Sales commission software, intended to streamline compensation management, can create more work than it saves. The hidden cost of formula-heavy commission tools stems from time lost to administration, fear of breaking historicals, and lack of visibility. RevOps teams juggling spreadsheets and tools, and comp plans changing quarter over quarter, creating RevOps commission management challenges such as risk of errors and misaligned payouts.
Take Moxo, for example, a scaling SaaS company that found itself in this very situation. They outgrew their commission tracking software due to the increasing complexity in their comp plans. This story shows how Moxo reclaimed a full week of work, reduced risk, and gained confidence by switching to QuotaPath.
Key Takeaways:
- Formula-heavy commission tools don’t scale with changing comp plans.
Moxo learned that rigid, spreadsheet-like commission systems create admin bottlenecks, limit flexibility, and increase risk as compensation plans evolve quarter over quarter. - The right sales commission software can reclaim a full week of work.
By switching to QuotaPath, Moxo reduced commission prep from a full week of manual work to just a few hours, freeing RevOps to focus on higher-impact initiatives. - Visibility and locked historical payouts build trust across teams.
With QuotaPath, Moxo eliminated fears around changing historical commissions while giving sales reps clear, deal-level visibility into how they earn, driving adoption across Sales, Finance, and CS.
Design, track, and manage variable incentives with QuotaPath. Give your RevOps, finance, and sales teams transparency into sales compensation.
Talk to SalesThe Breaking Point: When Flexibility Disappeared
Emma Wilkinson, Head of RevOps, was overseeing commissions at Moxo. The previous sales commission software they were using was extremely formula-heavy, sort of like “Glorified Gsheets,” according to Emma. She was the primary admin and the only one who truly understood how to use it.
The tool was so complex that teaching others felt like “teaching a different language,” and only made sense “if somebody was familiar with formulas and spreadsheets,” according to Emma. This made it difficult to even train their approvers. Historical payouts changed unexpectedly during the comp plan update due to version control issues, causing rep confusion and mistrust. Consequently, Moxo was still relying on spreadsheets alongside the tool.
If this wasn’t stressful enough, the final straw was when Moxo wanted to change payout eligibility rules. The vendor said it wasn’t possible to make that change and that it would be too difficult to build the desired payout rules on their platform. This was the push that forced Emma to initiate a full reevaluation of their current tech stack and start conversations with QuotaPath.
Looking for a Simpler, More Flexible Alternative
As Emma started looking for a better solution, she thought, “There had to be a simpler solution—one that sales, leadership, and finance would be able to read more easily.” She also wanted commission plan flexibility to easily adjust plans without risking formula breaks.
What mattered most:
- Ease of use
- Flexibility as comp plans change
- Getting out of formulas entirely
QuotaPath was the standout option, delivering plug-and-play plan building, as Emma described it “just being able to build out a path, select components, and see a comp plan.” QuotaPath provided clear commission visibility for sales reps to see how they earn incentives. It also gave Emma confidence that the system could be managed by others — important since she was preparing to take parental leave.
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Read BlogWhy Moxo Chose QuotaPath
After a lengthy evaluation process, several key decision drivers led Moxo to select QuotaPath. The ability to build compensation plans in a visual, component-based comp plans interface, enabling them to make plan changes easily. They found they could even handle “funky” edge cases in QuotaPath and were never told “no.” “With you guys, the answer is always yes, we can handle that. Here’s how we build it out,” said Emma.
Support was a huge differentiator. Moxo received numerous demos during its evaluation as its vision evolved throughout the process. Emma noticed the collaborative problem-solving, where QuotaPath’s team always provided a solution rather than having to figure it out on their own. These experiences reinforced Emma’s trust and confidence heading into implementation, knowing they would receive support along the way.
From a Full Week to Just a Few Hours
Moxo has benefited greatly by switching to QuotaPath to automate sales commissions. Before they switched, it took Emma at least one full week per quarter to prepare commission, using multiple sheets. It was highly stressful when comp plans changed because there was no way to confirm that the formula changes were made everywhere they were needed to avoid errors.
After implementing QuotaPath, Emma was able to update all teams and plans in just a few hours, without fear of breaking calculations. Emma measures ROI “selfishly” in terms of time. “Preparing commissions used to take at least a week of uninterrupted time. Now, it takes a couple of hours to make updates across all teams and plans,” said Emma.
Reducing Financial Risk with Locked Historical Payouts
From a Finance and reporting perspective, historicals changing as Emma made changes to the plans were “a really scary thought.” Their formula-heavy platform prevented them from confirming that updates occurred where needed, increasing the risk of not being able to reconcile the numbers.
With QuotaPath, historical payouts are locked, and forward-looking changes don’t affect the past. Consequently, Finance and reporting confidence has increased, reducing audit and reconciliation risk.
“Our sales team loves it. Being able to see earnings from a deal perspective is important for them. Previously, it was here’s what you’re earning, then here’s how it’s broken out. But now it’s here’s the deal you closed or the meeting you had, and here are the different ways you earned from that specific object.”
Emma Wilkinson, Moxo
Sales Team Buy-In Through Visibility
The sales reps’ experience has significantly improved since Moxo switched to QuotaPath. Individual reps can view earnings deal-by-deal, matching how they think about their work. By contrast, they were previously given earning totals first, with explanations later.
Results:
- Easier comprehension
- Higher trust
- Better motivation
As Emma explained, “Our sales team loves it. Being able to see earnings from a deal perspective is important for them. Previously, it was here’s what you’re earning, then here’s how it’s broken out. But now it’s here’s the deal you closed or the meeting you had, and here are the different ways you earned from that specific object. I think they like that breakdown. It’s easy for them to digest. It’s easy for them to compare it to their actual paper comp plan.”
Support as a True Partnership
QuotaPath’s weekly support touchpoints, quarterly check-ins around plan changes, fast responses, and proactive problem-solving have led to a strong partnership. Emma especially appreciates this level of care since she was often left “on her own” to navigate issues with the previous tool. In fact, QuotaPath always brings solutions when she needs them. “You always came to us with a solution, not the other way around,” said Emma.
Design, track, and manage variable incentives with QuotaPath. Give your RevOps, finance, and sales teams transparency into sales compensation.
Talk to SalesMoxo’s Takeaway
Switching to QuotaPath sales commission software enabled Moxo to save time and simplified how RevOps commission management worked across the business. By moving away from a rigid, formula-heavy system, Emma reclaimed a full week of administrative work each quarter, reduced financial risk with locked historical payouts, and gained the confidence to make plan changes without fear of breaking calculations.
Just as importantly, the team unlocked true commission plan flexibility and company-wide adoption, giving Sales, Finance, and leadership clear visibility into how incentives are earned and tracked as the company scales. “QuotaPath has been an amazing change for us. I recommend it to RevOps leaders, sales managers, and finance across the board,” said Emma.
See how QuotaPath helps RevOps teams replace formula-heavy commission tools with flexible, audit-ready commission tracking. Request a demo today.
