Multi-level marketing · Partners recruit partners

Partners who recruit partners themselves.

A running club promotes your shop, and one of its coaches becomes a partner herself. With the multi-level marketing (MLM) add-on plugin, the club also earns from the orders of the coach's customers, and so on down to level 5. The coach's commission stays as it is; the levels above are added on top. This is how partners grow into a sales network.

On top, not deducted

The partner the order came through keeps the full commission. Every further level is a booking of its own.

A rate of its own per level

By default 3, 2, 1 and 1 percent for levels 2 to 5, changeable per partner, with an own rate for subsequent orders if you like.

Settled as usual

Network commission ends up in the same balance and is redeemed as a voucher or a payout.

How the network forms

Who is on which level?

Level 1 is the partner whose code the order carries. Level 2 is the partner who recruited that partner, level 3 their recruiter and so on down to level 5. An example: Anna recruits Ben as a partner, Ben recruits customers. When one of Ben's customers orders, Ben gets the level 1 commission and Anna the level 2 commission.

How a customer becomes a sub-partner: a customer assigned to a partner signs up for the affiliate program. There is no separate field for the recruiter; the chain follows from how customers are assigned.
How deep: the Level setting sets the depth, from level 1 only to all five levels. A change only affects future orders.
Circles: if someone recruits their own recruiter in a roundabout way, the plugin detects the circle. Every partner gets commission at most once per order.
Partners without a customer account have no recruiter. They always stand at the start of a chain.

The calculation

What does an order of €1,000 net bring?

With the defaults, 5 percent for level 1 from the affiliate program and 3, 2, 1 and 1 percent for the further levels. The status page of the add-on plugin shows exactly this calculation under How the shop calculates.

Order of €1,000.00 net

Level 1, the coach, 5%€50.00

Level 2, the running club, 3%€30.00

Level 3, 2%€20.00

Level 4, 1%€10.00

Level 5, 1%€10.00

Commission in total€120.00

What partners see

The network in the partner area

The customer account gets an extra Multi-Level-Marketing tab. What it shows, you switch in the settings of the add-on plugin.

By level: one row per level with partners, customers, orders, turnover and commission. On by default.
Network as a tree: the recruited partners level by level with shortened names, their figures and the last five orders of their customers. Off by default.
Orders: the order lists of the partner area also show the orders from the network, with their level under the date.
What nobody sees: partners only see partners below them who have been accepted as partners themselves, and never who is above them.

What you see in the administration

Status page, rates, tree and statistics

The add-on plugin hooks into the pages of the affiliate program. Every view in detail in the multi-level marketing manual.

Network → Multi-level marketing: status with the number of active levels and the example calculation with your defaults.
Partner → Commission tab: the Further levels card with type, rate and subsequent rate per level for this partner.
Partner → Network tab: the tree of all partners below, with search.
Statistics: the Levels sub-tab at the partner, the Network tab in the program statistics and the commission per level on the dashboard.

How to set it up

The key settings of the add-on plugin

The rates are defaults for new partners. Existing partners keep their rates; you change them at the partner.

Where to find them in the configuration of the multi-level marketing add-on plugin (Extensions → My extensions → Configure):

Level settings card → LevelThe maximum level of commission for future orders.
your-shop.com/admin
AllFind products, customers, orders …
Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) for Affiliate & Partner Program
Save
Sales Channel
All Sales Channels
Level settings
Here you can define the maximum level for a commission of an order. Depending on the level, up to five partners receive a commission per order. Level 1 are only orders from directly recruited customers and only the direct partner receives a commission. Level 5 are orders generated through four other partners and for which a total of five partners receive a commission. Please note that a change does not affect orders that are already eligible for commission. A change will only affect future orders and commissions.
Level?Level 1 to Level 5
Commission - Level 2 card → Commission (absolute or percental)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.
Commission priority card → Priority of rates for levels 2 to 5The higher number wins. Default 10: partner groups (50) and commission rules (100 to 500) come first, the level rate applies wherever neither of them does. Only counts with "Priority first" under "Commission selection" in the partner program.
your-shop.com/admin
AllFind products, customers, orders …
Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) for Affiliate & Partner Program
Save
Sales Channel
All Sales Channels
Commission priority
What the priority does If several rates match an order, the priority decides which one applies: the higher number wins. On levels 2 to 5 the level rate, the partner group of the partner above (priority 50) and matching commission rules (usually 100 to 500) compete for that partner. The default 10 places the level rates below them. Partner groups and rules agreed on purpose come first, and the level rate applies wherever neither of them does. A higher value gives the level rates precedence, on equal priority the tie setting decides. The rate of the first level stays untouched, stored bookings are not recalculated.
Note: only with "Priority first" The priority only counts if one of the two "Priority first" modes is selected under "Commission selection" in the partner program, as by default. With "Always highest rate" and "Always lowest rate" only the higher or lower calculated commission decides. Then even a very high priority gives the level rate no precedence.
Priority of rates for levels 2 to 5?10
Default settings card → View multi-level marketing statistics in the affiliate programShould multi-level marketing statistics be displayed across all levels within the affiliate program in the customer account (storefront)? This option should be disabled if you already have a large number of partners and levels to increase performance.
Default settings card → Show the network as a tree in the affiliate programPartners see the partners they recruited directly and indirectly level by level, with shortened names, their figures and the last five orders of their customers. The overview by level stays.

Common questions

Does the direct partner get less when there are further levels?

No. The add-on plugin books the further levels on top, as an override commission for the recruiters above; the commission of the partner the order came through stays as it is.

How does someone become a partner below another partner?

When a customer who is assigned to a partner becomes a partner. How a customer is assigned, through a link, voucher code or entry in the cart, is handled by the affiliate program.

Is there commission for recruiting new partners?

No. Commission only arises from real orders of customers, on every level.

Is multi-level marketing a pyramid scheme?

Not in this setup. The plugin pays commission only for real orders in the shop, on every level, never for recruiting a partner, and it has no entry fee. In a pyramid scheme, by contrast, the money comes mainly from new participants. How you set up your program legally is best clarified with your legal advisor.

Does this work for network marketing and direct selling?

Yes. Consultants and partners win new partners, earn from their orders down to level 5 and, if you like, see their referral network as a tree in the partner area. Every level is calculated from the orders of the customers; promotion to a higher partner group counts the orders a partner brought in directly. Worked through for consultants and their teams at shop-affiliate.de/en/direct-selling.

How many levels are possible?

Up to five, that is up to four partners above the partner the order came through. The Level setting limits it to fewer; a change only affects future orders.

How is the commission from the network paid out?

Like any other commission: it ends up in the partner's balance and is redeemed through the affiliate program as a voucher or a payout, via SEPA file or the PayPal connection.

What happens with a cancellation?

By default the affiliate program offsets cancelled orders, for every level with a counter booking of its own at the respective partner.

Do partner groups and commission rules also apply on levels 2 to 5?

Yes, by priority. By default partner groups and commission rules take precedence over the level rate. How exactly that is decided is shown on the page about the rates on levels 2 to 5.

In detail in the manual

More examples

Consultants recruit consultants Direct selling and network marketing Consultants build teams, and the team leader earns from the orders of her team. Read on → Priority in the network Which rate applies on levels 2 to 5? Level rate, partner group and commission rules: how the plugin decides. Read on → Espresso mail order Customers refer customers The regular customer spreads the word and takes a voucher instead of money. The credit stays in the shop. Read on →

A network instead of lone fighters.

The multi-level marketing add-on plugin builds on the affiliate program and is available in the Shopware Store.

Open the demo shop Manual View in the store