Sales Commission best practices

These recommendations help you get accurate, motivating and auditable results from the Sales Commission app.

Set up before you switch on

• Choose the payout expense category first. In the Settings tab, pick the default expense category for payouts before approving anything — payouts are recorded as expenses and need somewhere to file.
• Build teams before programs. Create your sales teams and add members first, so you can target programs and objectives at real teams from day one.
• Grant the least permission needed. Give reps only the General permissions ("My commissions", "My team"); reserve Administration permissions for managers and finance.

Design clear commission programs

• Match the trigger to how you actually get paid. Use Invoice paid if you only want to pay reps on money received; use Subscription purchase / renewal to reward new and recurring subscriptions.
• Keep programs simple. A small number of clear programs is easier for reps to trust than many overlapping ones.
• Scope deliberately. Leave "Applies to teams" empty only when a program truly applies company-wide; otherwise target specific teams to avoid double-paying.
• Deactivate instead of deleting. Turn a program off with the Active toggle when it ends, so past commissions keep their link to the rule that created them.

Keep objectives fair and current

• Pick the right measure. Use number of sales for activity goals, sales volume for revenue goals, and commission volume when you want reps focused on their own earnings.
• Refresh each period. Set new objectives at the start of each week, month, quarter or year so progress bars always reflect the current goal.
• Mix individual and team objectives. Team objectives encourage collaboration; individual ones drive personal accountability.

Review commissions on a rhythm

• Approve on a schedule. Review pending commissions regularly (for example weekly) so reps see timely, trustworthy numbers.
• Reject rather than delete. Mark disputed or duplicate commissions as Rejected to keep a clean audit trail.
• Let automation do the maths. Prefer automatic recording from invoices and payments; reserve manual entries for genuine exceptions, and always tie them to the correct client and invoice.

Reconcile payouts with your books

• Pay from approved only. Only approved commissions can be added to a payout, which keeps unpaid or disputed amounts out of a payment run.
• Attach evidence. Add the payment reference or supporting documents to each payout for a complete record.
• Check the linked expense. Every payout creates an expense — confirm it lands in the right category so finance stays reconciled.
• Undo carefully. Deleting a payout reverts its commissions to Approved; use this to correct mistakes rather than editing numbers by hand.

Use referrals and gamification well

• Give every rep a link. Generate a referral link and QR code for each rep so new client sign-ups are attributed automatically.
• Regenerate a token if it leaks. Regenerating invalidates the old link — use it if a link is shared where it should not be.
• Design achievable badges. Set badge thresholds that are challenging but reachable, and run "Recalculate all" after changing criteria so awards stay accurate.

Protect data and trust

• Respect client ownership. A rep can only be credited for a commission on a client in their own portfolio — keep client ownership tidy to keep commissions correct.
• Communicate the rules. Share how programs and objectives work so reps understand exactly how their pay is calculated.