Lifetime commission ties a customer to the affiliate who first brought them, so that affiliate keeps earning on that customer’s future orders — not just the first one. Affiliate and Referral Program for WooCommerce calls this Unlimited / Lifetime Commission:, and this guide covers turning it on, exactly when a customer becomes tied to an affiliate, and the one condition that decides whether it works at all. Part of the Affiliate and Referral for WooCommerce documentation.
What lifetime commission changes
↑ Back to topNormally an affiliate is paid because a referral cookie was still in the shopper’s browser at checkout. When the cookie expires, the affiliate stops earning from that customer. With lifetime commission on, the store remembers the pairing instead of relying on the cookie: once a customer is tied to an affiliate, every later order that customer places pays that affiliate, whether they arrived through a link that day or typed your address from memory a year later.
It rewards affiliates for the customers they introduce rather than for individual clicks, which suits stores with repeat purchases — consumables, refills, and anything bought monthly.
Turn it on
↑ Back to top- Go to: WooCommerce > Affiliate & Referral > Commission and open the Settings tab.
- In the Enable/ Disable settings column, turn on Unlimited / Lifetime Commission:.
- Save Changes.
Your commission rates do not change — the same commission rules decide the amount; see How to Set Up Referral Commission Rules. Lifetime commission only changes who is credited, and for how long.
When a customer becomes tied to an affiliate
↑ Back to topThe pairing is created for a logged-in customer in one of two ways: when they click an affiliate’s referral link while signed in, or when their first referred order is credited to an affiliate while they are signed in — whether that order came through a link, an affiliate coupon or a referral code typed at checkout.
The first affiliate to bring them keeps them. A later click on someone else’s link does not transfer an existing customer, so affiliates cannot poach each other’s customers once the pairing exists.
Lifetime pairing needs a customer account. A guest checkout cannot be tied to anyone — the affiliate is paid the ordinary one-off commission for that order and nothing is remembered. If lifetime commission is central to your program, make accounts easy: enable account creation at checkout, and consider Automatically register user as affiliate on purchase only after reading how it changes signups.
How lifetime orders are credited
↑ Back to topOnce the pairing exists, it outranks everything else for that customer:
- No cookie is needed. The order pays the paired affiliate even months later.
- A different affiliate’s link or coupon used by that customer does not take the credit; see How to Track Affiliate Sales with Coupon Codes.
- The whole cart earns commission. Commission for only the URL opened? restricts link-based sales to the shared product, but it does not apply to lifetime orders.
- Your monthly ceiling still applies if you set Maximum commission to an Affiliate in a month.
Pay a different rate on repeat orders
↑ Back to topBy default a lifetime order pays the same rates as any other order. In commission rules, every order a tied customer places while signed in — including the order that first ties them — counts as a Lifetime repeat order; orders from guests and from customers who are not tied count as a Referred order. To pay lifetime orders a different rate, add a commission rule with an Order kind condition set to Lifetime repeat order and place it above the rules that would otherwise match. To keep a customer’s very first order at the normal rate, also add Customer’s first order set to no — it is yes only when the customer has no other order in your store. See How to Set Up Referral Commission Rules.
Decide whether it fits your program
↑ Back to topLifetime commission is generous by design: an affiliate who introduces a loyal customer earns from that customer indefinitely, including on orders your own marketing brought back. Before enabling it, be clear about three things.
- Margin. The commission recurs, so a rate that works once may not work forever. You can pair lifetime commission with a lower rate for lifetime orders.
- The ceiling. The monthly maximum is your safety valve.
- Communication. Tell affiliates the pairing is first-come and permanent — it is a strong recruiting argument, and it prevents disputes later.
FAQ
↑ Back to topDoes it work if the customer checks out as a guest?
↑ Back to topNo. The pairing is stored against a customer account, so a guest order pays the ordinary one-off commission and creates no lasting link. Encourage account creation if you rely on this feature.
Can a customer be moved to a different affiliate?
↑ Back to topNot from the settings screens — the first pairing stands. Treat it as permanent when you write your program terms.
Does a referral code create a lifetime pairing?
↑ Back to topYes, when it credits the customer’s first referred order. Whichever way that order is credited — a link, an affiliate coupon or a referral code typed at checkout — that affiliate becomes the signed-in customer’s lifetime affiliate.
What happens to existing customers when I turn it on?
↑ Back to topNothing retroactive: pairings are created from referrals that happen after you enable it. Customers who already shop with you stay unpaired until their next referred order, or referral link click, while they are signed in.
