This guide covers creating and configuring a partner programme in Zoho PRM, then managing it over time: deactivating, reactivating, deleting, and working with tiers.

Step 1: Open Partner Programmes

Go to Setup, then Partner Programs under the PRM section, and click Create Partner Program.

Step 2: Enter the Programme Details

• Programme badge. An image that represents the programme.
• Programme name and description. A name, and a short explanation of its purpose.
• Programme type. Tiered or non-tiered. If you choose tiered, you are prompted to define the tiers.

Click Save. The programme page opens, with the Programme Information section showing what you entered.

Step 3: Configure Programme Requirements

Open the Requirements tab and work through these three parts.

a) Review Settings: When Performance Is Evaluated

• Requirement achievement cycle. How often partners must meet a requirement: monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, or annually.
• Partner performance review cycle. How often performance is formally reviewed: quarterly, half-yearly, or annually.
• Review cycle begins. The starting month, which sets the reference point so review periods line up with your business calendar.

A preview shows the cycle name, its start and end dates, and the time range in which records are considered, so you can check it before saving. Performance is assessed using records that fall within each cycle.

b) Minimum Eligibility Criteria: Which Partners Qualify

Setting these is mandatory before requirements can be enabled. Only partners who meet them are evaluated.

• Number of requirement cycles needed to stay in the programme. How many consecutive cycles a partner must meet the requirement to remain in it (a number of up to 19 digits).
• Programme eligibility criteria. Choose one or more of the defined requirements a partner must satisfy to qualify for a tier, or for the programme if non-tiered. Add more criteria with the plus icon, and click the operator to switch between And and Or.

c) Programme Requirements: What Is Measured

• Requirement name and description. A clear name, and what it measures and how.
• Based on module. Choose a module; further fields then appear.
• Formula function. Count of records (quantity, such as deals registered), Sum (total value, such as revenue, using a numeric field like Deal Amount), or Average (average value per record, such as average deal size).
• Date field. The date field in that module used to decide which records fall within the requirement cycle.
• Minimum or maximum, and the required value. The threshold a partner must meet to keep participating.

Step 4: Define Benefits

On the Benefits tab, give each benefit a recognisable name (for example marketing support, higher commission, or priority lead access), a short description of what it includes, and a value. The value can be text, such as a dedicated account manager, or a number, such as a commission percentage or credit amount. In a tiered programme, benefits are set per tier, with higher tiers typically getting more, and each partner receives the benefits of the tier they are in.

Step 5: Add Partners

Adding a partner assigns it to the programme. It becomes eligible for evaluation once it is Active, requirements are enabled, and the review cycle begins.

1. Click Add Partners.
2. Select the partner accounts and click Next.
3. Set their status to Active or Inactive.
4. Click Save.

Managing a Programme

Deactivating

Deactivating pauses a programme without deleting anything: partners stop being evaluated, but data and configuration are kept. You can deactivate immediately or schedule a date, and then choose when portal access is cut off, either on the same date or a set number of days later. The programme stays visible in the Partner Account module with an Inactive status, but is no longer open for partners to enrol.

Reactivating

On the programme page, choose More Options, then Activate. It takes a few minutes for the status to update to Active, after which requirements, review cycles, and evaluation resume as configured.

Deleting

Tiers (Tiered Programmes)

• Add a tier. Under Tiers Information, click Add Tier, or hover over an existing tier, open More Options, and choose Add Before Tier or Add After Tier. A programme can have up to three tiers.
• Delete a tier. Hover over it, open More Options, and choose Delete. If partners sit in the tier, you are prompted to move them to another one first.
• Promotion and demotion. Partners move up when they meet higher-tier requirements and may move down if they fall short. On the Requirements tab, click the edit icon next to Promotion and Demotion and choose under Mode whether movement is automatic or managed manually.

Timeline

The Timeline tab shows a chronological record of everything that happens within the programme.

What Happens Once It Is Live

Partner performance is tracked against the requirements over each cycle and reviewed on the review cycle. In tiered programmes, partners may move between tiers, and benefits apply according to each partner's current tier or status.