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Attribution

How referral partner revenue is calculated based on client attribution.

Overview​

Attribution determines which cases generate revenue for your platform. The key distinction is whether a client was brought to Debitura by your platform (attributed) or already existed (non-attributed).

Attributed Clients​

A client is attributed when they did not exist in Debitura before your integration introduced them.

Identified by: isAttributedClient: true

Revenue scope: You earn on all cases from this client, regardless of how they're created:

  • Cases submitted via your API integration
  • Cases created directly in the Debitura portal
  • Cases imported via CSV
  • Cases from any other channel

When it happens:

  • POST /clients returns 201 Created (new client)
  • POST /clients returns 202 Accepted (new client, onboarding required)

Non-Attributed Clients​

A client is non-attributed when they already existed in Debitura before being linked to your platform.

Identified by: isAttributedClient: false

Revenue scope: You earn only on cases whose creation source is recorded as ReferralPartnerBearerToken. This includes normal Customer API submissions using a bearer token and embedded cases replayed after a link approval, which are stamped with the same source even though the original POST /clients used an API key.

When it happens:

  • POST /clients returns 409 with ClientExistsNeedsLinking
  • Client approves a genuine first-time link to an existing account

If the same partner previously had an archived attributed link to that creditor, approval preserves isAttributedClient: true rather than converting the relationship to non-attributed.

Fee Percentage Snapshot​

When a client link is created, Debitura snapshots your current referral fee percentage. This locked percentage:

  • Is the default rate for cases from that client — frozen at link time
  • Never changes, even if your global fee percentage is updated later
  • Visible in the Debitura portal under the client's profile

For most cases, the snapshot is the rate that applies. The exception is jurisdiction pricing zones: when a case is routed to a collection partner under an active zone assignment that carries its own referral-fee override, that override supersedes the snapshot for that case. Cases without a matching zone assignment always use the snapshot.

Revenue Calculation​

Partners typically earn 50% of Debitura's platform fee:

Partner Revenue = Debitura Revenue × Effective Referral Fee Percentage

Debitura Revenue is calculated according to the case's commission model and caps, so it is not always the product of collection amount, partner success fee, and a single Debitura-fee percentage. The effective referral percentage is normally the link snapshot, unless a jurisdiction pricing-zone override applies.

Illustrative example: If a $10,000 collection produces $450 of Debitura revenue and the effective referral split is 50%:

  • Debitura revenue before referral share: $450
  • You receive: $225 (50% of $450)

Business context: See Referral program overview for detailed revenue model documentation.

Checking Attribution Status​

GET https://referral-api.debitura.com/clients/{externalTenantId}
XApiKey: YOUR_API_KEY

Response includes isAttributedClient. You can also see attribution status in the client.linked webhook event.

If cases are not generating expected fees, see Missing lead attribution for common causes and self-serve checks.