How do referrals work?
The Referral program is a signed-in merchant feature for sharing Helm with other merchants. Owners and permitted managers can find their referral code and link in dashboard Settings under Referral program at /helm/settings/referrals.
Public /r/[code] links record a referral click, create a browser attribution token, and preserve referral code/token details into pricing, signup, and checkout where feasible. Attribution is browser and device bound until signup links it to a user and site; Helm does not infer cross-device attribution.
When do I get a reward?
A referred Starter or Growth merchant can receive 30 extra trial days when valid referral attribution reaches a new onboarding checkout and passes validation. Business is paid immediately and does not receive the extra trial bonus.
The referrer reward is one reviewed month of account credit for the referrer's current Helm plan and market after the referred merchant starts an eligible paid subscription and Helm records a positive paid invoice. Existing paid customers, upgrades, failed validation, and unpaid signups do not create the same reward path.
Can I refer myself?
No. Self-referrals are not eligible. Helm can disqualify referrals that involve the same merchant, same workspace/site, duplicate accounts, duplicate rewards, or other abuse signals.
Same-domain referrals may need manual review before any reward decision. If a referral is unclear, treat it as pending until Helm reviews the account, paid invoice evidence, and site context.
Can I share my link publicly?
Yes, you can share your referral link publicly if the message is truthful and not spammy or misleading. Good places include a direct recommendation, a founder community thread where referrals are allowed, or a private merchant group that permits sharing.
Do not advertise the program as cash back, affiliate commission, guaranteed credit, instant discount, or automatic Stripe credit. Helm may disqualify rewards connected to misleading promotion or abuse.
What happens if someone signs up but does not pay?
A signup can be tracked without becoming reward-eligible. If the referred merchant does not start an eligible paid subscription and does not generate a positive paid invoice, the referrer reward should not move to the reviewed account-credit path.
For referred merchants, extra trial days only apply when valid attribution reaches eligible Starter or Growth checkout. If attribution fails validation, the merchant is already paid, the plan is Business, or the signup does not complete the eligible path, the trial bonus may not apply.
Are referral rewards automatic?
No. Pending reward means Helm has recorded an eligible paid invoice signal, but an operator still needs to review the referral before any account-credit decision. Pending is not a promise that a credit has already been applied.
Referral rewards are manual account-credit review only. Helm does not provide cash payouts, instant credits, automatic Stripe coupons, automatic customer-balance credits, commissions, tax forms, partner portals, or an affiliate marketplace for this launch scope.
Before sharing your referral link
- Open Settings, then Referral program, and copy your current referral link or code from /helm/settings/referrals.
- Explain Helm honestly as a merchant operating system for websites, bookings, customers, documents, commerce, support, and dashboard workflows.
- Mention that rewards are conditional, pending until review, and handled as manual account-credit decisions rather than cash or instant billing credits.
- Avoid self-referrals, duplicate accounts, misleading public posts, paid ads that imply affiliate terms, or any sharing channel where referral links are not allowed.