How commissions work
This page walks through the commission lifecycle on Refenture. Short version: a Vendor and a Referral Partner sign a commission agreement before any introduction is made, commissions are a percentage of the Vendor's actual customer invoicing, and the terms don't change retroactively for that referral.
The commission agreement
A commission agreement is a contract between a Vendor and a referring Referral Partner. It specifies:
- Commission percentage. Commonly 10%.
- Commission model. One-time, fixed-term (specified number of months), or lifetime. See the blog post on commission structures for a comparison.
- Effective dates. When the agreement is in force.
- Scope. Whether it applies to any deal, specific product lines, or deals from specific campaigns.
Agreements are signed by both parties on the platform. Once signed, they govern every referral from that Referral Partner to that Vendor until either party terminates the agreement. Terms don't change retroactively for existing referrals.
Commission calculation
Commissions are calculated on the Vendor's actual customer invoicing, not headline deal value, not list price, not MRR × 12.
For example: Referral Partner refers Customer X to Vendor A. The contract is $500,000 ARR for 3 years. Customer X actually pays $480,000 in year one (a 4% discount negotiated late). The commission is 10% of $480,000 = $48,000, not $50,000.
This matters because:
- Referral Partners can see deal value while it's in progress, but commission is always reconciled to actual paid amounts
- Vendor disputes are rare because the math is transparent
- If a customer churns early, the commission is based only on what was actually invoiced
Payouts today
The agreement and the per-referral terms live on the platform. The actual commission payout happens directly between the Vendor and the Referral Partner, on the timing set in their agreement (typically following each customer invoice the Vendor receives). Refenture records the agreement, the referral, and the figures; the bank transfer is between the two parties.
Coming soon: Money in bank
The next step on our roadmap is Money in bank, an optional paid service for Referral Partners. When it ships, Refenture will handle the full payout flow end-to-end:
- Tracking actual customer payments against each referral
- Consolidating commissions monthly across every Vendor you work with
- Multi-currency conversion to your preferred payout currency
- One bank transfer per month per Referral Partner
- Year-end tax summaries formatted for accountants
A matching Commission payments service for Vendors is on the same roadmap, so Vendors can pay all the commissions they owe across all their Referral Partners in one place.
Until those services are live, tracking, payouts, currency conversion, and tax paperwork stay between the Referral Partner and the Vendor. See the pricing page for the latest on availability.
Worked example
- Referral Partner refers a $500K first-year deal to Vendor A. 10% commission = $50K.
- Vendor A invoices $500K across Q1–Q4 of the year.
- Commission owed to the Referral Partner: $50K, paid by Vendor A on the schedule in their agreement.
If the Referral Partner also refers a $200K deal to Vendor B, each payout flows from each Vendor separately. Once Money in bank is live, those payouts will consolidate into one monthly transfer.