Loyalty glossary · 12b. B2B, channel and trade incentives (26)
Proof Of Performance
Proof of performance is the documented evidence a partner must provide before an incentive is earned, linking payment to verified activity instead of an unverified claim.
Proof of performance is the control that separates a channel incentive from a discount in disguise. Too many programmes skip this step because it adds friction. That friction is the point, and removing it removes the link between payment and result.
The typical failure is an accrual ledger that trusts partner self reports. A partner claims a sale, the system credits the rebate, and nobody checks the invoice. Operators discover the gap later, after margin has already leaked into overpayment.
Work the numbers, because the argument only lands when the cost is visible. A partner submits a claim for 10,000 dollars of sales. The operator verifies only 8,000 dollars. Proof of performance cuts the accrual by 20 percent and keeps 2,000 dollars from leaving the programme.
Proof of performance changes what accrual means. Accrual becomes a claim only after evidence arrives, not before. Activity based qualification uses the same evidence to decide tier movement. Active member rate, by contrast, falls when unverified activity is counted as engagement.
Operators justify weak proof by saying it slows partners down. The better response is to make verification automatic, not to abandon it. A programme that pays without evidence is not building loyalty. It is buying invoices and hoping nobody notices.