--- title: Document your partner program description: Kite gathers your partner program's tiers, margins, deal registration rules, and marketing funds from your agreements, old emails, and the people who run the program, settles where they disagree, and writes one guide that partners and your team can rely on. slug: /use-cases/partner-program-guide page_type: use-case lead_prompt: How do I document my partner program with AI? target_prompts: - Can an AI marketing agent document our partner program? - What should a partner program guide include? - How do I lay out partner tiers, margins, and deal registration in one place? - How do I explain our marketing development fund rules to partners? - Is there a template for a reseller program handbook? entity: Kite category: AI marketing agent author: Devon Wells and Kite date_published: '2026-11-11' date_modified: '2026-11-11' related_integrations: - /integrations/google-docs.md - /integrations/notion.md - /integrations/gmail.md - /integrations/slack.md - /integrations/hubspot.md - /integrations/salesforce.md --- # Document your partner program ## Key Takeaways - A partner program guide puts your tiers, margins, deal registration rules, and marketing development funds in one document, so every partner gets the same answer and your team stops answering from memory. - Most of the rules already exist somewhere. Kite collects them from your partner agreements, old email threads, Slack conversations, and documents, then asks you about the rules that only live in someone's head. - Writing a program down usually exposes rules that disagree or were never decided. Kite lists each conflict and gap with the sources behind it, so you make each decision once. - Kite writes the guide in plain language with worked examples, keeps an internal record in your team's knowledge base, and can produce a partner-facing version as a Google Doc, a Notion page, a PDF, or a page on your website. - When a rule changes, Kite updates the guide and its own record, and it drafts the note that tells partners what changed. ## Why partner programs need a written guide A partner program runs on rules, and most small programs never write them down in one place. The tiers were set in a planning meeting two years ago. The margins live in the signed agreements, except for the two agencies who negotiated better terms over email. Deal registration works the way your head of partnerships remembers it working. When that person is on vacation, or leaves, the program stops being consistent. Partners notice inconsistency quickly. A reseller who hears one discount from your sales rep and another from your finance team starts to wonder what else is negotiable. Two partners who both believe they registered the same deal will each expect you to take their side. A marketing fund claim that gets rejected for a rule nobody mentioned can sour a relationship that took a year to build. A written partner program guide fixes this by giving everyone the same source. Partners can look up how to reach the next tier or how long a deal registration protects them. New hires can learn the program in an afternoon. Your team can point to the guide instead of reopening the same argument. The hard part is not the writing. It's collecting rules scattered across agreements, inboxes, chat threads, and memory, and then noticing where they disagree. That suits an AI agent that can read all of those sources and already knows your business. Kite is an AI marketer. It researches your business, builds a growth strategy, and ships the work that brings you new customers. For your partner program, Kite gathers the rules from wherever they live, gets the open questions in front of the person who decides them, and writes the guide your partners and team will use. Here's how it works. ## How Kite documents your partner program Kite starts with what your team already has. You point it to your partner agreements, your old program deck, and the people who answer partner questions. Kite reads those sources, searches connected email and Slack for the conversations where terms were agreed, and builds a working record of every rule it finds, along with where it found each one. Next, Kite compares the sources. Wherever two of them disagree, or where a question has no answer at all, Kite writes it up as a decision for you to make. Once you've decided, Kite writes the guide. It records the internal version in your team's knowledge base and produces the version partners will read in the format you choose. After the guide is out, Kite keeps it current. When you tell Kite about a change, it updates the guide and the knowledge base together and drafts the announcement for partners. Because the rules live in the knowledge base, Kite's other partner work, such as newsletters and sales kits, follows the same rules. ### Gather the rules from wherever they live Kite collects your program's rules from the sources that already hold them, so you don't have to write a first draft from memory. The usual sources are: - **Partner agreements and old decks.** Upload the signed agreements, your program deck, or your pricing sheet as PDFs in the Kite web app, or share the Google Docs and Notion pages where they live. - **Email threads.** With Gmail connected, Kite searches and reads the threads where terms were negotiated and opens their attachments. You can also forward individual threads to your team's Kite email address. - **Slack conversations.** If you've added Kite to Slack, it can search the public channels it has joined for earlier discussions, such as the thread where your team agreed to extend registration protection for a large deal. - **Your CRM.** If your partner deals are recorded in HubSpot or Salesforce, Kite can read them to see which partners are active and how deals are tagged. Some rules exist only in people's heads. For those, Kite asks short, specific questions that you can answer in a sentence, such as "If a partner registers a deal and it doesn't close within the protection period, can they register it again?" Kite records each answer as a rule. Kite keeps a note of where each rule came from. When the guide says Gold partners earn 30% off list price, you can trace that back to section four of the 2024 reseller agreement. ### Settle the rules that disagree or were never decided The most useful thing Kite produces before the guide itself is a list of conflicts and gaps. Writing a program down almost always exposes rules that contradict each other, because they were set at different times by different people. Kite compares every source on each topic and flags two kinds of problems: - **Conflicts.** Your program deck says deal registrations last 90 days, but the agreement signed last year says 60. Two agencies were promised a 35% margin over email, while every other Gold partner gets 30%. - **Gaps.** Nothing says what happens when two partners register the same customer, whether marketing funds roll over at the end of the quarter, or what a partner keeps if they drop a tier. For each one, Kite shows you the sources side by side and suggests a resolution based on what most of your partners were told and what fits the rest of the program. You make the call. Kite records your decision in the knowledge base with the date, so the reasoning is there the next time someone asks. This step matters because a guide that repeats a contradiction just makes it official. Settling each question once, before partners see the guide, is how the guide becomes something your team can actually rely on. ### What should a partner program guide include? A partner program guide should explain who the program is for, what partners get at each level, what you expect from them, and exactly how the day-to-day processes work. Kite builds the guide around the questions a partner asks before and during their first deal: - **Who the program is for.** The kinds of partners you work with, such as resellers, referral partners, agencies, or integration partners, and what each type does. - **Tiers and requirements.** Each tier's name, what it takes to reach it, such as annual revenue, certified staff, or customer count, and how often tiers are reviewed. - **Margins and discounts.** The discount or commission at each tier, what it applies to, and when it's paid. - **Deal registration.** How to register a deal, what a partner needs to submit, how long the protection lasts, and how you decide between two partners who claim the same customer. - **Marketing development funds.** How much each tier can earn, what the money can be spent on, and how to claim it. - **Co-marketing and brand use.** When partners can use your logo and name, which materials they can share, and what needs your approval first. - **Training and support.** Where partners learn the product, who they contact with a question, and how fast you'll respond. - **Leaving the program.** What happens when a partner drops a tier or ends the relationship, including open registrations and unpaid funds. The guide also states which document wins when the guide and a signed agreement disagree. Most programs make the agreement the final word and treat the guide as the plain-language explanation of it. Kite writes each section in your brand voice, in sentences a partner can follow on the first read. It uses worked examples wherever a rule involves numbers. For example, a Silver partner who closes a $40,000 deal at a 20% margin keeps $8,000, and registering that deal first protects it for 60 days. ### How do I lay out partner tiers, margins, and deal registration in one place? Lay out tiers, margins, and deal registration in one section that follows a partner's path through a deal, because partners use these three rules together. A partner wants to know their tier, what that tier earns, and how to protect the deal they're working on. Kite starts this section with a short table of tiers, since that information is genuinely tabular. Each row shows a tier's requirements, its margin, and its marketing fund allowance. Below the table, Kite writes the deal registration process as numbered steps, from submitting the deal to hearing back, with the protection period and what counts as a valid registration. Kite then adds a short example that connects all three. A partner at your middle tier registers a new customer, closes the deal in 45 days, earns that tier's margin, and the revenue counts toward reaching the next tier. A partner reading that one paragraph understands how the program rewards them. ### How do I explain our marketing development fund rules to partners? Explain marketing development funds by answering, in order, how much a partner can earn, what they can spend it on, and how they get paid back. Partners usually lose funds by missing one of these rules, so each one needs to be stated plainly. Kite writes the marketing fund section around five rules most programs need to settle: - **How funds are earned.** For example, a fixed amount per tier each quarter, or a percentage of the partner's sales from the previous quarter. - **What qualifies.** The activities you'll pay for, such as events, paid ads that feature your product, or co-branded content, along with anything you won't pay for. - **Pre-approval.** Whether a partner needs your approval before spending, and how to request it. - **Proof.** What a partner must send to get reimbursed, such as invoices, screenshots of the ad, or the event's lead list. - **Deadlines.** When claims are due, and whether unused funds roll over or expire. Kite adds an example claim from start to finish. A Gold partner with $5,000 for the quarter asks for approval to sponsor a regional trade show, gets it, attends, and submits the invoice and the lead list within 30 days of the event. If you have a claim form, Kite links to it. If you don't, Kite can write the questions the form should ask. ### Publish the guide where partners and your team will read it Kite keeps two versions of your partner program: an internal record in your team's knowledge base and a partner-facing guide in the format you choose. The internal record includes everything, such as the special terms you negotiated with individual partners and the reasoning behind each decision. The partner-facing guide includes only what partners should see. The partner-facing guide can take several forms: - **A Google Doc.** Kite writes the guide as a formatted Google Doc with headings, tables, and links, and it can export it as a PDF you attach to partner welcome emails. - **A Notion page.** If your partner resources already live in Notion, Kite creates the guide there with the same structure. - **A page on your website.** On a website Kite hosts, Kite can publish the guide as a page after you approve it. If you also want a public page that explains the program and collects applications, see [Build pages for your partner or loyalty program](/use-cases/partner-and-loyalty-program-pages.md). - **A hosted report page.** Kite can publish the guide as a report page that opens from a shared link, which works well when you'd rather send partners a link than a file. The knowledge base record is what makes the guide useful beyond itself. When Kite writes a partner newsletter, a sales kit, or an email to a new partner, it reads the same rules, so the margins it mentions match the guide. ### Keep the guide current when the program changes A partner program guide is only useful while it matches the program, so Kite updates it whenever a rule changes. You can tell Kite about a change in a sentence. You might say, "Starting January 1, Silver partners need two certified staff instead of one." Kite then updates the internal record, revises the affected section of the guide, and updates the "last updated" date. In a Google Doc, it rewrites only the section that changed and leaves the rest as it was. It also drafts a short note to partners that explains what changed, when it takes effect, and what partners need to do. Kite asks for your approval before it sends that note. Changes also come up in conversation. If you've added Kite to Slack, it reviews new messages every half hour, so when your team agrees in a thread to raise a margin, Kite can ask whether the guide should change too. Once you've settled on how changes reach partners, Kite can also put a quarterly review of the guide on a schedule, comparing it against your newest agreements and flagging anything that drifted. ## What you get - **A source list for every rule.** Each rule in your program, with the agreement, email, or conversation it came from. - **A list of decisions to make.** Every conflict and gap Kite found, with the sources side by side and a suggested resolution. - **An internal program record.** The complete rules, special terms, and the reasoning behind each decision, saved in your team's knowledge base for your team and for Kite's later work. - **A partner-facing guide.** Tiers, margins, deal registration, marketing funds, co-marketing rules, training, and support, written in plain language with worked examples, as a Google Doc, PDF, Notion page, or web page. - **Change notes for partners.** A short, approved message each time a rule changes, along with the updated guide. ## How to get started Start by telling Kite what you want in plain language. You might say, "Our partner program rules are scattered across agreements and old emails. Write them up as one guide our resellers can use." You can work with Kite in the Kite web app or in Slack. Kite asks for the sources it needs, such as your partner agreements and any old program deck, and asks who on your team answers partner questions. Upload the files in the conversation, or share the documents where they live. Kite then sends you its working list of rules, followed by the conflicts and gaps that need your decision. You can start with uploaded files alone. Connect Gmail if the negotiated terms live in email threads, Google Docs or Notion if you want the guide written there, and HubSpot or Salesforce if you want Kite to check which partners are active. Kite asks before it publishes the guide as a web page or sends anything to partners. ## Integrations used to document your partner program Kite works from the documents, mailboxes, and records where your program's rules already live, and it writes the guide where your team and partners already read things. ### Find the rules you already have - [Gmail + Kite](/integrations/gmail.md): Kite searches your mailbox for the threads where partner terms were agreed, reads the full threads, and opens the attached agreements and price sheets. - [Slack + Kite](/integrations/slack.md): Kite searches the public channels it has joined for earlier discussions about partner terms, such as exceptions your team approved for one deal. - [HubSpot + Kite](/integrations/hubspot.md): Kite reads your partner deals and companies to see which partners are active and how deals are recorded. - [Salesforce + Kite](/integrations/salesforce.md): Kite reads the partner accounts and opportunities in Salesforce for the same purpose. ### Write and share the guide - [Google Docs + Kite](/integrations/google-docs.md): Kite writes the guide as a formatted Google Doc, revises individual sections when a rule changes, and exports a PDF for partners. - [Notion + Kite](/integrations/notion.md): Kite creates the guide as a Notion page with headings, tables, and callouts, and updates it in place when the program changes. ## Common questions ### Is there a template for a reseller program handbook? A reseller program handbook usually follows the same order a reseller works through the program: 1. Welcome and who the program is for 2. Tiers and how to reach each one 3. Margins, discounts, and payment terms 4. Deal registration steps and protection rules 5. Marketing development funds and how to claim them 6. Co-marketing and brand guidelines 7. Training, certification, and support contacts 8. Leaving the program and what happens to open deals Kite starts from this structure and adjusts it to your program. A referral program with no tiers drops that section, and a program with integration partners adds a section on technical requirements. ### Does Kite replace a partner portal? No. A partner portal or partner relationship management tool, such as PartnerStack or Impartner, tracks registrations, payouts, and partner logins. Kite writes the rules those tools enforce and the guide that explains them. If your portal has a resources section, you can add the guide Kite writes to it. ### How long should a partner program guide be? A guide is long enough when a partner can find the answer to any common question without emailing you, and short enough that they can read the section they need in a few minutes. Kite keeps each section focused on what a partner does, and it moves legal language back to the agreement, where partners expect to find it. ### What else can Kite do for our partner program? Once your program is documented, Kite uses the same rules for the rest of your partner work. It can create a partner enablement kit (coming soon) with talking points and email templates, [write a monthly partner newsletter](/use-cases/partner-newsletter.md), and outline partner certification training (coming soon). If you're still building the program, Kite can [find the right partners for your business](/use-cases/find-partners.md) and [write the outreach emails](/use-cases/partnership-outreach-emails.md) that start those relationships.