Tutor LMS affiliate tracking pays your affiliates when a visitor they referred buys a course with Tutor LMS. Ultimate Affiliate Pro records the referral when the order is placed and updates its status when the order is paid, refunded or cancelled.
The visitor is linked to the affiliate through an affiliate referral link. The commission comes from the affiliate’s rank, and you can set a different rate for any course. Referrals are created for orders placed through Tutor LMS’s own checkout.
Before you start
- Tutor LMS is installed and active, and you sell courses with the Tutor LMS checkout.
- The Tutor LMS Tracking add-on is installed and active. See Pro Add-ons.
- Your affiliates have a rank with a commission rate.
How the commission is calculated #
The commission is the affiliate’s rank rate applied to the amount the student paid for the order, after discounts. A course rate or a Product Rate can change it, as explained below.
- Order amount
- $149.00
- Affiliate rank
- Standard, 20%
- Referral
- $29.80
Turn on the Tutor LMS affiliate integration #
Go to Ultimate Affiliate Pro›Integrations and find the Tutor LMS card in the LMS / Online Courses group.
Turns Tutor LMS tracking on. The card shows Enabled while it is on.
Default: Off
Opens the Tutor LMS Tracking settings.
Set the source name #
Click Configure on the card. The settings screen explains the add-on, then shows its options.
The name of the referral source shown in the Referrals list and in the affiliate’s Affiliate Portal. Change it if you want affiliates to see, for example, “Online Courses”.
Default: Tutor LMS
Click Save Changes.
Set a commission rate for a course #
Open the course in the Tutor LMS Course Builder. On the Basics tab, below the course description, you find three Ultimate Affiliate Pro fields:
How the course commission is calculated.
- Flat: a fixed amount for each sale of this course, in your affiliate currency.
- Percentage (%): a percentage of the order amount.
- Default Affiliate system Settings: no course rate; the affiliate’s rank rate and your Product Rates apply.
The flat amount or the percentage, depending on the type you chose.
Stops this course from generating referrals. It takes precedence over every other rate, so use it for free or internal courses.
Ultimate Affiliate Pro compares the course rate with the rank rate and any Product Rate, and uses the biggest amount. To use the lowest amount instead, change Which Rate should be used? in Ultimate Affiliate Pro›Settings›General Settings.
Manage all course rates in one place
You can also set course rates in Ultimate Affiliate Pro›Product Rates: choose Tutor LMS as the source and search for the course. See Commission rates per product.
Add an affiliate tab to the Tutor LMS Student Dashboard #
Students who are also affiliates can open their Affiliate Portal from the Tutor LMS Student Dashboard, without visiting a separate page. On the same settings screen, scroll to the Tutor LMS Student Profile box.
Adds a new tab to the Tutor LMS Student Dashboard menu of every student.
Default: Off
The tab title students see.
Default: Affiliate Dashboard
What affiliates see when they open the tab.
- Show Affiliate Portal: the Affiliate Portal opens inside the tab, so the student stays in Tutor LMS.
- Redirect to Affiliate Portal Page: the tab links to your Affiliate Portal page.
Default: Show Affiliate Portal
Shows the tab to students who are not affiliates yet, with the custom content below instead of the Affiliate Portal.
Default: On
A short message for students who are not affiliates. The default text invites them to join and includes the [uap-user-become-affiliate] shortcode, which shows a button that makes the student an affiliate.
Click Save Changes.
Check the referrals #
Go to Ultimate Affiliate Pro›Referrals. Tutor LMS referrals show the order number in the Reference column.
The Source Custom Name, Tutor LMS by default.
The Tutor LMS order number. The description shows the order amount.
The commission for the course sale.
Follows the order status, as shown in the table below.
| Course order | Referral status |
|---|---|
| Order placed | Pending |
| Paid or completed | Approved |
| Refunded or cancelled | Rejected |
| Partially refunded or incomplete | Pending |
If Keep Referral Status as Pending is on in Ultimate Affiliate Pro›Settings›Admin Workflow, automatic approval is turned off, and you approve referrals yourself.
Test it #
- Open a private browser window and visit your site through an affiliate link, for example
yourstore.com/?ref=emma.collins. - In the same window, buy a course with the Tutor LMS checkout, logged in as a student who is not the affiliate.
- In Ultimate Affiliate Pro›Referrals, check that a new Tutor LMS referral was created for the affiliate.
- Mark the order as paid in Tutor LMS and check that the referral changes to Approved.
See Test your affiliate program for a complete test routine. The Tutor LMS documentation explains how to set up course sales.
Frequently asked questions #
Can I pay a different commission for each Tutor LMS course?
Yes. Set a Referral Rate Type and a Referral Amount in the Course Builder, or add a Product Rate for the course. The biggest amount is used by default.
How do I stop a course from paying commissions?
Turn on Disable Referrals in the Course Builder for that course. It overrides every other rate.
What happens to the referral when an order is refunded?
When the Tutor LMS order is refunded or cancelled, the referral changes to Rejected automatically.
I sell Tutor LMS courses with WooCommerce. Which integration do I use?
If your courses are sold as WooCommerce products, the WooCommerce integration creates the referrals. The Tutor LMS integration handles orders placed through the Tutor LMS checkout.
Can students see their affiliate account in the Tutor LMS dashboard?
Yes. Turn on Activate/Hold Affiliate Section in the Tutor LMS Student Profile box, and a new tab appears in the Student Dashboard.
