SaturnShift Partners is our referral program for people who advise small businesses. It is live and open for applications at saturnshift.io/partners.
This post walks through how it works, including the parts that are easy to misread, so you can decide whether it fits the way you already help clients. It also covers what we don't promise, because a referral program is only worth joining if you can recommend it without having to walk anything back later.
What you would be recommending
SaturnShift is a payments, invoicing and commerce platform for US businesses. One account lets a business get paid by card, bank payment (ACH) and stablecoins (USDC and USDT), with invoicing, payment links, recurring billing, an online store and QuickBooks Online sync. What each business gets depends on its plan:
- Starter ($0 a month) covers card, ACH and stablecoin payments, with up to 10 invoices a month. It doesn't include recurring billing, QuickBooks Online or WooCommerce.
- Crypto Suite ($49 a month) is stablecoin only, and adds QuickBooks Online sync.
- Full Suite ($69 a month) covers card, ACH and stablecoins with lower processing fees. It is the plan with recurring billing (card subscriptions) and includes QuickBooks Online sync.
Stablecoin payments are USDC on Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum and Polygon, and USDT on Ethereum and Base. They settle to the business's own wallet, in the coin they were paid in. SaturnShift doesn't convert them to dollars. Card and ACH payments also carry Stripe's own processing charges, separate from SaturnShift's fee. Current numbers are on the pricing page.
Every business goes through Stripe onboarding, on every plan, and SaturnShift reviews each account before it goes live. A business you refer can start accepting payments once its account is approved. Until then it can explore the product and set up invoices and a store.
Who it's for
The program is built around people small businesses already ask about money and tools:
- accountants and bookkeepers
- QuickBooks consultants
- agencies
- WooCommerce and WordPress developers
- consultants
- creators
That list describes who we had in mind, not a requirement. The terms open the program to individuals and organisations whether or not they work in payments, and every application is still reviewed.
The useful test is simple: would a client of yours actually be better off on SaturnShift? If yes, and the business is new to SaturnShift, an introduction made after you're approved can earn commission based on the fees SaturnShift collects from that client. A business that already has a SaturnShift account generally can't be credited to you after the fact.
What commission is based on
Approved partners earn:
- 25% of the subscription fees a referred business pays SaturnShift, and
- 15% of the processing fees SaturnShift collects on that business's payments.
Both are shares of fees SaturnShift actually collects. Commission is never a share of your client's sales, their payment volume, Stripe's fees or network fees. If a client is paid a large invoice, you don't earn a percentage of that invoice. You earn a share of SaturnShift's own fee on it.
This is also why a referral on the free Starter plan can still earn. Starter has no subscription fee, but SaturnShift still collects processing fees on Starter payments, and those count.
For stablecoin payments, the processing fees that count are those on payments made through SaturnShift's Direct Settlement service. Section 9 of the terms lists exactly which fees are eligible.
Terms can vary by partner. The Partner Programme Terms & Conditions are the full and binding version, and you accept them when you apply.
Each referred business has its own 12-month window
This is the part people most often misread, so here it is slowly.
Commission on a referred business runs for 12 months from the first fee SaturnShift collects from that business after it is credited to you. That first fee can be a processing fee on one of its payments, including during its subscription trial or on the free Starter plan, or its first paid subscription invoice, whichever comes first. Not from the day it signs up, and not from the day you joined the program. If a business signs up through your link but never pays SaturnShift a fee, its 12 months haven't started. Once a window starts, it runs continuously: a plan change or an upgrade from Starter doesn't restart or extend it.
The window belongs to each business, not to you. Every new business you refer starts its own window when its first fee is collected.
A simple timeline:
- You refer a client in spring. It is approved, starts taking payments, and SaturnShift collects its first fee. That client's 12 months start then.
- You refer a second client in autumn. Its 12 months start when SaturnShift collects its first fee.
- For the months in between, both windows are running at the same time.
Each window covers one business. There is no single program-wide clock on your account, and the 12 months don't limit how long you can keep referring new businesses.
What the business you refer gets
A business that signs up through your partner link or code gets a 30-day trial on its first paid subscription (Crypto Suite or Full Suite) instead of the standard 7 days, where eligible. The trial covers the subscription fee only; processing fees apply as normal during it. A business that has already had a SaturnShift trial or paid subscription doesn't get it.
The trial changes what you earn on, not whether you earn. While the subscription invoice is $0 there is no subscription commission. Processing commission still counts on the processing fees SaturnShift collects on the business's payments during the trial, and if one of those is the first fee collected, the business's 12-month window starts then. Subscription commission begins with the first paid subscription invoice, inside the same window.
Stripe onboarding and SaturnShift's approval still apply, so the longer trial is more room to evaluate, not a shortcut past review.
How to join
- Go to saturnshift.io/partners and apply.
- Accept the Partner Programme Terms & Conditions.
- Request a partner code on the form, or leave it blank and one is assigned. Checking availability doesn't reserve a code; it is secured when your application is approved, and it can't be changed after that, so pick carefully.
Every application is reviewed, and approval isn't automatic.
Already a SaturnShift merchant? You can apply from inside your account. Your own merchant account never earns commission.
Payouts
Processing commission is recorded once SaturnShift's fee on a payment is confirmed as collected (for stablecoin payments, once settlement is confirmed on chain), and it appears in your dashboard as Pending, normally within minutes. That is when it is recorded, not when it is paid.
Recording, holding and payout are three separate steps:
- Recorded as Pending. As above, normally within minutes of SaturnShift's fee being confirmed as collected.
- Held for 30 days. Each commission is held for 30 days after it is recorded, then becomes available. Available means it can be included in a payout. It doesn't mean it is transferred to you automatically.
- Paid out. Payouts are reviewed and sent manually by SaturnShift, normally once a month, when your available balance is at least USD 50, by ACH to a US bank account or in USDC on Base. No particular payout date is guaranteed.
What we don't promise
We'd rather say this up front than in a support thread:
- No earnings figures. We don't publish examples of partner earnings or say what a typical partner makes. It depends entirely on which businesses you refer and what fees SaturnShift collects from them.
- No guaranteed approval, for partners or for the businesses you refer.
- No commission after a business's window ends. Commission on each business runs for its 12 months.
- No commission on sales volume. Only on SaturnShift's own collected fees.
- No interpretations of the terms here. If something isn't covered above, read the terms or ask us.
Referring a client honestly
The partners who do this well describe the product the same way we do. Tell clients that every plan includes Stripe onboarding and that SaturnShift reviews each account. Explain which plan they would need for what they want (recurring billing is Full Suite, and QuickBooks Online is on Crypto Suite and Full Suite). Point them to the pricing page rather than quoting fees from memory.
The terms also ask two things of every partner: describe SaturnShift accurately, and clearly disclose your relationship with SaturnShift wherever you promote it. A referral that matches what the client finds when they sign up is worth more to everyone.
FAQ
Is commission a share of my clients' sales?
No. It is 25% of the subscription fees and 15% of the processing fees SaturnShift collects from a referred business, never a share of their sales or volume.
When does the 12-month window start?
When SaturnShift collects the first fee from that business: a processing fee on one of its payments (including during its trial) or its first paid subscription invoice, whichever comes first. Signing up alone doesn't start it.
Do I earn anything while a business is on its 30-day trial?
There is no subscription commission while the trial invoice is $0, but processing commission counts on the processing fees SaturnShift collects during the trial.
If I refer several businesses, do they share one window?
No. Each referred business has its own 12-month window, and the windows overlap.
Do Starter referrals count?
Yes. Starter has no subscription fee, but processing fees count.
Can I change my partner code later?
Not once your application is approved.
I have a question about my situation that this doesn't cover.
Email hello@saturnshift.io. Questions about the terms, a specific commission, attribution, payouts or tax forms are handled one by one, so ask rather than assume.
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