ReferSprout
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Getting started

Set up your programme and give customers their link.

Connect Stripe, test first

  1. Create your account and name your business.
  2. Connect Stripe through the Stripe App in your dashboard. You can test with Stripe sandbox for as long as you like, separate from your real account.
  3. When ready, connect your real Stripe account and start Checkout from Billing. Your first trial is 30 days and requires a card.

Choose rewards and the payment milestone

In Programme, set the friend's offer, your customer's reward, the qualifying-payment count, a hold and your landing URL.

  • Choose a percentage discount or fixed account credit on your Stripe billing.
  • Set a milestone of 1–12 qualifying subscription payments. Zero-value invoices and one-off payments do not count.
  • Set a hold of 0–60 days. Match it to at least your refund window.
  • Use an HTTPS pricing page or Stripe Payment Link as the landing URL. Without it, customers can share their code but have no referral link.

For example: 20% off one invoice for the friend, $10 account credit for the customer after two qualifying payments, then a 14-day hold. USD is the default currency; use your actual reward terms, not these example amounts.

How each reward is applied →

Give a verified customer their link

Choose hosted access, the widget or the server API. Free, trial and paid Stripe customers can participate; an active subscription is not required to get a link.

For a Stripe Payment Link, preserve client_reference_id=rs_CODE and, for a percentage offer, prefilled_promo_code=CODE. For your own signup or Checkout flow, carry the referral code from the landing page to your server and pass it as refersprout_code in subscription or invoice metadata. Keep it on the subscription when you need it on future invoices.

Enable promotion codes in your own Checkout integration if you use them. A promotion code takes priority over a link or metadata; once attributed, the first referrer stays attached. Only first-time customers qualify. Self-referrals are blocked.

Run one referral all the way through

  1. Use two different customers in the same connected Stripe sandbox.
  2. Have the first get a link. Have the second subscribe through it, preserving the code.
  3. Check the referral and its qualifying payments. Wait for the milestone and hold before expecting the customer's reward.
  4. For timely asks, add a positive moment under Programme, enrol the customer, then send that event from your server.

Sandbox checklist →