How to make an introduction when you can't accept a referral fee

Can you make an introduction and decline the referral fee?

Yes. You can introduce a company and take no reward at all, as long as your own employer, license or court order does not also restrict the introduction itself. Declining is a decision about compensation, not about whether the owner gets a useful contact. The reward is optional, and an unpaid introduction is still an introduction.

This guide is for people who cannot be paid for referrals, or choose not to be: auditors and other attest professionals, bank and credit-union employees, court-appointed fiduciaries, public officials, employees whose contracts bar outside income, and anyone whose firm policy says no. It covers how to confirm what is allowed, how to make the introduction, and how to record that you declined.

First, is the introduction itself allowed?

Separate two questions that people often merge.

1. May I accept compensation for this? Often no, for the people listed above.
2. May I make this introduction at all? Sometimes yes, sometimes it still needs approval, disclosure or a conflict check.

For example, the AICPA Code's commissions and referral fees rule (ET 1.520) restricts accepting a referral fee mainly where the member's firm performs certain services, including attest work, for the client, and requires disclosure for permitted fees. State boards can be stricter. FINRA has also reported SEC approval of new Rule 3290 on outside activities, replacing Rules 3270 and 3280, so registered representatives should ask their firm's compliance team how it applies to them.

This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm with your own counsel, tax adviser or professional body before acting.

Which situations call for a decline?

How do you make an unpaid introduction?

1. Get your approval first, in writing where your rules require it. Keep the reply.
2. Screen the company against the baseline: 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), several years of operations, rights to license, an authorized sponsor. The guide to finding a company's employee count helps when headcount is unclear.
3. Ask the owner for permission to share their name and a one-line description. The introduction email builder can draft a note.
4. Say you are not being paid. For example, that you are making the connection as a courtesy and that you are not accepting any reward. Keep it factual.
5. Introduce, then step back. SourceX qualifies the company; you do not advise on price or terms and never handle records.
6. File the paper trail: your approval, the date of the introduction and your decline.

For wording that avoids vouching for the result, see how to make an introduction without endorsement.

What should the declination say?

Keep it short and dated. Keep a dated copy in your own file and, if you register, send it to SourceX through the contact page.

Do not rely on silence. Not collecting a payment is different from having formally declined it, and the second is easier to prove if someone later asks. If you are unsure, register as a partner only after your rules are confirmed, because registering and linking a company can create a record of credit.

What happens to the reward if you decline?

Partners earn 25% of the eligible platform fees SourceX actually collects from the referred company's licensing deals, capped at $100,000 cumulative per referred company, and only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee. No reward is guaranteed.

A declined reward does not change what the company receives, because the reward is a share of SourceX's fee and is never deducted from the company's price. How SourceX handles a declined reward administratively is set by the signed partner agreement and the published terms, so do not assume a particular outcome. Related questions on how rewards accumulate are in referral fee on repeat business, and the options a firm might choose are discussed in referral fee structures.

What does an illustrative unpaid introduction look like?

Illustrative, fictional: Priya is a relationship manager at a community bank whose code of conduct bars outside compensation. A long-standing customer, a 140-person engineering firm, mentions it is retiring a ten-year-old project system. Priya asks compliance whether she may mention a licensing option, receives written approval for an unpaid mention, and tells the owner she is not being paid. The owner applies directly at sourcex.si/apply. Priya keeps the approval email and takes no further part.

Should a firm set a blanket policy?

If several people at your organization could make introductions, a written policy saves each person from deciding alone. A typical policy states who may introduce, who must decline, who approves, and where records are kept. The guide to setting a referral fee policy for your advisory firm has a starting structure.

What mistakes should you avoid?

Next step

Confirm in writing what your employer, regulator or court allows. If an unpaid introduction is permitted, use the draft note above, register as a partner if you need a referral link, and read how it works so you can explain the process to the owner.