How do SourceX and micro1 company-referral formulas and payout conditions compare?
SourceX publishes a floor on a company's first qualifying transaction and no cap, and micro1 publishes flat amounts up to its deal-size thresholds and none above them, but the more useful comparison is the base each program calculates on and the event that makes a reward payable. Both programs describe themselves as routes for introducing companies with operational data. Neither headline is a forecast.
The table below sets out what each program's public pages say, as checked on 2026-10-18, with micro1's figures and referral terms checked again on 2026-10-26 and SourceX's column following its terms of 2026-11-04. Where a page does not answer a question, the cell says so rather than filling the gap.
| Question | SourceX (default terms, v2026-11-04) | micro1 (public pages, 2026-10-18; figures checked 2026-10-26) |
|---|---|---|
| Headline amount | the greater of $50,000 plus 5% and 15% of Actual Supplier Payout, with no cap, on a company's first qualifying transaction | $50K for enterprise data partnerships up to $700,000, then 7.5% of the deal value above $700,000; $75K for defunct-company partnerships up to $1 million, then 7.5% above |
| Calculation base | the greater of $50,000 plus 5% and 15% of Actual Supplier Payout: what SourceX actually pays the company, excluding separately itemized taxes and expense reimbursements | Deal value: a flat amount up to each threshold, then 7.5%; 7.5% for licensing agreements not listed in micro1's portal, and the terms keep a fallback of 7.5% of the total license or purchase price paid to the company where no payout is listed |
| Floor, minimum and repeat deals | No cap. The USD 50,000 floor applies once per company, to its first qualifying transaction; further qualifying transactions first agreed within 12 months of the first Closing pay 15% with no floor; a transaction under USD 100,000 does not qualify unless SourceX agrees in writing | No cap published above the $700,000 and $1 million thresholds; repeat-deal treatment not stated on the page reviewed |
| Company size | 50+ full-time employees at peak, contractors excluded | 30+ employees |
| Attribution | First valid introduction within a 90-day window, credited when the company submits a verified application; one partner per company | The company must sign up and apply through the referrer's unique link |
| Payment trigger | A reward becomes payable after SourceX has paid the referred company under its signed agreement and the payout conditions in the program terms are met, including finance approval and your tax and payment details. | The FAQ says rewards are paid once the referred company reaches specific revenue milestones with micro1 |
| Earlier figures | None published for this comparison | Up to $50K per referral (checked 2026-10-18); a micro1 forum post dated 2026-06-16 described up to $25,000 per referred company |
Two details matter more than they look. First, SourceX's reward is funded separately and never deducted from the company's payout. Second, micro1's terms describe each referral payout as a gross amount, with the referrer responsible for taxes and fees, and, as checked on 2026-10-26, allow micro1 to withhold payouts or set off overpayments against later ones. Neither point changes the headline figures, but both change what lands in your account.
A worked example on one fictional company
Illustrative only: a 240-person regional claims administrator licenses a set of workflow records, and the company receives $250,000 in compensation for the qualifying completed handoff. This is not a quote, a valuation or a completed deal.
| Program | What the base is | Rule applied | Illustrative result |
|---|---|---|---|
| SourceX default terms | Actual Supplier Payout of $250,000 | First qualifying transaction: the greater of $50,000 plus 5% and 15% of Actual Supplier Payout, with no cap | $62,500 (USD 50,000 plus 5% of $250,000, which is more than 15%) |
| micro1 enterprise data partnership (checked 2026-10-26) | Deal value of $250,000, below the $700,000 threshold | Flat $50K up to $700,000 | $50K |
| micro1 enterprise data partnership above $700,000 (a $1,400,000 deal instead) | Deal value of $1,400,000 | 7.5% of the deal value, no published cap | $105,000 (reading micro1's 7.5% as applying to the whole deal value; confirm with micro1) |
| micro1 terms fallback (only for a licensing agreement not listed in its portal) | Total license or purchase price paid to the company | 7.5% | $18,750 |
The micro1 rows follow its published schedule, assuming the deal value equals what the company is paid: a flat $50K up to $700,000, then 7.5% of the deal value with no published cap, so which program pays more depends on deal size. The fallback row applies only to a licensing agreement not listed in micro1's portal, where its terms keep the 7.5% default; for an enterprise data partnership the listed amount governs, so treat the fallback as a reading of the terms rather than an expected outcome.
Neither program publishes a cap on large deals: SourceX's 15% element takes over from the USD 50,000-plus-5% floor once a first qualifying payout passes USD 500,000, and micro1 publishes 7.5% above its thresholds, so on large deals the comparison turns on payment certainty and written terms as much as on percentage. The six-figure comparison shows the SourceX formula at larger payouts.
What should you check before choosing which program to introduce a company to?
Ask for the written terms that will govern your introduction, then compare five fields side by side. The program terms cover SourceX; for micro1, read its referral terms page and any partner agreement it issues.
- Base. Is the percentage applied to what the company is paid, or to something else? See how SourceX rewards are calculated.
- Scope. Does a floor, minimum or cap apply per referral, per agreement or per company? SourceX applies its USD 50,000 floor once per company and publishes no cap.
- Trigger. A reward becomes payable after SourceX has paid the referred company under its signed agreement and the payout conditions in the program terms are met, including finance approval and your tax and payment details.
- Deadline. SourceX pays within 60 days after the later of the Acquisition Partner’s final written acceptance and completed handoff, once the conditions are met. Ask the other program for its equivalent.
- Clawback. SourceX reduces a reward proportionately when the supplier payout is reduced or reversed. micro1's terms allow set-off of overpayments.
A plain definition of a referral program is useful if a client asks why the introducer is paid at all, and how it works walks through the six SourceX stages from introduction to payment.
Which companies are worth introducing, and what stays unknown?
The company is the one that qualifies, not the partner. For SourceX, the introduced company needs 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), a documented operating history, the rights to license its records, and an authorized contact. Companies in the U.S., Canada and the EU qualify, as do companies in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, South Africa, Latin America, the UAE and Saudi Arabia when at least 70% of the data is in English.
Keep discovery at metadata level. You can reasonably learn:
- What exists: resolved support tickets, project histories, SOPs, QA records or approval chains.
- How much and how long: an approximate count and the years covered.
- Which system: the help desk, CRM or project tool where the records live, named as plain text.
- Who owns it: whether the company created the records itself, and whether any client contract restricts reuse.
- Who can authorize: an owner or executive able to open a licensing discussion.
Do not ask for exports, samples or screenshots. What stays unknown until SourceX reviews the opportunity: whether the records match current dataset demand, what the rights review finds, what the company would be offered, and therefore what any reward would be. The company fit checker gives a first screen, and the micro1 commitment explainer and Mercor comparison cover the other programs introducers ask about.
What this comparison cannot tell you
Public pages change. micro1's figures moved from up to $25,000 (forum post, 2026-06-16) to up to $50K per referral (checked 2026-10-18) and then to the deal-size schedule above (checked 2026-10-26), and SourceX's own terms carry a version number for the same reason. Neither program publishes conversion rates or average rewards, so any claim that one "pays more" in general is not supported by the evidence here. A signed Schedule A or addendum can also change SourceX's default terms for a specific partner.
Next step
Refer a company. No cap on rewards. Default reward on a company's first qualifying transaction: the greater of $50,000 plus 5% and 15% of Actual Supplier Payout, with no cap; further qualifying transactions first agreed within 12 months of the first Closing pay 15%. Eligibility and payment conditions apply, including the USD 100,000 Minimum Transaction, and a signed Schedule A or addendum can differ. A lead, meeting or signature alone does not trigger payment.
If the company you have in mind clears the SourceX thresholds and you have compared the written terms, register as a partner, confirm the company against who qualifies, and keep the program terms open while you decide; the rewards page shows the formula in full.