Payouts
Send referral bonuses with Reactor Pay, our built-in payout method, or connect PayPal & Venmo or Tremendous. Record the ones you pay by cash or check too.
Why pay referral bonuses
You know the feeling. The ad bill comes due every month whether the phone rang or not. You're bidding against the shop down the street for the same clicks, and the money leaves town for good.
A referral bonus is paid after the work comes in, and it goes to someone you know: the plumber who called you first, the agent who trusts you with her clients, the homeowner who told a neighbor. They feel appreciated, and they send you the next one.
Same marketing budget. It stays in your community and builds relationships that keep paying off.
Payout methods
Built into Referral Reactor. Most businesses start here.
Allow a few days to get set up. Business verification usually takes a couple of days, and your first deposit takes at least one more to arrive. That's still the fastest way to start paying partners. Start early, so you're ready when your first bonus is due.
You send the bonus once. Each partner chooses where it lands, so nobody has to sign up for an app they don't use.
Fee: 1% of the amount + $1 per payout
Payments run on Dots, a payouts platform. About Dots(opens in a new tab)
Already pay people through PayPal or Tremendous? You can connect that account instead. Each needs its own account approved and funded, which usually takes a couple of weeks, so they sit under Advanced in your payment settings. We're happy to help.
Pay partners from your own PayPal balance. One PayPal Business account covers both: PayPal pays to your partner’s email address, Venmo to their mobile number.
Setup: The longest to set up, often a couple of weeks: open a PayPal Business account, get PayPal Payouts approved, then fund your PayPal balance. You then copy its API credentials (a Client ID and Secret) into Referral Reactor.
Fee: $0.25 per payout
Send digital gift cards and other rewards, and let partners pick the one they want.
Setup: Usually a couple of weeks to get going. You connect your own Tremendous account by signing in, with no keys to copy, and fund it. You choose which funding source pays each reward.
Fee: Free for gift cards; some other reward types add a percentage fee
How it works
When a referral becomes a qualified lead or a finished job, sending the partner's bonus takes three steps.
Your default amount fills in. Change it if you like, then pick how you’re paying.
A teammate who can send bonuses checks the details and confirms it’s them. Nothing is sent without approval.
It goes out by the method you chose and is saved to the referral’s history.
Using an AI assistant or the API? It can only set up a bonus for you to review. A person on your team always sends it.
Bonus plan
Your bonus plan is up to you: how much, when and for what. Most businesses pay two bonuses on each referral, and it's the plan we recommend because we've seen it work so well.
When you’ve checked the referral is real: the customer is reachable and needs the work.
Partners get thanked fast for every good lead, even when the job doesn’t close.
When the referral turns into a paying job.
The bigger reward goes to the referrals that bring in revenue, so partners send their best.
Why it works: a quick early bonus keeps partners sending, because they don't wait weeks to hear back. The larger second bonus keeps them focused on leads that close.
Save a Qualified Lead Bonus and a Successful Referral Bonus for your whole business, then override them for any partner. Both show up as one-tap amounts when you send, and you can change any single bonus.
When more than one person is attached to a referral, you can pay each of them their own bonus.
Methods and fees
| Method | Provider fee |
|---|---|
| Reactor Pay | 1% of the amount + $1 per payout |
| PayPal & Venmo | $0.25 per payout |
| Tremendous | Free for gift cards; some other reward types add a percentage fee |
| Cash, check & company credit | No provider fee |
Payment platforms charge their own fees per payout. Referral Reactor doesn’t add to them.
Funding
Taxes and rules
Reactor Pay collects W-9 forms from partners when they're needed. Your business files the 1099s for the bonuses it pays.
Some states limit paying for referrals, especially on insurance-claim work. Your business is responsible for following the rules where you work. If you're not sure, ask your attorney before you set bonus amounts.
Turning it on
Recording the bonuses you pay by cash, check or company credit is free. Payouts is an optional add-on you turn on inside Referral Reactor to send bonuses through Reactor Pay, PayPal & Venmo or Tremendous, with no limit on how many. Turn it off anytime and keep everything else. See pricing
Payout setup takes time. Reactor Pay needs a few days for business verification and your first deposit. PayPal & Venmo and Tremendous can take a couple of weeks. Start early so you’re ready when your first bonus is due.
Referral Reactor is free, with no trial clock and no credit card. Sign up, set up your business in minutes, and see if it's right for you. Want a walkthrough first? Book a demo.