Tiers, commissions and payouts
Reward the behaviour you want, then pay it without the spreadsheet
Program tiers turn what a partner does into what they get. Commission is calculated from recorded revenue, approved by hand or by rule, bundled into invoices on your schedule and paid through Stripe.
Month-end commission reconciliation is where partner trust goes to die
Partners sell harder when they are paid accurately and on time. A rate in a contract, revenue in Stripe, deals in the CRM and payments in a spreadsheet means every payout is a manual reconciliation, and every delay is a partner wondering whether to send the next deal.
Partner.io creates the commission the moment revenue is recorded, shows the partner exactly what is pending and paid, and runs approval, invoicing and payout on a schedule you set.
Program tiers. A perk is a trigger, conditions and rewards. Every partner sits on exactly one tier.
Program Tier Detail
Certified
12 partners
Default
Perks · 3
Add perk
Revenue commission Saved
When it fires
The event that grants this perk.
Lead payment made
A payment is recorded against a lead the partner referred.
Conditions
Decide whether the reward is awarded when the trigger fires — with none, every partner on the tier earns it every time.
No conditions. Every partner on this tier earns the reward every time.
Add Condition
Preview against a leadHawk Digital This lead passes
What they get
What partners earn when this perk fires. One perk can grant several rewards.
Reward typePercentage15%
Percentage15 %Payable after30Unitday
A commission payment worth 15% of the revenue from the payment is awarded. It can't be invoiced until 30 days after it's earned.
Add reward
Anatomy of a perk
A perk is a trigger, a reward and optional conditions. One tier holds any number of perks, and a single perk can grant more than one reward, for example a commission and a badge.
- TriggerRevenue generated
- Fires whenA payment is recorded against a lead the partner referred. Percentage rewards use the payment amount as their base.
- TriggerLead approved
- Fires whenA lead the partner referred is approved. Percentage rewards use the estimated deal value.
- TriggerPipeline stage entered
- Fires whenA referred lead moves into a pipeline stage synced from your CRM.
- TriggerPartner rep created
- Fires whenA new rep is added under the partner.
- TriggerCourse completed
- Fires whenThe partner passes an assigned course.
- TriggerBadge earned
- Fires whenThe partner earns a badge.
- TriggerSub partner earns commission
- Fires whenA partner beneath this one earns commission, for programs that use parent partners.
Rewards
Five kinds of reward
- RewardPercentage
- What the partner getsA commission set as a percentage of deal value or payment, with an optional payout delay in days, weeks, months or years.
- RewardMonetary
- What the partner getsA fixed cash amount in your program currency, with an optional payout delay.
- RewardGift card
- What the partner getsA gift card from the Tango catalogue, sent automatically when the perk fires. Enabled per account.
- RewardSwag
- What the partner getsAn off-platform perk such as branded merchandise, tracked from unfulfilled to fulfilled.
- RewardBadge
- What the partner getsA badge awarded to the partner and shown on their profile.
Conditions
One trigger can pay out differently in different situations. Conditions narrow when a perk applies.
Read the lead, the payment, the partner and the rep: deal value, pipeline stage, referral link, partner type, attributes, partner score, courses completed, and any of your own custom fields.
- Ten operators from equals to contains, with time units for date properties
- Preview any condition against a real record before you switch it on
- The same builder powers partner, lead and commission auto-approval and invoice autopay
Conditions on this perk
- LeadDeal valueis greater than or equal to$10,000
- PartnerPartner typeisReseller
- LeadReferral linkis notWebsite footer link
All conditions must be true · Preview: Hawk Digital would pass
From commission to payout
Approval, scheduling, payout. The Payments overview shows the three stages as lanes. Each one can be manual or automatic.
- [01]Commission is created as PendingA perk fires and a commission appears with the partner, the rep, what it was earned for, and when it becomes payable if the perk has a delay. A commission can be rejected before it is approved, ending its lifecycle.
- [02]Approve by hand or by ruleApprove individually or in bulk. Commission auto-approval approves new commissions that match your conditions and keeps an audit trail of every attempt, including why one was left for review.
- [03]Invoices are generated on your scheduleChoose daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly with your own payment terms. Every approved, payable commission and SPIFF for a partner is bundled into one self-billed invoice, per partner organisation or per rep.
- [04]Pay through Stripe, or record a bank transferPay the partner organization, or pay each rep for what they earned. Partners connect a Stripe account in the portal. Pay an invoice by card or US bank account, turn on invoice autopay with conditions, or pay offline and mark it paid. Overdue invoices are flagged automatically.
- [05]Report and reconcileExport commissions to CSV by date and status, create monthly statements for your finance team, and let partners download their own invoices and W-9 forms.
The payments overview
Every payout in one view. Pending commissions, approved commissions waiting for the next invoice run, and unpaid invoices, each with the actions your team needs and a note showing whether automation is on.
Payments. Approval, scheduling, payout. Each lane can be manual or run by a rule.
Payments
Payment Settings
Commission ApprovalPending — awaiting your sign-off
$2,150.00Lane totalAutomate Auto-approval On · 2 conditions
Priya RamanBrightline Agency$1,425.00
Certified: Revenue commission · Lead: Fjord Analytics
Created Sep 04 · Due Sep 30RejectApprove
Marcus LeeCobalt Consulting$725.00
Standard: Revenue commission · Lead: Atlas Logistics
Created Sep 05 · Due Sep 30RejectApprove
See all 14 →
Invoice SchedulingApproved — auto-bundled on next run
$4,900.00Lane totalConfigure Monthly · next Oct 01
Dana OkaforSignal Partners$3,100.00
Gold: Revenue commission · Lead: Harbour renewal
Created Aug 28 · Due Oct 30Invoice now
Priya RamanBrightline Agency$1,800.00
SPIFF · Lead: Q3 launch bonus
Created Sep 01 · Due Oct 30Invoice now
See all 9 →
Invoice PayoutInvoiced — bundles of commissions you owe
$1,800.00Lane totalAutomate Auto-pay On · card ending 4242
Brightline AgencyInvoice HACM-1042$1,800.00
Bundles 3 commissions · Aug 2026
Created Sep 01 · Due Sep 30Mark paidPay
See all 4 →
Approve by hand or by rule.
Pending, approved, invoiced, paid. Set conditions and the ones that meet them approve themselves.
$1,425.0015% of $9,500Auto-approvedInvoice Oct 01
Paid from one screen.
Self-billed invoices on your schedule, paid by card or US bank account through Stripe, or on autopay.
Invoice #1042Brightline Agency · $3,350.00Paidvia Stripe
“We're not just seeing more referrals, we're seeing better ones. The quality, the consistency, the visibility. It's all gone up since we moved to Partner.io.”
FAQ
Questions about this capability
Do I have to create tiers to start paying partners?
No. Every account starts with a Standard tier that pays 5% lifetime commission on revenue generated. Edit it, or add tiers for your best partners.
How is a partner placed on a tier?
New partners get the tier set on their partner type, otherwise your default tier. You can move a partner to a different tier at any time from their page, individually or in bulk.
What are SPIFFs?
One-off bonuses you create yourself, for example a launch incentive. They are approved on creation and either ride the next scheduled invoice or are invoiced immediately.
How do partners get paid?
Each invoice cycle Partner.io bundles a partner's approved commissions and SPIFFs into a self-billed invoice. You pay it through Stripe by card or US bank account, let invoice autopay pay invoices matching your conditions, or pay by bank transfer and mark it paid.
What about tax?
For US companies with tax reporting on, partners complete a W-9 in the portal and Partner.io generates 1099-NEC forms for partners above your threshold each January.
Which currencies are supported?
USD, CAD, EUR, JPY, GBP, AUD, PLN, NZD, SGD, RON, GYD and SEK. Amounts are converted to your program currency for reporting.
Guides and templates
Running this part of your program? Free guides and templates on the same topic.
- TemplateCommission tracking templateA free commission tracking spreadsheet for partner and referral programs, in Excel and Word: a revenue log that calculates each commission, partner totals by status and a monthly payout checklist.
- GuideReferral fee percentage: what to pay partners in B2B SaaSHow much to pay as a referral fee in B2B SaaS: the four common structures, typical ranges, how to set a rate from your margins and acquisition cost, and a worked example comparing the cost per customer.
- GuidePartner program tiers: how to design three levels that workHow to structure partner program tiers for a SaaS company: the criteria for each level, the benefits that matter, how often to review and how to handle demotion, with a full example tier matrix.
- TemplateRevenue share agreement templateA free revenue share agreement template for SaaS companies and partners, covering customer attribution, net revenue, share rates by product, monthly statements, audit rights, W-9s and termination.
- Guide1099 for referral fees: when you need to file and howWhen a US business must file Form 1099-NEC for referral fees paid to partners, the new $2,000 threshold, W-9 and W-8BEN collection, card and payment network payments, deadlines and records.
- GuideHow to start a SaaS affiliate program: setup, commissions and launchHow to start an affiliate program for a B2B SaaS product: whether it fits, commission design, program terms, tracking, recruiting your first 20 affiliates, fraud rules, payouts and a 30-day launch plan.
Platform
Every part of the program, in one system. Pick up where this page leaves off.
- [01]Partner portalWhere partners find their next step, their leads and what they have earned.
- [02]Leads & deal registrationSee where every referred lead and registered deal stands, synced with your CRM.
- [03]Tiers, commissions & payoutsKnow what is owed, approve it, and pay it through Stripe.
- [04]Tax complianceCollect W-9s before payouts, track the 1099 threshold and generate 1099-NEC forms at year end.
- [05]Training & certificationAI-drafted courses with scored lessons, badges and verifiable certificates, inside the portal.
- [06]AutomationFollow-ups and approvals that run on rules you set once.
- [07]Deal Surround & Partner DiscoveryFind the partner who can open a target account, and new partners worth recruiting.
- [08]Partner engagementAnnouncements, newsletters, events, surveys and a Partner Room for agreements, material and assets.
- [09]User referralsLet your users refer other companies from inside your product, and pay them automatically.
- [10]IntegrationsHubSpot, Pipedrive, Salesforce, Slack, Shopify, Stripe, Claude, ChatGPT, API and MCP.