Getting Started

This guide walks you through the initial setup process, from creating your organization to launching your first referral program.

What You'll Need

Before you start, make sure you have:

• A Square account with at least one business location
• Payment processing turned on in your Square account

That's it. The setup takes about 5 minutes.

Step 1: Create Your Organization

After signing up, you'll be prompted to create an organization. This is your workspace in ViralRef.

1. Enter your organization name (e.g., your business name)
2. Choose a short name for your branded page (e.g., acme gives you acme.viralref.com)
3. Upload your logo (optional but recommended — it shows up on your referral pages)

Step 2: Connect Square

Your Square connection powers everything: tracking payments, issuing gift card rewards, and managing customers.

1. Go to Settings > Integrations > Square
2. Click Connect Square Account
3. Sign in to your Square account and approve the connection
4. Select the locations you want to track

For detailed instructions, see the Connecting Square guide.

Step 3: Create a Referral Program

With Square connected, you can create your first referral program. Here's what the Programs page looks like once you have programs set up:

1. Navigate to Programs in the sidebar
2. Click Create Program
3. Configure the basics:

For a full walkthrough, see Creating a Program.

Step 4: Add Your First Referrers

You can add referrers manually or turn on the viral loop for automatic enrollment.

Manual Addition

1. Go to Affiliates in the sidebar
2. Click Add Affiliate
3. Enter their name, email, phone, and role (Client, Influencer, or Agency)
4. Assign them to a program
5. They'll receive a unique referral link

Viral Loop (Automatic)

Turn on the viral loop in your program settings to automatically make every referred customer a referrer too. See Viral Loop for details.

Step 5: Share Referral Links

Each referrer gets a unique referral link like:

https://acme.viralref.com/r/sarah-abc123

When someone clicks this link, they're taken to a signup form. After signing up, they receive a welcome gift card (if you've set that up), and the referrer is credited for any future purchases.

Share these links through:

• Text messages
• Email campaigns
• Social media posts
• In-store signage
• Receipt inserts

What Happens Next

Once your program is live, your dashboard gives you a complete overview of performance including clicks, conversions, revenue, and commissions:

Once your program is live:

1. Clicks are tracked when people visit referral links
2. Signups are recorded when referred customers fill out the form
3. Purchases are detected automatically when referred customers pay at your business
4. Rewards are issued based on your commission rules (gift card top-ups or tracked for manual payout)
5. Referrers can check their stats in the referrer portal

Next Steps

Connecting Square

Learn more about linking your Square account.

Creating a Program

Set up your reward rules, commission type, and program scope.

Managing Affiliates

Add referrers, organize groups, and set commission tiers.