Binary Plan Two legs. Team volume. Infinite depth.
The binary plan is the most popular compensation structure in modern network marketing. Each distributor has exactly two positions directly beneath them, a left leg and a right leg, and everyone they personally sponsor (or who spills over from upline) is placed into one of those legs. Depth is unlimited, so a binary tree can grow to millions of positions.
Join and get placed
A new distributor is placed under their sponsor in the left or right leg, by sponsor choice, by auto-placement rule (weaker leg, outer leg, alternating), or by spillover from upline.
Build two legs
Personal sales and recruits go into either leg. Volume (PV/BV) from every order in a leg rolls up to every ancestor above it, no matter how deep.
Cycle closes
At cycle end the engine totals left-leg volume and right-leg volume for every position in the tree.
Pay on the weaker leg
Commission = pairing % × weaker-leg volume (or per completed pair, e.g. 1:1, 1:2, 2:1 ratios). Daily/weekly caps and rank-based ceilings apply.
Carry forward
Unmatched volume on the strong leg carries to the next cycle, unless a flush rule removes it (inactive distributors, max carry, etc.).
Matching and rank bonuses
Leaders earn a matching bonus (a % of what their personally sponsored distributors earned in binary) and rank bonuses when both legs hit volume milestones.
Income comes from team volume rather than personal recruiting. At the end of each cycle (daily, weekly or monthly) the platform compares the sales volume of the left and right legs. The distributor is paid a percentage of the weaker leg's volume, and the remaining volume on the stronger leg is carried forward to the next cycle. This 'pay on the weaker leg' rule is what makes binary plans feel like a team sport: upline has an incentive to build the downline's weak leg.
DIRSL runs binary as a real-time engine: placement, spillover, carry-forward, capping and flushing are all configurable per company, and every commission run is auditable to the position level.
A real cycle, line by line.
A weekly binary cycle for distributor Priya
- Pairing rate 10% on weaker-leg volume
- Left leg volume this week: 4,200 BV
- Right leg volume this week: 2,900 BV
- Weekly cap: $2,000
- Matching bonus: 20% of personally-sponsored distributors' binary pay (3 sponsored earned $1,500 combined)
Carry-forward is volume, not cash: 1,300 BV stays on Priya's left leg for next week's comparison.
Every bonus this plan can pay.
| Bonus | Trigger | Typical | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pairing / Cycle bonus | Weaker leg volume at cycle close | 8–15% | Can be per pair (fixed $) or percentage |
| Direct sponsor bonus | Personally sponsored enrollment / first order | 10–25% of package | Paid once, outside the tree |
| Matching bonus | Sponsored distributor earns pairing bonus | 10–30%, 1–3 generations | Rewards mentoring, not placement |
| Rank bonus | Both legs reach rank threshold | $100–$25,000 one-time | Often paid in instalments |
| Leadership pool | Rank + maintenance | 1–3% of company BV | Shared by share count |
What you control in DIRSL.
Strengths and watch-outs.
Strengths
- Fast-growing, exciting for new members because of spillover
- Simple to explain: two legs, get paid on the smaller one
- Rewards team effort; upline helps downline
- Infinite depth means large leaders earn on huge organisations
- Cycle bonuses create frequent payouts (daily/weekly)
Watch-outs
- Unbalanced legs leave volume unpaid (carry-forward or flush)
- Spillover can let passive members earn without selling
- Payout ratio is hard to forecast without caps
- Regulators scrutinise plans where recruitment drives most volume
A typical five-rank progression.
Where this plan wins.
Questions about this plan.
It carries forward to the next cycle. Most companies cap carry-forward or flush it if you fall inactive, both of which are configurable in DIRSL.
Yes, if the company allows sponsor placement. Otherwise the engine auto-places by rule, for example 'weaker leg' or 'outside leg'.
No. Spillover only happens when upline places people under you. It is a benefit, not a promise, and income disclaimers must say so.
Pair-based plans pay a fixed amount per matched unit (e.g. $10 per 100 BV on each leg). Percentage plans pay a % of the weaker leg's total volume. DIRSL supports both.
Yes. That is the most common hybrid: binary for team volume, unilevel for personal sponsorship depth.
A 100,000-position tree closes in under 5 minutes on DIRSL. Runs are previewable before approval.
Terms you'll hear.
- BV / PV
- Business Volume / Personal Volume: the points value of an order used for commissions.
- Weaker leg
- The leg with less volume this cycle; commissions are calculated on it.
- Carry-forward
- Unmatched strong-leg volume moved into the next cycle.
- Flush
- Removal of carry-forward volume when a rule is breached (inactivity, max carry).
- Spillover
- Recruits placed under you by someone above you in the tree.
Related plans.
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