RefCampaign - Affiliate program management platform
Start for free

For SaaS founders

From zero to an affiliate program in 24 hours

Connect Stripe, set your rules, invite your first affiliates. Automatic tracking, payouts via Stripe Connect. No code changes, no CTO required.

See the steps

The system, at a glance

You (Merchant)
Stripe Tracking
Your affiliates
Conversions
Auto payouts

What you need to start

  • A live Stripe account with at least one product or subscription plan
  • A public product URL (your SaaS home or signup page)
  • About 3 hours of focused time across your day (and zero developer time)

No technical skills. No code changes. No CTO needed.

The 5 steps

Each step: duration, what you do, what it unlocks, the objection lifted.

015 min

Connect Stripe

What you do
One-click Stripe OAuth. RefCampaign reads your customers and subscriptions read-only. No writes, no critical webhook changes.
What it unlocks
Automatic conversion and MRR tracking per affiliate from the very first sale.

« Will this break my billing? »

No. RefCampaign listens to Stripe events (charge.succeeded, customer.subscription.updated). Zero impact on checkout, billing, plans. Disconnect anytime.

0215 min

Define your commission rules

What you do
Pick the type (% of MRR or fixed per sale), the duration (one-shot, 12 months, lifetime) and the cookie window (30/60/90 days).
What it unlocks
Rules apply automatically to every future conversion. Editable without breaking already-earned commissions.

« I don't know what rate to pick. »

B2B SaaS standard: 20-30% MRR for 12 months. The more niche or expensive the product, the higher you can go (up to 50% lifetime above $200/mo).

031 hour

Invite your first affiliates

What you do
Send branded email invites (CSV import or one-by-one). Optional public signup page. Custom message and subdomain.
What it unlocks
Each affiliate gets a unique tracking link, dashboard and assets. Self-serve onboarding.

« Where do I find my first affiliates? »

Your existing happy customers, niche content creators, ex-employees, sector Slack/Discord communities. Start with 5-10, not 100.

04Live

Track conversions in real time

What you do
Open the merchant dashboard. Live view of clicks, signups, conversions, MRR generated, per affiliate and per campaign.
What it unlocks
Identify your top affiliates within days, detect fraud (suspicious click-no-conversion patterns), tune your program.

« What if attribution gets messed up? »

Cookie + IP fingerprinting + Stripe customer matching. Full chain visible: click → signup → payment, timestamped. Manual reassignment available for disputes.

RefCampaign merchant dashboard showing real-time conversions per affiliate
055 min/month

Approve and pay commissions

What you do
Commissions are auto-calculated and held during the refund window (30 days default). Bulk-approve and trigger payout via Stripe Connect or Wise.
What it unlocks
Affiliates paid on a fixed date, no spreadsheets, no chasing. They stay motivated.

« What if a customer refunds after I paid the commission? »

The 30-day hold covers 95% of cases. Outside that window, RefCampaign detects the refund and clawbacks automatically on the next payout.

RefCampaign payout screen with commissions to approve via Stripe Connect

How long it actually takes

The breakdown of those 24 hours.

Connect Stripe

Active time
5 min
Wait time
—

Define commission rules

Active time
15 min
Wait time
—

Prepare invitation emails

Active time
30 min
Wait time
—

Invite 10 affiliates

Active time
30 min
Wait time
—

First affiliates respond and activate

Active time
—
Wait time
6-24h

Define affiliate assets (banners, copy)

Active time
1h
Wait time
—

Launch first campaign

Active time
5 min
Wait time
—

Founder total

Active time
~3h active
Wait time
6-24h external

You can start this morning and have your first tracking links live before end of day.

Common mistakes SaaS founders make

What we see most often, and the fix.

Commission too low to attract (<15%)

Why it's a trap

Serious affiliates have options. Below 15% on B2B SaaS, they go elsewhere.

Fix

Start at 25-30% for 12 months. Lower later if needed; you can't go up.

Recruiting too broad from day one

Why it's a trap

100 inactive affiliates = 0 revenue + dashboard noise. You spend your time filtering.

Fix

Start with 5-10 targeted affiliates who actually speak to your ICP. Scale after.

Cookie window too short (<30d)

Why it's a trap

A B2B SaaS prospect often takes 14-45 days to convert. 7-day cookie = lost attribution.

Fix

60-90 days for B2B, 30 days for consumer.

Manual payouts by bank transfer

Why it's a trap

1h/month for 10 affiliates. 10h for 100. You'll postpone, the affiliate will chase, trust erodes.

Fix

Stripe Connect or Wise from day one, fixed payout date (15th of the month).

Frequently asked questions

See pricing →See comparisons →

30 minutes to put your program live.

The rest runs on autopilot. Come back when you want.

See pricing