This partner program glossary defines the terms you will meet in affiliate, referral, reseller, agency, and franchise programs, one sentence each. It covers commission and payout language, attribution and tracking, program structure, and the operational vocabulary brands use to run partner programs. Use it alongside program terms when you compare listings on the network directory.
Terms are grouped alphabetically. Where a topic has its own guide, the definition links to it.
A
Account mapping
The process of comparing a brand's target accounts with a partner's customer list to find shared opportunities.
Affiliate
A partner who promotes a product through tracked links or codes and earns commission when referred visitors convert; see affiliate programs.
Agency partner
A service firm that implements, configures, or manages a product for its clients, often earning both service fees and a referral share; see agency programs.
Agent
A partner who sells on the brand's behalf while the customer signs the brand's contract, typically earning upfront and residual commission; see agent programs.
Approval rate
The share of partner applications, or of registered deals, that a program accepts.
Attribution
The rules that decide which partner gets credit for a customer or sale.
Attribution window
The period after a click or registration during which a conversion is still credited to the partner, also called a cookie window or cookie duration.
B
Bounty
A fixed amount paid for a specific action, such as a signup, trial, or first purchase, regardless of order value.
Brand-term bidding
Buying search ads on a brand's own name, which many affiliate programs prohibit or restrict.
C
Certification
A training credential a partner earns to show competence with a product, often required for reseller and agency tiers.
Channel conflict
Friction that arises when partners and a brand's direct sales team, or two partners, compete for the same customer.
Channel partner
A general term for any third party that sells, refers, or delivers a brand's product to customers.
Chargeback
A card payment reversed by the customer's bank after a dispute, which usually reverses the related commission.
Clawback
The recovery of commission already paid, typically deducted from future payouts, after a refund, chargeback, or early cancellation; see how partner payouts work.
Co-marketing
Marketing activity a brand and partner plan and fund together, such as joint webinars, content, or events.
Co-selling
A brand's sales team and a partner working the same opportunity together.
Commission
The payment a partner earns for a qualifying sale, referral, or action, defined in the partner agreement.
Conversion
The action that triggers commission, such as a purchase, paid signup, or closed deal.
Cookie stuffing
A fraudulent technique that drops tracking cookies without a genuine click to claim credit for sales the partner did not influence.
Coupon code tracking
Attribution based on a partner-specific discount code entered at checkout instead of, or in addition to, a link.
CPA (cost per acquisition)
A payment model where the brand pays a fixed amount per acquired customer or action.
D
Deal protection
A guarantee that a partner's registered opportunity will not be given to another partner or the direct team during the registration period.
Deal registration
A process where a partner submits an opportunity to the brand to claim credit and protection for it.
Disclosure
A clear statement that a partner earns commission from a recommendation, required by many programs and by advertising rules in many jurisdictions.
Distributor
A partner that buys in volume and supplies a network of resellers, usually across a region; see distributor programs.
E
Enablement
The training, content, and tools a brand provides so partners can market, sell, and support its product.
Exclusivity
A contract term that limits a partner to one brand in a category, or gives a partner sole rights to a territory or segment.
F
First-click attribution
A model that credits the partner who generated the first tracked interaction.
Flat fee
A fixed payment per qualifying event rather than a percentage of revenue.
Franchise
A licensing arrangement where an operator runs a business under a brand's name and systems in exchange for fees and royalties; see franchise opportunities.
Franchise fee
The initial payment a franchisee makes to join a franchise system.
G
Gross revenue commission
Commission calculated on the full sale amount before deductions such as discounts, taxes, or refunds.
I
Incentive
A time-bound reward, such as a bonus or contest prize, designed to drive specific partner behavior.
Integrator
A partner that builds or implements technical integrations between a brand's product and other systems; see integrator programs.
L
Last-click attribution
A model that credits the partner who generated the final tracked interaction before conversion.
Lead registration
A lighter form of deal registration where a partner submits a contact for the brand's team to pursue.
Lifetime commission
Recurring commission paid for as long as a referred customer keeps paying and stays attributed to the partner; see recurring vs one-time commission.
Lifetime value (LTV)
The total revenue or gross margin a customer is expected to generate over their relationship with a brand.
Location operator
A partner who runs a site, kiosk, route, or territory under a brand's license, usually with lighter obligations than a franchise; see location operator programs.
M
Margin
The difference between what a reseller pays the brand and what it charges the customer.
Market development funds (MDF)
Money a brand gives qualifying partners to spend on approved marketing activities.
Marketplace
A directory, often inside a software product, where customers find partner apps, integrations, or services.
Minimum commitment
A volume or spend level a reseller, distributor, or white-label partner agrees to meet.
Multi-touch attribution
A model that splits credit among several partners or channels that influenced a conversion.
N
Net revenue commission
Commission calculated after deductions such as discounts, taxes, refunds, and sometimes fees.
Net terms
The delay between the end of a period and the payment date, such as net 30; see how partner payouts work.
O
Onboarding
The steps a new partner completes after approval, including agreements, tax forms, payout details, training, and tracking setup.
P
Partner agreement
The contract that sets out a partner's rights, obligations, commission, attribution rules, and termination terms.
Partner portal
A website where partners access links, materials, deal registration, training, and earnings.
Partner tier
A level within a program, such as silver or gold, that brings better terms when a partner meets set requirements.
Partner-influenced revenue
Revenue from deals a partner helped advance but did not originate.
Partner-sourced revenue
Revenue from customers or deals a partner originated.
Payout
A payment of approved commission from a brand to a partner.
Payout threshold
The minimum approved balance required before a payout is sent.
Pending commission
Commission recorded for a conversion but not yet approved, usually because the refund window is still open.
PRM (partner relationship management)
Software and processes for recruiting, enabling, tracking, and paying partners; see what is a PRM.
R
Recruitment
The process of finding and signing new partners for a program.
Recurring commission
Commission paid on each renewal or subscription payment from a referred customer, sometimes capped to a set period.
Referral partner
A partner who introduces a specific known contact and earns a fee if the deal closes; see referral programs.
Refund window
The period during which a customer refund cancels the related commission.
Reseller
A partner who sells a product under its own agreement with the customer and earns a margin; see reseller programs.
Residual
An ongoing commission paid on a customer's continuing billing, common in agent programs.
Revenue share
An arrangement where one party pays another a percentage of revenue from a product, customer, or location.
Royalty
An ongoing payment, usually a percentage of sales, that a franchisee or licensee pays to the brand.
S
Self-billing
A payout arrangement where the brand generates the invoice or statement on the partner's behalf.
Sub-affiliate
A partner recruited by another partner, where the recruiting partner may earn a share of the sub-affiliate's commissions.
T
Territory
A defined geographic area or market segment assigned to a partner, sometimes exclusively.
Tracking link
A unique URL that identifies the partner who sent a visitor.
V
Value-added reseller (VAR)
A reseller that bundles a product with its own services, such as implementation or support.
W
W-8BEN
An IRS form non-US individuals give US payers to certify foreign status for tax withholding purposes; see the IRS page for Form W-8 BEN.
W-9
An IRS form US persons give payers to provide their taxpayer identification number; see the IRS page for Form W-9.
White-label
A model where a partner sells a product under its own brand rather than the original vendor's; see white-label programs.
Wholesale price
The price a reseller, distributor, or white-label partner pays the brand before adding its own margin.
Z
Zero-touch partner
A partner who produces conversions with no direct involvement from the brand's sales team, typical of affiliate programs.
Putting the terms together
Most program listings combine a handful of these terms: a partner type (affiliate, reseller, franchisee), a commission shape (recurring, one-time, revenue share, royalty, flat fee), an attribution rule, and payout terms. The PartnersWatch directory uses the same vocabulary, so you can filter live listings by type and commission structure.
| Program | Partner types | Terms | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Analyze | Affiliate | 20% recurring | Recurring |
| GoMarble AI | Affiliate, Referral partner, Agency | 50% of first month, then 20-40% recurring for eligible months | Recurring |
| IGSendMail | Affiliate, Referral partner | 20% lifetime recurring | Recurring |
| PPCmate | Affiliate, Referral partner | 10% of referred advertiser deposits, lifetime | Recurring |
| Earlybird | Affiliate | Up to 15% on sales | One-time |
| Food Ordering Plugin | Affiliate | On request | — |
| Book Leopard | Affiliate | 50% commission | One-time |
| HeadshotHQ | Affiliate | 30% on all sales | One-time |
For a step-by-step walkthrough, see how to join a partner program. Brands can start with how to start a partner program.
FAQ
What is the difference between commission and margin?
Commission is paid by the brand to a partner for a sale or referral. Margin is what a reseller keeps from the difference between its purchase price and its selling price.
What does net 30 mean in a partner program?
It means payment is sent 30 days after the end of the period in which commission was earned or approved, depending on the program's wording.
What is the difference between partner-sourced and partner-influenced revenue?
Partner-sourced revenue comes from deals the partner originated. Partner-influenced revenue comes from deals the partner helped advance after someone else originated them.
What is a channel partner?
A channel partner is any third party that sells, refers, implements, or distributes a brand's product, including resellers, agencies, affiliates, distributors, and integrators.