For marketplaces
Two-sided economics, modeled honestly.
Marketplaces have sellers, affiliates, sometimes influencers, and the platform itself — all wanting a cut of the same conversion. Most affiliate platforms can't model that. HeldSway can: 2- and 3-tier commissions, override caps, per-conversion rule traces.
- 2- or 3-level commission depth
- Per-conversion override caps
- Multi-touch attribution
Sound familiar?
Marketplace economics are the edge case nobody tests.
Multiple parties want a cut
Seller earns the listing margin. Affiliate sent the click. Influencer gave the code. Platform takes the take rate. Most tools can't express this in one rule set.
Multi-tier is gated
You want to incentivize sellers to recruit other sellers (level 2 commission). Most platforms charge $249/month and call it MLM.
Stacked commissions blow margin
Three rules fire on one conversion. Combined payout exceeds your platform take rate. You discover this in finance review next quarter.
Audit trails are missing
A seller disputes their commission. You have a CSV but no per-conversion rule trace. The conversation goes badly.
How HeldSway helps
A rule engine that handles two-sided complexity.
2- and 3-tier commissions
Affiliate earns level 1; their downstream recruit earns level 2; the affiliate-of-affiliate earns level 3. All configurable, all on every plan.
Per-conversion caps
Cap total commissions on a single conversion (e.g. "no more than 18% across all parties combined"). Prevents runaway viral moments from torching margin.
Multi-touch attribution
Customer clicks affiliate A on Monday, sees influencer B on Wednesday, redeems seller C's code on Friday. HeldSway models the whole journey on Custom plans.
Per-conversion rule trace
Every conversion shows the full rule trace: which rules fired, who got what cut, why. Exportable for disputes.
Multiple programs in one workspace
Run a "sellers" program and a "creators" program in the same workspace. Different rules, different portals, one set of payouts.
Per-party reports
See your platform's P&L sliced by seller, by affiliate, by influencer, and by combined-conversion type. Spot which channel actually has the highest margin.
A typical marketplace setup
Modeling a 3-party conversion end-to-end.
- 01
Define your parties
Sellers (signup as an affiliate type), affiliates (the click drivers), influencers (the code holders). Each is a "program" inside the workspace.
- 02
Set rules + caps
Seller earns 65% (your take rate is 35%). Affiliate earns 8% (off your take). Influencer earns 5% (off your take). Cap = 13% combined to platform.
- 03
Validate with a test conversion
Run a conversion with all three parties wired. HeldSway shows the rule trace: what each party earned, what your net is, where the cap kicked in.
Built on these features
The features that make this work.
Marketplace math that does not require a custom build.
Custom plans support unlimited programs and 3-tier MLM with caps. Annual contracts include migration help.