Why Agents Keep the Claim When a Free Merchant Upgrades Later

A Free merchant is not a dead-end signup. Under the Knomart model, the Agent who brings a genuine business into the Free tier keeps the claim if that merchant later upgrades. This gives Agents a reason to support Free merchants even before recurring commission begins.

What the Agent earns at the start

A Free merchant has no recurring subscription payment, so the Agent earns $0 recurring commission while the merchant remains Free. The Agent does, however, receive the $10 setup fee and keeps 100% of it.

The setup payment recognises the work of getting the merchant started. The later upgrade is a separate part of the merchant relationship.

What happens if the merchant upgrades

If the Free merchant later moves to a paid tier, recurring commission begins under the normal 50% model. A merchant running $20 of apps pays $20 a month, so the agent earns $10. One running $40 of apps returns $20 a month.

The important rule is that the signing Agent keeps the claim through the upgrade, however long it takes. The merchant does not have to upgrade within a particular period for the original Agent to retain that claim.

Why this matters

Without this rule, there would be little reason for an Agent to spend time onboarding businesses that are not paying a subscription today. The Free tier could become something Agents avoid.

With the permanent claim, the incentive is different. An Agent can sign a genuine business, help it get started, support the relationship and remain connected. If the business eventually needs a paid tier, the Agent who did the original work remains connected to the recurring commission.

The right mindset

• Sign genuine businesses: Free should still be a real merchant relationship.
• Support the merchant: The relationship continues after signup.
• Do not pressure an upgrade: Let the merchant move when its needs change.
• Keep the claim: The signing Agent remains connected if the merchant upgrades later.

The principle is simple: an Agent should be able to build a Free merchant relationship today without losing the opportunity created by that relationship tomorrow. The model rewards the work of finding, onboarding and supporting real businesses over time.