# Manual referrals

## What are manual referrals?

The manual referral form allows you to report referrals made without using your referral links. After submitting a referral manually, the app owner will review the request and approve or decline it.

## When to use manual referrals?

{% hint style="warning" %}
**Please note!**\
You can use the manual referrals only if you are confident that a particular store has installed the app following your advice and you are a registered affiliate of this app.
{% endhint %}

If you have used the referral link, the referral will show up in the next 24 hours, and **there is no need to report it manually**.

There are two reasons to submit a manual referral:

* You have installed the app manually or told a merchant to do so without your affiliate link.
* You sent the link to a merchant. It's been more than 24 hours, and you can't find your referral on the platform.

## How to add a manual referral?

### From the Referrals page

Go to the `Referrals` page and click the "Add referral manually" button.

![](https://774894163-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FZJ53rrid2U7mef6xl6Ks%2Fuploads%2FnCQMYusSng3pvKgRgMaG%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=6268d0b8-af60-4aa1-9379-f2c47b76154d)

Fill in the form with the required data. Here is the data you will be requested to provide:

* **App name** \
  Choose the app you have referred
* **Referred store URL**\
  The full .myshopify domain of the store you have referred (ex. <https://store.myshopify.com>).
* **Referral date**\
  The date you made the referral
* **Additional info (optional)**\
  Add any information to help the app owner know you have made the referral.

Once you finish, hit the "Submit" button and await the app owner's approval.

### From the connected app details page

If you'd like to add a couple of referrals to the same app in a row, it can be easier for you to add them directly from the app's [connected app details](https://docs.shoffi.app/for-affiliates/connected-app-information) page.

While submitting referrals manually from this page, you must provide only the date and store URL.

## Approving manual referrals

After an affiliate submits a manual referral, the app owner will receive a notification with the data. The app owner can review the request and decide whether to approve it.

## Adding manual referrals on behalf of an affiliate

The app owner can add manual referrals directly from the affiliate details page in the app owner dashboard.

{% hint style="warning" %}
**Please note!**\
Adding a manual referral on behalf of an affiliate will approve the referral immediately.&#x20;
{% endhint %}

To do that, go to the specific affiliate page, click "Actions" and choose the "Add referral manually".

## Manual Referral Commission Calculation

When approving or adding a manual referral for your affiliate, you can choose from two types of commission calculations:

1. **Calculate commission from Today**

   This means the commission to the affiliate will start only from the moment of approval, regardless of the app's installation date.
2. **Calculate commission from the App installation date**\
   This option will calculate the commission retroactively from the app's initial installation date and assign the corresponding revenue share to the affiliate.


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