Ambassador Program Terms

These Ambassador Program Terms ("Program Terms") govern your participation in the Earnist referral / ambassador program (the "Program") operated by Earnist LLC ("Earnist"). By generating a referral link, sharing your referral code, or accepting a commission payout, you agree to these Program Terms. These Program Terms are additional to and incorporate the Earnist Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

1. Eligibility

• You must be 18 or older and a resident of the United States. International ambassadors will be added in a later phase.
• You must maintain an Earnist account in good standing (not banned, not under active investigation for abuse).
• Earnist employees, contractors, and their immediate family members are not eligible.
• You may not participate under multiple accounts or use referral codes purchased from third parties.

2. Commission rates

• Standard rate — 30% recurring on the monthly or annual subscription price of any Pro user who signs up using your unique referral code and remains an actively paying subscriber. You earn commission for as long as the referred user stays subscribed.
• Founding ambassador rate — 50% recurring on the same basis, offered by written invitation only to a small number of ambassadors during the Program's first six months. Once granted, the founding rate remains in force for the lifetime of each referral so long as this Program remains active.
• Commissions are computed on the gross subscription revenue collected (before Stripe processing fees). Example: a $6.00 monthly subscription at 30% pays $1.80/month; at 50% pays $3.00/month.
• Referred users on a free trial, promo code (grandfathered / friends-and-family / lifetime), or otherwise not paying via Stripe do not generate commission until they convert to a paid Stripe subscription.

3. How referrals are attributed

• Attribution is based on the referral code entered at signup, or the ?ref=CODE parameter present on the signup landing page. If neither is present, no ambassador is credited.
• Attribution is first-touch and permanent — once a user is credited to an ambassador, they cannot later be re-attributed to a different one.
• Self-referrals (signing up under your own code with a different email) are not permitted and will result in the referral being voided and the account being flagged for review.

4. Payout schedule and methods

• Commissions are paid monthly, in arrears. Payment for a given calendar month is sent by the 15th of the following month.
• During the Program's initial phase, payouts are issued manually via Venmo, PayPal, Zelle, or ACH bank transfer. Ambassadors provide their preferred payout method and handle in Settings → Subscription. Once submitted, payout details are treated as confidential.
• Earnist expects to migrate to automated payouts via Stripe Connect in a future Program phase. Ambassadors will be notified in advance and given the option to onboard through Stripe Connect at that time.
• Minimum payout threshold: $5.00 USD. Balances below the threshold roll over to the next month.
• If Earnist cannot deliver a payout because the ambassador's payout details are incorrect, missing, or unreachable, the balance will be held for up to 12 months and then may be forfeited.

5. Taxes and tax reporting

• Ambassador commissions are taxable income to you. You are responsible for reporting and paying any applicable taxes on amounts received.
• US ambassadors who earn $600 or more in a calendar year will be asked to complete IRS Form W-9 before receiving further payouts. Earnist will issue a Form 1099-NEC to each such ambassador by January 31 of the following year.
• Earnist does not withhold taxes from Program payouts and does not provide personal tax advice.

6. Refunds, chargebacks, and clawbacks

• If a referred user's payment is refunded, charged back, or reversed within 90 days of the underlying subscription payment, the corresponding commission is reversed and deducted from the ambassador's next payout.
• If a referred user's payment is refunded more than 90 days after the payment date, the corresponding commission is not clawed back.
• If a referred user cancels their subscription, no clawback occurs — you keep every commission already earned. Future commission simply stops.

7. Prohibited conduct

You agree that you will not:

• Use paid search advertising bidding on the trademarks "Earnist" or "Earnist LLC" or common misspellings thereof.
• Use spam, mass-unsolicited email, SMS blasts, or bot traffic to promote your referral link.
• Misrepresent Earnist's features, pricing, tax positions, or the nature of the Program.
• Impersonate Earnist, its founder, or an employee.
• Rebate, kick back, or otherwise compensate referred users in cash or cash equivalents to induce a subscription.
• Sign up under your own code, or coordinate ring-referrals with other ambassadors to inflate credited signups.

Violation of this section may result in immediate termination from the Program, forfeiture of pending commission, and — where warranted — closure of your Earnist account.

8. Program changes and termination

• Earnist may modify these Program Terms, commission rates, payout schedule, or payout methods on at least 30 days' notice emailed to the address on file for your account. Commissions already earned at the time of a change will be paid out under the terms in force when the referral was made.
• Either party may terminate participation at any time and for any reason. Earnist will pay any commission already earned and above the minimum threshold at the time of termination in the next scheduled payout cycle.
• Earnist may pause the Program temporarily (for example, during launch preparation or a security incident); pending commissions remain payable when the Program resumes.

9. Data and privacy

Ambassadors can see the name, email, and Pro / Free status of users they referred, but cannot see any of those users' financial data, receipts, tax estimates, or account contents. Earnist's Privacy Policy continues to govern all data processed under the Program.

10. Independent-contractor relationship

You participate in the Program as an independent contractor. Nothing in these Program Terms creates a partnership, joint venture, employer-employee, or agency relationship between you and Earnist. You have no authority to bind Earnist to any obligation.

11. Disclaimers and limitation of liability

The Program is provided "as is." Earnist makes no promise about the amount of commission you will earn — earnings depend on your own referral activity and factors beyond Earnist's control. To the maximum extent allowed by law, Earnist's total liability under these Program Terms is capped at the total commission actually paid or payable to you in the 12 months preceding the claim.

12. Governing law and disputes

These Program Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, USA, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles. Any dispute arising under these Program Terms is subject to the arbitration and forum provisions of the Earnist Terms of Service.

13. Contact

Questions about the Program: ambassadors@earnist.app
General support: support@earnist.app