Commission Structures & Tiers

Attro supports three commission models, each suited to different business situations.

Percentage Commission

Affiliate earns a percentage of each sale. Best for variable pricing or when you want commissions to scale with deal size.

Example: 20% commission
- $49/month plan → $9.80 commission
- $99/month plan → $19.80 commission
- $299/month plan → $59.80 commission

Pros:

• Automatically adjusts to pricing changes
• Incentivizes affiliates to promote higher tiers
• Fair across different price points

Cons:

• Less predictable costs
• May be too high on enterprise deals

Fixed Commission

Affiliate earns a flat amount per conversion. Best for standardized pricing or lead generation.

Example: $50 per conversion
- $49/month plan → $50 commission (102% of first payment!)
- $99/month plan → $50 commission (51%)
- $299/month plan → $50 commission (17%)

Pros:

• Predictable acquisition costs
• Simple for affiliates to understand
• Works well for lead gen

Cons:

• May overpay on low-value conversions
• Doesn't reward upselling

Hybrid Commission

Combine fixed and percentage for the best of both worlds.

Example: $20 base + 10% of sale
- $49/month plan → $20 + $4.90 = $24.90 commission
- $99/month plan → $20 + $9.90 = $29.90 commission
- $299/month plan → $20 + $29.90 = $49.90 commission

Recommendation: For most SaaS products, percentage-based commissions (15-30%) work best. They're simple and align affiliate incentives with your revenue.

Each offer has a default commission that applies to all affiliates unless overridden.

Configure in Attro

1. Navigate to Admin → Offers
2. Click on your offer (or create new)
3. Find the Commission section
4. Select commission type
5. Enter commission value
6. Save changes

Industry Benchmarks

Use these as starting points, then adjust based on your economics:

| Industry          | Typical Range |
|-------------------|---------------|
| SaaS (B2B)        | 15-30%        |
| SaaS (Consumer)   | 20-40%        |
| E-commerce        | 5-15%         |
| Financial         | $50-200/lead  |
| Education         | 20-40%        |
| Mobile Apps       | 15-25%        |

Calculating Your Rate

Start with your customer lifetime value (LTV) and work backward:

// Example calculation
Average Monthly Revenue per Customer: $79
Average Customer Lifespan: 18 months
LTV = $79 × 18 = $1,422

// Commission should be a fraction of LTV
Max Sustainable Commission: ~30% of LTV = $426

// For monthly commission (first payment only):
Safe Commission Rate: $426 ÷ $79 = ~538%... wait, that's wrong!

// Better approach - base on first year revenue:
First Year Revenue: $79 × 12 = $948
Target Commission: 20% of FYR = $189.60
Monthly Rate: $189.60 ÷ $948 = 20%

Rule of thumb: Commission should be less than the profit from the first 3-6 months of a customer. This ensures you're profitable even with some churn.

Tiers reward your best affiliates with higher commissions as they drive more conversions. This motivates growth and retains top performers.

Example Tier Structure

| Tier   | Conversions/Month | Commission |
|--------|-------------------|------------|
| Starter  | 0-10            | 15%        |
| Growth   | 11-50           | 20%        |
| Partner  | 51-100          | 25%        |
| Elite    | 100+            | 30%        |

Configure Tiers in Attro

1. Go to Settings → Commission Tiers
2. Click "Add Tier"
3. Enter tier name and threshold
4. Set commission rate
5. Repeat for additional tiers
6. Save configuration

Tier Behavior

• Automatic Upgrades - Affiliates move up when they hit thresholds
• Monthly Reset - Tier is recalculated each month based on performance
• Immediate Effect - New commission applies to future conversions

Best Practices

• Start lower and let affiliates earn increases
• Make first tier achievable (5-10 conversions)
• Gap between tiers should feel achievable
• Top tier should be genuinely rewarding (25-35%)

Psychology tip: Affiliates are motivated by progress. A tier at 10 conversions gives quick wins. Too high a first threshold (50+) and most will never reach it.

Sometimes you need custom rates for specific affiliates - top performers, strategic partners, or negotiated deals.

When to Use Overrides

• High-volume affiliates who negotiated special rates
• Strategic partners with co-marketing agreements
• Affiliates testing new commission structures
• Temporary promotional rates

Set an Override

1. Navigate to Admin → Affiliates
2. Select the affiliate
3. Click "Commission Override"
4. Choose override type (percentage or fixed)
5. Enter the value
6. Save

Override Precedence

When calculating commission, Attro uses this priority:

1. Per-Affiliate Override (if set) - highest priority
2. Performance Tier (if configured) - based on monthly performance
3. Offer Default - baseline rate

// Example: Affiliate "TopPerformer"
// Offer default: 15%
// Their tier (Partner): 25%
// Override: 30%

// Commission used: 30% (override wins)

Tracking Overrides

View all active overrides at Settings → Commission Overrides. This helps you audit special arrangements.

For subscription products, you can pay affiliates on every renewal - not just the first payment. This aligns incentives with customer retention.

Recurring Options

• First Payment Only - Commission on initial purchase only
• Lifetime - Commission on every renewal forever
• Fixed Period - Commission for a set number of renewals

Configure Recurring

1. Go to Offers → Edit Offer
2. Find "Recurring Commission" section
3. Select your preferred model
4. If fixed period, enter number of months
5. Save

Financial Impact

// Example: $99/month subscription, 20% commission

// First Payment Only:
Total Commission = $99 × 20% = $19.80

// Lifetime (assuming 18-month average):
Total Commission = $99 × 20% × 18 = $356.40

// 12-Month Recurring:
Total Commission = $99 × 20% × 12 = $237.60

Strategic Considerations

• First Payment Only - Lower cost, attracts volume-focused affiliates
• Lifetime - Highest cost, attracts long-term partners
• 12-Month Recurring - Balanced approach, common in SaaS

Recommendation: Start with 12-month recurring. It's predictable for planning and attractive to quality affiliates who care about customer quality.

The attribution window determines how long after a click a conversion can be attributed to an affiliate.

Standard Windows

• 7 days - Impulse purchases, low-consideration products
• 30 days - Standard SaaS (most common)
• 60-90 days - Enterprise products, long sales cycles

Configure Per Offer

1. Go to Offers → Edit Offer
2. Find "Attribution Window"
3. Enter days (1-365)
4. Save

How It Works

// 30-day window example:
Day 1: User clicks affiliate link → cookie set
Day 15: User returns directly, browses
Day 25: User purchases → ATTRIBUTED (within window)

// Same scenario with 7-day window:
Day 1: User clicks affiliate link → cookie set
Day 8: Cookie expired
Day 25: User purchases → NOT attributed

Choosing Your Window

Consider your typical buyer journey:

• How long do prospects research before buying?
• Do customers often return multiple times?
• What's your typical time from first visit to purchase?

Tip: Check your analytics for "time to conversion" data. Set window to cover 90% of your conversions.