Partner Programme Terms
Last updated September 2, 2026 (version 2026-09-02)
These terms are an agreement between you (the business or person we approve as a partner) and Ember Development Studios, LLC, the maker of CalBud AI. They describe how the CalBud partner programme works: what you get, how referrals are counted, how commission is calculated and paid, and what we each promise. They supplement the CalBud Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, which continue to apply to your own use of the app.
1. Joining the programme
Partnership is by application and approval. We review every application by hand and may decline or end a partnership at our discretion. You must give accurate information about your business and keep your contact and payout details current in your dashboard. Clinics, medical practices and other healthcare providers are approved under section 8, which changes how compensation works for them.
2. Your code, your QR, and how a referral is counted
Approved partners receive a unique partner code, a landing page at calbud.app/r/<CODE>, and a printable QR that points to it. A member is credited to you only when they type your code into CalBud during account setup (or in Profile → Invite friends before they have ever subscribed). Apple and Google do not tell us who installed the app after scanning a QR, so a scan, a click or a download on its own never counts. Each CalBud account can be credited to one partner, once, permanently. A member who uses your code receives 7 bonus days of full access on top of the standard 7-day trial. You may not credit yourself, your staff or family, or accounts you control, and codes may not be posted on coupon or deal sites.
3. Commission
For each member credited to you, you earn 20% of CalBud's net receipts from that member's first six successful paid subscription payments. Net receipts means the amount Apple or Google actually pays us for that transaction: the price the member paid, less the store's commission and any taxes withheld or collected by the store. No commission is earned on free trials, bonus days, failed or unpaid charges, refunds, chargebacks, or on any payment after the sixth. If a payment you earned commission on is refunded or charged back, that commission is reversed — even if it has already been paid to you, in which case the amount is deducted from your next payout. Your rate and the number of eligible payments are shown in your dashboard; we may agree a different rate with an individual partner in writing, and a change never applies to commission already earned.
4. Hold period, minimum payout and payment
Each commission entry is held for 30 days after the payment it relates to, to cover refunds, and then becomes payable. We pay partners monthly, in US dollars, by the method you choose in your dashboard (bank transfer, PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, Wise or check). A payout is made when your payable balance, after any reversals, is at least $25; a smaller balance rolls forward to the next month. You are responsible for the accuracy of the payout details you give us, and for any fees your bank or payment provider charges to receive money. Your dashboard is the record of what is on hold, what is payable and what has been paid.
5. Taxes
You are an independent business, not our employee or agent, and you are responsible for any taxes on the commission you receive. US partners must provide a completed IRS Form W-9 before their first payout; if we pay you $600 or more in a calendar year we will issue a Form 1099-NEC. Partners outside the United States may be asked for a Form W-8 or equivalent. We do not withhold tax from payouts unless the law requires it.
6. Promoting CalBud
Describe CalBud truthfully and only make claims that appear in our own materials. CalBud gives estimated nutrition information for general wellness; do not present it as a medical or diagnostic tool, promise weight-loss results, or make any health claim on our behalf. You may use the code, QR and any assets we provide or approve. You may not send unsolicited email or text messages, run paid search ads on the CalBud name, offer cash or prizes for signups, or imply that CalBud endorses your own products or services. If you promote CalBud on social media, blogs, video or anywhere else where you have an audience, you must clearly disclose that you earn a commission from referrals — for example "#ad" or "I earn a commission if you subscribe with my code" — as the FTC's endorsement rules require.
7. Privacy and what you can see
Your dashboard shows counts and money only: how many people opened your landing page, how many typed your code, and the commission you have earned, on hold and been paid. You will never see who those members are, what they paid, or any of their nutrition, weight, health or coaching data, and you may not attempt to identify them. We use your payout and tax details only to pay you and to meet our legal obligations, and we do not publish them. Members who use your code are told, during setup, which partner they were credited to.
8. Healthcare partners
Clinics, medical practices, physicians, dietitians and similar providers are welcome to share CalBud with the people they serve, but conversion-based commission is not automatically available to them. A healthcare partner is set up at 0% until we have agreed compensation in writing, after a review of the arrangement; nothing in these terms creates a payment for patient referrals. Healthcare partners remain responsible for complying with the professional and legal rules that apply to them.
9. Pausing, ending and changing the programme
Either of us can end the partnership at any time by email. We may pause your code while we look into a concern. When a partnership ends, your code stops crediting new members, but commission already earned and not reversed is still held, released and paid under section 4. Commission earned through self-referral, fake or duplicate accounts, misleading promotion or any other breach of these terms is forfeited, and we may reverse it. We may change these terms by emailing you at least 14 days before the change takes effect; continuing to use your code after that date means you accept the new terms.
10. The legal part
You and Ember Development Studios, LLC are independent contractors; nothing here creates an employment, agency, franchise or joint-venture relationship, and neither of us may make commitments on the other's behalf. The programme is not exclusive. The programme, the app and its brand assets are provided "as is"; to the fullest extent the law allows, our total liability to you under these terms is limited to the commission owed to you under section 4, and neither of us is liable to the other for indirect or consequential loss. These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida and the United States, and disputes will be resolved in the courts located in Florida, unless your local law requires otherwise. Questions about the programme go to support@emberdevstudios.com.
These terms supplement the CalBud Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Ready to apply? Go to calbud.app/partners.