# Prevent duplicate referral claims: a checklist | SourceX

Canonical: https://refer.sourcex.si/guides/how-to-prevent-duplicate-claims-before-they-reach-sourcex
Last updated: 2026-11-04

Run a short coordination check before anyone sends a link. Pin the company to one legal entity, search your own claim register, ask the CEO whether anyone at the company has already been in touch with SourceX or been offered an introduction, agree in writing with any co-advisor which of you submits, then send the written introduction and the portal submission on the day the CEO agrees. A duplicate found before submission costs a phone call; one found afterwards is settled from dated records in SourceX's review.

The rule that creates duplicates is short. SourceX credits one partner per company: the first valid introduction of a company new to SourceX, once that company submits a verified application within 90 days. Everything below is about making sure the introduction you send is the only one, and that the company really is new.

## Who else could claim this company?

Duplicates come from six directions. Four can be checked before you submit; two can only be checked by SourceX.

| Possible claimant | How the collision happens | What you can check first | What only SourceX can check | Governing term |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A colleague in your firm | Two people know the same CEO | Your claim register | Nothing, if both work under one agreement | Firm policy; terms section 2 if two partner accounts submit |
| A co-advisor of the company, such as its banker, broker or fund | Each offers to make the introduction | Ask the CEO, then speak to the co-advisor | Whether the co-advisor already submitted | Terms section 2: first valid introduction, one partner |
| A partner whose newsletter or event reached the CEO | The CEO clicked a link months ago | Ask the CEO | Whether a recorded introduction exists | Terms section 2: a click alone does not decide credit |
| The company itself | A COO or controller applied or wrote to SourceX directly | Ask the CEO | The application or correspondence | Terms section 3: an existing application or relationship is a duplicate |
| SourceX's own history | An earlier lead, account or email with anyone at the company | Ask, though you cannot verify | All of it | Terms section 3 |
| A related entity | The parent and a subsidiary are introduced separately | Map the group | Credit across entities | One reward cap per group; credit decided in duplicate review |

The two right-hand columns are why prevention is cheaper than resolution. Once two claims exist, partners never see each other's records, and the [two-partner resolution guide](/guides/when-two-partners-refer-the-same-company) describes a review you cannot steer. Before submission, every row in the left-hand columns is a conversation you can still have.

## Rebuild the company and event timeline before you submit

Start with identity, because many "duplicates" are two partners describing one company differently. Write down the legal name, the website domain and a registry identifier. For a company formed in Delaware, the Division of Corporations' free entity search returns an entity's name, file number, formation date, registered agent and residency. It also returns inactive entities and does not show current status, so the file number pins identity, not good standing. Note the parent company if there is one: SourceX counts a parent and its subsidiaries as one company for the reward cap.

Then put the events so far on one dated line: when you signed the SourceX Channel Partner Agreement, when you first raised the topic and with whom, whether the CEO knows, and anything the CEO has mentioned about other advisors or earlier contact with SourceX. A blank in that line is a question for the checklist, not an assumption.

## The pre-submission coordination checklist

Eight steps across 48 hours. Each has a hold condition: if it is met, stop and resolve it before anything reaches SourceX.

| Step | When | Action, and the evidence it leaves | Hold if | Governing term |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 48 hours before | Pin the entity: legal name, domain, registry file number, parent if any; keep them in one note | Parent and subsidiary are both in play | Agreement 3.3: the record names the company and its domain |
| 2 | 48 hours before | Search your claim register, then log a dated provisional claim | A colleague already holds a claim | Your firm's policy |
| 3 | 24 hours before | Ask the CEO whether anyone at the company has applied to, or corresponded with, SourceX; keep the answer in an email | The answer is yes or unsure | Terms section 3 |
| 4 | 24 hours before | Ask the CEO whether anyone else has offered to introduce the company | The answer is yes | Terms section 2 |
| 5 | 24 hours before | Agree with each co-advisor, in an email both acknowledge, which of you submits | No agreement | Terms section 2: one partner, no split |
| 6 | 24 hours before | Confirm the person or firm submitting has signed the Channel Partner Agreement | Not yet signed | Terms section 1 |
| 7 | The day the CEO agrees | Send the written introduction to the CEO and submit in the portal the same day; one link, to the CEO only | Nothing; send | Agreement 1.2 and terms section 2 |
| 8 | Day 75 | Check whether the company has applied | No application by day 90 | Schedule A, section 2: 90 days |

Three notes on the steps. Step 3 is the one partners skip because it feels awkward, and it is the only one that catches SourceX's own history; the six questions in [how to check whether an existing SourceX relationship affects credit](/guides/how-to-check-whether-an-existing-sourcex-relationship-affects-credit) go deeper. Step 7 sends one link to one person on purpose: links forwarded to several staff produce applications from people the CEO never briefed, and SourceX's screening guidance treats an introduction made without the decision maker's knowledge as usually not a fit. Step 2 is a firm's conflict check in miniature; [the attribution FAQ for a multi-partner firm](/guides/the-referral-attribution-faq-for-a-multi-partner-firm) sets out how to run the register.

## Three timelines and the term that governs each (Illustrative)

Illustrative: invented partners and companies, dates in 2027 under the current terms.

**Timeline A: the check prevents a collision.** A fractional CFO and the M&A advisor of a 210-person software services company both plan to raise SourceX with its CEO.

| Date | Event | Step |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Mar | The CFO asks the CEO step 4; the CEO says the M&A advisor mentioned it last week | 4 |
| 9 Mar | The CFO and the advisor agree by email that the advisor submits, since the advisor raised it first | 5 |
| 10 Mar | The advisor sends the written introduction to the CEO and submits in the portal | 7 |
| 22 Mar | The company applies, 12 days after the recorded introduction | 8 |

Governing term: section 2, one partner per company. One claim reaches SourceX and no review is needed. The CFO is not credited, and the program offers no split.

**Timeline B: the check finds SourceX's history.** At step 3 the CEO of a 380-person engineering firm forwards an email thread: in September 2026 the company's controller wrote to SourceX about licensing and received a reply. Governing term: section 3, which since version 2026-10-21 says a relationship includes any earlier lead, account or email correspondence. The company is not new to SourceX, so a later introduction would not be credited. The partner tells the CEO, holds, and either steps back or helps as a courtesy without submitting a claim.

**Timeline C: your own introduction lapsed.** A partner introduced the CEO of a 160-person claims administrator on 12 January; day 90 was 12 April and the company never applied. In June the CEO is ready. Governing terms: Schedule A, section 2 and terms, section 3, read together. The January introduction can no longer be credited, and the terms do not say how a fresh introduction by the same partner is treated after a lapse. The partner writes to SourceX before resubmitting, keeps the January record untouched, and does not file a second record as if the company were new.

## When the check leaves a question open

Some holds do not clear on their own: a co-advisor who will not agree, a CEO who is unsure about earlier contact, a parent and subsidiary with different advisors. Write to SourceX at hello@sourcex.si, the address Schedule A gives for disputes and explanations, before you submit, with five items:

1. The company's legal name, domain and registry file number, and the parent if any.
2. The date you signed the Channel Partner Agreement and the Partner it names.
3. The CEO's answers to steps 3 and 4, one line each, with dates.
4. The co-advisor email from step 5, if one exists.
5. The date you propose to introduce, and the open question in one sentence.

Leave out client records, exports and anything that belongs to another advisor. Whether a company's client NDAs limit what it could license is a rights question for SourceX's review rather than a claims question; SourceX's [note on client NDAs](https://sourcex.si/insights/do-client-ndas-prevent-licensing-data) covers it. A standing log built from the [company introduction record template](/resources/a-company-introduction-record-template) holds the evidence for every step.

## What a clean check does not settle

- **SourceX's records.** You can ask, but only SourceX can see an earlier lead or email; a clean step 3 lowers the risk without removing it.
- **Credit across a group.** One cap covers a parent and its subsidiaries; whether a second partner can be credited for a separate entity is decided in duplicate review.
- **The window.** Coordination takes time, and the 90 days run from the recorded introduction, not from the end of your checks. The [attribution window explainer](/questions/what-is-an-attribution-window) covers the clock.
- **Fit.** A claim that reaches SourceX alone is still only an introduction. SourceX reviews the company, and no lead, meeting or signature on its own makes a reward payable.

What happens once overlapping claims do arrive is described in [handling an introduction that overlaps with an existing opportunity](/guides/how-to-handle-an-introduction-that-overlaps-with-an-existing-opportunity) and [what happens when two partners introduce the same company](/questions/what-happens-if-two-partners-introduce-the-same-company).

## 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.

Run the eight steps on your next company before the link goes out: [register as a partner](/register) and sign the agreement first, check the company against [who qualifies](/who-qualifies), and keep sections 2 and 3 of the [program terms](/terms) beside the checklist; more attribution cases are in the [guides hub](/guides).

## Sources

- https://refer.sourcex.si/terms
- https://sourcex.si/documents/partner/SourceX_Channel_Partner_Agreement_Sample.pdf
- https://refer.sourcex.si/who-qualifies
- https://icis.corp.delaware.gov/ecorp/entitysearch/namesearch.aspx