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Switching

Moving from refVenue to AffiliateRail

There is no refVenue importer yet, so this runs on CSV. refVenue's docs cover importing by CSV and do not describe an export, so the first step is asking their support for your data. The importer does a practice run first. Published links keep paying, because our script reads the ref tag refVenue uses. The money takes a different route. Affiliates were paid directly by you to a Stripe Connect account. Now your own PayPal or Wise pays them, on a schedule. Neither tool takes a cut. Plan an afternoon. Or hand it to us.

Published 6 September 2026. Every price and technical claim checked against its live source on 6 September 2026. Written by Jimi Barkway, who built AffiliateRail. Jimi has run affiliate programs from both sides of the link. Corrections go to support@affiliaterail.com.

Move your refVenue program this week without losing a link. Start your program free for 14 days

No card. Or ask us to move it for you, inside two working days.

Moving from refVenue in four stagesThe four stages of moving a program from refVenue: links keep working, export and import, run both for a month, then switch payouts.1Links keepworking2Export andimport3Run bothfor a month4Switch payoutsAAn afternoon of your time, or an hour of oursNothing your affiliates published has to change.

01 Stage 1

Your existing affiliate links keep working

refVenue's script "detects ?ref=CODE in the URL" and stores the code in a cookie called affiliate_ref (their JavaScript docs, checked 6 September 2026). Our script reads ref too, plus eighteen other platforms' tags. So a link a partner posted two years ago pays the same person from the day our script goes on.

One thing to know. Coupon codes are the exception. refVenue attributes a coupon with no click, and so do we, but the codes have to be recreated in the new program. Stage 2 covers it.

An old affiliate link keeps workingA link published years ago carries refVenue's referral parameter. The merchant's site now runs rail.js, which reads that parameter and credits the same affiliate.a link published in 2024yoursite.com/?ref=janeYour site, with rail.js on itreads ?ref as well as ?railCredited to Janethe same affiliate, no editsANineteen referral parameters are read, refVenue’s among them.
The parameter list ships in the tracker itself. Read it in the script your own site serves.

02 Stage 2

What comes over, and how

There is no refVenue importer yet, so the move runs on CSV. refVenue's own comparison page describes importing another tool's data by CSV, and its docs do not describe an export (their docs, checked 6 September 2026). So ask their support for your affiliates, referred customers and commissions as a spreadsheet. The importer takes three files:

  • Partners: email required. Put each partner's refVenue code, the bit after ref=, in the referral token column. That is what keeps old links working.
  • Customers: one per referred customer, with their partner.
  • Transactions: one per payment, with the amount and date.

Coupon codes come across by hand: create each partner's code in the new program and in Stripe.

A practice run first, every time. Run it again and records are matched, not duplicated. One click rolls it back.

03 Stage 3

Run both for a month

Run both for a month. Compare sales, not clicks. The two scripts will never agree on clicks, and that gap is not a fault.

If you are on refVenue's free plan there is no bill to stop, so there is no rush. Close the old account once one full payout run has finished on the new side.

Run both for a monthA four-week timeline. The old tracker stays on for three weeks while rail.js reads both sets of links; once the two dashboards agree, the old one is switched off.week 1week 2week 3week 4their tracker, still onoffrail.js, reading both sets of linksACompare the two dashboards. When they agree, switch the old one off.

04 Stage 4

How do payouts change after the switch?

This part changes the payout method, not who holds the money.

On refVenue, each affiliate set up a Stripe Connect account and you paid them directly to it. No fee from refVenue, because it never held the money.

On AffiliateRail you connect your own PayPal or Wise. AffiliateRail logs in on your schedule and pays from there. Same custody, same 0%. Your affiliates enter a PayPal or Wise account instead of a Stripe one. For some of them, that will be the first payout method they could use.

Paid through Stripe Connect before? Now your own PayPal or Wise sends it, and the fee is still 0%. The custody page has both models side by side.

In their words

What refVenue's own terms say

Before you can receive commission payments, you need to setup your payout account using Stripe Connect. This secure integration allows merchants to pay you directly.

refVenue affiliate docs, Payout Account Setup, checked 6 September 2026

The same custody model as ours, through Stripe Connect. You pay the affiliate directly, so there is no fee for refVenue to print.

Step by step

The switch, step by step

Three words first, because the steps use them. A dry run is a practice import that writes nothing. It tells you what it would have created. A referral token is the bit inside an affiliate link that names the partner. Keeping each partner's old one is why published links carry on working. Attribution is the job of deciding which partner gets credited for a sale. Most merchants do this in an afternoon. If you would rather hand it over, we run migrations white-glove. A screen-share and an hour, and we do the rest. We finish inside two working days of getting your details. Email support@affiliaterail.com.

  1. Create your program

    Connect Stripe or Paddle. The link is read-only. We read billing events to credit sales. We cannot write to your account.

  2. Ask refVenue for your data

    Affiliates, referred customers and commissions, as a spreadsheet. Keep each partner's ref code. It is what keeps their old links paying.

  3. Practice-run the import

    Map the columns. Read the counts. Check them against your refVenue dashboard. Only run it for real when they match.

  4. Install the script

    From now on every old refVenue link pays its partner, because our script reads ref. Recreate coupon codes by hand.

  5. Invite partners, then overlap

    Send the email. Run both for a month. Watch one payout run finish on the new side before you close refVenue.

Start your affiliate programAsk us to run it, inside two working days

14 days free, no card. Old links keep crediting from the day the script goes on.

Said plainly

What does not carry over

A migration page that lists only the good news is an advert. These do not come across.

  • Portal passwords

    Your affiliates set a new one from their invite. Their identity, links and balance are waiting. Their old login is not.

  • Coupon codes

    The codes themselves are recreated in the new program and in Stripe. The partners they belong to come across in the import.

  • Stripe Connect payouts

    Affiliates were paid to a Stripe Connect account. Now they are paid to PayPal or Wise. They enter that account in the new portal.

  • Lemon Squeezy

    AffiliateRail reads Stripe and Paddle. A program billed through Lemon Squeezy cannot connect its billing here.

  • Raw click logs

    People and money move. Click-by-click traffic does not. Click counting starts fresh.

  • Tax forms

    Collect fresh W-9 and W-8BEN forms in the new portal. It is a new record, even though the payer is still you.

Cost

What the same program costs on each

refVenue is flat and has no revenue cap, so its column never moves. Ours does. This table assumes five programs or fewer, which keeps refVenue on Starter. Unlimited programs is $45. Neither tool takes a cut of payouts. The $25 figure is from refVenue's own comparison page, checked 6 September 2026; their pricing page prints a range.

Monthly revenue from affiliatesrefVenue StarterAffiliateRail foundingAffiliateRail list
$5,000$25$29 (Launch)$59
$10,000$25$29 (Launch)$59
$20,000$25$59 (Grow)$89
$40,000$25$99 (Scale)$179

Read that table honestly. refVenue is cheaper at every volume, and free until your affiliates have driven $1,000. Neither tool takes a cut of payouts. The reason to move is not this table. It is affiliates who cannot open a Stripe account, a payout that runs itself on a date from your own PayPal or Wise, a portal on your own domain in thirteen languages, and a price printed on a pricing page.

Questions

Common questions

Will my affiliates' refVenue links keep working?

Yes. refVenue links carry a ref tag. Our script reads ref too, plus eighteen other platforms' tags. Those links pay the same partner from the day the script goes on. Coupon codes are recreated by hand.

What changes about payouts?

The payout method. On refVenue you paid each affiliate directly to a Stripe Connect account. On AffiliateRail your own PayPal or Wise sends it, on a schedule. Neither tool holds the money or takes a cut. Affiliates who could not open a Stripe account can now be paid.

Should I move at all?

If your affiliates all have Stripe accounts and $25 a month is doing the job, stay, and this page says so. Move when an affiliate cannot get paid through Stripe, or you want payouts to run without you, or you want a portal on your own domain.

Do affiliates have to do anything?

Two things. Set a password from their invite. Enter a PayPal or Wise account in the new portal, in place of the Stripe one. Their links, customers and balance are already there. One email covers it.

All product names, logos, and brands are property of their respective owners. Comparisons are based on publicly available information as of 6 September 2026. If a linked source has changed since, tell us at support@affiliaterail.com. We will correct this page.

Sources

Where these facts come from

Every claim about another product here was read off their own pages. The date shown is the day it was read. Prices change, and then this page is wrong until we fix it. Email support@affiliaterail.com and we will correct it and move the date.

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