Bonuses reward the affiliate work that is not a sale: signing up, sending clicks, sharing on social media, delivering leads, and hitting sales milestones. Affiliate and Referral Program for WooCommerce configures all of them on one tab, and every bonus lands as a record for you to approve like any commission. Part of the plugin documentation.
Where bonuses are configured
↑ Back to topGo to: WooCommerce > Affiliate & Referral > Advanced Features > Bonus. Every bonus type is a field on this tab — an amount of 0 leaves that bonus off, so you can run exactly the mix you want. Save Changes after editing.
Approved bonuses are credited to the affiliate’s wallet like commissions, and affiliates see them itemized by type on their dashboard’s bonus table. Rank bonuses are the one reward configured elsewhere — see Affiliate Ranks and Rank Bonuses.
Signup bonus
↑ Back to topPays the referring affiliate when someone they sent registers on your store. Set the amount in Signup Bonus. The companion setting Signup Bonus Type decides what counts as “sent by them”:
- Referral Link – the default: signups after clicking the affiliate’s link qualify.
- Referral Code – signups qualify by entering the affiliate’s code instead.
Switching Signup Bonus Type to Referral Code changes more than the bonus: referral links then stop being used for commissions, signup bonuses and network placement across the program — codes take over completely. Change it only if your program genuinely runs on codes.
Lead bonus from Contact Form 7
↑ Back to topIf your store runs the Contact Form 7 plugin, Signup Bonus for Contact Form 7 pays the referring affiliate when a visitor they sent submits one of your forms — a lead bonus for stores whose sales close off-site. The visitor must still carry the affiliate’s referral cookie when they submit, so the same tracking window applies as for sales.
Pay per click
↑ Back to topPay per Click pays a small amount for traffic itself. It counts a visitor’s first click only — repeat clicks from the same visitor do not stack — which keeps the bonus honest without any work from you. Keep the amount small: it is paid for visits, not sales.
Performance bonus
↑ Back to topPerformance Bonus pays a one-off amount when an affiliate’s referred sales pass a threshold you define. Each row pairs a sales total (the field is labeled Total Sale amount to unlock achievement) with its Incentive, and you can add as many tiers as you like — for example $25 at $500 in sales and $60 at $1,000. The check runs as referrals are approved, so the bonus arrives right after the milestone sale.
Sharing bonus
↑ Back to topTurn on Social Media Share Buttons and affiliates get one-click sharing to Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp and email next to their referral links. Sharing Bonus then pays an amount when a purchase comes through a shared link. Because shares are cheap to make, the Sharing Bonus Limit fields cap it: a Time Limit of No Limit, Daily Limit, Weekly Limit or Monthly Limit, and an Amount Limit for the period.
Approving bonuses
↑ Back to topEvery bonus is created as a pending record on the Manage Referrals screen, exactly like a sale commission — nothing reaches a wallet until you approve it. That gives you a review step on every reward; the flow is covered in Approve, Reject and Manage Referrals.
FAQ
↑ Back to topCan I run several bonus types at once?
↑ Back to topYes. Each bonus is independent — set an amount on the ones you want and leave the rest at 0. An active affiliate can earn a signup bonus, click bonuses and a performance bonus side by side.
Where do affiliates see their bonuses?
↑ Back to topOn their dashboard’s bonus table, itemized by type — signup, click, performance, sharing, lead and network bonuses each show as their own entries alongside the amount.
Do bonuses count toward the monthly commission cap?
↑ Back to topThe monthly cap applies to sale commissions; bonuses you approve are credited in full. Price your bonus amounts with that in mind. More questions are answered in the Affiliate and Referral Program: FAQ.