How Sushi SaaS Referral Rewards Work

Sushi SaaS includes an opt-in referral implementation, not a turnkey affiliate business. It is disabled by default, and its built-in workflow records commissions for review; it never sends money or credits automatically.

From share link to attribution

An authenticated user can create an eight-character invite code through /api/affiliate/invite-code. A link such as /i/abc12345 looks up the inviter, stores their UUID in a ref cookie for 30 days, and redirects to the home page.

The shared theme provider mounts AffiliateInit automatically. When referrals are enabled, it calls captureAffiliateAttribution() on the client, which posts to /api/affiliate/update-invite. The endpoint requires an authenticated session and reads the ref cookie. A successful attempt is marked in sessionStorage for the current browser tab; a failed attempt, including one made before sign-in, leaves no marker so a later mount can retry. The default model is first touch: a conditional database update decides the winner if two requests race. Self-referrals are rejected, and a unique signup row makes retries harmless.

The behavior is configured in src/config/affiliate.ts at 7580470 and orchestrated by src/services/affiliate.ts.

What happens after a paid order

When enabled, a paid order creates one pending commission record. The shipped configuration uses the greater of a fixed 5,000 minor units (for USD, $50) or 20 percent of the order. A partial unique index on the paid order number prevents two webhook workers from recording the same reward twice.

A refund or cancellation can cancel a still-pending reward. Completed payout is intentionally outside the automated money path: operators review referrals in the admin console and adopters connect their own payout provider and compliance process.

Before enabling it

1. Decide currency, rate, attribution window, and eligibility policy.
2. Decide how identity, tax forms, fraud review, and payout status will work.
3. Replace the example reward values and keep enabled false until the full policy is ready.
4. Test link visits, concurrent attribution, Stripe webhook replay, cancellation, and admin review.

Referral records depend on reliable order handling. Configure Stripe Billing first, then use Admin Console Pages and Operations to understand the review surface.