Question 1

What is ViralRef and who is it for?

Accepted Answer

ViralRef is a viral referral platform built specifically for service businesses on Square: hair salons, barbershops, spas, fitness studios, massage therapists, tattoo parlors, pet groomers, and any local business where personal referrals drive growth. Connect your Square account, set your reward amounts, and go live in under 5 minutes.

Question 2

How does the viral loop actually work?

Accepted Answer

Someone clicks a referral link, signs up, and gets a reward (gift card or coupon). They automatically get their own referral link too. When they refer someone else, that person also gets a link. The chain keeps going. Each new customer becomes a referrer, so the network grows without you doing anything.

Question 3

What reward types are available?

Accepted Answer

Four options. Gift cards keep the reward money inside your business: they can only be redeemed at your shop and guarantee a return visit. Coupons give new customers an auto-apply discount at Square POS, driving first visits with zero friction at the register. Loyalty points reward referrals directly in your Square Loyalty program. Manual payout lets you track rewards and pay out yourself.

Question 4

Do I need Square to use this?

Accepted Answer

Yes, ViralRef integrates directly with your Square account for payment tracking, gift card creation, customer verification, and automatic conversion attribution via webhooks. It works with Square POS, Virtual Terminal, and Square Invoices.

Question 5

How does fraud protection work?

Accepted Answer

Every referral runs through four automatic detection rules: self-referral checks, duplicate payment detection, rapid conversion flags, and disposable email screening. When something looks off, the conversion gets flagged for your review with full evidence. Nothing is auto-rejected. You make the call.

Question 6

Can my staff be referral partners too?

Accepted Answer

Yes. ViralRef supports three affiliate roles: Client, Influencer, and Agency. Your stylists, trainers, therapists, or barbers can all have their own referral link and earn rewards for every client they bring in. You can set different commission rates per group.

Question 7

How much does it cost?

Accepted Answer

Flat monthly fee. No commission on your referrals. Check our pricing page for the specifics.

Question 8

How is ViralRef different from generic affiliate software?

Accepted Answer

ViralRef is built specifically for Square service businesses. Generic affiliate tools don't integrate with your POS, can't issue Square gift cards, and don't understand service business workflows like appointment rebooking and client retention.

Question 9

How do coupon rewards work at the register?

Accepted Answer

Coupon rewards use Square's discount system to auto-apply at your POS, so there's no code to enter. When a customer is issued a coupon, they're added to a Square customer group linked to a catalog discount. At checkout, the discount applies automatically. Coupons are single-use: once redeemed, the customer is removed from the group and the coupon is marked as used. If the referrer is set to earn a coupon reward, they receive their own coupon automatically when their referred customer redeems.

Question 10

How are commissions and rewards calculated?

Accepted Answer

You choose either a percentage of revenue or a fixed amount per conversion. You can set up multi-tier commissions (e.g., 15% for the first 5 referrals, 20% after that) and group overrides for VIP affiliates or staff. Program scope options include first purchase only, all purchases within a time window, or lifetime attribution. Everything is calculated and tracked automatically.

Question 11

What is the affiliate portal?

Accepted Answer

Every affiliate gets access to a self-service portal where they can see their referral link, click stats, conversion history, gift card balance, and total earnings. They log in using just their phone number (OTP code, no passwords). You can customize the portal headline, description, and accent color to match your brand. Zero support burden on your team.

Question 12

Can affiliates save their referral card to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every affiliate can add a referral pass to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet straight from their portal. The pass shows your business name and logo, their referral code, the reward they earn per referral, and a QR code friends scan to reach their signup page. It picks up your portal branding automatically, so there is nothing for you to configure. Affiliates can also download three print-ready cards: a business card, a table tent, and a full-page flyer.

Question 13

What are bounties and challenges?

Accepted Answer

Bounties are time-limited challenges you create to push referrals harder than usual. Set a goal (e.g., "Refer 5 friends this month"), a bonus reward ($50), and a deadline. Affiliates submit proof when they hit the goal, and you approve or decline. Approved bounties automatically create payouts. Good for seasonal pushes, new service launches, or slow weeks.

Question 14

What happens if something goes wrong with Square?

Accepted Answer

If a gift card creation, customer lookup, or balance update fails (e.g., due to a temporary Square outage), the operation is logged to a retry queue and automatically retried. You can also manually retry from your dashboard. Nothing is silently lost.

Question 15

Can I use ViralRef with Square Appointments?

Accepted Answer

Yes. ViralRef works with any Square product that processes payments: Square POS, Square Appointments, Square Invoices, and Square Virtual Terminal. Conversions are tracked through Square payment webhooks, so any payment made through Square can be attributed to a referral.

Question 16

What happens if a customer is referred by multiple affiliates?

Accepted Answer

Attribution follows a last-click model. The most recent referral link clicked before the purchase gets credit. The fraud detection system also flags duplicate attribution attempts to prevent double-counting.

Question 17

How do I set up different commission rates for different affiliates?

Accepted Answer

Two ways: Commission tiers let you set graduated rates based on performance milestones (e.g., 10% for the first 5 conversions, 15% after 10). Affiliate groups let you assign custom commission rates to segments of affiliates. Group rates take priority over tiers, which take priority over program defaults.

Question 18

Does ViralRef support custom domains?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Organizations can configure a custom domain for their referral pages and affiliate portal. This means your referral links and portal can live on your own domain instead of a ViralRef subdomain.

	ViralRef	Paid ads	Punch cards	Cash payouts
Brings in new customers
Rewards stay in your business
Automatic tracking & attribution		Partial
Works with Square POS
Referred customers become referrers
Guarantees a return visit
Built-in fraud protection
Multiple reward types (gift cards + coupons)

Your happy clients bring the next ones. Automatically.

Sarah shares her unique link

Emma signs up & gets rewarded

Sarah earns her reward

Emma gets her own portal

Word-of-mouth drives your business. You just can't see it.

Referrals are invisible

Ads burn cash

Loyalty ≠ acquisition

Payout fees add up

Set it up once. Referrals run themselves.

Connect Square

Set rewards

Clients share & earn

Everything referrals need. Nothing you don't.

Every new client becomes your next referrer

Reward however suits your business

Know exactly who brings you business

Connect Square. Everything else is automatic.

A personal dashboard for every referrer

Four checks. Zero fake referrals.

A personal dashboard for every referrer

The full picture, from click to payout

The referral card that never gets left at home

You have four ways to get new clients

Every referral, every dollar, as it happens

From the people running it

Built for service businesses on Square

Salons

Barbershops

Spas & wellness

Fitness studios

Tattoo & piercing

Pet groomers

Questions, answered plainly

Start turning clients into referrals