20% of every referred subscription. Forever.
Agencies and creators send us Shopify stores; we send back 20% of every payment those stores make, for the life of the subscription. Not the first year. The life of the subscription.
Free to join. No volume minimums. Payouts monthly.
Why forever matters
Ours pays 20% recurring, with no 12-month cap.
A capped program pays you for the introduction. An uncapped one pays you for the relationship, and agencies are in the relationship business. If a client store you referred is still subscribed in year four, you are still getting paid in year four. The commission also follows the subscription itself: if the store upgrades to a bigger tier, or prices change, your 20% is calculated on whatever they actually pay.
There is no fine-print reset, no re-qualification, no "active partner status" hoop. The install-time tag is permanent, and so is the revenue share on it.
The math, honestly
Commission is 20% of net revenue: the merchant's app charge minus what Shopify keeps before the money reaches us. We pay on what actually lands, and we show you the numbers rather than a vague "up to."
| Referred tier | Merchant pays / month | You earn / month |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $49 | $9.52 |
| Truth | $99 | $19.23 |
| Truth+ | $199 | $38.65 |
| Scale | $499 | $96.91 |
| Scale+ | $999 | $194.01 |
Today, net revenue means the app charge minus Shopify's 2.9% processing fee. Under Shopify's standard rates, its 15% revenue share begins above the first $1 million in gross app revenue earned from January 1, 2025, calculated across our apps and Associated Developer Accounts. When that rate applies, commissions are recalculated on the new net: same 20%, honestly applied to what we actually receive. Stores on the free Mirror pay nothing, so they earn nothing until they move to a paid plan.
Worked example: an agency that installs HonestTag across a 500-client book at a realistic tier mix (60% Starter, 25% Truth ($99), 10% Truth+ ($199), 4% Scale ($499), 1% Scale+ ($999)) generates about $52k in monthly subscriptions and earns about $10.1k every month, for as long as those clients stay subscribed.
A smaller book counts too: an agency with 30 clients on the Truth ($99) tier earns about $577 every month (30 stores at $19.23 each), recurring for as long as those clients stay subscribed.
How attribution works
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Share your link
You get a referral code and two ways to use it: a site link (honesttag.com/?p=yourcode) and a direct install link that carries the code straight into the app. Your link tags the visit two ways: a single first-party cookie holds your code for 60 days (last click wins, the affiliate standard), and the code rides the page addresses while the visitor browses this site. It is recorded the moment they join the waitlist or apply, and we honor that code when the store installs.
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The store installs
At install, the store is permanently tagged with your partner code. That install-time tag is the source of truth: it decides every commission and wins any dispute. One tag per store, set once. No last-minute link swaps can take a referral away from you.
The habit that protects your money: click your referral link once per client store, in that store owner's browser, before each install. How referrals work, step by step.
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You earn while they stay
Every month the referred subscription is active and paid, 20% of the net charge accrues to your balance. A store on an annual plan pays once a year, so 20% of that annual payment accrues in the month it is paid. Upgrades raise it, downgrades lower it, and a canceled month accrues nothing. The ledger tracks reality, like everything else we build.
For agencies
Connecting client accounts through your Google Ads manager account (MCC) is separate from referral attribution. You can deliver conversions for a store without being its referral partner, and be the partner without touching its ad accounts.
You get a monthly statement showing each referred store's tier and your commission.
Running HonestTag across a client book
The operational answers. Referral commission is the section above; this is what the work actually looks like.
- One install per store, one bill per store. HonestTag installs from each store's own Shopify admin, and that store approves its own plan on Shopify's own billing screen. There is no agency seat to buy, no invoice to split, and no client whose access you have to provision.
- Nothing to implement per client. The pixel goes in through Shopify's Web Pixel API, so there is no theme code to edit and no setup fee on any store. After install you connect the ad accounts that store actually runs. Store number eleven costs the same effort as store number one.
- A client report that needs no login. On the Mirror tab, create a read-only link for a period inside that store's history window. Whoever holds the link sees that snapshot and nothing else: no login, no customer data, day-level totals only. Revoke it whenever you want and the next view gets nothing. It works on the free Mirror, so a prospect can see their own gap before anyone pays.
- One login across your client stores. A free agency account shows every client store that approved you side by side; see the agency account below.
- Leaving is not a hostage situation. Every plan, including after a store cancels, downloads that store's full daily history and per-order proof as NDJSON files. Whatever you measured stays yours.
The agency account
One login for the client stores that approve you, at app.honesttag.com/_ht/agency.
- Free. The agency account costs nothing. Each client store keeps paying for its own plan on its own Shopify bill.
- The client approves it inside Shopify admin. Your account gives you a short code. The store's owner enters it in HonestTag inside their Shopify admin (Setup tab, Agency access), sees your agency's name and approves. They can revoke it there at any time, and your next page load no longer shows the store.
- A read-only roll-up. Each approved store in one table: revenue, ad spend and MER, the Mirror, this week's Scale, Hold and Cut verdicts where the store's plan includes them, and connection health. Totals only: no customers, no orders, no contact details, and nothing you can change. Money stays in each store's own currency.
- Your 20% commission is unchanged. Stores that install through your referral link pay you 20% for the life of the subscription. Approving your agency does not create or move a referral.
- Support follows the store. Ask us about a client store from your agency account, and we reply within that store's plan's reply time.
Payout terms
- Monthly, net-30. Commissions for a month are paid within 30 days after that month ends, matching the lag on Shopify's own remittance to us.
- Annual plans: a 60-day hold. Commission on an annual payment, or on the prorated charge when an annual store upgrades, is pending for 60 days from the charge date. After that it is payable and goes out in the next monthly payout.
- $50 minimum. Balances under $50 roll over to the next month; nothing is forfeited.
- PayPal only. Payouts are sent to the PayPal email you give us. We never collect or store bank details. A W-9 (US partners) or W-8BEN (everyone else) must be on file before the first payout.
- Clawbacks mirror reality. If a merchant is refunded, charges back, or Shopify reverses a charge, the matching commission is deducted. Still inside the 60-day hold, the pending amount is canceled; already paid, it comes off your next payout, and any shortfall carries as a negative balance.
- Accrual requires an active, paid subscription. Frozen or canceled months do not accrue.
No 12-month cliff. Ever.
Your commission runs for the life of every referred subscription. The install-time tag is permanent, the rate is 20%, and program changes only ever apply going forward, never to referrals you already made.
The rules, in one breath
The short version. The full terms say the same things in complete sentences.
- No self-referral. You cannot earn on stores you own or operate. An agency referring its clients' stores is the intended case and is absolutely allowed.
- No bidding on "HonestTag" brand terms in any ad platform.
- No coupon or deal-site listings.
- No incentivized installs. Paying or rebating merchants to install does not count as a referral.
- Abuse ends the deal. Gaming attribution or breaking these rules means tag removal and forfeiture of unpaid commissions.
Apply to the program
Tell us who you are and how you would send stores our way. We review every application by hand and reply by email, usually within a few business days.