Auto-Enrolment Programs

Auto-Enrolment Programs

An auto-enrolment program automatically creates affiliate records when users interact with your marketplace — no manual signup or application required.

What Is Auto-Enrolment?

Unlike custom affiliate programs where users apply through a signup page, auto-enrolment turns marketplace users into affiliates automatically based on a trigger event. This lets you build an affiliate network passively from your existing user base.

How It Differs from Custom Programs

Each workspace has exactly one auto-enrolment program. It is created during workspace onboarding and does not count toward your custom program limit.

How Enrolment Is Triggered

Auto-enrolment fires on a single event: a user's first confirmed transaction.

• When the auto-enrolment program is Active, users are enrolled as affiliates the first time they complete a confirmed transaction on your Sharetribe marketplace. By default both parties — the customer (buyer) and the provider (seller) — are enrolled, but you can limit this to a single role using Eligible user types (see below).

• Signing up for an account does not enrol a user on its own — enrolment happens when they complete a transaction.

• Enrolment is independent of the program's payout Qualification trigger (Sign Up vs Transaction). That setting only controls when affiliates earn payouts; it does not affect when users are auto-enrolled.

You can also optionally share the auto-enrolment program's signup form. Anyone who applies through it becomes an affiliate immediately, so automatic enrolment and self-signups can run side by side.

Eligible User Types

Many marketplaces have more than one kind of user — typically customers (buyers) and providers (sellers). The Eligible user types setting lets you choose which of these roles are auto-enrolled, so a program can target only the users you want.

Choose one of:

• Both (default) — both customers and providers are enrolled on their first transaction.

• Customers — only the buyer in a transaction is enrolled; providers are skipped.

• Providers — only the seller in a transaction is enrolled; customers are skipped.

For example, if you want buyers to receive referral links and become affiliates while excluding sellers/providers, set this to Customers.

A few things to note:

• The setting appears directly under Qualification triggers on the auto-enrolment program, and uses Sharetribe's own Customers / Providers terminology.

• It defaults to Both, so existing programs continue to enrol everyone.

• It only affects auto-enrolment. Affiliates created through the signup form or added manually are unaffected, because those paths don't involve a transaction role.

Enrolled Once per Workspace

Each user is enrolled at most once across your entire workspace:

• Before creating an affiliate, Toppal checks every program (active or inactive) for an existing affiliate matching the user's Sharetribe ID or email.

• If a match is found — whether created by auto-enrolment, manual entry, or the signup form — the user is skipped. No duplicate affiliate is created and no welcome email is sent.

Setup

The auto-enrolment program is created as a Draft during workspace onboarding. To configure and activate it:

1. Navigate to Admin > Programs.

2. Open the program labelled "Auto Enrolment Program".

3. Configure the payout type and payout value awarded to affiliates this program creates.

4. Set a Qualification trigger — this governs when enrolled affiliates earn payouts on the users they refer, not when they are enrolled.

5. Choose the Eligible user types (Both, Customers, or Providers) to control which transaction roles are enrolled.

6. Change the status to Active to begin automatic enrolment.

Once active, any eligible user who completes their first transaction is automatically enrolled (unless they are already an affiliate).

Welcome Email

When a user is auto-enrolled as an affiliate, they receive an auto-enrolment welcome email. This email informs them of their new affiliate status and provides their referral link.

To customise this email:

1. Navigate to Admin > Customise > Emails.

2. Locate the auto-enrolment welcome email template.

3. Edit the subject line, body content, and branding as needed.

How Auto-Enrolled Affiliates Work

Affiliates created through auto-enrolment behave the same as any other affiliate in the system:

• Auto-enrolment creates the affiliate identity only — it does not generate a payout or a referred-user record by itself.

• Once enrolled, they receive a unique referral link and can refer new users to your marketplace.

• They earn payouts when the users they refer meet the program's payout rules.

• They are recorded with createdVia: "automatic" and carry their sharetribeUserId, so they can be traced back to the originating Sharetribe user.

Plan Requirements

The Lite plan includes auto-enrolment but does not include custom programs. This makes it suitable for marketplace owners who want a simple, passive affiliate setup without managing multiple program configurations.