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Affiliate agreement template

A free SaaS affiliate program agreement you can use as click-through program terms, covering tracking links, cookie windows, recurring commissions, payouts, FTC disclosure and prohibited promotion.

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Free, no sign-up · 19 sections and a commission schedule · Updated

In short

An affiliate agreement sets the rules for people who promote your product online through a tracked link in exchange for a commission. This SaaS template covers tracking and the cookie window, last-click attribution, recurring commissions, the holding period before payout, refunds and chargebacks, prohibited promotion, FTC disclosure, tax forms, termination and program changes.

What this template covers

This is an affiliate program agreement for a SaaS company paying people to promote its product online. Affiliates share a tracked link in content, newsletters, videos or social posts, and earn a recurring commission when someone they send becomes a paying customer. It is written for US companies, with the FTC disclosure rules, anti-spam laws and IRS tax forms that apply to US programs.

It includes:

  • Tracking and the cookie window, with the limits of cookie tracking stated plainly and a 30-day window to query a missing sale.
  • Last-click attribution, with coupon codes treated as a click and a rule that every customer earns one commission only.
  • Recurring commissions on collected revenue for a set period, including upgrades.
  • A holding period before commissions become payable, so you are not paying on refunds.
  • Refund, chargeback and fraud rules, including deductions from future commissions.
  • Prohibited promotion: brand bidding, spam, coupon and cashback sites, incentivized signups, misleading claims and self-referrals.
  • FTC disclosure requirements, with concrete rules on where and how to disclose.
  • Payouts, a minimum threshold and W-9 or W-8 collection.
  • Termination and forfeiture rules that separate ending the relationship from breaking the rules.
  • Changes to the program, with notice and no retroactive cuts.
  • Schedule A, the commission terms on one page.

Using it as click-through program terms

Most affiliate programs do not sign a contract with each affiliate. The template is written to work either way. To use it as click-through terms:

  1. Publish it on your site as your affiliate program terms, with the effective date at the top.
  2. Add an unchecked box to your application form reading "I agree to the Affiliate Program Agreement", with a link to the terms beside it. Do not accept applications without it.
  3. Keep a record of who accepted, when, and which version. Section 19.5 commits you to this.
  4. Send notice of changes by email and in the affiliate dashboard, at least 30 days before they take effect.

A link to your terms in the site footer, with no box to check, is much harder to enforce. For a large affiliate or a negotiated rate, use the signature block instead.

How to fill it in

  1. Replace the placeholders in brackets: your company details, state, program email and how affiliates accept.
  2. Set the commission in Schedule A. Recurring commissions of 20 to 30% for 12 months are a common starting point for SaaS. The referral fee guide covers how to test what you can afford.
  3. Choose a cookie window that covers your typical evaluation period. If most customers start a trial and pay within 30 days, 60 days is generous.
  4. Set the holding period at least as long as your refund window, so refunds cancel commissions before they are paid.
  5. Pick a minimum payout that keeps transaction fees reasonable without making small affiliates wait a year.
  6. Have a lawyer review it, especially the indemnity, forfeiture and changes sections, which matter most if an affiliate disputes the terms.

Getting the rules right

The prohibited promotion list is where affiliate programs go wrong. Brand bidding is the most common problem: an affiliate buys ads on your company name, captures people who were already looking for you, and takes a commission on customers you would have won anyway. Ban it, check for it, and enforce it.

Disclosure is the other. The FTC treats a commission as a material connection, and expects brands to tell affiliates the rules and check that they follow them. Section 9 spells out what a clear disclosure looks like so you can point to it when you ask for a fix.

If you also run referral or reseller partners, write down which claim wins when an affiliate click and a partner referral land on the same customer. This template excludes customers credited under another partner agreement. The affiliate vs referral vs reseller guide explains how to run the models side by side, and the referral partner agreement covers the partners who make introductions rather than share links.

After launch

Review new affiliates' content before approving them, spot-check active affiliates' disclosures each quarter, and search your brand terms in paid search every month. Collect W-9s before the first payout, not at year end. The 1099 guide covers the filing side.

The template

Read it in full before you download. Text in brackets is what you fill in.

This is a starting point, not legal advice. Laws differ by state and country, so have a lawyer review it before you or your partners sign.

Affiliate Program Agreement

This Affiliate Program Agreement (the "Agreement") is between [Company legal name], a [State] [corporation / LLC] with its principal office at [Company address] ("Company"), and the person or business that applies to join Company's affiliate program (the "Program") and is accepted ("Affiliate").

Affiliate accepts this Agreement by [checking the box marked "I agree to the Affiliate Program Agreement" on the Program application form / signing below]. If Affiliate is accepting on behalf of a business, Affiliate confirms it has authority to bind that business. This version is effective as of [Effective date].

1. Definitions

  • "Affiliate Link" means the unique tracking link, and any unique coupon code, that Company assigns to Affiliate.
  • "Affiliate Dashboard" means the online account where Affiliate can see its links, clicks, Referred Customers, Commissions and payouts.
  • "Cookie Window" means the period stated in Schedule A, starting when a visitor clicks an Affiliate Link.
  • "Referred Customer" means a new customer that is attributed to Affiliate under Section 4 and starts a paid subscription to Company's product.
  • "Net Revenue" means the subscription fees Company actually collects from a Referred Customer, excluding taxes, refunds, credits, chargebacks, payment processing fees, and fees for services or add-ons listed as excluded in Schedule A.
  • "Commission" means the amount described in Section 5 and Schedule A.
  • "Holding Period" means the period stated in Schedule A, starting on the date Company collects the payment a Commission is based on.

2. Joining the Program

2.1 Company reviews each application and may accept or reject it at its discretion. Affiliate will give accurate information about itself and the websites, channels and audiences where it plans to promote Company, and will keep that information up to date.

2.2 Affiliate must be at least 18 years old and may hold only one Program account, unless Company agrees otherwise in writing.

2.3 Affiliate is an independent contractor. Nothing in this Agreement creates an employment, agency, partnership or joint venture relationship. Affiliate has no authority to make commitments or offers on Company's behalf.

2.4 Joining the Program is not exclusive. Affiliate may promote other products, including competing products, and Company may work with other affiliates and partners.

3. Affiliate Links and tracking

3.1 Company will provide Affiliate with an Affiliate Link. Affiliate earns Commissions only on Referred Customers tracked through its own Affiliate Link.

3.2 When a visitor clicks an Affiliate Link, Company's tracking system records the click using cookies or similar technology. The click is valid for the Cookie Window. Tracking may fail if a visitor blocks or clears cookies, uses a different browser or device, or does not use the Affiliate Link, and Company is not responsible for untracked sales.

3.3 Company's tracking records decide which sales are attributed to Affiliate. If Affiliate believes a sale was not tracked correctly, Affiliate may ask Company to review it within [30] days of the sale, with any supporting evidence, and Company will review the request in good faith.

3.4 Affiliate will not alter an Affiliate Link, set cookies without a genuine click by the visitor (cookie stuffing), use hidden frames, pop-ups, automatic redirects or software that inserts links, or otherwise generate clicks that do not come from a person's genuine interest.

4. Attribution

4.1 A new customer is attributed to the affiliate whose Affiliate Link the customer last clicked before starting a paid subscription, provided the click happened within the Cookie Window ("last click").

4.2 If a customer uses a coupon code assigned to Affiliate, the use of that code counts as a click on Affiliate's Affiliate Link at the time of purchase.

4.3 A customer is not a Referred Customer if (a) it was already a paying Company customer before the click, (b) it was in an active sales opportunity recorded in Company's CRM before the click, or (c) it is credited to a partner under a separate referral, reseller or partner agreement with Company. Each customer can be attributed to only one affiliate or partner, and Company pays only one commission, fee or margin on it.

4.4 Company may change its attribution method on notice under Section 15, but a change will not apply to customers who started a paid subscription before the change takes effect.

5. Commissions

5.1 Company will pay Affiliate the Commission set out in Schedule A on Net Revenue from each Referred Customer, for the commission period stated in Schedule A.

5.2 Commissions are recurring for the commission period. They apply to the Referred Customer's subscription payments during that period, including upgrades, and stop at the end of it or when the Referred Customer cancels, whichever comes first.

5.3 A Commission is shown in the Affiliate Dashboard as pending until the Holding Period ends. When the Holding Period ends without a refund, chargeback or dispute, the Commission becomes payable.

5.4 No Commission is due on free trials, free plans, or any payment that is refunded, charged back, disputed or not collected.

6. Payouts

6.1 Company pays payable Commissions [monthly], on or before the [15th] day of the month, for Commissions that became payable in the previous month.

6.2 Company pays only when Affiliate's payable balance is at least the minimum payout in Schedule A. A smaller balance carries over to the next payout date.

6.3 Company pays in [US dollars] by [Stripe / PayPal / ACH bank transfer]. Affiliate is responsible for providing accurate payment details and for any fees its own bank or payment provider charges. Company is not responsible for a payment sent to the details Affiliate provided.

7. Refunds, chargebacks and fraud

7.1 If a payment is refunded, charged back or disputed during the Holding Period, the related Commission is cancelled.

7.2 If a payment is refunded, charged back or disputed after the related Commission was paid, Company may deduct that Commission from Affiliate's future Commissions.

7.3 If Company reasonably believes a Commission resulted from fraud, a self-referral or a breach of Section 8 or Section 9, Company may withhold it while it investigates, and cancel it if the belief is confirmed. Company will tell Affiliate the reason.

8. Prohibited promotion

Affiliate will not:

  • bid on Company's brand names, product names or misspellings of them as keywords in paid search, or use them in ad copy or display URLs, without Company's written consent;
  • register or use domain names, social media accounts or app names that include Company's brand names;
  • send unsolicited email, text messages or direct messages, or promote Company in any way that breaks anti-spam laws, including the CAN-SPAM Act and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act;
  • list Company or its coupon codes on coupon, deal, cashback, rebate or loyalty websites, unless Company approves that site in writing;
  • offer cash, gifts or other incentives to people for signing up, unless Company approves the offer in writing;
  • make false or misleading claims about Company, its product, its prices or its discounts, or claim results Affiliate cannot support;
  • suggest that Affiliate is Company, or is endorsed by or partnered with Company beyond being a Program affiliate;
  • refer itself, its own business, its employer, or accounts it or its family members control, or sign up for Company's product through its own Affiliate Link;
  • promote Company on websites or channels that contain illegal, hateful, violent, sexually explicit or infringing content; or
  • use Company's trademarks, screenshots or content except as allowed in Section 10.

9. Disclosure of the affiliate relationship

9.1 Affiliate will clearly and conspicuously disclose its relationship with Company wherever it promotes Company, as required by the Federal Trade Commission's Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (16 CFR Part 255) and any similar laws.

9.2 A disclosure must be easy to notice and understand. In particular:

  • place it close to the claim or Affiliate Link, before the reader reaches the link, and not only in a footer, an "about" page or a separate disclosures page;
  • use plain words such as "I earn a commission if you buy through this link", not only terms like "affiliate" or an unexplained hashtag;
  • in video and live streams, say it out loud and show it on screen, near the start; and
  • on social media, put it in the post itself, not only in a profile or behind a "more" link.

9.3 Affiliate will give its honest opinion of Company's product, and will not claim to have used the product unless it has.

9.4 Company may review Affiliate's promotions and require changes to meet this Section. Affiliate will make requested changes within [5] business days.

10. Brand use

10.1 Company grants Affiliate a limited, non-exclusive, revocable license to use Company's names, logos and approved marketing materials only to promote Company under this Agreement and in line with Company's brand guidelines.

10.2 Affiliate will not change Company's logos or materials, and will stop using them on request and when this Agreement ends.

11. Taxes

11.1 Before receiving any payout, Affiliate will provide a completed IRS Form W-9 if Affiliate is a US person, or the applicable Form W-8, such as Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E, if it is not.

11.2 Company may hold payouts until it receives a valid form, and may withhold tax from payouts where the law requires it, including backup withholding.

11.3 Affiliate is responsible for all taxes on Commissions it receives. Company will issue any information returns, such as Form 1099-NEC, that the law requires.

12. Privacy and data

12.1 Affiliate will comply with privacy and consumer protection laws that apply to its promotion, including giving any notices and getting any consents its own website or channels need for cookies and tracking.

12.2 Company will not share Referred Customers' personal information with Affiliate except what is shown in the Affiliate Dashboard, and Affiliate will use that information only to check its Commissions.

13. Confidentiality

Affiliate will keep confidential any non-public information Company shares with it, including unreleased features, commission terms that are not public and Affiliate Dashboard data, and will use it only to take part in the Program.

14. Term and termination

14.1 This Agreement starts when Company accepts Affiliate into the Program and continues until either party ends it.

14.2 Either party may terminate this Agreement at any time by giving written notice, including by email or through the Affiliate Dashboard. Termination takes effect [immediately / 14 days after notice].

14.3 Company may terminate this Agreement immediately if Affiliate breaches Section 3.4, Section 8 or Section 9, or if Company reasonably suspects fraud.

14.4 Company may close Affiliate's account if Affiliate has generated no Referred Customers in [12] months, after giving [30] days' notice by email.

15. What happens to Commissions when the Agreement ends

15.1 Termination for convenience or inactivity. Company will pay Commissions on payments collected before the termination date once their Holding Period ends, even if the balance is below the minimum payout. Commissions for payments collected after the termination date [are not payable / continue to be paid until the end of each Referred Customer's commission period].

15.2 Termination for breach or fraud. If Company terminates under Section 14.3, Affiliate forfeits all unpaid Commissions [connected to the breach / of any kind], and Company may recover Commissions already paid that resulted from the breach.

15.3 When this Agreement ends, Affiliate will remove Affiliate Links and Company materials from its websites and channels within [14] days. Company may disable Affiliate Links at termination.

16. Changes to the Program

16.1 Company may change this Agreement, including Schedule A, by giving at least [30] days' notice by email and in the Affiliate Dashboard. Changes to Commission rates, the commission period or the Cookie Window apply only to customers who click an Affiliate Link after the change takes effect.

16.2 If Affiliate does not agree to a change, Affiliate may terminate this Agreement before the change takes effect, and Section 15.1 will apply. Continuing to take part in the Program after the change takes effect means Affiliate accepts the change.

16.3 Company may pause or end the Program for all affiliates on [30] days' notice. Section 15.1 applies as if Company had terminated for convenience.

17. Disclaimers and liability

17.1 Company does not guarantee any level of Commissions or that its product or tracking will be uninterrupted or error-free. Except as stated in this Agreement, Company makes no warranties about the Program.

17.2 Neither party is liable for indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages, or for lost profits, arising out of this Agreement.

17.3 Except for Affiliate's obligations under Sections 8, 9 and 18, each party's total liability under this Agreement is limited to the Commissions paid or payable to Affiliate in the [12] months before the claim.

18. Indemnity

Affiliate will defend Company against any third-party claim, including any claim or inquiry by a government agency, arising from Affiliate's content, its promotion of Company, its failure to make the disclosures in Section 9, or its breach of this Agreement or the law, and will pay any resulting damages, fines and reasonable legal fees.

19. General

19.1 Governing law. This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of [State], and the state and federal courts in [County, State] have exclusive jurisdiction.

19.2 Entire agreement. This Agreement, including Schedule A, is the entire agreement between the parties about the Program and replaces any earlier discussions.

19.3 Assignment. Affiliate may not assign this Agreement without Company's written consent. Company may assign it to a successor in a merger or sale of substantially all of its assets.

19.4 Notices. Company may send notices to the email address in Affiliate's account. Affiliate may send notices to [Company affiliate program email].

19.5 Electronic acceptance. Accepting this Agreement online has the same effect as signing it. Company will keep a record of the version Affiliate accepted and the date of acceptance.

Schedule A: Commission terms

ItemTerms
Commission rate[25]% of Net Revenue
Commission periodThe first [12] months of each Referred Customer's paid subscription
Eligible plans[All paid self-serve plans]
Excluded[Enterprise contracts sold by Company's sales team, services, add-ons]
Cookie Window[60] days from the last click
AttributionLast click within the Cookie Window
Holding Period[60] days from the date Company collects the payment
Payout schedule[Monthly], by the [15th] of the month
Minimum payout[$50]
Payment method[Stripe / PayPal / ACH]

Signatures

Complete this section only if the Agreement is signed rather than accepted online.

[Company legal name]

Signature: ____________________

Name: [Name]

Title: [Title]

Date: [Date]

[Affiliate legal name]

Signature: ____________________

Name: [Name]

Title: [Title]

Date: [Date]

Download Word (.docx)
FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What should an affiliate agreement include?
It should cover how affiliates join, how clicks are tracked and for how long, how sales are attributed, the commission rate and period, the holding period and payout threshold, what happens on refunds and chargebacks, banned promotion methods, FTC disclosure rules, tax forms, termination and how you can change the program.
Can affiliate program terms be accepted online?
Yes. Most SaaS affiliate programs use click-through terms that applicants accept by checking a box on the application form. Make the box unchecked by default, link the full terms next to it, and keep a record of the version and date each affiliate accepted. A link in your footer alone is much weaker.
What is a typical SaaS affiliate commission?
Recurring commissions of 20% to 30% of revenue for the first 12 months are common for SaaS affiliate programs, and some pay for the life of the customer. Others pay a one-time bounty per paid signup. Pick a structure you can afford on your average customer's first year of revenue.
Do affiliates have to disclose that they earn a commission?
Yes. In the US, the FTC expects anyone with a material connection to a brand, including a commission, to disclose it clearly and close to the recommendation. Your agreement should require it, explain what a clear disclosure looks like, and let you require changes when an affiliate gets it wrong.
How long should an affiliate cookie last?
For B2B SaaS, cookie windows of 30 to 90 days are common, with 60 days a reasonable default. Longer windows suit products with longer evaluation periods. Whatever you choose, state it in the agreement and apply changes only to clicks made after the change.
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