it. She does not want a bank transfer, she wants her next kilo of beans cheaper. The partner program turns her recommendation into a voucher code for her friends and every order of those friends into commission for Marie, which she redeems in the shop again.

Partners are people who already buy

Registration in the customer account, if you like only from a minimum turnover and automatically with the next order.

The friend saves right away

Every partner has a voucher code of their own. Whoever redeems it gets a discount and belongs to that partner from then on.

The commission stays in the shop

Marie converts her balance into a voucher herself. With a bonus it is worth more than a payout.

How it works

How does a customer become a partner?

The customer account has an Affiliate program entry. With Partners are activated directly, Marie is in after one click on Become a partner now and gets her partner code, her partner link and her partner voucher right away.

  • Minimum turnover: only customers who have already bought for a certain amount become partners, €100 for example. Anyone below sees You can become a partner soon on the registration page, with what they have bought so far and what is still missing.

  • Automatic registration: if you like, every customer who meets the requirements becomes a partner automatically when opening the affiliate program or with their next order.

  • Starting credit: a small balance on registration, €5 for example, shows up in the partner area right away and makes the program tangible.

How does the friend end up with Marie?

Marie sends Jonas her partner link or simply tells him her voucher code. Both assign Jonas to her: the link through the partner cookie, the code as soon as Jonas redeems it in the cart. From his first order at the latest, Jonas is fixed to Marie, even when he comes back later without the link.

  • Partner voucher: 10 percent discount by default, as a Shopware promotion with a code of its own per partner. For Jonas it is the reason to redeem the code at all. With a discount for Jonas and commission for Marie, this is a double-sided referral.

  • Assign new customers only: anyone who has ordered before, with this customer account or the same email address, is no longer assigned to a partner. That way partners do not recruit existing customers.

  • Own orders: by default, Marie's own purchases bring no commission, not even as a guest with her email address.

When does Marie get her commission?

The plugin reconciles the orders regularly. By default an order is commissionable once it is 14 days old and not cancelled; then the plugin books the commission to Marie's balance. If Jonas cancels later after all, a negative booking offsets the commission automatically.

  • First order: the first order of a referred customer gets Marie's rate, here 10 percent of the net value of the goods after discounts, without shipping.

  • Subsequent orders: when Jonas orders again, there is commission again, with a rate of its own for subsequent orders, here 5 percent.

  • Partner area: Marie sees her referred customers with first name, initial and city, the orders with her commission and her available balance.

How does a balance become a voucher?

In the partner area, Marie picks the As a voucher tile under Commission. With the Free amount conversion she types in the value herself and gets a voucher code for her next order right away. With Convert in staggered amounts she chooses from fixed vouchers such as €10, €25 or €100.

The calculation

What do Jonas' orders bring?

Jonas orders espresso twice at €29.90 per kilo, with 7 percent VAT. On the first order he redeems Marie's voucher code. Marie's rates: 10 percent for the first order, 5 percent for subsequent orders.

First order

2 kg espresso, gross€59.80

Partner voucher 10%-€5.98

Shipping (does not count)€4.90

Net value of the goods after discount€50.30

Commission for Marie, 10%€5.03

Subsequent order two months later

3 kg espresso, gross€89.70

Net value of the goods€83.83

Commission for Marie, 5%€4.19

What is a voucher with a bonus worth?

With a few referred friends, Marie has a balance of €50. You offer voucher and payout and have given her a 20 percent bonus for vouchers. Both ways use up the same balance.

As a payout

Balance redeemed€50.00

Transfer to Marie€50.00

As a voucher with a 20% bonus

Balance redeemed€50.00

Bonus 20%€10.00

Voucher for Marie's next order€60.00

For Marie the voucher is the better offer. For you no money leaves the account, and the voucher brings Marie back to the shop with her next order.

How to set it up

Who becomes a partner

Requirements and starting credit apply to all sales channels or per channel.

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

  • Partners · Registration card → BehaviourHow may customers sign up to the affiliate program?

    Partners are activated directly:
    The customer will be automatically registered to the affiliate program and depending on the extension configuration will directly receive a partner code and a partner voucher.

    Partners must apply and be manually activated:
    The customer must apply for the affiliate program and can specify an individual partner code. The partner must be manually activated in the administration.

  • Partners · Registration card → Minimum turnover (in EUR)How much must a customer have net sales to date in order for the partner program to be offered ?
    The same rules apply for "valid" orders, as stated below.

  • Partners · Registration card → Partners are automatically registeredShould customers be automatically registered in the affiliate program when they 1.) open the partner area in the customer account or 2.) place a new order? For an automated registration, all requirements of this card must be fulfilled in any case. In addition, the "Behaviour" must be set to "Partners are activated directly".

  • Partners · Starting credit card → Activate starting creditShould a starting balance be created automatically for each partner? The starting credit is added as a manual booking. The public comment for this booking can be customized in the text modules.

What Marie and Jonas get

Every new partner gets the rate and the subsequent rate on registration; you change them for a single partner at any time.

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

  • Partners · Defaults for new partners card → Commission (absolute or percentage)The initial commission of the partner in percent (e.g. 5%) or in the default currency (e.g. 5,- EUR). Can be customized per partner after registration in the administration.

  • Partners · Defaults for new partners card → Activate individual commission for subsequent ordersThe default whether partners receive a different commission for subsequent orders of referred customers than for the first order. Can be customized per partner after registration in the administration. Please make sure that the option "Commission subsequent orders" is activated.

  • Partners · Defaults for new partners card → Commission for subsequent orders (absolute or percentage)The initial commission for subsequent orders of the partner in percent (e.g. 5%) or in the default currency (e.g. 5,- EUR). Can be customized per partner after registration in the administration.

  • Marketing · Partner voucher card → Discount (in percent or EUR)The amount of the discount, in percent or EUR depending on the type.

  • Marketing · Partner voucher card → Uses per customerThe value for "uses per customer" within the voucher.

  • Marketing · Customer assignment card → Assign new customers onlyWhen switched on, only customers without any order in the shop are assigned to a partner, neither with this customer account nor with the same email address. Existing customers stay without a partner even if they come through a partner link, and their orders get no partner code.

How the commission comes back to the shop

With Voucher alone every commission stays in the shop. With Voucher and payout the partner chooses, and the bonus makes the voucher the better choice.

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 voucher card → Type of conversionIn what amount or on what scale can the partner convert their credit into a voucher?

    Free amount:
    The partner chooses the value of the voucher, from the minimum amount up to their available commission. A new, individual voucher is generated for each conversion according to the specifications below.

    Convert in staggered amounts:
    The partner may only convert their credit into vouchers in predefined increments. The available vouchers can be selected below.

  • Payout · Compensation by voucher card → Minimum amount (in EUR)With “Free amount”, the least value (in EUR) of a voucher.

Common questions

Is a customer referral program the same as refer a friend?

Yes. Both names mean the same, and so does referral marketing: someone who already buys from you recommends the shop and gets a reward for it. In Shopware you run it with the affiliate program: the customer shares her partner link or voucher code, the friend saves on the purchase, and she earns a referral commission on his orders. A fixed referral reward per new customer instead of a percentage is worked through at shop-affiliate.de/en/referral-reward.

Why is a voucher better than money for regular customers?

Because they buy from you anyway. For them a voucher is not a consolation prize but real money on the next purchase, with a bonus even more than a transfer. For you nothing leaves the account, and the voucher brings a new order.

How does the bonus for vouchers work?

You switch it on at the partner under Remuneration and set the amount in percent. If the partner converts a balance of 50 euros with a 20 percent bonus, she gets a voucher worth 60 euros; only the 50 euros are taken from the balance. The voucher is created as a code of its own following the settings for vouchers with a free amount.

Can only customers who have already bought from me become partners?

Yes, with the minimum turnover in the registration settings. It counts the customer's net turnover so far; cancelled orders never count. Anyone below sees on the registration page how much is still missing.

Does the referred friend get the discount on every order?

By default yes, because the partner voucher allows 999 uses per customer. Set uses per customer to 1 and the discount only applies to the first order. Commission on subsequent orders does not depend on the voucher but on the customer being assigned.

Can a partner refer herself?

Not by default. Own orders bring no commission, not even as a guest order with the partner's email address. A switch in the commission settings allows it if you want it.

What happens if the referred customer cancels?

If the order is not commissionable yet, no commission is created at all, because cancelled orders are never commissioned. If the commission was already booked, the plugin offsets it by default with a negative booking and a note the partner sees in the partner area.

What does the partner see of her referred customers?

In the partner area the first name, the initial of the last name and the city, plus the orders with her commission. How many customers and orders show up there, you set in the partner area settings.

In detail in the manual

More examples

Natural cosmetics shop Referral reward per new customer A one-off €10 voucher for every new customer, not for existing customers or second accounts. Read on → Hair salon Referral card with a QR code Short link and QR code on a card at the counter, the code in the cart as a fallback. Read on → Instagram and TikTok Influencer with a discount code A partner voucher of their own, every click with source and UTM, payout via PayPal. 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