Affiliate program terms are the operating rules partners read before they promote you. They sit beside the affiliate agreement: the agreement frames the legal relationship, while the terms explain what affiliates can do day to day.
For a SaaS program, the terms need to be specific enough to prevent disputes about recurring commissions, refund windows, brand bidding and disclosures. They should also be short enough for a serious partner to understand before sending the first click.
This template is a starting point, not legal advice. Ask counsel to review it before publication, especially if you operate in regulated markets or recruit affiliates across several jurisdictions.
What your terms should cover
- Who can join: approval criteria, required information and the right to reject applications.
- How promotion works: allowed channels, forbidden channels, disclosure requirements and brand guidelines.
- Attribution: cookie window, last-click or first-click rule, coupon handling and what counts as an eligible customer.
- Commissions: rate, recurrence, subscription changes, refunds, chargebacks and cancellations.
- Payouts: threshold, payout cycle, invoice requirement and tax information.
- Termination: what happens to links, unpaid commissions and prohibited behaviour.
If you are still designing the economics, model the payout rules in the affiliate ROI calculator before publishing them. Once the structure is clear, a Stripe-native affiliate workflow can enforce those rules against collected revenue instead of spreadsheet estimates.
The template
AFFILIATE PROGRAM TERMS
Last updated: [DD Month YYYY]
Program owner: [Merchant company name]
Support contact: [affiliate-support@example.com]
1. PROGRAM OVERVIEW
By joining this affiliate program, you may promote [Product]
and earn commissions on eligible customers referred through
your approved affiliate link or approved coupon code.
2. APPLICATION AND APPROVAL
Participation is subject to approval. We may reject, pause or
remove an affiliate account if the website, audience, content
or promotion method is not a fit for the program.
You agree to provide accurate identity, payment and tax
information before any commission is paid.
3. ALLOWED PROMOTION CHANNELS
You may promote [Product] through:
- Your website, blog, newsletter or community.
- Organic social posts and videos.
- Product tutorials, reviews, comparisons and resource pages.
- Direct recommendations to your own customers or audience.
All claims must be accurate, current and based on real product
capabilities. Do not promise discounts, features or outcomes
that we have not approved in writing.
4. DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS
You must clearly disclose your affiliate relationship whenever
you recommend [Product]. The disclosure must be easy to see
and understand before a visitor clicks the affiliate link.
Example: "I may earn a commission if you buy through this
link, at no extra cost to you."
5. PROHIBITED ACTIVITY
The following activities are prohibited:
- Self-referrals or purchases made mainly to earn commission.
- Fraud, fake accounts, spam or misleading claims.
- Paid search bidding on our brand name, misspellings or
trademarked terms without written approval.
- Coupon, cashback or deal listings unless explicitly approved.
- Emailing purchased lists or contacting people without a
lawful basis.
- Copying our website, ads or brand assets in a way that
could confuse visitors about who operates the page.
6. ATTRIBUTION
The standard attribution window is [30/60/90] days. A customer
is eligible only if they are new to [Product], use an approved
affiliate link or coupon, and complete a paid purchase.
If multiple affiliates are involved, attribution follows
[last click / first click / manual review]. We may reject or
adjust commissions linked to fraud, duplicate accounts,
refunds, chargebacks or policy violations.
7. COMMISSIONS
Commission rate: [X]% of eligible net revenue.
Recurrence: [one-time / recurring for X months / lifetime].
Validation period: [30] days after payment collection.
Commissions are calculated on revenue actually collected,
excluding taxes, refunds, chargebacks, credits and discounts.
If a customer downgrades, cancels or receives a refund during
the validation period, the commission may be reduced or
reversed.
8. PAYOUTS
Payouts are processed [monthly] once approved commissions
reach [50] EUR/USD and the affiliate has submitted the required
invoice, tax and payout information.
Unpaid commissions below the threshold roll forward to the
next payout cycle. We may withhold payment while reviewing
suspected fraud, policy breaches or incomplete information.
9. BRAND AND CONTENT GUIDELINES
Use only approved logos, screenshots and product descriptions.
Do not imply that you are an employee, reseller or official
representative of [Product] unless we have agreed in writing.
10. TERMINATION
Either party may end participation at any time. After
termination, you must stop using affiliate links and remove
promotional material that presents the program as active.
Approved commissions earned before termination remain payable
unless they resulted from prohibited activity or later become
ineligible because of refund, cancellation or chargeback.
11. CHANGES TO THESE TERMS
We may update these terms with reasonable notice. Continuing
to promote [Product] after the update means you accept the new
terms.
How to use this template
Publish the terms where every affiliate can access them before applying. Then link to the same page from the approval email, the affiliate portal and any campaign briefs. If affiliates receive the terms only once as a PDF, they will not check them before launching a new campaign.
Keep the commercial terms aligned with your setup guide. The SaaS affiliate setup guide covers commission rate, attribution window and payout schedule. The affiliate compliance guide covers disclosures and tracking obligations in more detail.
Related resources
- Legal skeleton: Affiliate contract template
- Launch message: Affiliate onboarding email template
- Payout paperwork: Affiliate commission invoice template
- Recruiting copy: Affiliate outreach email generator
How RefCampaign helps
RefCampaign turns these terms into operational rules: Stripe revenue attribution, recurring commissions, validation periods, refunds, affiliate portal access and payout status. Review the Stripe affiliate software page to see the workflow, or compare pricing when you are ready to launch.