Proof of performance

Also: POP · performance documentation · co-op claim evidence

Proof of performance (POP) is the evidence a channel partner submits to show that the marketing activity a co-op or MDF claim pays for actually happened, as agreed. Typical artifacts: ad tear sheets and run schedules, digital campaign reports with dates and spend, event photos and attendee counts, invoices from the media or venue, and screenshots of listings or placements.

Why proof of performance exists

Fund integrity. A fund that pays claims without evidence becomes a discount program wearing a marketing costume — partners learn that claims clear regardless, and the fund stops buying any actual market development.
The accounting hinges on it. Whether a co-op/MDF payment is a marketing expense or a reduction of revenue turns on whether the partner delivered a distinct service at fair value — the consideration payable to a customer test. Proof of performance is the evidence that a distinct service existed. No POP, no expense treatment: the payment defaults to contra-revenue.
Audit defense. When internal audit samples fund settlements, “paid without required documentation” is among the most common findings in channel-marketing programs — an entirely self-inflicted finding.

What good looks like operationally

The agreement states what evidence each activity type requires before claims arrive; every settlement links the claim, its POP artifacts, and the approval that accepted them; and exceptions (paying without full POP) are explicit, gated decisions rather than silent defaults. The claim-validation workflow itself — where POP review lives — is a layer Aurgus deliberately does not ship today; what it does govern is the fund arithmetic underneath, described on the co-op & MDF fund accrual page.