Summary
This article explains how the member who shares a referral code (the referrer) is rewarded: when a referral qualifies, which type of credit they receive and when it expires.
💳 You can set a different reward for each payment type the new member buys: Recurring, Fixed and Scheduled.
⏳ Upfront payments qualify after a number of days you choose, so annual sign-ups now earn the referrer a reward too.
🔄 By default, the credit matches the referrer's membership: membership credit if they pay by Direct Debit, general credit if they do not.
📅 Referral credit expires after the number of months you set, 12 by default.
To set up an offer, see How to create a Membership Referral (Refer a friend).
Reward options
| Option | What the referrer gets |
|---|---|
| No reward | Nothing. New members still get their discount. |
| Account credit | Credit added to their account automatically once the referral qualifies. |
| A custom (Offline) reward | A reward your team gives outside Flow, such as a guest pass. Customers see the description you write. |
The rest of this article is about Account credit.
When a referral qualifies
What matters is the payment type of the membership the new member buys.
| New member buys | Qualifies |
|---|---|
| Recurring (paid by Direct Debit) | After their first Direct Debit is collected |
| Fixed (paid upfront for a set term) | A set number of days after they pay, 14 by default |
| Scheduled (set dates, paid upfront) | A set number of days after they pay, 14 by default |
- The qualifying days can be set from 0 to 90. With 0, the referral qualifies as soon as the new member pays.
- A fixed or scheduled membership must still be active when the qualifying period ends. If it is cancelled before then, the referral is marked Missed and the referrer gets nothing.
- If the membership has not started yet, the referral keeps waiting until it has.
- If you switched off the reward for a payment type, referrals for that type are recorded as No reward.
- Flow checks for qualifying referrals once a day, overnight, so credit can appear the day after a referral qualifies.
The Scheduled row only appears if scheduled payment options are turned on for your organisation.
Which credit the referrer receives
The Credit type setting on the offer decides this.
| Credit type | Referrer receives |
|---|---|
| Match the referrer's membership (recommended) | Membership credit if they have an active Direct Debit membership. General credit if they pay upfront, or their membership has ended. |
| Always membership credit | Membership credit. Referrers without a Direct Debit cannot use it. |
| Always general credit | General credit. |
- Membership credit is taken off the referrer's next Direct Debit.
- General credit can be spent on bookings, memberships and purchases, online or at reception.
With the recommended setting, a referrer who holds both a Direct Debit membership and an upfront membership receives membership credit.
Examples with the default settings
£10 account credit, 14 qualifying days, credit matching the referrer's membership.
| Referrer | New member | Referrer receives |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly Direct Debit | Monthly Direct Debit | £10 membership credit after the first Direct Debit |
| Monthly Direct Debit | Annual, paid upfront | £10 membership credit 14 days after payment |
| Annual, paid upfront | Annual, paid upfront | £10 general credit 14 days after payment |
| Annual, paid upfront | Monthly Direct Debit | £10 general credit after the first Direct Debit |
Credit expiry
Referral credit expires a set number of months after it is given: 12 by default, from 1 to 60. The same expiry applies to both credit types. You can see the expiry date on the referrer's Credits tab.
What referrers see
The Referrals page in My Account shows the credit a referrer can earn. If the amount differs by payment type, it shows the highest, for example Up to £25.00 credit on your account.
Changing an offer
- A referral keeps the rules of the offer that was live when the new member joined. If you change the offer, earlier referrals are still rewarded under the old rules.
- Offers published before this change keep paying membership credit after the new member's first Direct Debit. When you edit one, it opens as Account credit with Always membership credit, rewarding Recurring sign-ups only. Review the settings before you publish it again.
Reporting
The Referral Campaigns data source includes Payment Type, Referrer Credit Type Rule and Referrer Credit Type Awarded. It refreshes daily. For a summary, see Membership Referrals home page: referral statistics.
Troubleshooting
A referral shows as Waiting to qualify.
The new member has not paid their first Direct Debit yet, the qualifying days have not passed, or their membership has not started.
A referral was Missed.
The new member's membership was cancelled before the referral qualified.
The referrer received general credit, not membership credit.
With the recommended credit type, referrers without an active Direct Debit membership receive general credit, which they can spend.
Can a new customer use a referral code more than once?
Yes. A code can be used on more than one membership purchase. To stop the discount applying to low-value memberships, exclude their membership groups from the offer.