The Referral Code field is part of the Account Section on every Buzzbassador application form. It is uneditable and cannot be removed; every applicant must enter a code regardless of which program their form is routed to.
Why the field is always there
Member referral codes are central to how Buzzbassador tracks attribution and pays commission. Even when a program does not currently use referral codes, having the applicant enter their preferred code at application time means:
Every member has a saved code preference on file from day one.
If you later enable referral codes on the program, members are immediately ready with their preferred codes (no follow-up needed).
The applicant chooses their own code, which is more memorable and personal than a system-generated one.
What happens to the code after approval
The behavior of the typed code depends on the settings of the program the form is routed to:
Routed program has referral codes enabled: the typed code is created in Shopify under the program's referral rule on approval and becomes the member's active referral code immediately.
Routed program has referral codes disabled: the typed code is saved in the member's profile but is not created in Shopify. If you later turn referral codes on for that program, the saved code is activated in Shopify automatically.
[ LINK: Referral Codes: How They're Created, Found, and Edited ]
What applicants see on the form
The label on the Referral Code field varies based on the routed program's settings:
For forms routed to programs with referral codes enabled: the field shows as "Create Your Referral Code" and is marked required.
For forms routed to programs with referral codes disabled: the field shows as "Create Your Referral Code (Optional - for future use)" with an explanatory note that the program does not currently have referral discounts enabled.
In both cases, the applicant must enter a code to submit the form. The "optional" wording refers to whether having an active referral code is currently optional for that program, not whether the field itself can be skipped.
The help text under the field (for example, "Tanya20" or "Sarah15") updates dynamically based on the routed program's referral discount rate, giving the applicant a hint of the rate they will be working with if codes are active.
[ SCREENSHOT: Referral Code field on a form routed to a program with referral codes enabled ]
[ SCREENSHOT: Referral Code field on a form routed to a program with referral codes disabled, showing the "Optional - for future use" label and explanatory note ]
What happens if the typed code is already taken
All Shopify discount codes must be unique. If the code an applicant types is already in use (by another member or another Shopify discount), Buzzbassador automatically generates a different random code for them at the time of approval. Members can edit their code later from their dashboard if they want to try a different version.
[ LINK: Referral Codes: How They're Created, Found, and Edited ]
Notes:
The PayPal Email field follows a similar pattern: it is always shown and required on the form, but applicants can enter "N/A" if they do not have a PayPal account. See the linked article for the full breakdown on the PayPal field.
The Referral Code field cannot currently be removed, hidden, or made optional via the form editor; it is built into the Account Section.
[ LINK: Is the PayPal email field in the application form required for all applicants? ]
[ LINK: How To Build and Customize Your Member Application Form ]