Program terms
One fair agreement for every program
Every partner program on ViralPayouts runs on the same standard terms. Brands choose the numbers that matter to them, within limits that stop anyone moving the goalposts. Partners read and accept the full terms before they get a link, and anyone who breaks them is removed.
Three layers
- 1. Platform terms. The same in every program, and no brand can change them: payment, notice of changes, reversals, conduct and removal.
- 2. Program settings. The numbers each brand chooses, inside the ranges below. They are printed into the terms, so a partner reads the exact figures they sign up to.
- 3. Brand rules. Up to 300 words of the brand's own restrictions, such as “never call it a bank”. ViralPayouts approves them before partners see them, and they are void wherever they conflict with layer 1.
What a brand can set
| Setting | Allowed | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Commission | 1% to 95% of each sale, or a flat fee of at least $1.00 per approved customer | Chosen by the brand |
| Renewals (recurring) | 1 month (first payment only, a one-off fee), 2 to 36 months, or lifetime | Lifetime |
| Recruiter override (level 2) | Off, or 1% to 95% of the partner's commission or of the sale, or a flat amount. Partner plus recruiter can never be more than the whole sale. | Off until the brand turns it on |
| Cookie window | 7 to 365 days | 30 days |
| Payment schedule | 15 to 30 days after the sale. A brand can agree a different schedule, 0 to 30 days, with one partner. | 15 days |
| Minimum balance before a payout | $10 to $100 | $10 |
| Who is credited | The last click or the first click | Last click |
| Valid customer | A plain rule for what counts as an approved sale | Written by the brand |
| New customers only | Yes or no | Yes |
| Countries | Any list, or every country | Every country |
| Brand rules | Up to 300 words of extra rules, approved by ViralPayouts before partners see them | None |
How partners may promote
Each program answers allowed, ask first or banned for seven sources. These are the defaults:
- Content, reviews, video and social postsAllowed
- Email to the partner's own subscribersAllowed
- Paid ads on non-brand keywords, and paid socialAllowed
- Paid search on the brand's name, misspellings or domainBanned
- Coupon and deal sitesAsk first
- Cashback, loyalty and paid-to-sign-up rewardsBanned
- Browser extensionsBanned
What no brand can change
- Earned money stays earned
- Once a commission reaches its payment date the brand cannot reject it, except for fraud. A refund or chargeback the brand's checkout reports later still reduces it in proportion.
- Commissions are payable on time
- 15 days after the sale by default, and never more than 30. Brands are invoiced on the 1st and 16th; partners are paid as soon as the brand pays, at the latest on the 13th or 28th.
- Changes need notice
- A brand can raise or lower what partners earn at any time. An increase applies at once. A cut, product rates and bounties included, takes effect at least 3 business days after it is announced. Every partner is emailed what changes and when.
- Each sale keeps its terms
- A sale is paid on the version of the terms in force when it was recorded.
- Reversals need a listed reason
- A brand can reverse a commission before it is payable only for one of the reasons below, and the partner sees which.
- The recruiter follows the partner
- A recruiter is paid only when their recruit's commission is approved, and the override is reversed whenever that commission is. Nobody is paid for sign-ups. Two levels, no more.
- Disclosure is required
- Partners must say they may be paid, before the reader clicks.
- The brand sees the whole tree
- Every partner and recruiter in a program, and who recruited whom, is visible to the brand and can be exported.
The only reasons a commission can be reversed
- The customer was refunded
- The payment was charged back or disputed
- The customer did not meet the valid customer rule
- The sale was a duplicate or a test order
- The customer was the partner, someone in their household, or the brand's employee
- The sale came from a banned source or banned conduct
- The coupon code was posted on a leak or deal site without permission
- The sale was fraudulent
Breaking the terms
A minor breach, such as a missing disclosure, gets a warning and 7 days to fix it. The partner's links keep working.
A serious breach (fake clicks or sales, self-referral, spam, a banned source used on purpose, or a repeat after a warning) means removal from the program at once. Commissions from the breach are reversed, and the balance is held for up to 30 days while it is reviewed. After that, every commission that was not reversed is paid. The partner can appeal within 14 days.
Fraud anywhere can remove a person from every program on ViralPayouts.
Read a program's terms
Every program shows its full terms, every past version, and any change that is coming.
These terms are a working draft and have not yet been reviewed by a lawyer.