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- [Kickbacks and self-billing credit notes](https://academy.laioutr.com/en/artikel/kickbacks-and-self-billing-credit-notes)
# Kickbacks and self-billing credit notes
Every paid licence and add-on line of a linked client organisation creates a kickback based on the partner tier. Laioutr bundles the kickbacks into a quarterly self-billing credit note, available under Billing in the Partner Portal.
## Before you start
- Plan
- Partner account with linked client organisations
- Role
- Partner admin
- Duration
- 6 min
### Prerequisites
- Partner agreement with consent to self-billing
- Tax status, billing address and IBAN in the partner settings
Last reviewed on October 15, 2026
## Chapters
1. 0:00Eight tabs and the account
2. 0:16Business details
3. 0:37Contact with confirmation
4. 1:18Tax details
5. 1:36Self-billing
6. 1:54Payout account
7. 2:18Back to the overview
Show transcript
Settings holds the partner company's data in eight tabs, and an orange dot marks a tab that still lacks something. Account at the top is read-only: the partner ID, the tier and the partner fee.
Business details: the legal name is read from the billing details Laioutr keeps for invoicing, so it is never typed twice. The partner chooses the business type, adds the website and the register entry, and saves.
Contact: a new business or finance email does not apply at once. It waits, and a confirmation link goes to that address. Until it is confirmed, mail keeps going to the address in effect. Whoever reads that mailbox opens the link. No account is needed, and opening it alone confirms nothing: it takes one press, so a mail scanner cannot do it by accident. The emergency developer contact receives breaking API changes and operational notices for the projects the partner builds and runs.
Tax details: the tax status decides what the self-billing invoices will show. A regular German business: 19% VAT on top of the net kickback, and the page says so before saving.
Self-billing: Laioutr settles the kickback by self-billing invoice, which needs the partner's prior consent. The partner accepts, and Cockpit keeps who accepted, which wording, and when.
Payouts: a new bank account is never taken on one click. It waits for another owner of the partner; a partner with a single owner confirms from that owner's own link. The second owner opens the link and confirms. The account applies from the next self-billing invoice, and it is only ever shown by its last four characters.
Back on the overview: four of six done. The legal name and address come from Laioutr's billing records, which this demo has none of. What self-billing needs, tax, payout account and consent, is complete.
Kickbacks come from the paid invoices of client organisations linked to the partner account, through a deal registration or a White Label licence purchase. The basis is the net amount actually paid.
- **Platform licences** (Solo, Plus, Growth, Pro, Enterprise): kickback by partner tier. White Label Partners get no kickback on licences they bought themselves, because the tier already applies to the purchase.
- **Add-ons, Cloud, Image, Video, Growth Kits and group products**: kickback by partner tier for all partner types.
- **Excluded**: Professional Service Plans, services, AI usage and one-off onboarding fees.
The Partner Portal records every invoice line as its own row with organisation, product category, applied rate, amount, period and status. At quarter end, Laioutr turns these rows into one self-billing credit note per partner with its own SB number, as PDF and as a ZUGFeRD e-invoice. It is emailed to the partner finance address and listed under **Billing**. Refunds to clients reduce the kickback in the following quarter.
## Step by step
1. 1 ### Step 1: Open earnings
Open **Earnings** in the Partner Portal. The overview shows kickbacks per month and per client organisation.
2. 2 ### Step 2: Check the lines
Expand a client organisation and check each invoice line with product category, rate and status (**accrued**, **paid**, **reversed**).
3. 3 ### Step 3: Get the credit note
Open the list of credit notes under **Billing** and download the PDF for the closed quarter.
4. 4 ### Step 4: Reconcile the credit note
Reconcile the credit note total with the quarter lines in **Earnings**. Both views are based on the same data.
5. 5 ### Step 5: Raise an objection
If a line is wrong, raise an objection with Laioutr within the objection period. Laioutr then cancels the credit note with its own number and issues a new one if needed.
## Check the result
Under **Billing**, the closed quarter has a credit note with an SB number whose total matches the lines in **Earnings**. After the SEPA payout, the lines change to **paid**.
## Frequently asked questions
How high is the kickback?
The rates depend on the partner tier and the product category. The Partner Portal shows the applicable rates in the partner profile and on every line.
Why does Laioutr issue the document for the partner?
With self-billing, Laioutr creates the document on behalf of the partner, so the partner does not write its own invoice. This requires consent in the partner agreement.
How is VAT handled?
According to the tax status in the partner settings: regular VAT in Germany, small business, EU with reverse charge, or outside the EU. The status must be up to date, otherwise the credit note is incorrect.
Can a credit note be changed afterwards?
No. An issued credit note stays unchanged. Corrections use a cancellation and a new credit note with a new number.
## Related
- [Partner profile: partner type and partner tier](https://academy.laioutr.com/en/artikel/partner-profile-partner-type-and-tier)5 min
Every partner account has exactly one partner type, which describes what the partner does, and exactly one partner tier (Authorized, Premier or Strategic), which sets its conditions. Both are shown in the partner profile in the Partner Portal.
- [Register deals and get accounts attributed](https://academy.laioutr.com/en/artikel/register-deals-and-get-accounts-attributed)5 min
With deal registration in the Partner Portal, a partner reports a prospect to Laioutr. Once the prospect becomes a customer, its organisation stays linked to the partner account and generates credits.
- [Buy and assign licences as a White Label Partner](https://academy.laioutr.com/en/artikel/buy-and-assign-licences-as-white-label-partner)6 min
White Label Partners buy platform licences (Solo, Plus, Growth, Pro) at their tier condition into a licence pool and assign them to projects in their client organisations. The client sees that the partner provides the licence, but no price.
- [Manage the organisation plan and billing](https://academy.laioutr.com/en/artikel/manage-plan-and-billing)4 min
Plan and billing live in the Billing tab of the organisation settings. Cockpit shows the active subscription with its next billing date there and opens the Stripe customer portal through Manage billing for payment methods, invoices and plan changes.
## [Partner Portal](https://academy.laioutr.com/en/leitfaeden/partner-portal)
Search this guide
1. [Partner profile: partner type and partner tier](https://academy.laioutr.com/en/artikel/partner-profile-partner-type-and-tier)5 min
2. [Register deals and get accounts attributed](https://academy.laioutr.com/en/artikel/register-deals-and-get-accounts-attributed)5 min
3. [Kickbacks and self-billing credit notes](https://academy.laioutr.com/en/artikel/kickbacks-and-self-billing-credit-notes)6 min
4. [Buy and assign licences as a White Label Partner](https://academy.laioutr.com/en/artikel/buy-and-assign-licences-as-white-label-partner)6 min
5. [Manage client organisations in the Partner Portal](https://academy.laioutr.com/en/artikel/manage-client-organisations-in-the-partner-portal)6 min
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