A **referral** is a customer (tenant) who came to the Platform through a partner's link in **Referral** mode (the two partner modes and their differences are in Manual 37, section 1). Unlike a **White label** partner, a referral **isn't the partner's customer**: they sign up directly on the platform, the Platform bills them with its own Stripe, and the partner only earns a **commission** on what that customer pays — never manages them, never impersonates them, never uses up one of their seats. The circuit, with the sections where each step is detailed: 1. The partner shares their `?ref=slug` link (section 2). 2. Someone signs up with that link and verifies their email → the partner's commission % and validity months **freeze** at that instant (section 3). 3. While the referral stays alive and within their window, their status is **Active** (section 4). 4. Every time that customer pays an invoice — **by Stripe or by a manual payment on record** — a new commission is generated (section 5); the **first** of those invoices also marks the start of the months window (section 3). 5. The Platform's staff reviews the accrued commissions and settles them to the partner outside the platform, with a reference, after a brief safety period; that's how the partner gets paid, never by Stripe (section 6). > **Warning — Two similar "statuses" not to be confused** > > This manual uses two similar-looking terms for two different things: the **referral's status** (Active / Window ended / Customer churned — section 4) says whether that customer *is still generating* new commission. The **status of an already-generated commission** (Pending / Settled / Reversed by refund) says whether that specific commission *has already been paid* to the partner — the detail of how the Platform's staff reviews and settles those commissions isn't part of this manual. A referral with "Window ended" status can perfectly well still have old commissions "Pending" settlement — they're independent questions.