Using application forms

Who is this article for?

This article will be useful to you if are a company on PartnerStack looking to use application forms to control who can join your program.

What are application forms?

Application forms allow you to approve or decline partners that request to join your program. This gives you more control over who can participate in your program as well as gives you the chance to collect important information about your partners before speaking with them.

Enabling application forms

Application forms are group-specific. This means you can customize your applications based on the partners you would like to invite to each group.

To enable applications for a group:

1. Click on the Groups tab in your left-hand menu
2. Select the specific group you would like to create an application form for
3. If applications have not yet been enabled for this group you can choose to create a new application and click "Continue", or you can copy an application from an existing group by selecting the group before clicking "Continue"
4. If the group previously had an application but the application was turned off, reenable the group's application by clicking on the red toggle

Note: If you'd like to have application forms for multiple groups in your program, you'll need to enable an application for each group.

Customizing your application form

On your application form you can customize:

• Application title
• Application description (including HTML customization)
• Application fields

Your application title and description will help your partners understand what they are applying to. The application description can include some basic HTML to stylize the content.

Example 
Title: Become a {company_name} partner today! 

Description: As a {company_name} partner, you'll gain access to exclusive resources, have the opportunity to connect with the {company_name} team, and earn commissions for successful referrals, Apply today to become a {company_name} partner!

Application fields

Each application will contain four required fields automatically: First name, Last name, Email, and Business name. These fields cannot be deleted, but they can be reordered by clicking and dragging the dotted icon on the far left-hand side.

You can customize your application by adding new fields of information you would like partners to fill out. 

Application form field types:

• Input: a small text field
• Text area: a larger text field
• Drop-down: create a list of options the partner can choose from 
• Checkbox: a toggle option
• Country: creates a dropdown list of all countries to be selected from 
• Region: a small text field that can be used to collect state/province/city
  • Only available if "country" field is used
• Date: A date entry field
• Currency: a currency entry field
• Number: A number entry field
• URL: A valid URL entry field

To create a new application form field:

1. Click "+ Add form field" at the bottom of your application's form fields
2. In the drawer view that opens select the field type
3. Enter your type label, this is the question partners will see when filling out your application
4. For Drop-down had Checkbox types, enter the options you would like to present to your partners
5. If you would like to save an answer as a default answer, select "Set a default value"
6. Under "Additional Settings" you can select if you would like this form field to be required or hidden:
   • Required: The application form cannot be submitted without being filled out.
   • Hidden: The field is not visible on the partner side of the application form, but it is visible when reviewing applications and can be filled out then. Hidden fields can be used to pass information into your CRM if you are integrated with one.

Note: any branding you have added to your company profile (logo and brand colour) in your Settings tab, will automatically be applied to your application forms. To learn more about customizing your company profile, check out Updating your company profile & partner page.

Editing an application form

Once enabled and created applications can be edited and updated at any time. From your Group's Application tab, you can click on application form fields to update them, add new form fields, or delete existing form fields.

Editing an application will update the application for new applicants. Partners that have already applied to or been approved into your program will not be prompted to fill out the new application. 

Sharing your application form

There are two ways to share your application form with partners:

1. Share a group join link - partners will land on your company page
2. Share the application form URL - partners will land directly on your group's application 

Sharing your group join link

To access a group join link, open your desired Group click into the Group settings tab and under Public program page, click "Copy" next to the page URL.

You can also preview your group page anytime by clicking "Preview Page". If you would like to update this page, see our Customizing your PartnerStack Marketplace listing and landing pages support guide.

If you have an application form enabled on your Default group and you are listed in the Marketplace, any partners joining from the Marketplace will be prompted to fill out your Default group application form first.

This link will break if you change the group name at any time. Be sure to check you are sharing an updated link.

Sharing your group application form URL

If you want your partners to land straight on the application form, you can get the URL for the application form in your Group's Application tab. Click "Preview Live form" to open your application, then copy the URL of the form and share it with partners directly.

Reviewing applications

For a video overview of reviewing applications see the Company dashboard: Video walkthroughs.

Once you have created and shared your application(s), it's time to review your applicants! You can easily manage your application in your Applications tab. Until a partner's application has been approved, they will not appear in your All Partners tab.

At the top of your applications tab, you will see three sub-tabs:

• Pending: The number of applications you have awaiting your review where the partner has not been flagged as potentially fraudulent.
• Flagged: The number of applications that have been flagged as potentially fraudulent. In this tab, you will be able to view the application and see the reason for the flag.
  • For more information on fraud management check out our Fraud Management support guide.
• Declined: Declined applications will be moved to this tab. If you have declined a partner's application by accident, you can approve the application from this tab. 

In each of the application tabs, you can search or filter to quickly sort through your applications.

Filtering by application details allows you to:

• Show or hide applicants using common email addresses such as Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc
• Sort applicants by Network badges

Search for partner applications by:

• Email
• Company name
• First name
• Last name

Want to view your oldest application first? Click on your "Applied on" column to view applications by "New to Old" or "Old to New".

Network badges

Network badges make it easier to identify & recruit partners who apply from the PartnerStack Network. 

Network Approved Partners: Partners who have been approved by PartnerStack's Network Team based on profile details, web domain authority and business description

Rising Star Partners: Approved partners that are showing rapid progress in driving clicks, signups and revenue within the last 3 months.

Top Partners: Approved partners that consistently drive clicks, signups, revenue and commissions across multiple programs in the PartnerStack Network.

Viewing Network badges

For more information on a partner, hover over their badge to view their join date, the number of programs they are currently active in, and at-a-glance stats. 

Filtering by Network badges

When viewing applications you can filter by Network badges to help you quickly view top applications. Click on the "Filter by network status & email details" filter and select the badges you would like to view.

Approve or decline an application

1. Click on an application you would like to review
2. Review the partner's application, and look at the group they have applied to
3. Select "Approve" or "Decline" and click "Approve application" or "Decline application"
   • When approving an application you can assign a manager to the partner and can choose to assign the partner to a new group using the "Assign" drop-down fields
   • When declining an application, you can enter a reason that will be provided to the partner and select the "block this applicant from applying again" checkbox if you would like to prevent the partner from reapplying
4. You can then click "Open next application" or "Prev" or "Next" to quickly move between applications

Have questions on a partner's application?

You can easily message an applicant by clicking "Message (name)" at the top of the partner's application. This will take you to your Messages tab where you can contact the partner. 

Note: Partners with pending applications will not receive any email campaigns from your program until after approval, but they do receive emails about their application status, and any messages you send them directly.

To bulk approve or decline applications:

1. Click the checkbox next to each application you would like to select
2. Click "Approve or decline # applications"
3. Select "Approve" or "Decline" and click "Approve application" or "Decline application"
   • When approving applications you can assign a manager to the partners and can choose to assign the partners to a new group using the "Assign" drop-down fields
   • When declining applications, you can enter a reason which will be provided to the partners

Approve a previously declined partner

If you have accidentally declined a partner, don't panic! All declined partner applications can be found in, and changed from your "Declined" tab.

1. Click on the "Declined" applications tab
2. Search for and click on the partner you would like to approve
   1. In the partner detail view you can see who declined the partner, and the date they were declined
3. From the partner's application click "Approve" to approve the partner

If the partner is declined, they will remain "held" in the default group and are not automatically removed from your program. Partners with declined applications do not have access to any program details such as a referral link, offer details, etc.

Once you have approved or declined the application, the partner will receive an automated email from PartnerStack. If the application was declined, we will provide the decline reason in the email along with the partner's dashboard.

At this time, PartnerStack does not send emails to you when applications are submitted. If you wish to discuss creating a custom integration for this reach out to your Customer Success Manager. 

Blocking and unblocking partner applications

When declining a partner application, you can select the "block this applicant from applying again" checkbox if you would like to prevent the partner from reapplying. If you would like to unblock a previously blocked partner, this can be done from your "Declined" tab.

To unblock a blocked partner, locate the partner's application in your Applications > Declined tab, click into the partner, click "Unblock" and confirm you would like to unblock the partner. 

Unblocking a partner from applying will email the partner letting them know they can reapply to your program.

Viewing actioned applications

You can view an application after it has been actioned either from the Applications > Declined tab if the application was declined, or from the All Partners tab > Partner detail view if the application was approved.

If an approved partner joined your program through an application, you can view their application following the steps below.

To view a partner's application after approval:

1. Navigate to your All Partners tab, search for and click on the partner
2. If the partner joined through an application, you will see an "Application" field
3. Click on "Application" to open a side window
4. In the side Application review window that opens you will see the partner's old application, and the application approval date

Hosting your application form outside of PartnerStack

If you would like to host your application form externally you can use a form builder such as Typeform or Formstack or your own custom-made form.

The Create Partnerships API can be used to create partnerships from the information provided in the externally hosted application form. This would require some developer lift from your team.

The partner's experience with application forms

Applying through the Marketplace

Partners that apply to your program through the PartnerStack Marketplace must first apply, and be approved to the PartnerStack Network. For more information on the Network application, see the Joining the PartnerStack Network support guide.

While a partner's Network application is pending, they can fill out applications to programs in the Marketplace. These applications are placed on "hold" until the partner's Network application has been reviewed.

• If the partner's Network application is approved, their held program applications are automatically submitted.
• If the partner's Network application is declined, their held program applications are not submitted. 

This ensures you only receive applications from network-approved partners. 

Applying through an external application, or after Network approval

Once a partner has submitted their application form, they are prompted to create a PartnerStack account or sign in to their existing account.

Partners will also receive an email from PartnerStack notifying them that their application has been received. Partners can click away without signing in and can return and log in to their account at dash.partnerstack.com/handshake at any time.

When a partner's application is pending, they can see within their partner dashboard that they have an application that is being reviewed. They will be able to access their Application and Messages tabs. 

Partners with pending applications do not have access to program details such as referral links, offers, etc. 

Once their application has been approved and they have agreed to your program's terms of service, they will have full dashboard access.

If you decline the partners' application they will see a message that their application has been declined and any reason you provide. They also can re-apply from within their partner dashboard if they wish:

They will not have access to program details such as partner links, offer structures, etc.

We always recommend that you test the application flow yourself, so you can become familiar with how looks for your partners and how it looks within your program.