Channel Partners: Working with GitLab

How channel Partners can work with GitLab.

This guide is primarily for existing GitLab Services and Reseller Partners. Prospective channel partners should learn about GitLab partner programs and sign up here.

Introduction

This handbook serves as a companion to the program definitions, guidelines, and key information found in the GitLab Channel Program and Incentive Guides. It contains step-by-step processes for the most commonly used GitLab partner program elements, including:

  • Partner portal registration and access
  • Deal registrations
  • Transacting GitLab products (quotes, orders, etc.)
  • Service registrations
  • Not for Resale (NFR) licenses
  • Partner marketing resources

Partner Portal Registration

First-Time Setup

Professionals from authorized GitLab channel partner organizations can register for portal access in a few simple steps:

  1. Visit the GitLab Partner Portal
  2. Select “Register” in the top right corner
  3. Confirm your organization affiliation
  4. Click “Next” and complete your information
  5. Submit the form to receive login credentials

Need help? Contact partnersupport@gitlab.com with any questions or issues.

Portal Resources

Once logged in, partners can access valuable resources including:

  • Partner registration and account management
  • Deal registration and opportunity management
  • Training accreditation and learning modules
  • Sales, services, program, and marketing resources
  • GitLab news, communications, and program announcements

For detailed navigation instructions, visit the Partner Portal Guide.

Partner Locator Profile

Once registered as a partner, partners should update their profile on the Partner Locator. This tool is used by GitLab prospects, customers, and field teams to find partners in specific regions and territories. The Partner Locator also captures leads from customers seeking partner information and routes them accordingly.

Partners should provide detailed information about their capabilities, alliances, locations, and success stories. For profile update instructions, visit the Partner Locator Guide.

Training and Certifications

GitLab training programs are available through the GitLab Partner Portal by visiting GitLab University. Partners will find accreditation courses and testing required to meet GitLab program requirements for sales, pre-sales, technical, and professional services training.

Visit the Channel Partner Training and Certifications handbook page for additional information, including different accreditation requirements for Open Partner and Select Partner tracks.

Deal Registration Program Overview

To promote partner growth and profitability, manage channel conflict, and provide a systematic approach to pursuing sales opportunities, GitLab has formalized deal registration procedures. Partners in the GitLab Partner Program must register individual sales opportunities (not customer accounts or combined opportunities).

Definitions and Qualifications

The Deal Registration definitions, eligibility, qualifications, and margin incentives can be found in the GitLab Partner Program Guide.

Key Guidelines

  • Approval Process: Deal registration approval is based on order of receipt, opportunity qualification, partner ability to deliver in-country/region support, and partner relationship with the customer
  • Exclusivity: Only one partner can earn deal registration margin per opportunity
  • Eligibility: New or existing customer opportunities, new opportunities with existing customers, and add-on sales to renewals can qualify
  • Expiration: Approved deal registrations have a standard 90-day expiration from approval date
  • Requirements: Only authorized partners with signed GitLab Partner Program Agreements can register deals. At least one partner employee must complete GitLab Foundations for Partners training

Submitting a Deal Registration

Deal Registration Instructions

  1. Go to the GitLab Partner Portal and select “Deals”
  2. Choose “Add a Registration”
  3. Select “GitLab” from the vendor list
  4. Choose your program type:
    1. Deal Registration: For standard licensing sales (Referral, Resale, or MSP)
    2. Service Attached Registration: For services delivery rebate program participation
  5. Complete all required information thoroughly
  6. Select “Submit the deal”
  7. Proceed through the review and approval process

Partner Sourced Deal Registration Rules of Engagement

  1. Submitted registrations are routed to Ecosystem Operations for review
  2. Ecosystem Ops creates a new opportunity or links the existing opportunity to the registration
  • If an opportunity does not yet exist
    • Ecosystem Ops approves the deal registration and creates the opportunity
  • If an opportunity exists in stages 0 through 2
    • Ecosystem Ops links the opportunity and routes it to the ESM for approval
    • If the ESM approves, the registration routes to the ASM for final approval
    • If the ASM does not approve within 10 days, Ecosystem Ops approves the registration
  • If an opportunity exists in stages 3 through 6
    • Ecosystem Ops reviews the Sales Last Activity Date field
    • If Sales Activity is present, Ecosystem Ops denies the registration
    • If the opportunity has aged > 180 days since the last activity, Ecosystem Ops approves the registration
    • If the opportunity is a renewal with sourced growth, Ecosystem Ops routes it to the ESM for approval
      • If the ESM approves, the registration routes to the ASM for approval
      • If the registration is not approved within 10 days of submission, Ecosystem Ops approves the registration

Service Attached Registrations

How Service Attached Registrations Work

Service attached registrations are for professional or advisory services that partners deliver for GitLab customers. These registrations may qualify for quarterly rebates and help meet Professional Services Partner program compliance requirements.

The partner does not have to be the GitLab license seller of record and only one service attach registration qualifies per opportunity. Each SOW can only be applied to one Service Attached Registration (i.e., one SOW cannot be used for multiple registrations). However, exceptions may be considered on a case-by-case basis for multi-phase projects that drive an add-on or upsell opportunity. An overview of the Service Attach program and available incentives are available in the GitLab Partner Program Guide.

Qualification Categories

Approved - Qualifies for Rebate and PSP

Requirements:

  • Completion of associated software opportunity (closed-won)
  • Partner must be a GitLab Professional Services (PSP) partner
  • Fully executed Statement of Work (SOW) submitted to partnersupport@gitlab.com. Partner may alternatively provide written customer acknowledgement of completed work descriptions for customers in regulated industries (e.g., Public Sector), provided all criteria noted below are met
  • Be signed and submitted within 6 months after opportunity closure
  • Be dated (i.e., customer signature) within 6 months of submission
  • Services scope includes: Implementation, Integration, Optimization, Migration, Managed/hosted services, Security/Compliance, Adoption, Assessment, Transformation, Application Development, DevSecOps AI, Support, and/or Success Services
  • Out of Scope: Education/Training, Subcontracted services, Free-of-charge services, Managed/hosted services (with software sold to / owned by the partner)

Accepted - Qualifies for PSP

  • Paid service engagement with a SOW signed and submitted within 12 months of registration submission and closed-won Net ARR opportunity
  • Free of charge, partner-led services that show proof of execution, such as assessments
  • Closed-won managed/hosted service deal registrations (with software sold to / owned by the partner)

Unqualified - No Rebate or PSP Compliance

  • Non-GitLab related services
  • Engagements without a related license opportunity
  • GitLab CE services without upgrade opportunity
  • GitLab PS subcontracting
  • Education/Training services

Transacting GitLab

Direct Transactions (Select Partners)

Select Partners and partners in areas without active distributors may purchase directly through GitLab. To receive a quote:

  1. Register a deal or contact your Ecosystem Sales Manager
  2. Work with the assigned sales team throughout the opportunity
  3. Submit purchase orders to your assigned sales team

Important Notes:

  • GitLab quotes reflect reseller pricing exclusive of incentive rebates
  • Discounts are not meant for end customers to see
  • Generate your own customer quotes with appropriate discounts
  • Don’t e-sign quotes until ready to be invoiced
  • End user contact information (email, shipping address, postal code) is required

Distribution Partners

Open Partners must purchase through distribution partners in territories with active distributors:

Amazon and Google Cloud Marketplaces act as distribution partners in all regions for AWS CPPO and Google MCPO transactions.

Requesting a Quote

APJ Partners

  1. Log into the partner portal.
  2. Click on the Common Requests page
  3. Complete the quote request form
  4. Click Submit. This routes to the Ecosystem Specialist’s case queue. A quote or a status update will be provided within 6 business hours.
  5. When the PO is ready, forward it to partnersupport@gitlab.com via the same email thread your quote was delivered on.

AMER, EMEA, and US PubSec Partners

To receive a quote:

  1. Register a deal or contact your Ecosystem Sales Manager
  2. Work with the assigned sales team throughout the opportunity
  3. Submit purchase orders to your assigned sales team

Transaction Processing

License Key Delivery

Once an order is invoiced and the customer accepts the EULA, they can activate their GitLab license key. The transacting partner’s invoice contact is copied on the activation email.

Customer Support and Changes

For technical support needs or subscription changes, partners should submit support tickets on behalf of customers. Access detailed instructions in the Partner Portal Guide.

To submit support tickets:

  1. Navigate to Common Requests in the Partner Portal
  2. Review the Technical Support for Customers content on the “Technical Readiness” page
  3. Select the relevant support ticket
  4. Follow all listed instructions for prompt response

End User License Agreement (EULA)

All orders require an executed EULA for new subscriptions or add-ons:

  1. License Key Deployment (default): Customer receives download link and accepts terms to get key
  2. Physical Signature: Fully countersigned document for customers requiring it

Renewals and Special Situations

Incumbency Renewals

  • Incumbent partners (those who transacted the most recent sale) qualify for program renewal discounts
  • Different partners can earn incumbency only through formal written customer communications
  • Partners must meet compliance requirements (good credit standing, customer engagement, proactive renewal pursuit)

Tender Offers (Multiple Bids)

  • All bidding partners qualify for Partner Base discount
  • Early partners with approved Partner Sourced Deal Registration can receive sourced program margin
  • Partners offering services qualify for Service Attach incentives
  • U.S. PubSec Exception: Non-sourced partners receive MSRP on tender offers without approved sourced registrations

Hyperscaler Partnerships

GitLab partners closely with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud. Partners with AWS and Google practices should leverage these relationships:

  • Marketing: MDF requests prioritized for activities including resale/services partners, GitLab, and hyperscalers
  • Sales: Partners in AWS CPPO or Google MCPO programs can sell GitLab through those platforms
  • Services: Partners with AWS and Google competencies receive priority for customer engagements

Not-for-Resale (NFR) Program and Policy

The GitLab Not-for-Resale (NFR) Program offers qualified GitLab partners with free access to GitLab solutions at no cost to our partners, enabling them to develop greater expertise on the platform. Learn more about benefits and requirements in the GitLab Partner Program Guide.

License Allocation

Select Partners:

  • Up to 25 Ultimate users per license type (50 total: 25 Self-Managed, 25 SaaS)
  • Up to 5 Duo product users
  • Additional licenses available with business justification

Open Partners:

  • Up to 10 Ultimate users per license type (20 total: 10 Self-Managed, 10 SaaS)

**AWS DevOps Competency Partners**:

  • Up to 25 GitLab Duo with Amazon Q users

Eligibility Requirements

  • Authorized Open or Select Partner in good standing
  • At least one employee with completed Solution Architect or Professional Services Engineer certification

Permitted Uses

  • Internal employee training
  • Integration testing with related DevOps products
  • Partner-led product demonstrations to prospects

Prohibited Uses

  • Customer production environments
  • Internal development/production (requires purchased licenses)
  • Managed services for customers

Requesting NFR Licenses

Submit NFR License Request Form on the GitLab Partner Portal Common Requests page. Allow two business days for provisioning.

Partner Marketing Resources

GitLab offers comprehensive partner marketing programs and sales tools to help generate leads and close deals faster.

Available Resources

  • Visit the Marketing Resource Center on the Partner Portal
  • Marketing Development Fund (MDF) program for pipeline generation
  • Review the GitLab Partner Program Guide for MDF details

GitLab Landing Page Requirements

Channel Partners are expected to have a GitLab landing page on their organization’s website.

Page Elements:

  • Preferred URL: yourcompanyurl.com/GitLab (or redirect to actual URL)
  • Local language encouraged
  • Authorized Reseller logo (from Partner Portal)
  • Link back to about.gitlab.com
  • “What Is GitLab?” paragraph from press kit
  • Links to corresponding about.gitlab.com pages for product mentions

Partner Communications

GitLab communicates with partners through multiple channels:

Communication Methods

  • Partner Flash Newsletter: Customize frequency and content preferences in portal
  • Partner Webcasts: Program announcements and monthly marketing webcasts
  • Portal Notifications: View notifications via bell icon in portal
  • Email Notifications: Out-of-cycle announcements, surveys, events

Information Sources

  • Partner Portal: Primary source for partner information
  • GitLab Handbook: Central repository for company operations (open and transparent)
  • Archived Content: Access via My News in portal menu

Not receiving communications? Contact the Partner Help Desk at PartnerSupport@GitLab.com to be re-added to communications.

Contact Information

For assistance, contact:

Last modified September 8, 2025: Update to APJ only for Channel quoting.md (51e98998)
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