Registration

Customers become partners with one click or by application.

The customer account has the menu item Affiliate Program. It leads to the registration page, which shows what partners earn. You decide whether customers become partners with one click or apply with a desired code and a message, who may take part and what new partners get to start with.

Shop: Customer account → Affiliate Program. Settings: Affiliate program → side menu System → Settings → card Partners · Registration

Where customers become partners

Where do customers find the affiliate program?

The navigation of the customer account shows the menu item Affiliate Program as soon as the plugin is active in the sales channel. If the customer is not a partner yet, it opens the registration page, otherwise the partner area. Guests without a customer account have no access.

  • Menu item “Affiliate Program” below Overview, Your profile, Addresses and Orders. The registration page is at /dvsn/affiliate/register.

  • Three ways to become a partner: the customer registers or applies on the registration page; the automatic registration makes them a partner without a click of their own; or you create them in the administration (chapter Managing partners).

The registration page

What does the registration page show before a customer signs up?

The registration page promotes your program: it shows commission, discount for referred customers, waiting time and the way to redeem. All values come from your settings, nothing is maintained twice. The introduction adapts depending on whether partners advertise with link and voucher code, only with a link or only with a code.

  • Header: “Recommend us and earn with every order” with an introduction and chips, such as “10% off for your customers” (with a partner voucher) and “Voucher or payout”. If only the first order earns commission, “For the first order” is shown as well.

  • Your commission on the right, such as “5% of the net value of every order”, plus “14 days until it is credited” from the waiting time. The second figure is the highest rate of the partner groups (“up to 10% with partner groups”), without groups the customer discount or the minimum amount to redeem.

  • How it works in three steps: sign up or apply, share link or voucher code, earn commission.

  • What you earn: commission, repeat orders, voucher code, starting credit, credit and redemption. When commission rules are switched on, “Other rates may apply to individual products.” appears below.

  • Partner groups: if there are partner groups, the page shows the ladder from the entry with the registration up to the highest group, each with rate and condition for the promotion.

Become a partner at once: one click on “Become a partner now”

With the behaviour “Partners are activated directly” (the default), the page ends with a button. The customer is a partner right away, with partner code, partner link and, if switched on, partner voucher and starting credit.

  1. 1If the mandatory checkbox is switched on, the customer ticks “Yes, I have read and agree to the terms and conditions!”. You change the text in the snippets.

  2. 2The customer clicks Become a partner now.

  3. 3The partner area opens with commission, codes and links. Its structure is described in the chapter Partner area.

Application: desired code, preview and a message

With the behaviour “Partners must apply and be manually activated”, the page shows the form “Your application”. The customer chooses their code and writes how they want to promote the shop. You then decide in the administration under Partners → Applications.

  1. 1The customer enters Your desired code: at least 4 and at most 32 characters from letters, digits, hyphen and underscore.

  2. 2Below it, the preview shows the partner link with this code and updates while typing: with a short link path such as your-shop.com/partner/SABINEFLOW, otherwise with the URL parameter.

  3. 3Your voucher code (preview) shows the future code of the partner voucher according to its code pattern, plus the discount for customers. Random characters from the pattern appear as dots and are replaced on submission.

  4. 4How would you like to promote us? is required. A few sentences are enough: channels, reach, topics.

  5. 5The customer ticks the box if required and clicks Send application.

What does the customer see after applying?

Until you decide, the menu item Affiliate Program shows the status of the application instead of the partner area. The plugin creates the partner voucher with the application already; it assigns customers to the partner only after approval.

  • We have received your application with the steps “Application sent” (with date), “Review” and “Activation”.

  • Your application: desired code and message as the customer sent them, with a pointer to support for changes.

  • Your application has been rejected: if you entered a public reason, it appears under “Reason”. Without a reason only the rejection is shown, with the request to contact the shop with questions.

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

  • System · Emails to partners card → Activate email when an application is approvedShould the partner be informed by email as soon as their application has been approved?

  • System · Emails to partners card → Activate email when an application is rejectedShould the partner be informed by email as soon as their application has been rejected?

Who may take part

Who may become a partner? Customer groups, minimum turnover and mandatory checkbox

The card Partners · Registration decides how customers take part and who may. Only when all conditions are met can a customer register or apply. An example: only end customers who have bought for 100 euros themselves may become partners.

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 → Valid customer groupsOnly these customer groups are activated for the affiliate program.

    Note:
    If NO customer groups are selected, then ALL customer groups are valid.

  • 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 → Enable mandatory checkboxShould a customer be shown a mandatory checkbox when registering for the affiliate program? By default, the checkbox makes the partner accept the terms and conditions of the shop. The text of the checkbox can be changed in the snippets.

What do customers see who may not take part yet?

Whoever is below the minimum turnover sees “You can become a partner soon” with their progress instead of the form. That makes them curious about their next purchase. In the example the goal is 100 euros, the customer has bought for 64.20 euros, and 35.80 euros are still to go.

  • Your purchases so far with a bar and the sentence “What counts is the value of the goods in your orders so far, without tax and shipping.”

  • still to go and Goal: the amount up to the minimum turnover and the minimum turnover itself.

  • Below are “How it works” and What you will earn, so the customer knows what they are working towards.

  • Wrong customer group: if the customer is not in one of the valid customer groups, the page only shows “Unfortunately, you cannot take part in our affiliate program.”

Automatic registration: becoming a partner without a click

With Partners are automatically registered, a customer becomes a partner as soon as they open the affiliate program in the customer account or place a new order. This only applies with the behaviour “Partners are activated directly” and when all requirements of the card are met; a mandatory checkbox is not asked for. This way every buyer becomes a referrer, for customer referral with a voucher for example.

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

  • 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".

What new partners get

Which partner code does a new partner get?

With instant and automatic registration the plugin builds the code from the Partner code pattern; with an application the desired code applies. By default the pattern is partner-{{ customer.firstName }}-{{ customer.lastName }}: Lena Hoffmann becomes partner-Lena-Hoffmann. Codes keep how they are written; comparisons ignore upper and lower case.

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

  • Partners · Defaults for new partners card → Partner code patternHere you can define a pattern for the partner code. You can access the customer variable (the customer). Also use the placeholders %s for a letter and %d for a number. Please note that all characters except numbers, letters and hyphens are filtered.

    Example:
    code-%s%s%s%s%d%d%d%d

  • Allowed characters: letters without umlauts, digits, hyphen and underscore. Everything else is dropped, spaces and umlauts too: Jürgen Müller becomes partner-Jrgen-Mller.
  • Random characters: %s stands for a letter, %d for a digit. code-%s%s%s%s%d%d%d%d becomes something like code-kbtw4827. The letters i, l and o and the digits 0 and 1 are never used, so nothing gets mixed up.
  • Duplicate code: if the code already exists, the plugin adds a hyphen and eight characters, for example partner-Lena-Hoffmann-3f9a0c2e.

Which commission does a new partner start with?

The card Partners · Defaults for new partners gives every new partner type and rate of commission, the subsequent rate, minimum order value and maximum commission, and a partner group if you like. The values apply at registration; existing partners keep their rates and are changed at the partner or through their partner group. More in the chapter Commission.

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

  • Partners · Defaults for new partners card → Type of commissionOn what basis should the partner receive a commission for a referred order? Can be customized per partner after registration in the administration.

    Percentage:
    The partner receives a percentage share (e.g. 5%) of the net goods value of a referred order as commission.

    Absolute (per order):
    The partner always receives a fixed amount (e.g. 5.- EUR) for a referred order, regardless of the order value.

    Absolute (per piece):
    The partner always receives a fixed amount (e.g. 0.10 EUR) for each number of items within a referred order, regardless of the order value or value of goods of the product.

  • 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 → Partner group for new partnersNew partners get this partner group in addition to the rates above. Only an active partner group counts; empty means no partner group.

Starting credit: a gift for signing up

With the starting credit switched on, every partner gets a credit once at registration, 5 euros by default. It appears as a manual booking with the public comment “Your starting credit” in the bookings and counts like commission. This applies to instant registration, automatic registration and the application.

  • The registration page mentions the starting credit under “What you earn”, such as “€5.00 to start with”.

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

  • 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.

  • Partners · Starting credit card → CreditThe starting credit in the standard currency (e.g. EUR 5.-) for each partner after registration.

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Common questions

Does a customer need a customer account to become a partner?

Yes. The registration page is part of the customer account, guests have no access. Partners without a customer account, such as a comparison site, are created by hand in the administration.

Can I let only certain customers into the affiliate program?

Yes, in three ways: with valid customer groups, with a minimum turnover the customer must have bought themselves, and with the application, where you approve every partner yourself. The ways can be combined.

How is the minimum turnover calculated?

It counts the value of the goods of all previous orders of the customer without tax and shipping, in the default currency. Cancelled orders do not count, and an order only counts after the waiting time from “Age (in days)”. Customers below it see their progress and the missing amount.

Can a partner choose their own code?

With an application they choose a desired code. Later they change partner code and voucher code in the partner area, at once or after your review, depending on the card “Partners · Code changes”.

What does a customer see after a rejection?

The customer account shows “Your application has been rejected” and, if you entered a public reason, the reason. You can still approve a rejected application later in the administration.

Can I make every customer a partner automatically?

Yes, with “Partners are automatically registered”. The customer becomes a partner as soon as they open the affiliate program in the customer account or place an order. This only works with instant registration and when customer group and minimum turnover fit.

Where do I change the texts of the registration page?

All texts are in Shopware’s snippets under Settings, Snippets, including the text of the mandatory checkbox. Commission, discount, days and amounts are filled in from your settings by the page itself.

In detail in the manual

More chapters

Marketing Partner link, short link, QR code and partner voucher, how customers are assigned and click tracking. Read on → Commission Which orders earn commission, how much per type, from when it is booked and what happens on cancellation. Read on → Commission rules Other rates for products, categories, dynamic product groups and customers, with priority, period and a rule from the rule builder. Read on →