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Learn more →Most referral programs do not pay the moment someone clicks a referral link. They pay when the referred person does something valuable. The qualified referral is that moment, and defining it well is the difference between a program that drives revenue and one that pays for signups that never convert.
A referral moves through two stages:
Separating the two protects you from paying for empty signups and from most referral fraud, since fake accounts rarely make it past a purchase.
| Business | Typical qualifying action |
|---|---|
| SaaS | Upgrades to a paid plan, or stays active for 14 or 30 days |
| Ecommerce | First order ships, or the return window closes |
| Fintech | Account funded or first transaction completed |
| B2B services | Demo attended or contract signed |
| Mobile apps | Reaches an activation event, such as completing a first workout |
| Marketplaces | Completes a first booking or sale |
Some programs pay a small reward at signup and a larger one when the referral qualifies. Affiliate programs do the same with a fixed lead commission for each qualified signup and a sale commission when the deal closes. Paying twice keeps referrers engaged through a long sales cycle without paying full price for leads that never convert.
Even a qualified referral can be reversed by a refund or chargeback. Hold the reward for the length of your refund window before releasing it, and show the referrer that the reward is pending rather than hiding it.
GrowSurf lets you decide what qualifies a referral for each program: a sign-up alone, or a sign-up plus a qualifying action such as a purchase or subscription. You trigger the qualifying action with a single JavaScript call, through the REST API, or automatically from Stripe, PayPal, Recurly, Chargebee, Zapier, or webhooks. An API-triggered referral can be held for up to 90 days to wait out your refund policy, and a delayed trigger can be cancelled if the customer backs out.
Every reward picks the moment it pays: referred signup or qualifying action. Affiliate fixed commissions choose lead or sale, and you can run both on the same program, paying $5 when someone books a demo and $200 when they convert. Your dashboard separates leads from credited referrals so you always know how many are still pending, and GrowSurf's fraud checks run before any referral is credited.
Whatever action your program defines as success: a paid subscription, a first order, a funded account, a booked demo. The referred person must complete that action before the referral counts and the reward is earned.
Reward the qualifying action, or pay a small amount at signup and the larger amount at qualification. Rewarding signups alone invites fake accounts and pays for people who never become customers.
A lead has signed up through a referral link but has not yet done the qualifying action. A referral, or qualified referral, has completed it. Programs typically report both numbers separately.
Long enough to cover your refund or cancellation window, commonly 14 to 60 days. After that, either the referral qualifies and the reward is released, or it expires.
Set up your refer a friend program with customer referral and affiliate program software that lowers your acquisition costs, increases customer loyalty, and saves you gobs of time.
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See referral programs that our customers have implemented.
Salesforce
Stripe
HubSpot
Chargebee
PayPal
Wise
Tango Card
Tremendous
Recurly
Braze
Zapier
Webhooks
