04 Economics

Partners earn when customers pay, climb tiers by proving capability and customer outcomes, and get Cloud Cruz's investment when a real enterprise deal needs it. Every rule holds for 12 months so partners can plan. (Decisions 25, 33, 45, 58, 72 to 78)

All of this is synthetic. Cloud Cruz and its partners are invented.

Tiers

Tier names are the ones partners already know (decision 32). What qualifies a partner in Year 1 is counts first, revenue later (decision 33):

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Select and above also need a minimum of contribution points (decision 78). Elite also requires a joint business plan with an executive sponsor. A certified person counts only with an active credential and hands-on product use in the last 90 days (decision 47).

Reviews: a partner is promoted within 30 days of meeting a tier's criteria, checked on the 1st of each month; demotions happen only at the Jul 1 review, with 90 days' notice (decision 109). Every partner sees a live scorecard of criteria against actuals, the same numbers Cloud Cruz sees (decisions 33, 92).

How partners earn

Partner-sourced deals pay a commission on collected revenue, by tier (decision 72):

A commission is earned only when the customer's invoice is paid and closed, then held 60 days (decision 21). Three mechanisms fit three deal shapes (decision 25):

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The rules around the rate:

• Term: the tier rate pays for 24 months from customer go-live, then a lower renewal rate (decision 73).
• Rate lock: the rate at close holds for that deal's whole term. A promotion applies to new deals; a demotion never cuts pay on customers a partner already landed (decision 73).
• Influence: influenced deals count toward tier and attributed revenue but don't pay commission, so Cloud Cruz never pays twice next to the AE's full quota credit. Instead they earn work: the partner that helped close an Enterprise deal gets first offer on the implementation (the customer can still choose), and the implementation package covers its first hours (decisions 50, 74, 94).
• Self-serve referrals: customers who sign up through a partner's tracked link are paid automatically. A commission reverses if the customer refunds within 90 days (decision 75).
• SPIFFs fire on the north star: first customer live, first Enterprise go-live, and customer retained at 12 months. Accelerators raise the rate above thresholds (decision 76).

SPIFFs, set at the Jul 1, 2027 review: $500 for a first live customer, $2,500 for a first Enterprise go-live, $1,000 for each customer retained 12 months. Accelerator and renewal-rate numbers are still open; no deal reaches its 24-month term in Year 1 (decisions 73, 76, 88). introw calculates each commission; a Commission Accrual record in Salesforce tracks it (Earned, Held, Released); Tipalti pays it and handles KYC (decisions 20, 21, 24).

The co-marketing fund

Co-marketing money is a separate fund, never taken out of commissions (decision 77).

• Who: Premier and Elite partners.
• How: the partner sends a short plan for a campaign of $3,500, $5,000 or $10,000. Cloud Cruz approves the plan and pays against proof of performance: events, content or paid media.
• Elite partners also get specialized campaigns built with Cloud Cruz partner marketing.

Contribution points

Partners who grow the community earn points (decision 78).

• What counts: community participation, LinkedIn posts, and published articles that follow Cloud Cruz's language guide.
• Approval: partner marketing approves each contribution before it counts.
• Tiering: Select and above need a minimum each review period, rising by tier. The numbers are set with Year-1 data.
• Payoff: a higher score raises the partner's rank in the partner directory, so contribution and influence bring referrals.

The implementation package

Cloud Cruz invests in a partner's first hours on a real enterprise deal, so partners win business on Cloud Cruz over other platforms (decisions 45, 53, 61).

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• Who qualifies: Enterprise deals the partner sourced, implemented or helped close, including competitive migrations, with the partner account manager, AE, solutions architect and partner solutions architect engaged, and at least one Level 2 technical person on the deal. During the 90-day beta, when no partner can hold Level 2 yet, Cloud Cruz's partner solutions architect stands in (decisions 91, 94).
• Rates: consulting at a maximum of $150 an hour and technical implementation at $200, locked for the pilot.
• Budget: $100,000 for the 90-day beta, about 57 base packages. The beta approved 8 ($19,250), because most beta wins were Premium; the unspent $80,750 carries into Year 1, and the Jan 1, 2028 review adds $50,000 (decision 96; see 09-launch-plan.md). The customer also gets a 90-day free window until launch.

What partners pay for enablement

Courses, labs and accreditations are free at every tier. Level exams cost $100 to $150, and every tier gets free exams each year to cover them: 5 for Member, 10 for Select and Premier, 15 for Elite. Anchor partners also get custom sessions and extra vouchers (decisions 48, 81). No tier carries a fee.

What the program costs

Headcount stays flat at 9 all year (decision 66). Costs grow only with results: commissions, implementation packages, approved co-marketing campaigns and tools. So the cost per customer live through partners falls as the program grows.

Rules that hold

Tiers, commissions, packages and the co-marketing fund hold for 12 months, with one mid-year adjustment window decided at the Jan 1 review and announced 90 days ahead (decision 58).

Why this saves time and money

Partners are paid on collected cash, for a fixed term, with a clawback, so Cloud Cruz never pays for a deal that doesn't close or stay. Marketing money follows an approved plan and proof of results. Partners know exactly what each tier takes and see their own numbers, so nobody spends time arguing about status. The package budget goes only to deals big enough to move revenue.