# Troubleshoot Your Advocate Referrals

Advocate offers several tools to help you investigate and troubleshoot referral discrepancies, errors, or issues with individual referrals in your program. This is especially useful when managing participant questions around referral status, eligibility, and rewards.

Follow these steps to investigate a referral effectively:

{% stepper %}
{% step %}
**Step 1: Review your program rules**

Before diving into a specific referral, first review your [Program Rules](/brand/what-would-you-like-to-learn-about/advocate-program/getting-started-with-advocate/advocate-program-rules-explained.md) to understand:

* What counts as a conversion (e.g., *Closed Won*, *Purchase Event*, *Demo Completed*)
* Which events trigger emails and reward distribution
* Delays or conditions, such as a 90-day qualification window
* Reward caps, like a maximum number of rewards per advocate

You can find your rules by navigating to ![](/files/CDnwOBeIdds9r3Z6zTnO) **\[Engage] → Program Rules** in your Advocate program.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
**Step 2: Gather participant information**

To begin your investigation, collect at least one of the following identifiers of the participant:

* Email address
* Advocate Account or User ID

Use this information to search in the [Participant Feed](/brand/what-would-you-like-to-learn-about/advocate-program/manage-advocate-participants/filter-and-manage-advocate-participants.md).
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
**Step 3: Confirm the referral connection**

In the *Participant Feed*:

1. Locate the advocate's profile.
2. Scroll to the *Referrals* section.
3. Confirm that:
   * The referred user is listed
   * The referral status is **Started**

If no referral is found, the sharelink may not have been used correctly, or attribution may have failed.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
**Step 4: Check program rule criteria**

Open the referred user's participant record and:

1. Scroll down to the *Events* section.
2. Use the dropdown to switch to **All Events**.
3. Look for events that match your [program’s conversion criteria](/brand/what-would-you-like-to-learn-about/advocate-program/getting-started-with-advocate/advocate-program-rules-explained.md) (e.g., Closed Won, Appointment Set, Demo Completed).

Confirm that the event:

* Was received in Advocate (via UTT, API, or an integration)
* Occurred within the required time window
* Matches all qualifying criteria (e.g., correct product or opportunity stage)
  {% endstep %}

{% step %}
**Step 5: Confirm reward issuance**

Back in the *Participant Feed*, review the [*Rewards*](/brand/what-would-you-like-to-learn-about/advocate-program/advocate-rewards/reward-feed-explained.md) section for both the advocate and referred user.

Verify that:

* A reward was issued
* The reward type and amount align with your program rules

If using [Tango gift cards](/brand/what-would-you-like-to-learn-about/advocate-program/advocate-rewards/gift-card-rewards-explained.md), check that the participant received an email from Tango. To confirm delivery, log in to your Tango account or contact Tango support.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
**Step 6: Review referral emails (If Applicable)**

If a user reports receiving an unexpected or unclear email, review your program emails to ensure messaging is clear:

1. Go to ![](/files/CDnwOBeIdds9r3Z6zTnO) **\[Engage]** → **Program Rules → Emails**.
2. Review which emails are triggered at each referral stage.
3. Select **Edit** to preview the email content (no need to save changes).

Common misunderstandings:

* “Your referral has been accepted” often means the lead qualified, not that the referral converted
* Advocates sometimes confuse referral status emails with conversion notifications

Consider improving clarity by updating subject lines or adding [merge tags](/brand/what-would-you-like-to-learn-about/advocate-program/manage-advocate-participant-experiences/email-experiences/merge-tags-for-program-emails.md) (e.g., referral name) for personalization. Customize your [advocate program emails](/brand/what-would-you-like-to-learn-about/advocate-program/manage-advocate-participant-experiences/email-experiences/create-and-customize-advocate-program-emails.md).
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
**Step 7: Contact support**

Contact support if:

* Expected conversion events are missing
* Emails were sent incorrectly
* Rewards were not triggered despite meeting criteria

To contact support:

1. Reach out by [submitting a ticket](https://app.impact.com/secure/advertiser/support/customer-support-portal-flow.ihtml?) or emailing [support](mailto:saasquatch-support@impact.com).
2. Provide the following information:
   * Advocate or referred user’s email
   * Approximate date of the referral
   * Detailed description of the issue
     {% endstep %}
     {% endstepper %}


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