Recurring Commissions vs One-Time Bounties for SaaS

The commission model shapes your affiliate program more than most founders expect.

Recurring commissions reward affiliates for customers who stay. One-time bounties reward affiliates for customers who convert. Both can work, but they create different incentives, different cash-flow patterns, and different operational risks.

For SaaS teams, the right answer depends on retention, gross margin, sales cycle, and how much trust you have in your attribution system.

How Recurring Commissions Work

With recurring commissions, an affiliate earns a percentage of subscription revenue for as long as the customer remains eligible.

Example:

customer pays $100/month

affiliate commission is 20%

affiliate earns $20/month while the customer stays active

This model aligns affiliates with customer quality. A partner who sends bad-fit customers may see churn quickly. A partner who sends strong-fit customers earns longer.

Recurring commissions are especially natural for SaaS because SaaS revenue itself is recurring.

How One-Time Bounties Work

With a one-time bounty, an affiliate earns a fixed payout after a customer converts.

Example:

customer becomes paid

affiliate earns $150 once

no further commission is paid

Bounties are simpler to forecast. They can also be attractive when the first payment is meaningful, the product has strong activation criteria, or you want to avoid long-running commission obligations.

The tradeoff is incentive quality. If affiliates only earn at conversion, they may care less about long-term fit unless your approval and fraud review process is strong.

When Recurring Commissions Make Sense

Recurring commissions usually make sense when:

retention is strong

gross margin is healthy

subscription revenue is predictable

affiliates influence buyer trust

you want long-term partner alignment

you can track subscription revenue accurately

This model is common in SaaS because affiliates can build content and partnerships that compound. A useful tutorial or comparison post can keep sending customers for months.

The risk is overpaying if your margins are thin or if churn is high. A 30% recurring commission sounds generous, but it only works if the remaining revenue can support product, support, and growth.

When One-Time Bounties Make Sense

One-time bounties usually make sense when:

you want simpler accounting

average first-year revenue is easy to estimate

retention is still uncertain

there is a strong fraud or refund risk

you want to cap long-term commission liability

affiliates mostly drive initial discovery, not long-term fit

Bounties can be easier for finance and operations. They also make sense for products where the first conversion is the main value event.

The risk is lower affiliate alignment. If a partner earns the same amount for a high-retention customer and a low-retention customer, you need other controls to protect quality.

A Practical Decision Rule

Use recurring commissions when your product has strong retention and you want affiliates to think like long-term partners.

Use one-time bounties when your retention is unproven, your cash flow needs predictability, or you want simpler payout rules while the program is young.

Many SaaS teams can start with a simple recurring model and tighten eligibility rules:

commissions only after payment clears

commissions paused on refunds or chargebacks

minimum payout threshold

review period before payout

clear rules for self-referrals and fraud

This keeps the program attractive without losing operational control.

How AgentRef Thinks About Commissions

Affiliate management is not just a number in a settings page. It is an operating system for incentives.

A good platform should let you define commission rules, track conversions, review payouts, and explain the program clearly to affiliates. It should also give agents enough structure to summarize program health and prepare payout work without changing sensitive settings without permission.

AgentRef is built around that operating model: simple enough for a founder to launch, structured enough for SaaS affiliate operations, and agent-native enough for AI-assisted workflows.

What To Avoid

Avoid changing commission rules too often. Affiliates need trust.

Avoid promising lifetime commissions if you have not modeled long-term margin.

Avoid paying instantly before refunds, chargebacks, and fraud checks are accounted for.

Avoid setting a commission that looks attractive but makes the channel unprofitable.

Avoid hiding payout rules in vague language. Clear rules reduce disputes.

Key Takeaways

Recurring commissions align affiliates with long-term customer quality.

One-time bounties are simpler and cap long-term liability.

SaaS products with strong retention usually fit recurring commissions well.

Early programs should protect cash flow with payout thresholds, review periods, and refund rules.

The best commission model is the one affiliates can understand and the business can sustain.