> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.rafflex.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.rafflex.io/affiliate-referral-scheme/managing-referrals.md).

# Managing Referrals

How to view referrals, check how your programme is performing, approve or reject rewards, and manage individual customers' participation from your admin panel.

Once your scheme is running, the **Referrals** page is where you keep an eye on it. You can see every referral, check the rewards involved, approve or reject rewards if you use manual approval, and jump straight to the customers and orders behind each one.

***

### Opening the Referrals Page

1. Log in to your **admin panel**.
2. In the left-hand menu, find the **Management** group and click **Referrals**.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Can't see Referrals?** The page only appears while **Enable Affiliate Scheme** is switched on. See [Setting Up the Scheme](/affiliate-referral-scheme/setting-up-the-scheme.md).
{% endhint %}

When referrals are waiting for your approval, an amber badge next to **Referrals** in the menu shows how many. It is a handy reminder that something needs your attention.

***

### Summary Stats

The cards at the top of the page give you a quick health check of your programme:

| Card                   | What it shows                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Total Clicks**       | How many times customers' referral links have been clicked across your whole site. Click history is kept for about 90 days, so this reflects recent activity.                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| **Total Referrals**    | How many people have signed up through a referral link, with the number that have converted underneath (for example "12 converted"). A referral has converted once the friend has made a [qualifying purchase](/affiliate-referral-scheme/setting-up-the-scheme/what-counts-as-a-qualifying-purchase.md), whether it is **Awaiting Approval**, **Held** or **Rewarded**. |
| **Conversion Rate**    | Converted referrals as a percentage of clicks ("Clicks to conversions").                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| **Total Rewards Paid** | The total site credit actually paid out, with referrer and referred rewards added together. Rewards that are still waiting are not included.                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |
| **Awaiting Approval**  | How many referrals are waiting for you. This card only appears when **Require Manual Approval** is on.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |

{% hint style="info" %}
Because clicks are only kept for about 90 days, while referrals and conversions are kept for good, treat the **Conversion Rate** as a rough guide on a long-running programme rather than an exact figure.
{% endhint %}

***

### The Referrals Table

Each row is one referral, newest first. The table shows:

| Column              | What it shows                                                                                               |
| ------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Referrer**        | The customer who shared the link.                                                                           |
| **Referred User**   | The friend who signed up through it.                                                                        |
| **Code**            | The referral code that was used. If you have since reset the referrer's code, this still shows the old one. |
| **Status**          | Where the referral is up to, as a coloured badge (see below).                                               |
| **Order #**         | The number of the order that qualified for the reward, or a dash if there is not one yet.                   |
| **Referrer Reward** | The reward for the customer who shared the link.                                                            |
| **Referred Reward** | The reward for the new customer.                                                                            |
| **Referred At**     | When the friend signed up.                                                                                  |

Two more columns are hidden to keep the table tidy: **Rewarded At** (when the rewards were paid) and **Hold Until** (when a held reward will be released). To show them, click the columns icon above the table and tick them.

You can:

* **Search** by the referrer's name, the referred user's name or the referral code, using the search box above the table.
* **Sort** by clicking a column heading, for example **Referred At** or **Referrer Reward**.
* Show **10**, **25** or **50** referrals per page.

{% hint style="info" %}
The reward columns show 0.00 until the friend makes a qualifying purchase. That is when the reward amounts are fixed, using your settings at that moment.
{% endhint %}

***

### Understanding Referral Statuses <a href="#understanding-referral-statuses" id="understanding-referral-statuses"></a>

| Status                | Badge colour | What it means                                                                                                                                                    | What happens next                                      |
| --------------------- | ------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Pending**           | Grey         | The friend has signed up but has not yet made a [qualifying purchase](/affiliate-referral-scheme/setting-up-the-scheme/what-counts-as-a-qualifying-purchase.md). | Nothing until they do. Pending referrals never expire. |
| **Awaiting Approval** | Amber        | The friend has made a qualifying purchase and the rewards are waiting for you. Only used when **Require Manual Approval** is on.                                 | You approve or reject it.                              |
| **Held**              | Amber        | The rewards are confirmed and waiting for your hold period to end. The **Hold Until** date shows when.                                                           | Paid automatically when the hold ends.                 |
| **Rewarded**          | Green        | The rewards have been added to the wallets.                                                                                                                      | Nothing. The referral is complete.                     |
| **Rejected**          | Red          | You declined this referral, so no reward was paid.                                                                                                               | Nothing. A rejected referral cannot be approved later. |

***

### Filtering Referrals

Click the filter icon above the table to narrow the list:

* **Status** lets you pick one status, for example **Awaiting Approval** to see everything that needs your attention.
* **From** and **Until** let you show only referrals that signed up between two dates. You can fill in one or both.

***

### Viewing a Referral

Click **View** on any row to open the full details. The page is split into three sections:

* **Referral Details** shows the **Referrer** and **Referrer Email**, the **Referred User** and **Referred Email**, the **Referral Code** and the **Status**. Click either name to open that customer's account.
* **Rewards** shows the **Referrer Reward**, the **Referred Reward**, the **Qualifying Order #** (click it to open the order), and the **Rewarded At**, **Approved At** and **Rejected At** dates, plus any **Rejection Reason** you gave.
* **Timeline** shows **Referred At**, **Hold Until** and **Cookie Expires**. **Cookie Expires** is simply 30 days after the referral was recorded and is for reference only.

The buttons at the top of the page let you jump to related records:

* **View Referrer** opens the account of the customer who shared the link.
* **View Referred User** opens the new customer's account.
* **View Order** opens the qualifying order. It only appears once there is one.

If the referral is **Awaiting Approval**, you will also see **Approve** and **Reject** buttons here.

***

### Approving and Rejecting Referrals <a href="#approving-and-rejecting-referrals" id="approving-and-rejecting-referrals"></a>

This section only applies if you have turned on **Require Manual Approval** in your [affiliate settings](/affiliate-referral-scheme/setting-up-the-scheme.md#require-manual-approval). When it is off, qualifying referrals are paid automatically and there is nothing to approve.

With manual approval on, every qualifying referral lands in **Awaiting Approval** and nothing is paid until you act on it. Before you decide, it is worth clicking through to the qualifying order to check it has not been cancelled or refunded.

#### Approve a single referral

1. On the **Referrals** page, find the referral. Filtering by **Status** and choosing **Awaiting Approval** makes this quicker.
2. Click **Approve** on its row (or open the referral and click **Approve** at the top).
3. A confirmation box shows the amounts, for example "Referrer reward: £5.00 | Referred reward: £2.00". Click **Confirm**.
4. A message confirms what happened:
   * **Referral approved. Rewards released.** means the credit has gone into the wallets straight away, and the referrer has been emailed to say they have earned a reward (as long as your **Referrer Reward Amount** was above 0).
   * **Referral approved. Rewards held until** (a date) means you have a hold period set. The referral is now **Held** and the credit will be paid automatically on that date.

#### Reject a single referral

1. Find the referral and click **Reject** on its row (or open the referral and click **Reject** at the top).
2. Optionally type a reason in the **Reason (optional)** box.
3. Click **Confirm**. A "Referral rejected." message appears.

The referral is marked **Rejected**, no reward is paid to either customer, and the referrer receives a "Your referral was not approved" email.

{% hint style="warning" %}
**The referrer can read your reason.** Anything you type in **Reason (optional)** is included in the email sent to the referrer, and is also saved on the referral so you can see it later. Keep it polite and factual.
{% endhint %}

#### Approve or reject several at once

1. Tick the boxes next to the referrals you want to handle.
2. Open the bulk actions menu above the table and choose **Approve** or **Reject**.
3. Click **Confirm**. A message tells you how many were handled, for example "3 referral(s) approved".

Only referrals that are **Awaiting Approval** are affected, so it is safe if your selection includes others. Bulk rejection does not ask for a reason, so the referrers receive the email without one. If you want to give a reason, reject those referrals one at a time.

{% hint style="info" %}
You never have to pay rewards by hand. Approving a referral (or leaving manual approval off) adds the credit to the wallets automatically. There is no separate "pay" button.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="info" %}
If you switch **Require Manual Approval** off while some referrals are still **Awaiting Approval**, those referrals stay where they are. The **Approve** and **Reject** buttons and the menu badge still appear for them, so remember to clear them.
{% endhint %}

***

### Managing Individual Users <a href="#managing-individual-users" id="managing-individual-users"></a>

You can control each customer's part in the scheme from their account page.

1. In the left-hand menu, find the **Management** group and click **Users**.
2. Search for the customer and click **Edit** on their row.
3. Click the **Actions** button at the top right of the page. The affiliate actions are in this menu while your scheme is switched on.

Each action asks you to confirm before anything changes. For more about the customer account page, see [Customers](/managing-your-site/customers.md).

#### Reset Affiliate Code <a href="#reset-affiliate-code" id="reset-affiliate-code"></a>

Gives the customer a brand new referral code. This option only appears once the customer has a code (which happens the first time they open their **Affiliates** page).

1. Click **Actions**, then **Reset Affiliate Code**.
2. Read the warning and click **Reset Code**.
3. A message shows the new code.

What happens:

* The customer's **old referral links stop working straight away**. Anyone clicking an old link is not linked to them.
* Their existing referrals and rewards are kept. The **Code** column on those referrals still shows the old code.
* Their new link appears on their **Affiliates** page, and their **Total Clicks** starts again from zero.

Use this if a customer's link has been posted somewhere you are not happy with, or you think it is being misused. Let the customer know, because links they have already shared will no longer work.

#### Disable Affiliate <a href="#disable-affiliate-participation" id="disable-affiliate-participation"></a>

Stops a customer from referring anyone new.

1. Click **Actions**, then **Disable Affiliate**.
2. Read the message in the **Disable Affiliate Participation** box and click **Disable**.

What happens:

* Clicks on their link are no longer counted, and new sign ups are not linked to them. This includes friends who clicked their link before you disabled them but have not signed up yet.
* They can no longer open their **Affiliates** page. The link stays in their menu but takes them back to **My Account**.
* Their code is kept, ready for if you enable them again.
* Their existing referrals and any rewards already paid are kept.

{% hint style="warning" %}
Disabling a customer does **not** stop referrals they have already made. **Pending** referrals can still convert and pay out, and **Held** rewards are still released on schedule. If you need to stop a reward that has not been paid yet, turn on **Require Manual Approval** so it waits for you, then reject it.
{% endhint %}

#### Enable Affiliate <a href="#re-enable-affiliate-participation" id="re-enable-affiliate-participation"></a>

If you have disabled a customer, this option appears in its place.

1. Click **Actions**, then **Enable Affiliate**.
2. Click **Enable** in the **Enable Affiliate Participation** box.

Their existing code and links start working again straight away.

#### The Referrals Made tab

At the bottom of each customer's account page, the **Referrals Made** tab lists everyone that customer has referred, with the **Referred User**, **Status**, **Referrer Reward**, **Referred Reward**, **Order #** and **Referred At** date. A hidden **Rewarded At** column can be switched on in the same way as on the Referrals page. Click a row to open that referral, click a name to open the friend's account, or click an order number to open the order. The tab is read-only and only appears while your scheme is switched on.

***

### Important Things to Know

#### Pending Referrals <a href="#pending-referrals" id="pending-referrals"></a>

Referrals stay **Pending** until the referred customer makes a qualifying purchase. There is no automatic expiry, so someone who signs up but never buys anything simply stays **Pending**. If a busy customer is still **Pending**, see [Why a Referral Can Stay Pending](/affiliate-referral-scheme/setting-up-the-scheme/what-counts-as-a-qualifying-purchase.md#why-a-referral-can-stay-pending).

#### Refunds and Cancelled Orders

Cancelling or refunding the qualifying order does not undo a referral or take back a reward that has already been paid. If you need to reverse a reward, remove the credit from the customer's wallet by hand. See [Add or Remove Site Credit for a Customer](/additional-settings/site-credit-and-wallets.md#add-or-remove-site-credit-for-a-customer). To avoid this situation, use manual approval and check the order before you approve.

#### Deleted Accounts

If a customer deletes their account, their referral records are kept:

* If the **referred** customer has gone, their name shows as "Pending" in the **Referred User** column and the **View Referred User** button is not shown. If their referral was **Awaiting Approval** or **Held**, the referrer is still paid when it is approved or released. The deleted customer receives nothing.
* If the **referrer** has gone, the **Referrer** column is blank and the **View Referrer** button is not shown.

#### Referral Limit

If you have set a **Maximum Referrals Per User** and a customer reaches it, friends who click their link can still sign up as normal customers. They are just not linked to the referrer, so no referral appears here and no rewards are paid. The limit counts every referral, including **Pending** and **Rejected** ones.