Win Google Cloud deals with partner pricing and programs
Google Cloud's public pages confirm two sales paths for partners. Deal Registration and Deal Referral pay rebates for sourcing and closing deals, and reseller discounts, which software vendors set on their Marketplace products, lower what you pay when you resell them. Google's reseller terms say program incentives don't apply to Marketplace resale, so the type of transaction decides the path. (Google also calls this role Sell on its support pages and Selling with Google on its partner paths; this site's role tags are its own.)
As of
Which sales programs can you use?
| Path | What it gives you | Role it needs | Works with others? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deal Registration and Deal Referral | What it gives youRebates for sourcing and closing deals, for partners that resell and partners that don't. Rates and eligibility are set in Google's partner portal. | Role it needsAny. | Works with others?Conflict: Google's reseller terms say program incentives, including Deal Registration and Deal Referral, don't apply to transactions under the Marketplace reseller agreement. |
| Reseller discount on Marketplace vendor products | What it gives youA discount on vendor products you resell to customers, set by the vendor at its discretion and applied before Google calculates its revenue share. | Role it needsResell. | Works with others?Check with Google Cloud. |
Which of these fit depends on whether your deals are for Google products or software vendors' products, whether your customers buy through Marketplace, and which vendors have turned on reselling for you.
How do these programs combine?
Sequence: you have to be in the program before you can resell. Google's Marketplace reseller documentation lists the conditions in order: you've been accepted in Google Cloud Partner Network, you're authorized in its Resale Subprogram, and the software vendor has turned on reselling for the product. Reseller purchases also use resold-customer subaccounts, because you can't use your reseller Cloud Billing account to buy Marketplace products.
Conflict: Marketplace resale and program rebates. Section 2.3 of Google's reseller terms says that no program incentives, including Deal Registration and Deal Referral, the Partner Funding Program, the Marketing Incentive Program and Marketing Development Funds, apply to transactions under that agreement. A deal you resell through Marketplace therefore doesn't earn those incentives, and a deal you register for a rebate isn't a Marketplace resale under that agreement.
Google products follow a different agreement. The terms say your use and resale of Google products are governed by the agreement under which Google appointed you as a reseller, and not by the Marketplace reseller terms. The terms don't say whether program incentives apply to those products, so check with Google Cloud before you plan around a rebate.
Stack: not stated. Google's public pages don't say whether a reseller discount can run alongside a rebate on the same customer. Treat the two as separate transactions until Google confirms otherwise.
How do you claim or earn each one?
Accept a reseller discount or private offer plan
- 1Sign in to the Partner Sales Console.
- 2Click Private offer plans, or open the pending plan from the Alerts section.
- 3Click a plan marked Pending acceptance to review its details.
- 4Click Accept, then confirm the acceptance.
A discount works the same way: Google's documentation says you must accept it in the Partner Sales Console before its start date, or the vendor has to submit a new configuration request. Reseller incentives
Create an offer for a customer
- 1Sign in to the Partner Sales Console and click Customers, then the customer.
- 2Click Private offers, then Create private offer.
- 3Next to the product, click View options or Select.
- 4Next to the plan, click Use this plan.
- 5Complete the offer title, customer, seller, product configuration and pricing.
- 6Click Continue, review the offer, then click Create private offer.
- 7Copy the offer URL and email it to the customer.
When the customer accepts, Google invoices you for the private offer plan amount and pays the vendor. Google doesn't invoice the customer.
Claim Deal Registration and Deal Referral rebates
- 1Google's public pages name these programs but publish no steps, rates or eligibility rules for them. They are defined in the Program Guide in Google's partner portal. Confirm the rules there before you plan around a rebate.
Why offers and plans fail. Google's documentation lists the statuses: a plan is Rejected if the reseller rejected it and Expired if it wasn't accepted, or wasn't used, by its expiration date; an offer is Expired if the customer didn't accept it by its due date. Offers also must be complete and accurate, and must not contain services or fees that aren't previously approved offerings. View offer status
Why do two similar companies choose differently?
Company A resells Google Cloud products under its reseller agreement and rarely sells third-party software
Its customers buy Google products, not vendors' Marketplace products, so the Marketplace reseller discount has little to offer it. Its sales paths centre on Deal Registration and Deal Referral, and its first question for Google Cloud is whether those rebates apply to the Google products it resells.
Company B resells vendors' software through Marketplace and also delivers services
Most of its deals are private offers built on vendors' plans, so the reseller discount is its main sales path and the program rebates mostly sit outside its transactions. It has to keep plan acceptance dates on a calendar, because a plan that isn't accepted in time expires.
The same partner and the same two paths, with two different right answers. Which fits yours depends on what you resell, how your customers buy, and which vendors have turned on reselling.
What changed recently?
- 20 May 2024Google's reseller discount page notes that Marketplace has applied reseller discounts differently for some pricing models since this date.
No change page covers these sales paths yet. The program announcement behind Google Cloud Partner Network, which changed the tiers and competencies, is covered in how Google Cloud Partner Network changed the program.
Google Cloud has the paths. Playmaker finds yours.
You’ve just seen how much Google Cloud offers: programs, funding, listings, specialists and the many ways they combine. All of it is real, and much of it can run at the same time. Which of it fits your company depends on your tier, your roles and your deals.
Playmaker does that work for you:
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What does your playbook show?
Frequently
asked questions
The short answers for Google Cloud sales. Playmaker shows you the rest in 3 minutes.
Google's Marketplace reseller terms say program incentives, including Deal Registration and Deal Referral, don't apply to transactions under that agreement, so a Marketplace resale and a rebate don't stack on the same transaction. Check with Google Cloud for deals that mix Google products and vendors' products.
The software vendor. Google's reseller terms say you may receive a programmatic discount on vendor products at the vendor's discretion, and Google's documentation says the customer doesn't see the discount you receive.
You need to be accepted in Google Cloud Partner Network and authorized in its Resale Subprogram, and the vendor has to turn on reselling for its product. You also need the right billing and Partner Sales Console roles.
The plan expires. Google's documentation says the reseller must accept the plan by its due date, and the vendor can't amend a published plan, so the vendor has to create a new one.
Google's public pages describe each path separately and don't say how they combine for one company. The one published rule is the Marketplace exclusion for program incentives, so check which agreement each deal falls under.
In the Program Guide in Google's partner portal. Google's public pages name Deal Registration and Deal Referral but don't publish their steps or rates.
Sources
Primary sources for this page, all accessed Nov 4, 2026. Program names and terms belong to Google Cloud.
Where can you read more?
- Google Cloud partner programs: every path, seven areasThe front door for every Google Cloud program area.
- Google Cloud Marketplace listings and private offersHow to list, sell and resell on Google Cloud Marketplace.
- Google Cloud funding programs and how to claim themCredits, partner funds and the agentic fund.
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