How referrals work
Attribution is mechanical, not judged. This page explains exactly what ties an install to your partner code, and the one habit that makes sure you never lose a commission you earned.
The one rule: click your referral link once per client store, in that store owner's browser, before that store installs from the Shopify App Store. One click per store, every store, every time, including reinstalls after a long gap.
1. What the click does
Your referral link (honesttag.com/?p=yourcode) does two things. It stores your code in a single first-party cookie in that browser for 60 days, so a visitor who leaves and comes back later still carries your referral. And when an install follows, it parks your code against that specific store. When the store completes its App Store install, the code is consumed and the store is permanently tagged as yours. That install-time tag is the source of truth for every commission and wins any dispute.
2. Why once per store
Shopify's App Store install carries nothing from us: no code, no cookie we can read from inside Shopify. Two things bridge that gap. The cookie remembers your code in one browser, and the referral record we park when an install starts from that browser is parked per store. Clicking your link once and then installing on eight client stores tags one store, not eight. For an agency, the working habit is simple: open your referral link in the client's session as the first step of every onboarding, then install.
3. What happens if the click is missing or does not match
We never silently drop a referral, and we never silently credit one either. If a store installs and our record of your click cannot be verified against the install (different browser and network, or no click at all), the referral is parked as pending review (recorded, visible to us, not yet payable) and we decide it by hand. If you believe a store is yours, write in with your partner code and the store domain; the install-time record settles it.
4. The 60-day window
Your code waits up to 60 days in both places it lives: the cookie your link sets in the visitor's browser, and a referral parked against a specific store once an install starts. The window is last-touch, the standard affiliate rule: if the visitor clicks another partner's link after yours, the newer code replaces yours in the cookie. If the store installs more than 60 days after the last click, the referral has expired; send the link again before the install. Reinstalls keep the original tag unless the store was uninstalled for more than 180 days.
5. What you receive
- An approval email with your code and links when you join.
- A monthly statement email for every month a referred store pays: stores that paid, commission earned, and your unpaid balance, from the same ledger payouts settle. When part of the balance is annual-plan commission still in its 60-day hold, the statement shows that pending part separately from what is payable. No activity, no email.
- Payouts monthly, net-30 after month end, $50 minimum (smaller balances roll over). Annual-plan commission joins the first payout after its 60-day hold ends.
A referral earnings dashboard is on the roadmap; until then the statement is the record, and any question about it gets an answer from us. Reply to the statement or write to support@honesttag.com.