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Business models

Reseller / Channel Partner Network

The reseller channel pattern: instead of selling direct, you sell through partners (resellers, MSPs, integrators, distributors) who layer their own services and margin on top of your platform. Partners earn a commission on their referred revenue, which can be tiered by partner level (Bronze/Silver/Gold/Platinum), augmented with co-op marketing budgets, and modified by spiff incentives for hitting quarterly targets. The hard part is keeping the commission math correct as partners move between tiers and earn or lose access to incentive programs.

Real-world examples. Microsoft Partner Network (Azure / 365 reseller commissions, MOSP/CSP tiers), AWS Marketplace (ISV partner revenue share), Stripe Apps / Stripe Partner Ecosystem (per-app revenue share + tier benefits), Salesforce AppExchange, HubSpot Solutions Partner Program, Adobe Solution Partner. Common shape: 3-5 partner tiers with progressively better commission rates, base commission + spiff incentives for quarterly/annual targets, co-op marketing fund (% of referred revenue available for partner-driven marketing), monthly or quarterly commission payouts via settlements.

The shape of the problem

Multi-tier partner programs combine marketplace and enterprise mechanics:

• Per-partner tier commission. A partner's commission rate depends on their tier: Bronze = 5%, Silver = 8%, Gold = 12%, Platinum = 15%. The tier is determined by trailing-12-month referred revenue and recertified periodically.
• Mid-period tier promotions. When a partner crosses the Silver-to-Gold threshold, the new rate applies prospectively. Existing already-paid commissions don't get re-rated.
• Spiff incentives. "Earn an extra 3% on any new logo above $100k contract value in Q2" - time-bounded, threshold-conditional bonus commission on top of the base rate.
• Co-op marketing fund. A percentage of the partner's referred revenue accumulates into a partner-controlled marketing fund (a wallet) that the partner can draw against for approved marketing spend.
• Multi-tier hierarchy. Distributor sells to a sub-distributor sells to a reseller sells to the customer. Each layer takes a cut. Commissions flow up the hierarchy in correct order.
• MDF (Marketing Development Funds). Partner submits an expense for an approved campaign; once approved, it draws from the co-op wallet and is paid back to the partner.

Kontorion blueprint

Concern	Kontorion primitive
Per-partner tier with commission rate	Counterparty commission_rules with tier condition
Mid-period tier change	effective_from on counterparty rules - applies prospectively
Spiff incentives	Conditional commission_rules keyed on time window + new-logo flag
Co-op marketing fund	Wallet per partner; settlement runner credits a configured % per period
Multi-tier hierarchy	Counterparty parent_counterparty_id - settlement cascades up the chain
Monthly partner payouts	Recurring schedule firing generate_settlement per partner counterparty

Build it

1. Onboard a Gold-tier partner

Code
curl -X POST https://api.kontorion.eu/v1/counterparties \
  -d '{
    "name": "Synergy Cloud Partners",
    "type": "channel_partner",
    "external_id": "partner_synergy",
    "tier": "gold",
    "currency": "USD",
    "payout_method": "wire_transfer",
    "country": "US",
    "commission_rules": [
      { "tier_required": "gold", "rate": 0.12 },
      { "rate": 0.05 }
    ],
    "coop_fund_rate": 0.02,
    "metadata": {
      "tier_recertification_at": "2025-07-01",
      "account_manager": "pam_rich"
    }
  }'

The partner gets a 12% base commission and 2% of referred revenue accrues into their co-op fund.

2. Tag deals with the partner who referred them

When a customer signs through a partner:

Code
curl -X POST https://api.kontorion.eu/v1/customers \
  -d '{
    "name": "Acme Corp",
    "email": "billing@acme.example",
    "preferred_currency": "USD",
    "metadata": {
      "referred_by_partner_counterparty_id": "cp_partner_synergy",
      "deal_size_at_signup_usd": 250000,
      "is_new_logo": true
    }
  }'

Every invoice for this customer carries the partner reference automatically (or via metadata propagation rules).

3. Add a quarterly spiff incentive

Q2 spiff: extra 3% on any new logo above $100k:

Code
curl -X POST https://api.kontorion.eu/v1/counterparties/cp_partner_synergy/commission-rules \
  -d '{
    "rate": 0.03,
    "type": "spiff",
    "conditions": {
      "is_new_logo": true,
      "deal_size_at_signup_above": { "amount": "100000.00", "currency": "USD" }
    },
    "effective_from": "2025-04-01T00:00:00Z",
    "effective_to": "2025-06-30T23:59:59Z"
  }'

This adds to the base 12% (so 15% total) for qualifying deals, only during Q2.

4. Provision the co-op wallet

Code
curl -X POST https://api.kontorion.eu/v1/wallets \
  -d '{
    "counterparty_id": "cp_partner_synergy",
    "currency": "USD",
    "purpose": "coop_marketing_fund"
  }'

The settlement runner will credit 2% of monthly referred revenue into this wallet automatically.

5. Generate the monthly partner settlement

Code
curl -X POST https://api.kontorion.eu/v1/settlements/generate \
  -d '{
    "counterparty_id": "cp_partner_synergy",
    "period_start": "2025-04-01T00:00:00Z",
    "period_end": "2025-04-30T23:59:59Z"
  }'

The runner walks all paid invoices in the period, finds those tagged with this partner's referred_by_partner_counterparty_id, applies the appropriate commission (base + spiff if eligible), allocates 2% to the co-op wallet, and produces:

Code
{
  "data": {
    "settlement_id": "set_synergy_2025-04",
    "counterparty_id": "cp_partner_synergy",
    "period_start": "2025-04-01T00:00:00Z",
    "period_end": "2025-04-30T23:59:59Z",
    "currency": "USD",
    "lines": [
      { "type": "EARNING", "source_invoice_id": "inv_acme_001", "gross": "85000.00", "commission_rate_base": 0.12, "spiff_rate": 0.03, "commission": "12750.00", "coop_credit": "1700.00" },
      { "type": "EARNING", "source_invoice_id": "inv_other_002", "gross": "2500.00", "commission_rate_base": 0.12, "commission": "300.00", "coop_credit": "50.00" },
      { "type": "OTHER_FEE", "wallet_id": "wal_synergy_coop", "amount": "1750.00", "description": "Co-op fund credit (2% of referred revenue)" }
    ],
    "subtotal": "13050.00",
    "withholding": "0.00",
    "payout_amount": "13050.00",
    "status": "finalized"
  }
}

Co-op credits land in the wallet; the rest is the cash payout.

6. Partner submits an MDF expense

The partner ran an approved $25k webinar campaign and submits the expense:

Code
curl -X POST https://api.kontorion.eu/v1/wallets/wal_synergy_coop/debit \
  -d '{
    "amount": "25000.00",
    "reason": "Q2 webinar series - co-marketing budget",
    "metadata": { "campaign_id": "camp_q2_webinar", "evidence_url": "https://partner.docs/webinar_invoice.pdf" }
  }'

Approved debits draw from the wallet and produce an outbound payment to the partner. Rejected debits leave the wallet untouched.

7. Tier recertification (quarterly cron)

Code
curl -X POST https://api.kontorion.eu/v1/recurring-schedules \
  -d '{
    "name": "Quarterly partner tier recertification",
    "cron": "0 6 1 1,4,7,10 *",
    "timezone": "America/New_York",
    "action_type": "webhook_trigger",
    "action_config": {
      "webhook_url": "https://internal.tools/recertify-partner-tiers",
      "payload": { "lookback_months": 12 }
    }
  }'

Your internal tool reads each partner's trailing-12-month referred revenue and updates tier on the counterparty. Promotions take effect prospectively; commissions on already-settled deals don't re-rate.

Variations

• Multi-tier hierarchy (distributor -> sub-distributor -> reseller). Each counterparty has a parent_counterparty_id. The settlement runner walks the chain: customer's invoice produces a reseller settlement, which produces a sub-distributor settlement (via parent_counterparty rules), which produces a distributor settlement. Each layer takes its configured cut.
• ISV revenue share. A third-party ISV listed on the platform with their own product. Use the marketplace pattern on top - ISV is also a counterparty, with revenue share rules layered with the partner's referral commission.
• Volume bonuses. Counterparty rules: [{ rate: 0.12 }, { condition: "monthly_referred_revenue > 1M", bonus_rate: 0.02 }]. Partner gets the bonus when they cross the monthly threshold.
• Net-of-cost commissions. When the platform's payment processing cost varies per deal (cards vs ACH vs wire), include a processing_cost line that nets against the commission before payout - same as the creator platform net handling.
• Certified-partner exclusivity. Use verifications to require active certification (annual exam pass) before specific commissions or tier benefits unlock. Expired certifications downgrade the partner to base tier until recertified.
• Stack rank quarterly bonuses. Top 10% of partners by referred revenue earn an additional 1% spiff. Implement as a quarterly counterparty update from a stack-ranking script.

What you don't have to build

• Per-partner attribution from invoice through to commission payout
• Tier-based commission rate tables with mid-period transitions
• Spiff incentive layering on top of base commission
• Co-op marketing fund accounting in a per-partner wallet
• Multi-step MDF expense approval routing
• Multi-tier hierarchy commission cascading
• Tier recertification jobs that update commission rates prospectively
• Per-partner PDF settlement statement with line-by-line attribution

Next steps

• Wallets - co-op marketing fund as per-partner balance
• Verifications - partner certification status
• Marketplace - related blueprint