Short answer: a telecom agent program pays you a percentage of a customer's monthly bill for referring or selling the service. The four terms that decide whether the money is real: the rate (8–25%), the duration (12 months vs. evergreen/lifetime), the payment terms (net-15 vs. “when the master agent gets paid”), and the clawback rules. Most disappointment in this industry traces to one of those four lines in the agreement.
How the money flows in each model
| Model | Who pays you | Typical rate | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master agent / TSD (sub-agent) | The master agent, after the carrier pays them | 8–15% of what the master receives | Two layers between you and the money; payout timing you don't control |
| Carrier direct-agent | The carrier | 10–20% | Quotas, exclusivity clauses, and 12–36-month commission sunsets are common |
| Direct partner (referral) | The provider, directly | 15–25% | Only worth it when duration is lifetime and terms are in writing |
The five contract lines to read before anything else
1. Duration. “Evergreen” or “life of the customer” beats any higher percentage with a 12-month sunset — a 10-seat account at 20% lifetime out-earns 25%-for-12-months before month 20. 2. Payment date. A real program names a date (ours: the 15th of the month after collection). 3. Clawbacks. Commission on collected revenue can't be clawed back later; commission on billed revenue can. 4. Quota language. Any “minimum activity” clause that can zero your residuals converts your book into their leverage. 5. Support obligation. If tickets land on you, price your time into the margin — or pick a program where the provider supports the end customer.
Why we publish our terms
Our agent program pays 100% of the customer's first month on commissionable services, then 20% for the life of the account, paid by the 15th, no quota, no exclusivity, and the e-signed agreement says all of it in plain language. The comparison page puts those terms next to typical master-agent terms so you can check the math yourself.
Questions agents ask
Is a higher percentage ever the wrong choice?
Frequently. Rate × duration × reliability is the real formula. 25% that ends at month 12, pays quarterly, and claws back on churn loses to 20% lifetime paid monthly on collected revenue — usually before the second year is over.
Can I be an agent for more than one provider?
Unless you signed exclusivity, yes — and you should be suspicious of any program that demands it without paying for it. Ours doesn't.
What's commissionable?
In our program: recurring service revenue — seats, mobile lines, fax, trunking, AI products. Pass-through items (taxes, regulatory fees, hardware, one-time charges) aren't commissionable anywhere honest; a program that pretends they are is quoting you a rate on money that doesn't exist.
Terms in writing, signup in five minutes: voip-int.com/partners.