FLUID PARTNER PROGRAM POLICIES
This page presents Version 1.1 for newly entered agreements that expressly adopt it. For an existing agreement or prior Introduction, use the applicable version in the version history below; the newest posted version does not automatically govern.
Version 1.1 — prepared September 21, 2026; effective only as provided below
Incorporated by reference into the Fluid Partner Referral Agreement, Section 1.2.
Permanent link to this version: Program Policies v1.1
Version 1.1 applies only to Referrals arising from Introductions made on or after the Effective Date of a newly entered Fluid Partner Referral Agreement that expressly incorporates Version 1.1. It does not apply to an Introduction made before that Effective Date. Publishing this version does not amend an existing agreement or constitute delivery of notice. Existing agreements and prior Introductions remain governed by their applicable terms and Introduction-date rate locks, including the full five-year schedule where Version 1.0 applies. Adoption for future Introductions under an existing agreement is outside this release and requires compliance with that agreement’s thirty (30) days’ prior written notice requirement and any requirement for an amendment signed by both parties. No existing five-year commission right or accrued commission is reduced by this version.
Fluid may amend these Policies on 30 days' written notice. Under Section 1.3 of the Agreement, the version of these Policies in effect on the date of the Introduction giving rise to a Referral governs that Referral for its full commission life. Amendments apply only to Referrals arising from later Introductions. Each version is dated, and Fluid retains and makes every version available to Partner.
1. COMMISSION SCHEDULE
On Qualifying Fees, measured in successive 12-month periods from the Referred Client's billing start date:
| Year 1 | 7% |
|---|---|
| Year 2 | 5% |
| Year 3 | 3% |
| Year 4+ | 0% — hard stop, no evergreen |
Launch Accelerator: +1 percentage point on Year 1 if the Referred Client transacts its first live order within 120 days after the Qualification Date, or at any time before the Qualification Date. Applied once. Does not carry into Year 2.
Qualifying Fees = collected Fluid platform fees charged as a percentage of the client's sales volume (GMV or however denominated), including minimums and true-ups charged on those percentage fees, + Fluid's net revenue share from Fluid Payments, net of refunds, credits and chargebacks. Excludes fixed per-transaction platform fees (this exclusion does not reduce the Fluid Payments share); one-time implementation, setup, migration and custom development fees; promotional credits; pass-through costs; taxes; and invoiced-but-uncollected amounts.
2. REGISTRATION MECHANICS
2.1 Submit
Partner submits an Introduction through the partner portal, a referral form, or a direct email introduction. Must include the prospect's legal name and a contact person. A meeting the Partner arranges counts, if confirmed in writing within 5 business days after the meeting occurs.
2.2 Statuses
Every Introduction carries one of five statuses, visible to Partner:
- Submitted
- Received, awaiting Fluid review. Max 10 business days.
- Registered
- Accepted. 270-day qualification window running.
- Qualified
- BBF complete + billing method on file, or first Qualifying Fee collected. Commission schedule attached.
- Ineligible
- Declined. Reason stated: active CRM process within prior 180 days, or Fluid elects not to pursue.
- Expired
- 270-day window (plus any 90-day extension) lapsed without Qualification. Partner may resubmit.
2.3 The Qualification test
A Registered Referral becomes Qualified when Fluid's systems record BOTH:
(a) the Big Beautiful Form marked complete for that prospect, and
(b) a valid payment method on file for platform billing, OR an executed invoiced billing arrangement.
A Registered Referral also Qualifies, without regard to (a) and (b), on the first date within the window on which Fluid collects any Qualifying Fee from the prospect. Fluid processes onboarding and billing setup in the ordinary course and will not act to prevent or delay (a) or (b).
Both (a) and (b) are system events. Neither is a judgment call. Fluid surfaces both to the Partner.
2.4 Windows
| Fluid response to an Introduction | 10 business days (silence = declined) |
|---|---|
| CRM lookback for "already known" | 180 days before the Introduction |
| Qualification window | 270 days from Registration Date |
| Automatic extension | +90 days if an active documented process is running on the final day |
| Commission clock starts | Referred Client's billing start date — the first date Fluid collects a Qualifying Fee from the Referred Client |
| Qualified Referral lapse | 12 months after the Qualification Date with no billing start; prospect may be re-introduced |
2.5 One payee
Earliest Registration Date wins; same-day ties go to the earliest-submitted Introduction, then to Fluid's good-faith written designation. Expired and lapsed Registrations don't count. Payment to that payee discharges Fluid's obligation for that client, including against claims under any other Fluid referral agreement.
3. PAYMENT OPERATIONS
- Cadence
- Monthly, within 30 days of month end
- Statement
- Per Referred Client: Qualifying Fees collected, refunds and chargebacks netted, applicable year and rate, accelerator applied, commission due
- Offsets
- Refund/chargeback clawbacks against payments in the following 6 months; any remainder invoiced to Partner, due within 30 days
- Audit
- Once per 12 months, partner-engaged CPA, 30 days' notice. Fluid pays audit cost if underpayment exceeds 5%
- Tax
- W-9 required before first payment; collected at signature
4. WHAT THIS PROGRAM DOES NOT DO
- No perpetual or evergreen commissions, for any partner.
- No commission on one-time implementation, setup, migration or custom development fees.
- No commission on professional services. Partners who deliver implementation work agree scope and fees with the client directly, or with Fluid under a separate services agreement.
- No commission on a client's gross merchandise value itself. Partners earn their percentage of the portion of Fluid's platform fee that is charged as a percentage of the client's GMV, so a partner's commission grows as the client's sales grow.
- No commission on per-transaction platform fees — fees Fluid charges at a fixed amount per order or transaction. This does not reduce the Fluid Payments share.
Example: a client with $20,000,000 in annual GMV on a 1.5% platform fee pays Fluid $300,000 in platform fees. At the standard Year 1 rate of 7% (before any Launch Accelerator), the partner earns $21,000. If the same client also pays Fluid a fixed fee on each transaction, no commission is paid on those per-transaction fees. - No exclusivity, territory rights, or guaranteed lead flow.
- No commission on an Introduction Fluid declines under Section 2.2(a) of the Agreement (active sales process begun within the prior 180 days).
5. BRAND AND CONDUCT
Partners may state factually that they are a Fluid partner. Any other use of Fluid marks needs written approval. No bidding on Fluid trademarks in paid search. No domains incorporating Fluid marks. No promises or warranties about the platform beyond materials Fluid provides or approves.
VERSION HISTORY
- v1.1 — newly entered agreements expressly adopting this version — Program Policies v1.1
- v1.0 — preserved for agreements and Introductions to which it applies — referral-partners.fluid.app/partners/policies/v1-0