Getting started

Set up the partner program, step by step.

After installation a setup assistant takes you through everything a partner program needs: who becomes a partner, what partners advertise with, what they earn, which orders count and how the commission reaches the partner. Nothing is saved until the end, and then for all sales channels.

Marketing → Affiliate program → side menu System → Setup assistant

Before you start

Install the plugin and find the menu

The plugin comes from the Shopware Store and is installed like any plugin. Afterwards the main menu shows Affiliate program under Marketing. It opens the dashboard; every page of the affiliate program has the same side menu on the left with Overview, Partners, Marketing, Commission, Payout, Network and System.

  1. 1Open Extensions → My extensions, install Affiliate & Partner Program and activate it.

  2. 2Open Marketing → Affiliate program. The side menu of the affiliate program is on the left.

One permission for everyone who works with it

Admin users without the administrator role need their own permission. It opens the whole affiliate program: partners, commission, payouts and settings.

  1. 1Open Settings → Users & permissions and edit the role.

  2. 2Under Additional permissions, in the group Affiliate program, tick Use affiliate program (full access).

The setup assistant

The assistant opens by itself

As long as the assistant is not finished and there is no partner yet, it opens the first time the dashboard is called. Later you reach it at any time through the side menu under System → Setup assistant. It is prefilled with the current configuration.

  1. 1The tiles show the ten steps. Three of them only appear when the compensation needs them: Commission voucher with vouchers only, Payout and Payment methods with payouts only.

  2. 2Nothing is saved until the overview at the end, and then for all sales channels. Cancelling before that changes nothing.

  3. 3Click Let's go.

01 Registration: who may become a partner

Customers register for the partner program in their customer account. Here you decide whether they become partners at once or apply, who may take part at all and whether partners may change their code themselves.

  • Activate instantly: every customer becomes a partner on registration and gets a partner code and partner link at once. After application: customers apply with a code of their choice and are activated after a review under Partners → Applications.

  • Who may register: optionally only certain customer groups, a minimum revenue and a mandatory consent. Customers below the minimum revenue see on the registration page how much is still missing.

  • What partners may do: partners change their partner code instantly, after your review or not at all. Requests to review are listed under Partners → Code requests.

02 Marketing: link, QR code, cookie, voucher

Partners bring customers with their partner link or their partner voucher. Both assign a new customer to the partner automatically. In detail in the chapter Marketing.

  • Partner link: the URL parameter before the code and, if you like, a short link path such as /partner/ANNA. The preview shows both links.

  • QR code: the partner area offers a QR code to download for every link, for flyers and referral cards for example.

  • Cookie: how long a click counts (30 days by default) and in which group of the cookie notice the partner cookie is listed.

  • Partner voucher: every partner gets a voucher of their own for their customers, 10 percent by default. Whoever redeems it in the cart belongs to the partner, even without a click on the link.

03 Commission: rate, subsequent orders, starting credit

Every new partner gets type and rate on registration; existing partners keep their rate. Other rates per group, product or period come later through partner groups and commission rules.

  • A percentage of the net price, a fixed amount per piece or a fixed amount per order. By default it is 5 percent.

  • Subsequent orders: when a referred customer orders again, there is commission again, if you like with a rate of its own. When off, only the first order counts.

  • The example calculates with your values and shows what a partner gets for an order.

  • Starting credit: new partners receive a credit as a gift after registration. It is shown as a manual booking in the partner area and counts like commission.

04 Orders: which count, and from when

These rules apply to all partners at once. Commission is not created at the purchase but after a waiting time, once the order has the chosen status. In detail in the chapter Commission.

  • Which orders: optionally only certain customer groups, and how long a customer belongs to the partner (0 = unlimited).

  • From when: the waiting time after the order (14 days by default, in line with the right of withdrawal) and the order status from which there is commission.

  • Fraud check: five checks compare every order with the data of the partner. A suspicion is only flagged, the decision is made under Marketing → Fraud check.

05 Compensation: voucher, payout or both

Whether partners receive their commission as a shop voucher, as a payout by SEPA or PayPal or both to choose from. With both kinds the partner decides. The choice decides which steps follow.

  • As a voucher fits when customers refer new customers: the money stays in the shop.

  • As a payout fits influencers, blogs and portals.

  • With both kinds the steps Commission voucher, Payout and Payment methods are added.

06 Commission voucher: fixed vouchers or a free amount

The commission voucher works in the shop like a fixed discount. On installation the plugin creates three sample vouchers of 10, 25 and 100 euros.

  • Fixed vouchers: partners choose a voucher with a fixed value, the rest of the commission stays. Free amount: partners choose the value themselves, from the minimum amount up to the available commission.

  • Vouchers to choose from: up to five slots with promotions from Marketing → Promotions.

07 Payout: fixed amounts or a free amount

Partners request the payout in their partner area; it is checked and approved in the review list. In detail in the chapter Payout.

  • Fixed amounts, by default 10, 25, 50, 100 and 250 euros, or a free amount from a minimum amount.

  • Amounts to choose from: whole amounts, 0 means not offered.

08 Payment methods: SEPA transfer and PayPal

Partners store in their partner area where the money should go. One or both ways are possible; with both the partner chooses.

  • Offer SEPA transfer and PayPal separately.

  • Account of the shop: with account holder and IBAN, approved payouts become a SEPA file for online banking. Without an account you transfer by hand and confirm in the review list.

  • PayPal access: client ID and secret of a PayPal app with “Payouts”. Test connection checks the data without saving it.

09 Emails: who gets notified

Template and flow of all 18 emails are created. Here you decide which are sent; by default all are off, and the ones that fit your settings are suggested. In detail in the chapter Emails and flows.

  • To the shop owner, for example on an application, a code request or a payout request. They go to the email address from the basic information of the sales channel.

  • To partners, for example on an approved application, a referred order or a confirmed payout.

10 Overview: check and save

The overview shows every step with its values. Chips tell what is the default, what the assistant suggests and what you changed; “Change” goes back to the step. If a sales channel has values of its own, a note names them; the assistant does not change them.

  1. 1Check every group. Change goes back to the step.

  2. 2Click Save.

  3. 3At the end the assistant shows what is still worth doing: partner groups, commission rules, email templates and the configuration.

Afterwards

What comes after the assistant

The partner program is running now. Customers find it in their customer account. These chapters lead on:

  • Managing partners: create partners by hand, also without a customer account, for a blog for example.
  • Partner groups: different rates and automatic promotion.
  • Commission rules: other rates per customer, product, category or period.
  • All settings: everything the assistant does not ask, such as the automatic payout.

← Back to the manual

Common questions

How long does it take to set up the partner program?

The setup assistant has ten steps and is prefilled with sensible values. If you take the defaults you are done in a few minutes; partner groups and commission rules follow when you need them.

Does the assistant apply to all sales channels?

Yes. It saves for all sales channels. If a sales channel already has values of its own, they stay valid there; the overview points this out.

Can I open the assistant again later?

Yes, in the side menu of the affiliate program under System, Setup assistant. It is then prefilled with the current configuration, and cancelling changes nothing.

Does the assistant change the rates of existing partners?

No. New partners get the type and rate of commission on registration. Existing partners keep their rate, as do partners with a compensation type of their own.

Which permission does an admin user need?

The permission “Use affiliate program (full access)” under Additional permissions in the role. It opens the whole affiliate program.

What does the assistant not ask?

For example the automatic payout, click tracking, the partner area in detail and the order for each redemption for the ERP. Everything is in the configuration, described on shop-affiliate.de/en/manual/settings.

More chapters

Dashboard and statistics Figures, open tasks and the balance of all partners at a glance, plus statistics of the whole program in five tabs. Read on → Managing partners The partner list, creating partners by hand, the detail page with seven tabs, and reviewing applications and code requests. Read on → Registration The registration page in the customer account, instant or by application, requirements, automatic registration, partner code and starting credit. Read on →