This guide explains how to create custom referral links and QR codes for your support schemes. If you’re looking for instructions on how to log in, please refer to this article.


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How different organisations can use referral links:

Referral links and QR codes are valuable tools for marketing outreach campaigns and tracking engagement. Whether your organisation offers support schemes or supports clients in accessing services, these tools help measure how individuals access Lightning Reach. 


Important: Without a referral link, users won’t be linked to your organisation, meaning their activity won’t be tracked in your reporting. Referral links are fundamental for monitoring engagement and demonstrating impact of your marketing campaigns.


For example, an email or postal campaign with a custom referral link or QR code distributed to a specific area or mailing list can track how many individuals access Lightning Reach through that campaign.


This data provides insights into outreach effectiveness, helps demonstrate impact, and enables you to make informed, data-driven decisions to optimise future outreach.

Referral links and QR codes serve the same purpose, directing users to Lightning Reach, but are best suited to different types of outreach:

  • Referral links – Best used in digital campaigns, such as:

    • Email communications (e.g., newsletters or direct outreach)
    • Social media campaigns
    • Websites or online portals

  • QR codes – Best used in offline campaigns, such as:

    • Printed materials (e.g., leaflets, flyers, and posters)
    • Postal campaigns
    • Public spaces (e.g., council hubs, housing association offices, libraries)


For example, a council hub or housing association office could display a poster with a QR code, allowing individuals to scan and access the application portal instantly. Meanwhile, a marketing team could embed a referral link within an email campaign to track digital engagement.

Note: Only users with an admin role assigned (e.g., a marketing lead) can access this area and create and manage referral links. For more details on how to assign roles, click here. 


Step 1: Go to Configuration in the left-hand menu.


Step 2: Look to where it says Referral links and click the + (Add) icon

  1. Enter a unique identifier for your campaign (e.g., summercampaign).
    • Example link:
      https://lightningreach.org/application-portal?referral=[your-org-name]-summercampaign
  2. Click Save to generate the link and it will be created. 




Step 1: Hover over the referral link you want to copy.

Step 2: Click the copy icon.

Step 3: A pop-up window will appear, click the copy button again to copy the full URL.



To create a custom QR code, we recommend using QRCode Monkey. To create a QR code using QR Monkey: 


Step 1: Visit QRCode Monkey - https://www.qrcode-monkey.com/


Step 2: Click on "ENTER CONTENT" and Paste your created referral link into the Your URL field. Click here to see how to create a referral link. 



Step 3: Click "SET COLORS" and set the background colour as: #004aab (Lightning Reach brand colour).



Step 4: Click "ADD LOGO IMAGE" and Upload the Lightning Reach logo and select Remove Background Behind Logo. You can download our logo by clicking here. 


Step 5: Click Create QR Code and then Download it. You will need to wait for the QR code to be generated. 


Note: You can adjust the slider to decrease/increase the QR code quality, but this isn't necessary. The QR code automatically downloads as a high-quality PNG. Other file formats are available at the bottom if needed.



Why use referral links and QR codes?

  • Track engagement – Monitor how individiduals discover and access support through Lightning Reach.
  • Measure impact – Gain insights into the effectiveness of outreach efforts, such as marketing campaigns. 

What's next?

Click on the below links to view the following articles:


Need further assistance?

If you have any questions or encounter any difficulties, please don't hesitate to contact us at [email protected]