Frequently Asked Questions

The following are the frequently-asked questions and answers about the Palo Alto Software Affiliate programme.

  1. What is an affiliate programme?
  2. How do I sign up?
  3. Why is your affiliate programme better than your competitors?
  4. How much do you pay in commissions?
  5. Do you pay out any type of bonus?
  6. How often do you pay your affiliates?
  7. What is the minimum amount of commissions I need to earn to receive a check?
  8. What sort of tools do you provide to your affiliates?
  9. Can I get a commission for referring new affiliates to your programme?
  10. How do I link to your site once I'm an affiliate?
  11. Is there any cost to become an affiliate?
  12. Do you pay commissions on all of your products?
  13. How do I check my statistics to see how I am doing?
  14. Can I use content from your site?
  15. Can I join your affiliate programme if we are outside the United Kingdom?
  16. I have more than one site, can I sign up multiple times and have it consolidated into one payment?
  17. What if my site doesn't have similar content that relates to business planning?

1. What is an affiliate programme?

An affiliate programme is set up so that one website can refer visitors to another website that is selling a product and get credit for any product that is bought on that website from the referred visitors. So, in the case of our affiliate programme, you link to our software products from your website, and we pay you a commission on sales from the visitors you send us!

2. How do I sign up?

To sign up for our programme, you must first read and agree to our operating agreement, and then fill out our application form. We will review your application and if accepted, you will receive an e-mail notification with your login information. Once you have that e-mail, you can log on and start creating links, get HTML code for our images, and use our other content and tools to start earning money selling our products.

3. Why should I sign up for your programme?

There are many benefits of the Palo Alto Software Affiliate programme. First, we care about our affiliates. We're thrilled that other people believe in our products enough to want to help sell them and recommend them to their site visitors. Second, we are fair to our affiliates; we provide personal service, and will do whatever we can to help you earn money in our programme. Third, we have the best selling and top-rated business-plan software product available. It's a recognizable brand name, we are very well established, and we care about our customers. This means that our product sells well on the Internet, which in turn means more commission for you.

4. How much do you pay in commissions?

We pay a 10% commission on all software products sold, except Business Plan Pro 2006 PREMIER and Marketing Plan Pro PREMIER which earn a 20% commission.

UK affiliates will be paid in pounds, all other payments are in US dollars.

5. Do you pay out any type of bonus?

Yes, we provide special bonuses at different times throughout the year, which range from accomplishing certain sales levels to being the affiliate that improved their sales the most from one month to the next. For example, one month we might offer £100 to the affiliate who sells the most units of one of our secondary products. Or we might offer a £250 bonus if you reach £1,000 in total sales in a month.

6. How often do you pay your affiliates?

We pay our affiliates monthly if their commission is over £100.

7. What is the minimum amount of commissions I need to earn to receive a check?

Currently, the minimum amount of commission earned to have a check sent to you is £100.

8. What sort of tools do you provide to your affiliates?

provide example link types, banner images, button images, e-mail copy, a full HTML page you can use, suggestions on how to best sell our software, links to top-performing affiliates for examples, links to affiliate resources on the Web, articles you can use on your site, and more.

9. Can I get a commission for referring new affiliates to your programme?

At this time we don't provide any kind of second-tier affiliate commission when you refer a new affiliate to our programme. However, if you point out that you are doing this, and it proves to be a successful affiliate, we may reward you with a bonus.

10. How do I link to your site once I'm an affiliate?

After you sign up and are accepted, you will be able to login and see examples on how to link to us. It's very simple.

11. Is there any cost to become an affiliate?

No, it's a free programme.

12. Do you pay commissions on all of your products?

We pay commissions on all of the Palo Alto Software software products such as Business Plan Pro, Marketing Plan Pro, Cash Compass, and Advertising Plan Pro. We don't provide commissions on some of our secondary non-software products due to relationships with their suppliers.

13. How do I check my statistics to see how I am doing?

After you have been accepted into the programme, you will be able to log in to the stats section of our Affiliate Centre and see your sales and commission results. You can also choose to receive e-mail reports for each sale made.

14. Can I use content from your site?

We provide a lot of content for you in the Affiliate Centre, but if there is something on the site you would like to use that is not in the Affiliate Centre, please e-mail affiliates@paloalto.com with your request to use it.

15. Can I join your affiliate programme if we are outside the United Kingdom?

Yes, we ship our products worldwide and we have many international affiliates. We also have a few international versions of Business Plan Pro that may be of interest to your visitors.

16. I have more than one site; can I sign up multiple times and have it consolidated into one payment?

Yes, after signing up, please e-mailaffiliates@paloalto.com to notify us of the accounts you would like consolidated.

17. What if my site doesn't have similar content that relates to business planning?

Even if your site isn't about business, you can still be an affiliate. Perhaps you have a website for your restaurant. You could note on your site that you wrote your business plan with Business Plan Pro and link to our products with your affiliate code to earn commissions on the sale. Your visitors might be interested to know how you went about creating such a successful business! You might as well let them know while also getting paid for it!

If you have any questions that have not been answered here, please e-mail affiliates@paloalto.com with your question.