Account executives (AE) owning the renewal process is common practice in SaaS.
But not all SaaS companies follow suit.
In this sector, particularly among mid-sized to large companies, account executives often take responsibility for managing and renewing customer subscriptions. This approach allows account executives to maintain a direct relationship with customers, understand their evolving needs, and ensure a seamless renewal process.
Conversely, early-stage companies typically leave renewals to account managers (AM) or customer success managers (CSM). This allows the AEs to focus exclusively on growing the customer base by adding new logos versus retaining existing ones, which can muddy priorities.
Explore Compensation Plan Templates
Find, compare, build, and customize AE and SDR compensation plans using our adjustable compensation plan templates.
So, what about the mid-size to large companies who need comp plans with a renewal component?
Enter this blog.
AE comp plan renewals
For your AE comp plan with a renewal focus, generally, you’ll create two quotas for the AE.
1st Quota: New Biz
2nd Quota: Net Revenue Retention (NRR) or Gross Revenue Retention (GRR) with an upsell component
Then, you will dedicate a specific amount of the AE’s variable to each quota. You’ll base this on how much time you want the AE to spend on each while also considering how much you want to compensate them for doing so.
For example, if their variable is split 50/50 (50% New Biz and 50% NRR), and it’s easier for the AE to secure renewals and upsells, your rep will most likely spend more time there. However, if you dedicate 10% of their variable toward renewals, that’s likely not enough to motivate your reps to focus on renewals.
TIP: Carefully lay out the splits and recognize that the splits will vary by company. If your AEs are the only ones responsible for retention and upsells, a 50/50 play may work. Remember that if renewals are easier than new logos, your reps may slip on the new biz under this comp structure.
Other comp structure considerations:
Some companies will pay the AE on renewals but offer it in addition to their on-target earnings (OTE), offering a nice bump in compensation to the rep.
You could also offer single-rate or fixed bonuses for high-risk churns that end up renewing
We’ve also seen AEs not earning on renewals but still having a renewal quota. Reps earn nothing compensation-wise for renewals but are penalized if they don’t hit a renewal target.
We do not recommend this for obvious reasons.
You could pay AEs only on upsell, as well, versus renewals and upsells. For instance, if the contract value increases from $100K to $150K, the rep earns commission from just the $50K.
Note that this structure sends the message that your org. weighs renewals and churns the same. For that reason, we do not recommend this comp model.
Lastly, we highly recommend including multi-year accelerators or incentives at the new-biz and renewal levels. This secures predictable retention and lengthens the contract term, which gives your team a longer runway to build and establish value and adoption for your customer.
Build and test comp plans
Understand what your comp plan proposals’ potential commission earnings and team quota attainment will calculate to with existing deal data.
When designing an AE compensation plan with a renewal component, several key considerations are crucial to ensure alignment with business goals and motivation for the sales team:
Clear Objectives and Metrics: Clearly define the objectives tied to renewals and establish measurable metrics. Whether it’s renewal rates, customer satisfaction scores, or upsell opportunities within renewals, having specific metrics will guide performance expectations.
Balance with New Sales: Strike the right balance between rewarding new customer acquisition and successful renewals. Motivating AEs to focus on both aspects is essential, fostering a holistic approach to customer lifecycle management.
Renewal Complexity: Consider the complexity of your product or service renewals. If renewals involve substantial account management efforts, a tiered commission structure can be effective based on the required level of effort.
Customer Success Collaboration: Encourage collaboration between AEs and Customer Success teams. Incentivize AEs to work closely with Customer Success to ensure a smooth renewal process and promptly address customer concerns.
Long-Term Value (LTV): Align the renewal component with the customer’s long-term value. Consider factors like upsell potential, cross-selling opportunities, and overall customer lifetime value when determining renewal incentives.
Retention and Churn Mitigation: If churn mitigation is a significant concern, structure the renewal component to reward AEs for retaining customers. Implement measures to address potential churn factors and provide bonuses for successful retention efforts.
Timing of Payouts: Define when renewal commissions are paid out. It could be upon contract renewal, staggered throughout the renewal period, or tied to achieving specific milestones during the renewal process.
Performance Thresholds: Set performance thresholds that AEs must meet to qualify for renewal incentives. This ensures that rewards are earned through sustained effort and success rather than automatic entitlement.
Communication and Training: Communicate the renewal component of the comp plan to AEs and provide training on effective renewal strategies. Ensure that AEs understand how their efforts contribute to short-term and long-term business objectives.
Data Accuracy and Reporting: Implement robust systems for accurately tracking and reporting renewal metrics. AEs should have access to real-time data to monitor their progress and understand the impact of their efforts on renewals.
By carefully considering these factors, companies can design AE comp plans with renewal components that motivate sales teams, drive customer retention, and contribute to overall business growth.
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Try the most collaborative solution to manage, track and payout variable compensation. Calculate commissions and pay your team accurately, and on time.
Interested in automating your sales compensation process? Schedule time with our team today to see how QuotaPath can help you run commissions more efficiently and accurately. Or, explore our platform by signing up for a free trial.
A well-designed and executed sales compensation plan is essential to company success. It is intended to communicate expectations and motivate sales behaviors that drive business goal achievement. If the comp plan is confusing, sales reps won’t understand how they earn commissions and will not effectively prioritize sales activities that drive the desired results.
Every leader we surveyed for our report cited at least one issue during the design process, and 30% identified “maintaining simplicity” as the most challenging setback. Our survey also revealed a pattern of overcomplicated plans.
2024 Compensation Trends Report
Our most recent survey, Solving the Biggest Sales Compensation Challenges, evaluated today’s biggest issues with sales compensation design, management, and execution.
Don’t worry; we’re here to help simplify your comp plans and boost their effectiveness.
This blog will review the pitfalls of overcomplicated plans, aligning objectives/metrics with comp plans, streamlining, communicating, reviewing adjustments, Sales and Finance collaboration, and plan feedback.
Understanding the pitfalls of overcomplication
Complex sales compensation plans often lead to setbacks.
Our revenue leaders surveyed said overly complicated plans are harder to execute (18%) and too complicated to understand (17%). They also indicated that “simplifying it” (22%) was the most needed improvement in sales compensation management.
Plus, 19% of participants reported that their comp plan doesn’t motivate reps. So, it’s unsurprising that 60% of reps take 3 to 6 months to understand how they are paid.
The solution? Simplifying sales comp plans.
For example, EverView had 35 comp plans, some of which had as many as 12 components.
When EverView leaders surveyed their sales team, they found that 50% of their reps didn’t understand how they earned commissions. So, under the guidance of the QuotaPath team, they simplified and consolidated them into 8 plans.
This newfound clarity motivated their sellers so much that 70% of the team hit quota, and an additional 20% met 90% of the quota.
It’s amazing how motivating a comp plan can be when your reps understand it.
Need help with comp plan design?
Connect with our team for a compensation plan consultation to review your existing structures and identify areas of opportunity.
Survey participants identified maintaining plan alignment with business goals as the biggest challenge in sales compensation management. It’s essential to clearly define objectives and identify metrics that align with them so the plan motivates behaviors that drive business goals.
“You have to eliminate any disconnect between the business’s performance and your team’s performance,” said QuotaPath VP of RevOps Ryan Milligan.
Focusing on metrics aligned with business objectives and creating comp plans based on those metrics helps your business drive profitability, growth, and seller satisfaction.
This is a win-win where reps are rewarded for sales actions while the business achieves its goals.
Streamlining commission structures
Although simplifying tiered commission structures makes them easier to understand, you must ensure they motivate your sales reps. A great way to achieve this is by limiting each plan to three components, like an accelerator, a standard commission rate, and a bonus.
Then, evaluate the balance between simplicity and competitiveness. Make sure that your plan is well aligned with industry and market trends. Otherwise, you could encounter difficulties recruiting and retaining top talent, especially in a competitive hiring market.
EverView illustrates successful streamlining commission models. QuotaPath partnered with them to get their plans down from 35 to 8 and then to 1. As a result, they had their best sales year immediately after simplifying their comp plans, with 70% of the team hitting quota.
Transparent and understandable communication
Clear communication is essential when introducing a new or adjusted sales compensation plan. You don’t want sales reps to experience an unpleasant surprise when their commission check differs from what they expected after pushing for that big deal based on the previous plan.
Failure to share plan changes with sellers before launching a new commission plan leaves reps feeling blindsided, disappointed, and suspicious. This can even cause some reps to quit over miscommunication of comp plans.
That’s why you must create a compensation communication plan when designing a new commission plan. This is where you plan to clearly explain the plan, what has changed, and why, and answer questions about the plan. Then, confirm that everyone understands how they earn commissions by completing a plan verification process. This step creates alignment and transparency across the comp planning process.
Tips for effective communication to avoid misunderstandings include:
Use consistent messaging each time you share the plan to avoid confusion.
Employ various methods to communicate the new plan because everyone learns differently.
Start broad and become more detailed each time the plan is shared and in increasingly smaller audiences, such as the entire sales team vs individually 1:1.
Create a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) document.
Include calculation examples based on various scenarios within the plan documents.
Explain why the plan is changing.
Share the benefits of the new plan.
Plan documents should be sufficiently long to provide details without being overly lengthy.
Avoid using legalese and technical or confusing jargon in the plan document.
Clearly define how performance ties to incentives.
Regular reviews and adjustments
Your work doesn’t end there once you have a simple, logical, and fair compensation plan.
As the market changes, your business goals also change, calling for your team to revisit and adjust your compensation plans accordingly. This way, your plans continue to motivate your reps and drive business goals. Otherwise, you could fall behind quickly and incentivize behaviors misaligned to the changing goals.
Here are some best practices for continuous improvement and adaptability:
Make sure your compensation plans are aligned with your most important business metrics.
Check to see if you’re on target to hit the current quarter’s targets and what percentage of your team has or is on pace to finish the quarter at goal.
Look at the difference between earnings and attainment of your lowest-performing rep and your highest.
Make sure you aren’t paying commissions when your team isn’t hitting targets.
Gather rep feedback to see how they feel about the current plan.
How Sales and Finance can work better together this comp plan season
Learn what preemptive steps you can take before inviting Finance into your compensation plan discussions and how to have productive and aligned conversations.
Sales and Finance should work together throughout the sales comp design and implementation process to ensure rep confidence in the program. Collaborating early and often aligns Sales and Finance to ensure plan simplicity and accuracy, increasing its effectiveness.
For example, our VP of Finance, Ryan Macia, and Senior Financial Analyst Jonathan Mann are excellent examples of how Finance and Sales can partner throughout the sales compensation design and implementation process.
Ryan and Jonathan both suggest that Sales engage with Finance after creating a plan proposal.
“I prefer when Sales comes to us with options and pre-proposals,” Ryan said. “I don’t like starting from scratch. If you can come to me with some concepts that will motivate the team, we can determine if it will break the bottom line.”
Employee feedback and involvement
Another way that Sales and Finance work collaboratively on the comp plan design is for Sales to gather feedback from quota-carrying team members. Soliciting feedback from sales representatives during the process helps you understand what actually motivates them, what they’ve liked in previous plans, and what they would’ve changed.
Involving sales teams in the process by requesting their input enhances plan acceptance when it is implemented. This also builds a culture of openness and responsiveness to feedback that creates trust.
Achieve sales compensation plan simplicity
The most challenging issue leaders have when creating comp plans is maintaining simplicity. You can employ several key strategies to resist overcomplicating sales compensation plans.
Doing things like getting clear on your business objectives and metrics, simplifying tiered commission structures, and communicating the new plan are a good start.
Then, remember to conduct regular reviews to assess plan performance, encourage Sales and Finance collaboration during the design and implementation process, and gather feedback from quota-carrying reps.
Taking these steps helps you achieve sales compensation plan simplicity and clarity and drives sales team success. It might also be worth exploring automating the process to deliver visibility and insights into your compensation plans’ performance and test and measure plan changes — schedule time with our team to learn more.
As we approach the end of another year, it’s time to reflect on the incredible journey we’ve shared at QuotaPath.
2023 presented a unique challenge for many tech companies, including us, as we navigated market volatility. Despite the economic environment’s uncertainties, our commitment to empowering revenue leaders to optimize their sales compensation processes remained unwavering.
In fact, we doubled down on our technology and services to make QuotaPath users’ experiences more efficient and impactful by releasing nearly 50 new features and product updates — many of which came directly from listening to our customers and turning feedback into innovation.
These include enhancements to our free trial, streamlined setups in QuotaPath, tools to draft and test compensation plan proposals, and role-specific holistic dashboards to prioritize task management and deliver more transparency into compensation.
Try QuotaPath for free
Try the most collaborative solution to manage, track and payout variable compensation. Calculate commissions and pay your team accurately, and on time.
We’ve listened closely to your feedback and prioritized developments that address your most pressing needs.
“QuotaPath continues to listen to customer feedback on ways to evolve the payout process in the platform by updating workflows and improving the reports available for my teams,” said a Director of Finance who uses QuotaPath.
Here’s a glimpse into the key areas we focused our efforts:
Streamlined Commission Payouts
Accelerated Onboarding and Time to Value
Free Trial enhancements
Sample compensation plans and data (sandbox)
Streamlined set up
First, we focused on getting started in QuotaPath more quickly.
Chances are that if you’re evaluating QuotaPath, you’ve already experienced snafus with your sales compensation management process.
To help realize the value of automation faster, this year, we launched enhancements to our Free Trial, filled new QuotaPath workspaces with sample plans and data, and streamlined plan setup.
The latter took getting started in QuotaPath down to just 3 steps that follow an intuitive, guided process. So, the first time you log in, you’re greeted with a setup dashboard that takes you through building a comp plan, syncing deal data, and onboarding team members.
Enhancements to Comp Plan Builder
Advanced Path Dependencies
Fractional Attainment
Auto Commission Rates
Draft Plans
Plan Details
Next, we invested in our Plan Builder tool to accommodate deeper comp plan complexities.
These adjustments included advanced path dependencies, fractional attainment (think: an SDR that is paid based on demos set), auto commission rates, draft plans, and plan details.
Each of these has led to huge improvements in building out comp plans in our system.
For instance, auto commission rates calculates commission rates on the backend (and shows you how the rate was calculated). This allows you to skip building complex formulas the next time your comp plan calls for variable pay splits, multipliers, and more.
“The automatic commission rate feature at the rep level will support an expedited process around plan configuration, increase visibility, and minimize opportunities for errors. I’m excited that QuotaPath continues to enable our team at Muck Rack to execute with enhanced precision and transparency!”, said Claire King, RevOps Associate Director at Muck Rack.
And we recently introduced Draft Plans so those responsible for proposing comp plan changes can test their structures against previous sales data to see how they would perform.
This feature came at the request of several of our customers, who were thrilled to see it live.
“So excited to use this for building next year’s plans ahead of time. Kudos to your team for getting this out there before then,” wrote one customer.
Lastly, we made editing and monitoring the ongoing performance of comp plans in a new Plan Details view easier. This dashboard pulls earning paths within each compensation structure, the deal data used to calculate commissions, and lists the reps who follow that plan. A performance section within this view also shows how your team is progressing to plan and displays total earnings, average effective rate, and plan attainment by rep.
Home for Admin
Streamlined Commission and Data Management
Home for Admins & Reps (including a mobile view for Reps)
Mobile view for Reps
Deal Search and Deal Details
Member Details
Visual Design Updates
Streamlined Payouts Workflow
The new Plan Details view skims only the surface of our efforts to streamline commission and data management. Throughout 2023, we also rolled out visualizations, design updates, and workflows tailored to the various roles of our users.
For example, Home for Admins and Home for Reps surface compensation notifications, such as lingering deal approvals, flagged deals that need resolving, or comp plans awaiting rep signatures.
Admins see total earnings across their teams, payouts and effective rates, and trends according to quota frequencies.
“This view brings forward the right data that I need to complete the commission process faster and close the loop on discrepancies,” said a customer.
Meanwhile, reps gain an overview of their earnings per month or quarter and plan payment breakdowns and payouts, fostering seller accountability, understanding, and ownership of their sales compensation.
Then, we cut the time to process commissions in QuotaPath in half by organizing deal and payout information by rep. Called Streamlined Payouts Workflow, this enhancement enables those who run commissions to approve earnings and schedule payouts from a universal view in a guided process.
“Streamlined Payouts is huge for me,” said one of our customers, who is an accountant for a SaaS company.
New integrations with leading CRM and Payments/Accounting platforms
Self-service integrations syncs (including Pipedrive, Copper, Quickbooks, GoogleSheets, and Stripe)
Okta
Microsoft SSO
Last but not least, 2023 marked a watershed moment for QuotaPath, as we empowered revenue teams with unprecedented autonomy and efficiency by launching self-service integrations within our platform.
Now, you can seamlessly bridge the gap between your existing tech stack (Pipedrive, Copper, Quickbooks, GoogleSheets, and Stripe) and QuotaPath with just a few clicks.
Plus, to simplify login processes and enhance user security, we enabled customers to login to QuotaPath using their Single Sign-On accounts with Okta and Microsoft Azure SSO.
Streamline commissions for your RevOps, Finance, and Sales teams
Design, track, and manage variable incentives with QuotaPath. Give your RevOps, finance, and sales teams transparency into sales compensation.
These advancements are a testament to our unwavering dedication to providing you with the best possible tools to manage your sales compensation effectively.
We’re confident that these new features will empower you to:
Get started in QuotaPath quickly and easily.
Design and test compensation plans with greater accuracy and confidence.
As we move forward, we remain committed to listening to your feedback and evolving our platform to meet your ever-changing needs. We’re excited to continue bringing innovative features to the market. Speaking of which, we have two exciting additions coming in January involving customized reporting that will provide valuable insights into commissions for our customers.
Thank you for being a part of the QuotaPath community! Want to be a part of it? Schedule time with our team to learn more about how QuotaPath can help you
Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002 to mitigate fraudulent financial reporting, requiring public companies to run audits with an independent auditor every year.
But what about startups? Are they required to hold audits?
While not mandated by law, a few situations may call for it. It’s a pretty standard procedure between startups and investors, and a good one at that.
Take, for instance, QuotaPath — one of our lead investors calls for an annual audit as part of our funding agreement.
Potential investors and creditors alike may require an audit to ensure the company’s financial statements are reasonably accurate and reliable. They can also identify risks or problems and verify that the company uses its funds responsibly and ethically. The goal of any public or private audit is to assess the risk of material misstatement in a company’s financials.
Audit more efficiently with QuotaPath
Expedite your audit processes and keep ASC 606 and 340-60 compliant. Approve sales deals, schedule payments, create audit-ready reports, and amortize commissions in one workspace to ensure a smooth and aligned month-end process.
Another instance when startups subject themselves to an audit occurs when a business wants to sell. If so, potential buyers may request it to check if they’re getting a fair price.
So, while not required by law, it is in a startup’s best interest to be audit-ready if an investor requires it down the road or a sale is on the horizon. Plus, it’s a good business practice.
Why startups should embrace audits
Beyond an investor’s request, additional benefits come from completing an audit.
First, an audit can help you identify potential problems with your business. This includes accounting errors, financial mismanagement, and compliance issues. By identifying these problems early on, you can address them before they become more significant.
Second, your findings and recommendations from the auditor can improve your business operations. They can help you identify areas with room for improvement, like process inefficiencies, potential risks, and vulnerabilities, and offer solutions to address each.
And third, an audit can build trust with investors and partners. If you want to raise money or partner with other businesses, an audit can show that your business is well-run and you are serious about your business.
But one does not simply run an audit. Gathering documents and addressing auditor questions takes tremendous time, organization, and preparation.
Tips for Your Startup Audit
Sound daunting? It doesn’t have to be.
While not many people get excited about “auditing season,” they are a necessary part of running a successful business. They can act as a valuable tool for identifying and addressing potential problems.
To help prepare for audit season, whether your first or your 10th, follow these best practices and tips from QuotaPath’s Finance team, our VP of Finance Ryan Macia, and Finance Manager Jonathan Mann.
5. Be preemptive.
Anticipate where the auditors’ questions will come from and shore up as much as you can leading up to it. You’ll have adjustments to make, but by getting ahead of them, you can minimize the adjustments the auditor will request.
4. Prioritize what to focus time on.
Audits require a considerable time commitment from your Finance team. And that’s in addition to their day-to-day responsibilities serving the company.
To help with time management, choose what you want to focus more heavily on.
You want to make sure to complete all of the documentation. But if you identify areas to hold off on until the auditor’s recommendations, you can save time and direct your attention to more time-consuming but straightforward tasks.
3. Be collaborative with your auditing team (not adversarial)
“Think of your relationship with your auditor as a partnership,” Ryan said.
It’s not a you vs. them.
When you work in lockstep with them, they can help you identify and correct errors, improve internal controls, and keep you compliant with laws and regulations while providing assurance.
2. Ongoing financial hygiene
Ryan and Jonathan also offered some advice on how to stay abreast of audit tasks outside of auditing season.
“Make the audit requirements part of your month’s end process,” said Ryan.
1. Score yourself
Lastly, Jonathan suggested popping open financial statements and scoring yourself line by line.
“Ask yourself, ‘How comfortable am I with this getting audited?’” Jonathan said.
Check for adequate supporting documentation and ensure any assumptions are clear and grounded. If it’s not, get that documentation.
Streamline commissions for your RevOps, Finance, and Sales teams
Design, track, and manage variable incentives with QuotaPath. Give your RevOps, finance, and sales teams transparency into sales compensation.
How QuotaPath can help with auditing of commissions
We appreciate Ryan and Jonathan sharing their advice and experience regarding startup audits.
Now, when it comes to sales commissions, QuotaPath can help prepare commissions for auditing.
Our commission tracking software provides a centralized platform for tracking, managing, and amortizing commission payments.
Let QuotaPath house your commission data so that when you need to run a report that shows commissions, payouts, and clawbacks, you can quickly populate one over any period.
Plus, use granular audit trails to reconcile payouts with accruals and minimize the need for true-up entries. Close the books faster, define eligibility rules for when commissions payout, and feed your financial model from live forecasts in QuotaPath.
It’s that time of year: compensation plan design season.
Many companies are finalizing the compensation proposals throughout November and December to prepare them for sales kickoffs during the first quarter.
The sales compensation plan is one of the most essential tools in a sales team’s arsenal. It can be a powerful way to motivate and reward salespeople and align their goals with the company’s overall business objectives. Who builds the sales comp plan will vary according to the size and stage of the company.
For instance, at smaller companies without a RevOps team, it often falls to the sales leader (who may or may not have built a comp plan before) and only the sales leader. At organizations with RevOps, the responsibility shifts to them.
But it shouldn’t be put on one department’s shoulders.
Rather, the comp plan should include input from Finance, Sales, maybe even the board, and support from HR.
Involving multiple departments with different perspectives in your plan design increases rep trust in the comp plan.
This blog explores who to include in your comp plan design committee and at what stage during the building process to involve them.
Let’s get started.
Compensation Plan Templates
Discover, compare, build, and customize sales compensation plans using adjustable comp plan templates.
Who to include in your comp plan design committee:
Our 2023 Sales Compensation Trends survey revealed that sales leadership often owns the plan design process at early-stage companies, where RevOps teams take over this responsibility as companies scale. However, it’s essential that the plan isn’t designed in a silo.
The best comp plans result from collaboration across multiple teams like Sales, Finance, HR, and Marketing.
Below, we discuss what each stakeholder contributes to the process.
Sales leadership
Sales leadership is essential to any comp plan design committee. They have the most profound understanding of the sales team’s goals and challenges and provide valuable insights into structuring the comp plan to achieve those goals.
Sales leaders can also facilitate getting feedback from sales reps to understand better what motivates them and what they’ve liked and disliked about previous compensation structures. This input is essential as you build the new comp plan.
Finance
Finance is another vital member of this design committee.
They can provide insights into the company’s financial goals and constraints and help ensure the comp plan is aligned with those goals.
Finance will typically be the department that “approves” the plan, but our recent report indicated a disconnect exists between how leaders view the success and alignment of their plans. For instance, Finance felt more confident than RevOps and Sales leaders that their plans align with business goals and that they motivate sales reps. That’s likely because of their role by coming in at the end of the design process.
By bringing them into conversations early, you can help ensure confidence in the plan’s performance is universal across the organization.
Have a pre-design meeting with finance to share your thoughts. Then, they can give you a pulse check to determine if you’re on the right track. From there, you can build your sales compensation strategy.
Build and test comp plans with Draft Plans
With QuotaPath’s Draft Plans tool, run plan proposals against existing CRM data to estimate total teamwide commissions, identify potential edge cases, get a pulse on plan effective rates, and see how realistic (or unrealistic) attainment goals are.
RevOps teams are responsible for designing and implementing sales processes and technologies. They know the data, sales behaviors, motivators, and business context. This enables RevOps to provide valuable insights into structuring the comp plan to support the sales team’s processes.
However, we found that RevOps-led comp plans are the second most trusted, indicating that RevOps has some work to do in that area. One way to accomplish this is through increased sales team engagement. Our Senior Director of RevOps, Ryan Milligan, handles this by hosting monthly one-on-ones with every member of the sales organization to check in and gather feedback.
Board of Directors and C-Suite
Consider including your board of directors and C-Suite in the comp plan design process. They can guide the company’s overall business goals and objectives and help ensure the comp plan is aligned.
Ask them to prioritize three to five strategic company initiatives. Then determine if the sales compensation plan can reinforce any of those priorities.
Human resources (HR)
Less commonly talked about is HR’s role in comp plan design.
HR can provide support on the legal and regulatory aspects regarding sales compensation. They can also help to ensure that the comp plan is fair and equitable for all employees by providing industry rates on OTEs and salary structures.
This ensures that comp plans are competitive and helps prevent discord on the design team regarding how much other companies pay their reps.
How healthy is your comp plan?
Answer 7 questions to quickly assess if your account e business compensation plan strategy is healthy and balanced.
Marketing should support compensation plan design if the SDR/BDR team falls under their jurisdiction and if any or all of the marketing team have variable pay as part of their compensation package.
Also, marketing plays a massive role in building the financial model for the next year by generating inbound leads and pipelines, which is necessary to set quotas and OTEs for reps.
When to include each stakeholder in the comp plan design process
Each participant plays an important role in the comp plan design. Below, we look at when these various stakeholders engage in the process.
Early stages
Involve sales leadership and finance early on. They can define the comp plan’s goals and objectives and develop a high-level structure. Together, these stakeholders can also do some preliminary pressure testing to ensure that your proposed plan won’t break the budget.
Later stages
RevOps, the board of directors, and HR should join the later stages of the comp plan design process. They can provide feedback on the plan’s structure and ensure that it is aligned with the company’s overall business goals and objectives so it will drive desired outcomes.
Build your sales comp plan
The sales compensation plan is essential to motivate and reward sales reps while driving business objective achievement.
Although Sales Leadership or RevOps typically drives the sales compensation design process, it’s critical to build them outside of a silo. Collaborate with various departments throughout the process and remember to consider sales rep input. The resulting plan will be more effective and trusted by the sales team.
Still need more support on industry sales compensation best practices? Schedule a chat with the QuotaPath team or run sales compensation more efficiently with a free trial.
Will your next sales kickoff (SKO) be one of the 25% that earns an “A” grade?
According to data from TaskDrive, a research analytics firm for B2B and marketing teams, nearly 75% of sales kickoff attendees claim their company’s SKO fails to meet “A”-level standards.
Here’s why you should care: Your SKO sets the tone and direction for the entire sales team throughout the year.
A well-planned and impactful SKO fosters a sense of alignment, motivation, and collaboration among team members. It provides a platform for sharing knowledge, learning from top performers, and aligning individual goals with the company’s strategic objectives.
…a successful SKO becomes a catalyst for enhancing the overall success and cohesion of the sales team.
It offers a time to reset, re-inspire, and re-engage your team after one of the most challenging years growth teams have seen.
Plus, employees who feel their SKOs are well executed are more likely to experience increased motivation, job satisfaction, and a sense of belonging, leading to improved performance, customer satisfaction, and long-term business growth. In essence, a successful SKO becomes a catalyst for enhancing the overall success and cohesion of the sales team.
Delve into the intricacies of planning, executing, and maximizing the impact of your SKO event. Get ideas for budget-friendly sessions, speakers, and follow-up activities to ensure your team meets and exceeds its goals in the coming year.
Whether you’re a seasoned leader or diving into SKO planning for the first time, this guide will equip you with the strategies and best practices to have your employees sing your praise.
Read below to learn more about the book and upcoming QuotaPath events supporting SKOs.
Master Sales Kickoff Excellence
Unlock the secrets to a successful Sales Kickoff (SKO) with our comprehensive guide.
Then, we’ll host six in-person bowling events in Austin, Chicago, Boston, New York City, Washington D.C., and San Francisco.
Register here, and we look forward to celebrating with you in person.
SKO Celebration Happy Hours
Jan 16: Austin
Jan 18: Chicago
Jan 23: Boston
Jan 25: New York City
Jan 30: Washington D.C.
Feb 2: San Francisco
We’ll see you there!
About QuotaPath
QuotaPath is your trusted partner in streamlining and optimizing sales compensation. Whether rolling out new compensation plans at your SKO or enhancing ongoing commission management processes, QuotaPath empowers your sales teams, simplifies complexities, and ensures accuracy and transparency in commission payouts.
Sam Jacobs reported, “We’ve been experimenting with sales outsourcing and have had great success with it at Pavilion.”
Asad Azman, Sam’s Co-Host and CEO of Sales Talent Agency, also shared, “Force Management’s entire sales team consisted of former CROs making $500-600K. Consequently, Force Management grew substantially because they had the best people talking to their customers.”
Streamline commissions for your RevOps, Finance, and Sales teams
Design, track, and manage variable incentives with QuotaPath. Give your RevOps, finance, and sales teams transparency into sales compensation.
As you can see, outsourcing sales can be effective.
Still, we had questions. What types or stages of companies is a freelance sales team most suitable for, and who makes the best reps?
For help, we connected with SalesStar USA Founding Partner and Practice Leader Frank Niekamp. Frank oversees a group of clients for hire as 1099 sales associates and has firsthand experience hiring contract, or what he calls “Uber,” sales reps.
According to Frank, although hiring for freelance reps has slowed overall, there are still growing companies and startups that don’t have the capital to hire a full-time sales rep. And if that’s the case, this might be the solution they seek.
Below, we’ll look at the pros and cons of this model, when to hire freelance sales reps, and how to hire and pay them.
Let’s get started.
Pros and cons of this model
There are many benefits to hiring freelance sales reps and a few drawbacks.
The positives of using 1099 salespeople include:
Sales expense becomes a variable expense: Freelance sales reps are 1099 employees who are most frequently only paid when they sell something, directly tying sales expense to revenue — although some may work for an hourly rate. This eliminates the return on investment (ROI) lag experienced when employing a full-time sales rep.
New salesperson ROI is immediate: Contract salespeople aren’t an expense, whereas a full-time employee in sales is an expense until they become fully ramped. When a new full-time salesperson is hired, business owners are looking for an ROI within 9-12 months, but it may take up to a year and a half to cover their overhead.
Improves cash flow: Outsourced sales reps are only paid when they generate revenue, simplifying cash flow.
Staffing flexibility: Using freelance salespeople gives you flexibility as you scale your business, navigate seasonal requirements, or expand into new markets.
Existing relationships: 1099 sales reps often sell for multiple non-competing businesses that appeal to their existing network of prospects. This offers the potential to sell to the contractor’s existing sales contacts.
Less training: Freelance salespeople have a depth of prior selling experience, requiring minimal training.
Shorter ramp-up time: 1099 sales reps are often semi-retired individuals and professionals with years of experience.
Longer potential tenure: Unlike traditional sales reps, who may only stay in a role for up to two years, freelance reps are often available longer since they aren’t looking to advance their careers.
Now, let’s look at the negatives:
Less dedication: Contract sales reps often sell for more than one business, so they aren’t investing as much time promoting your product as a full-time employee.
Reduced output: Time investment and results will vary by rep for the same reason as their level of dedication.
Retention varies: Although you may be able to retain freelance sales reps longer, it depends on how well they sell your product, their specific situation, and the length of your sales cycle. If they sell your product well, they will likely be easy to retain. But if they don’t have sufficient savings and your sales cycle is longer than 90 days, you may experience a high turnover rate since they likely need steady pay.
When to hire a freelance sales rep
So, when should businesses consider hiring a contract salesperson?
Frank said, “I see 1099 reps as a better fit for a small business looking to scale. They don’t have the cash reserve to hire a full-time employee and are still working through some proof of concept. As a result, they don’t want the funding to run out before they find a concept that actually works.”
He added that companies with shorter sales cycles work best for this model.
When it makes sense to hire sales freelancers
To fill an immediate sales staff requirement
Expanding into a new market
A temporary skill set requirement
To boost sales leads or meetings
Inability to find or hire a good match full-time candidate
When you aren’t ready for a full-time hire yet
Budgetary constraints or cash flow preventing the hiring of a full-time rep
To help achieve revenue goals
Finetuning a repeatable sales process
How to pay a freelance sales rep
If you decide to hire contract salespeople, they are typically paid a straight commission.
“This will vary, but generally, you eat what you kill,” Frank said.
Some of the commission-based structures that Frank has seen offered to 1099 sales reps include:
Commissions are paid if an opportunity converts to a closed deal. Commission percentage rates will vary by industry and margin levels of product. In SaaS, for instance, gross margins are double what a manufactured product would ever be able to capture. For example, manufacturing has margins in the high 30s and 40s, whereas SaaS margin rates are typically double that.
“The common thread is that compensation is generally higher for 1099 contracted employees and at least 1.5x to 2x the commission rates of a full-time employee,” said Frank.
Additionally, consider the following challenges when compensating freelance sales reps.
“It’s not difficult to hire a 1099 salesperson. That’s the easy part,” said Frank. “Plenty of people are willing to work more independently with less predictable income in the first 90 days.”
The sales cycle is where this becomes challenging.
“If your sales cycle is so long that you can’t compensate your 1099 rep within 90 days, you won’t be able to retain them,” Frank said.
To overcome this, Frank suggested rewarding behaviors like booking meetings or achieving a milestone you want to capture versus paying out on closed/won deals.
How to hire a freelance sales rep
Ready to hire a sales freelancer? Follow these best practices.
First, before you hire a 1099 sales rep, determine what you want to achieve.
Then, based on your goals for your engagement with the freelance sales rep, you need to identify the key traits of an ideal candidate. For example, you might consider:
A seasoned sales rep with experience selling products or services similar to yours with an established network of prospects they can contact
Somebody with an established track record of success in yours or a similar industry
Excellent communication skills
Agreed-upon rates upfront
From there, decide where you will look for your freelance sales rep.
There are various places to look for the right professional to fulfill your requirements. Where you look will depend partly on the product or service you want to sell and your goals.
A few examples of where to find freelance sales reps include:
SalesStar, where you can work with Frank and his team to find the best rep to meet your needs and how to set up the best possible model.
Other options include agencies like Patrice and Associates or sales outsourcing companies like TheSalesConnection.com, Exceeders, or CommissionCrowd. Plus, there are job boards such as LinkedIn and Upwork where you can advertise your requirements.
Try QuotaPath for free
Try the most collaborative solution to manage, track and payout variable compensation. Calculate commissions and pay your team accurately, and on time.
Freelance sales reps are a great way to scale your business or meet short-term selling requirements.
If your sales cycle isn’t too long, there are more benefits than drawbacks. And for a small, growing business, contract salespeople are paid straight commission is undoubtedly a huge plus.
Consider your goals before hiring a 1099 salesperson, and create a list of essential attributes to simplify your search. These steps will help you find the best rep to fulfill your selling needs.
Revenue Operations (RevOps) as a role has grown in popularity. In fact, by the end of 2022, 48% of companies had adopted this role, marking an increase of 15% year-over-year, according to Revenue.io’s RevOps Report.
By integrating sales, marketing, and service to adopt the RevOps model, these businesses reap the benefits of increased efficiency, revenue predictability, elasticity, and resiliency.
RevOps is a win-win for organizations, and many are starting to realize that. For instance, Gartner expects 75% of the highest-growth companies in the world to deploy the RevOps model by 2025.
This trend is causing B2B sales organizations to transition to a data-driven decision-making process using technology that unites workflow, data, and analytics. In fact, Gartner estimates that 65% of businesses will invest in RevOps technology by 2026.
As a result, the options for RevOps-purposed technology have increased, creating a lot of noise for RevOps professionals shopping for new tools.
To help, we asked leaders from RevOps communities to share their favorite RevOps tools for optimizing the RevOps process.
Here’s what they had to say.
Streamline commissions for your RevOps, Finance, and Sales teams
Design, track, and manage variable incentives with QuotaPath. Give your RevOps, finance, and sales teams transparency into sales compensation.
Natalie Furness serves as Chief Revenue Officer at RevOps Automated, a RevOps services provider specializing in HubSpot implementations and tech stack optimization.
Natalie’s must-haves: Grammarly and QuillBot
“Grammarly and Quillo are my main co-pilots for content creation, as sharing knowledge in RevOps is very important to me.”
On making Natalie’s job easier: LinkedIn Sales Navigator, PhantomBuster, Cognism, DealHub CPQ
“LinkedIn Sales Navigator, combined with PhantomBuster, is great for mapping people at target accounts for enrichment using a data source. For the UK market, we recommend Cognism.
HubSpot does so much that we often don’t need to look for tools, but DealHub CPQ has been a great addition to transform HubSpot into an Enterprise Level CRM.”
How to prioritize what’s next: Streamline the tech stack
“Evaluate tools regularly. Look for usage, including active accounts and feature usage. Those with low adoption or that duplicate existing tools should be reviewed. Where possible, look to consolidate as opposed to adding tools. Remember, every new tool requires integration management.”
Natalie’s favorite RevOps tools
Grammarly
QuillBot
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
PhantomBuster
Cognism
DealHub CPQ
HubSpot
Nicholas Gollop, Founder, RevOps On-Demand
RevOps On-DemandFounderNicholas Gollop shared a few of his favorites below. He hopes a platform consolidating data across multiple systems that create one view to build a cohesive, complete revenue funnel analysis is coming soon.
“Some exist, but I haven’t seen one that functions exactly as intended and can adjust to the thousands of different combinations of systems and setups out there,” said Nicholas.
Nicholas’s must-haves: Deduping and lead distribution tool, CPQ, Customer success platforms, data enrichment.
“Deduping allows me to send only things that matter to SDRs and AEs.
CPQ gives us more control over the deal desk function, approval flows, and discounting/legal policies.
Customer Success Platforms give us more clarity and visibility into usage and adoption data.”
On making Nicholas’s job easier: Deduping, CPQ, Customer Success Platforms
“Deduping reduces friction and wasted time across the teams. It also lets them know if the account is part of a larger parent structure.
CPQ helps us ensure customer pricing falls under the company’s general rules of engagement.
Customer Success Platforms provide further insights and minute segmentation of our customer base.”
How to prioritize what’s next: It’s time when current tech no longer meets our needs
“When I realize the tool is failing to meet our increasing demands and needs for adaptation. If we need to bend our policies to make the tools work, then that tool has outlived its usefulness, and we need one that adapts to us, not the other way around.”
Nicholas’s RevOps tech stack
Deduping
CPQ
Customer Success Platforms
Emerson McCuin, RevOps, HAAS Alert
Emerson McCuin, RevOps Manager at HAAS Alert, a collision mitigation service and digital traffic alert system, already leverages AI throughout his day but hopes to see more.
“I’d love to see AI integrated into data cleanup. I use Insycle for data cleanup, but many of these processes rely on complicated fuzzy logic that isn’t always accurate and fails to pick up on duplicate records,” said Emerson. “For example, ABC Company in NYC vs ABC Company in New York City. I can see that they’re likely the same, but it would take me forever to go through each record. AI could be trained to look for and understand those differences.”
Emerson’s must-haves: Coefficient, ChatGPT, Google Sheets, Supered.io, QuotaPath, Insycle
“Coefficient pulls data from our CRM and other sources into Google Sheets so I can create dashboards for our leadership team, do some fundamental data analysis, or port over to PowerBI if I feel like doing advanced dashboarding.
I use ChatGPT daily to help with Excel formulas, AppScript/VBA code, and light Python coding for data analysis.
Excel is more robust, but I chose Google Sheets because it’s what Coefficient imports data into.
Supered.io is a tool to achieve better HubSpot CRM adoption, among other things.
QuotaPath has completely changed the way we manage quotas and commissions.
Insycle helps keep our CRM data clean by deduplicating and standardizing data formats.”
On making Emerson’s job easier: Streamline and automate processes
“The nice thing about Coefficient is that I can do scheduled data pulls to keep the data up to date.
While I know how to do a bit in each of these areas, ChatGPT has allowed me to do them a lot faster, and I can do more advanced things with these tools than I could without an AI assistant.
Google Sheets makes it very easy to share dashboards with my leadership team.
With Supered I can have a customized knowledgebase right in HubSpot for our reps to use, I can enforce processes, and even do HubSpot training right in HubSpot!
Before implementing QuotaPath, reps were self-reporting quotas in a spreadsheet, which meant a scramble at the end of each quota period, verifying quotas by multiple people, and likely many errors in the process. Now, commissions are automatically calculated based on the data in our CRM.
Insycle is a powerful and somewhat complicated tool, but once it’s set up, the number of duplicates and insufficient data decreases drastically.”
How to prioritize what’s next: When the pain of a process exceeds the pain of change.
“It’s time to add or replace a tool when the pain of a current process is greater than the pain of change. That’s not always easy to determine and requires discussion with multiple stakeholders and an analysis of return on investment.”
Emerson’s RevOps tools
Coefficient
ChatGPT
Google Sheets
Supered.io
QuotaPath
Insycle
Andréa Faria, RevOps, Daloopa
Daloopa RevOps Leader Andréa Faria just wants data solutions that integrate smoothly with her CRM without duplicates or unreliable data. Is that too much to ask for?
Andréa’s must haves: Jira Software and Jira Service Management, Python IDEs, Zapier
“Jira Software and Jira Service Management: tasks and projects management for internal and external demands.
Python automates and improves data cleaning.
Zapier enabled plug-and-play integration of CRMs and forms with our in-house platforms.”
On making Andréa’s job easier: Jira Software and Jira Service Management, Python IDEs, Zapier
“Jira gave us a full view of the team’s capacity.
Python allows us to manipulate data in a way the old systems and spreadsheets couldn’t handle.”
How to prioritize what’s next: Address new requirements or improve processes
“We start looking when our tech can no longer support new processes or if we find better solutions in the market through research or benchmarks.”
Andréa’s tech stack
Jira Software & Services
Zapier
Python IDEs
Try QuotaPath for free
Try the most collaborative solution to manage, track and payout variable compensation. Calculate commissions and pay your team accurately, and on time.
Create your tech stack with RevOps tools you’ll love
Thanks to our four contributors for sharing their favorite RevOps tools, how they know when it’s time to add something new to their tech stack, and tools they wish existed.
We hope you can leverage these insights as you create or finetune your RevOps tech stack.
Sales commission automation is the use of software to automatically calculate, track, and pay sales commissions based on CRM or deal data, eliminating manual spreadsheets and reducing errors. It saves Finance and RevOps teams significant time while giving sales reps real-time visibility into their earnings, and if often draws data from your CRM and sales performance analytics and sends it to your payment systems.
This is QuotaPath’s bread and butter. Sales commission automation software uses technology and integrates with other solutions to streamline automated commission tracking, management, and disbursement of sales commissions.
QuotaPath, for example, provides teams responsible for commission calculations with a system of truth and a more accurate way to run sales compensation.
Streamline commissions for your RevOps, Finance, and Sales teams
Design, track, and manage variable incentives with QuotaPath. Give your RevOps, finance, and sales teams transparency into sales compensation.
Thomas Egbert, SVP of Finance for the dataflow automation framework platform, sought to ditch time-consuming spreadsheets. He also wanted to give his sales team transparency into their earnings through a user-friendly experience.
Since automating commission tracking with QuotaPath, “We cut our time spent on commissions calculations by 50%+,” said Thomas. “This platform has significantly upgraded our sales compensation process. QuotaPath saves days of time worth of unnecessary spreadsheets and emails.”
Despite how many organizations quickly find value like Thomas by automating processes that typically slow teams down, 60% of organizations still rely on spreadsheets for manual calculations.
In this blog, we define sales commission automation, its benefits, choosing the right software, setting up your system, overcoming challenges, real-world examples of success, future trends, and streamlining sales commissions with automation.
Read on.
Why Automate Sales Commissions?
Sales teams lose hours each month manually calculating commissions.
Sales compensation automation removes this burden, increases accuracy, and builds trust—all while delivering real transparency.
By streamlining calculations for multi‑year deals, renewals, demos, specific products, and individual contributors, automation also automatically tags all sales reps involved, tracks commission earnings, and gives reps real-time visibility into current and forecasted income. This method saves time and eliminates errors and issues from calculating commissions in spreadsheets.
Benefits of automating sales commissions
The key benefits of commission calculation automation are that it streamlines the incentive management process and enables easy commission structure optimization. It simplifies steps like earnings calculations, deal approvals, payments, and amortization of sales commissions.
Automating sales commissions offers many benefits, including:
Saves time: It eliminates manual processes and excessive back-and-forth communication in commission tracking, calculation, and error resolution.
Increased accuracy: Payment calculations occur through CRM to payment system integration, reducing errors and building trust across the sales team.
Eliminates shadow accounting from manual spreadsheets by providing automated calculations.
Enables real time commission visibility.
Improves sales rep motivation and quota attainment by helping reps understand how their actions tie to pay.
Include a link in a new concluding section that says something like how top performing organizations use automation and real time reporting for their benefit
Transparency: Helps quota-carrying team members understand how they earn commissions as well as when and how much in their paycheck.
Sales rep motivation: A greater understanding of the compensation plan gives it the power to motivate sales behaviors that drive business goals.
Single source of truth: Instead of a password-protected spreadsheet or platform, automating sales commissions gets everyone on the same page in discussing sales incentive accuracies or discrepancies.
Greater visibility: Provides visibility into the performance of your sales compensation plans.
In short, automating sales commission processes isn’t just a time-saver—it’s a strategic performance driver. Real-time reporting and automation empower top-performing organizations to act fast, make smarter decisions, and consistently prove ROI. In fact, TechRadar reports that 87% of analysts now use automation to streamline reporting, enabling faster insights and improved efficiency that are central to success in data-driven organizations
Choosing the right sales commission automation software
The global Sales Commission Software Market is expected to triple its 2020 value by 2028.
So, it should come as no surprise that there are many competitors in the space, including Spiff, Xactly, CaptivateIQ, Performio, Apttus, and, of course, QuotaPath.
Despite the many options available in the marketplace, choosing a sales compensation software partner isn’t difficult as long as you know what to pay attention to during the selection process.
Your compensation tool should natively integrate with your CRM so commission calculations stay accurate and up to date—without manual refreshes or nightly updates. With QuotaPath, data flows automatically from Salesforce, HubSpot, and other platforms, ensuring your team always works with trusted numbers. Explore QuotaPath Integrations.
Customizable Compensation Plans
Every sales organization evolves. Choose a platform that allows you to easily add new team members, adjust incentives, and test plan drafts against historical sales data. QuotaPath’s AI-powered plan builder and component library make it simple to design and update comp structures as you scale, while providing real-time visibility into plan performance.
Forecasting and ASC 606
Sales leaders and reps need more than a payout tracker—they need accurate forecasting. The right platform should provide quota attainment projections, executive dashboards, and pipeline-linked forecasts. QuotaPath does exactly that while also supporting accounting teams with ASC 606 compliance, ensuring commissions are recognized properly and reported in line with financial regulations.
Setting up your sales commission automation system
Once you’ve selected your commission software, you’ll have to line up a few things to set it up correctly.
These include:
Step 1: Define Your Commission Structure
Clearly outline commission rates, rules, and eligibility criteria.
Decide whether your structure includes accelerators, bonuses, or product-specific incentives.
Step 2: Prepare Accurate Sales Data
Audit your CRM to ensure sales records are complete and error-free.
Standardize data entry processes to prevent discrepancies.
Step 3: Integrate With Existing Tools
Confirm that your commission software integrates with your CRM, payroll, and accounting systems.
Use native integrations (like QuotaPath’s CRM integrations) to avoid manual uploads.
Step 4: Gather Historical Data
Import past commission data to create benchmarks.
Use historical earnings to test and validate new plans.
Step 5: Document Your Commission Policy
Write out your official commission rules for transparency.
Make policies accessible to sales, finance, and leadership.
Step 6: Provide Support and Training
Build onboarding materials for your sales team.
Train admins on how to manage, adjust, and troubleshoot plans.
Step 7: Assign Decision-Makers
Identify who is responsible for setup, approvals, and ongoing plan management.
Align Finance, RevOps, and Sales leadership early in the process.
Step 8: Allocate Budget
Set aside funds for the software license, integrations, and any required customization.
Step 9: Implement Data Security Protocols
Ensure sensitive sales and payout data is encrypted and access-controlled.
Review compliance standards for your industry.
Step 10: Test the System
Run a pilot group with sample data to validate accuracy.
Use test scenarios (e.g., multi-year deals, renewals) to confirm payouts calculate correctly.
Step 11: Communicate the Rollout
Create a communication plan so reps understand what’s changing.
Share FAQs and quick-start guides to build confidence.
Step 12: Ensure Legal and Regulatory Compliance
Verify that your system aligns with labor laws and financial reporting requirements, including ASC 606.
Step 13: Define a Dispute Resolution Process
Establish how commission disputes will be escalated and resolved.
Use your platform’s in-app communication tools to streamline resolution.
Enable dashboards and reporting features for leaders and reps.
Ensure analytics tools align with your business goals.
Step 16: Maintain Documentation and Records
Keep a digital trail of all commission rules, payments, and disputes for transparency.
Store records for audit-readiness and long-term trust.
Try QuotaPath for free
Try the most collaborative solution to manage, track and payout variable compensation. Calculate commissions and pay your team accurately, and on time.
Although sales commission automation ultimately streamlines and simplifies the sales commission process, some common challenges should be considered. Below are the top five challenges and how to solve them so you are prepared when you encounter them.
Challenge #1: Complex commission structures
Many organizations have intricate commission structures with various tiers, bonuses, and exceptions. Automating these complex structures can be challenging.
Solution: Simplify comp plans by aligning them to business goals and restricting each plan to three components: an accelerator, a standard commission rate, and a bonus.
Challenge #2: Data integration
Integrating data from multiple sources, such as CRM and ERP, to calculate commissions accurately can be complicated, especially if data quality is poor.
Solution: When shopping for a sales commission automation system, remember how easy it will be to integrate the platform with your deal source of truth.
Challenge #3. Dispute resolution
When commission disputes arise, automated systems need transparent processes for resolution to maintain trust among sales reps.
Scheduling and implementing team-wide training to use the new system effectively can be time-consuming.
Solution: Find a tech partner with a user-friendly interface and multiple options to administer training.
Challenge #5. Scalability
As your business grows, the commission system must scale and adapt to handle increased data volume and complexity.
Solution: During the buying process, ask your vendors for references that have grown and scaled with their platform to share their experience. Pay attention to how easy it is to add new teammates, swap subscriptions, and adjust comp plans. Note, QuotaPath helps resolve these issues with in-app dispute handling, flexible plans, and fast onboarding.
Sales Commission Automation Success Stories
Don’t take our word for it. Sales commission automation works. Here are a few examples of businesses that have benefited from automated commission tracking.
runZero
Problem: As runZero rapidly scaled, commission spreadsheets became error-prone and time-consuming, leading to frustration and lack of earnings transparency.
Solution: They integrated QuotaPath with HubSpot, automating commission calculations and streamlining reporting. Onboarding began within four days of signing, and the team was fully automated in under two months.
Result: Commission errors were eliminated, reps gained transparency into earnings, and the team scaled without the burden of manual spreadsheets.
EverView
Problem: With 35 complex compensation plans across 80 reps, EverView ’s sellers spent 2 hours per week calculating commissions. Half of the team admitted they didn’t understand their plans and had no visibility into earnings until payday.
Solution: EverView implemented QuotaPath, consolidating 35 comp plans into just 8, and eventually into 1 streamlined structure. Reps gained 24/7 visibility into attainment and earnings.
Result: The overhaul boosted rep confidence, improved focus, and drove performance—leading to EverView’s highest sales year ever, where 70% of the team met quota and 20% exceeded 90% attainment.
Blackthorn
Problem: Blackthorn relied on Salesforce formulas for commission calculations. As the company grew, new teams (SDRs, CS, Partnerships) made commission structures too complex for formulas to handle.
Solution: They adopted QuotaPath’s sales commission automation platform, onboarding in less than two weeks and simplifying commission tracking across all teams.
Result: Blackthorn saved 5–10 hours every time a new quota was introduced and experienced three consecutive months of record-breaking sales post-implementation.
Our 2024 Sales Compensation Plan Report revealed four key takeaways surrounding sales compensation plan design, management, and execution, and its impact on performance and commission disputes.
100% of Revenue leaders agree that sales comp plans need improvement.
There’s a disconnect between how RevOps, Finance, and Sales view the efficacy of comp plans.
Most sales reps find their comp plans challenging to understand.
91% of organizations have less than 80% of their sales reps hitting quota.
Compensation plans must align with the company’s goals to motivate sales rep behaviors and be more straightforward for reps to understand.
Therefore, in 2024, leaders must overhaul their sales compensation plans and processes to align with business goals, increase sales rep motivation, and simplify plans.
Conclusion: Streamlining your sales commissions with automation
Sales commission automation simplifies incentive management by replacing spreadsheets with software to pull data from your CRM to your payment systems. This saves time, reduces errors, builds transparency and visibility, and motivates reps to drive the attainment of business goals.
Selecting the right solution and implementing sales compensation software isn’t difficult, especially with a supportive vendor partner.
Get started today to address the top sales compensation challenges of 2024 quickly. Try QuotaPath with a free trial, or schedule time with a team member for a tailored demo.
However, these numbers remain in constant flux as organizations pass between the two in hopes of optimizing their processes for the best results.
But which system is truly better when it comes to HubSpot vs Salesforce? The answer, of course, is “it depends.”
In this comprehensive exploration, we delve into the nuances that set HubSpot and Salesforce apart, unraveling the distinctive features that make users contemplate a switch from one powerhouse to the other.
We unravel why businesses transition between these CRM giants, from functionality and user-friendliness to scalability and integration capabilities.
Essential App for Sales
HubSpot named QuotaPath one of 20 Essential Apps for Sales.
Read on as we dissect the differences and uncover the motivations leading organizations to switch.
Whether embarking on your CRM journey or contemplating a switch, this piece promises insights that will shape your decision-making process and pave the way for enhanced customer relationship management.
Why teams switch CRMs
We’ll start by exploring some of the reasons teams switch CRMs.
While many transitions share similar factors, there are some outlier cases.
“I’ve led two CRM transitions this year for clients, the first from HubSpot and Salesforce, and the other was the reverse,” said Jeremy.
The latter marked a particularly unique use case to switch to HubSpot.
Jeremy said the company had another business under its umbrella, and it grew too complicated to keep the organizations in separate CRMs. So, instead of fitting the second business into Salesforce and splitting 300 users into two buckets, they moved everyone to HubSpot.
“The parent organization needed the basics of a CRM, out-of-the-box integrations, and calendar syncing, so HubSpot made sense,” Jeremy said.
He added that if you’re on Salesforce, in his experience, the most common reason to come off of it is price.
Reversely, Nicholas led his CloudCall team through a transition from HubSpot to Salesforce for Salesforce’s enterprise appeal.
“While HubSpot is improving significantly, it still lacks a lot of ‘enterprise-level’ features that you absolutely need to run at scale, such as validation rules and better profile management,” Nicholas said.
“I look at CRMs like cars. You can buy the $150,000 Ferrari, or you can buy the $40,000 SUV. Both get you where you want to go, but they serve different purposes and are different vehicles.”
— Jeremy Steinbring, Founder of RevOnyx
When to choose HubSpot or Salesforce
Below, we put together some of the best use cases for either.
HubSpot
Salesforce
Small to medium-sized business
Enterprise
Cost savvy
Advanced features
Ease of use/out-of-box
Complex sales process
Integrates with marketing & sales tools
High customizability
“I look at CRMs like cars,” Jeremy said. “You can buy the $150,000 Ferrari, or you can buy the $40,000 SUV. Both get you where you want to go, but they serve different purposes and are different vehicles.”
HubSpot is more affordable and accessible to get into the product than Salesforce. The user interface is more straightforward, too.
“There’s less customization that can happen in HubSpot. It’s simpler, and because of that, you can get people ramped higher and build adoption,” said Jeremy.
But you give up the Ferrari version in the process.
“You sacrifice a ton of functionality. When a team is going enterprise or scaling quickly, usually Salesforce is the better option,” Jeremy said. “It’s also better for someone who wants to build their own tools within Salesforce versus integrating a third-party one.”
For instance, if you wanted to save $20,000 on a lead routing tool, you could hire someone like Jeremy to build it within Salesforce (or put in the request with a developer).
Streamline commissions for your RevOps, Finance, and Sales teams
Design, track, and manage variable incentives with QuotaPath. Give your RevOps, finance, and sales teams transparency into sales compensation.
Regardless of the HubSpot vs Salesforce debate, both RevOps leaders agreed on the following best practices when rolling out a new CRM.
Create a business case: “There is always pushback with change,” Nicholas said. “Present a compelling business case to show how much more could be done in one CRM versus the other.”
Documentation: Create a short video library that guides your team through different use cases of their role within the CRM. “This is easier to digest, and you can break it down based on function,” Jeremy said.
Provide technical documentation for the admin team, such as backend automation configuration.
Position documentation with tasks that users must do by connecting it to something they know as part of their job.
“Document everything along the way, as this will massively help when running enablement sessions,” Nicholas said.
Open office hours: As the admin, make yourself available on launch day and in the weeks following to offer support and make changes.
Shadow teams: “Talk to as many stakeholders as possible, from all levels, to ensure the CRM specs are captured correctly,” Nicholas said.
Mapping: Map out your discussions and draw a literal map of the process flow.
Take your time on the migration: “Don’t rush,” Nicholas said. “A migration like this is already tough to get sponsorship, so when you do, you need to make sure it goes as smoothly as possible to avoid losing confidence early on.”
Consider hiring someone: This is a monumental task, and will take significant time and resources to move a team from one CRM to the next or start with your first one.
“Whether it’s me or not, you need someone to help you — especially if you’re going through this for the first time,” said Jeremy.
Choosing between HubSpot vs Salesforce
Choosing the right CRM system for your business is an important (and often expensive) decision. It can help you streamline your sales and marketing processes, improve customer relationships, and increase revenue.
However, knowing which is right for your business can be challenging with so many CRM systems on the market.
This is where Salesforce and HubSpot come in.
Salesforce and HubSpot are two of the most popular CRM systems. They offer a wide range of features and functionality, and businesses of all sizes and industries use them.
But which CRM system is right for your business?
HubSpot is a good option if you are a small or medium-sized business. HubSpot is easy to use and set up, offering various features specifically designed for small and medium-sized businesses.
If you are a large enterprise, Salesforce is likely the better option through its wide range of advanced features and functionality. It can also be customized to meet the specific needs of large enterprises and usually integrates better with third-party tools.
No matter what size your business is or what industry you are in, choosing a CRM system that fits your specific needs is essential. By comparing different CRM systems and selecting the one that is right for you, you can set yourself up for success.
Try QuotaPath for free
Try the most collaborative solution to manage, track and payout variable compensation. Calculate commissions and pay your team accurately, and on time.
Whether you’re navigating the robust functionalities of HubSpot or harnessing the power of Salesforce, QuotaPath ensures that your compensation strategies align effortlessly with your chosen CRM.
As active members in the RevOps and Sales professional communities Pavilion,RevOps Co-op, and Women in Sales, we always listen to the questions and conversations concerning quota and compensation strategy.
Recently, we’ve noticed an uptick in questions surrounding quota relief.
When should you offer quota relief?
Who qualifies for quota relief?
How do you accommodate quota relief for managers of teammates out on leave?
What is quota relief?
Quota relief is defined as a reduction in a quota for a limited period to help the rep or leader have a fair shot of achieving their on-target earnings. It is typically granted when a salesperson or leader cannot to meet their quota due to extenuating circumstances, such as illness, vacation, or a family emergency. Quota relief can also be granted if a company is experiencing a temporary decline in sales or a change in the sales environment.
Companies generally grant quota relief on a case-by-case basis. However, we are starting to see companies standardize quota relief processes to make it more fair across their teams.
Below, we’ll discuss quota relief for new sales hires, reps on leave, and managers.
Streamline commissions for your RevOps, Finance, and Sales teams
Design, track, and manage variable incentives with QuotaPath. Give your RevOps, finance, and sales teams transparency into sales compensation.
Question: How does your company handle compensation for new AEs?
According to several studies (including RAIN Group and HireDNA), it takes an average of 9-13 months for a new hire to be proficient in the platform they’re selling and productive on the sales floor.
For many new reps, that means an unlikely chance they’ll hit their entire on-target earnings (OTE), which they agreed upon when accepting their role.
So, to motivate your new hires (and retain them), we recommend offering quota relief.
Here’s how we think about it at QuotaPath.
For reps to hit their OTE in their first year, you’ll have to increase the amount you pay them over a ramp period.
You could do this by:
Raising the commission rate
Or, offer other ways for new hires to earn commissions or bonuses
Raising the commission rate
We don’t love this way because you end up paying really high commission rates. For instance, if your standard compensation plan offers $120K OTE with a 50/50 split, that’s an estimated $5K in monthly commissions. Annual quota equals $600K, with a monthly quota of $50K.
For a 3-month ramp-up period, that looks like:
Month 1 = $0 quota
Month 2 = $12.5K quota
Month 3 = $25K quota
Month 4 = $50K quota full quota
So, if you want them to earn full OTE just by paying commission, then in their second month, in order to have them earn $5K in commissions on a $12.5K quota, you end up paying a 40% commission rate. Yikes.
Offer ramp-up MBOs
The second option is our favorite. You reduce quota, keep commission rates intact, and provide new hires other means to earn bonuses.
For instance, you can offer milestone or single-rate bonuses once a rep completes a series of trainings, hits a prospecting goal, secures X number of demos, etc.
We like this one a lot. Whatever your management by objective (MBO) is, it’ll help the rep learn your product and positioning better (and faster) and give them an early taste of success before they rely entirely on quota targets.
For example, in their second month with the org., the reps are responsible for selling $10K each. To fill the delta to hit full OTE, you offer a bonus once the reps run three demos or prospects 10 new customers.
You combine MBOs with a bonus and reduced sales target.
Quota relief for leave of absence
Question: How do you adjust quota for reps out on leave?
Like the standardization of quota relief policies, we’re also seeing a rise in companies solidifying parental leave plans for sales teams.
“At most companies, when a sales rep returns from parental leave, they have a normal quota instead of a ramp quota. So they return to work with limited to no pipeline, yet are paid and evaluated against a fully productive AE quota,” wrote Co-Founder and CEO at Parentaly Allison Whalen in her blog.
Our suggestion: Pay the rep their full base while on leave and a percentage of the OTE they miss out on while on leave. Then, when they return, set up a ramping quota so they have time to refill their pipelines.
For instance, in this blog on paid parental leave, a sales leader who advocated for compensation policy changes at her organization finalized this proposal:
Reps on parental leave earn 60% of their OTE while out
Distributing pipeline opportunities based on the sales cycle stage and splitting a percentage between the rep who takes it on and the rep who is on leave (i.e., the further along the deal, the larger the percentage to the rep on leave)
Ramping quota upon return from leave (based on sales segment)
What you set the quota ramp to will vary according to your sales cycle. However, remember that it should be shorter than a standard ramp hire because you’re welcoming back a returning employee, not a brand-new hire. If you have a short sales cycle, consider a few weeks of ramp time before holding them to 100%.
Quota relief for a sales manager
Question: Is it market standard to also give the rep’s manager quota relief while the reps that directly report to them are on leave?
For frontline managers, the answer to this question is typically “yes” for reps out on a leave of absence.
However, this will depend on what percentage of their team’s quota the sales manager is held to. If the manager is held to 80 to 90% of the sum of their team’s quota, and the manager oversees a team of 8, the impact of the rep being gone isn’t as high as if it’s a team of 4 reps.
But if they have a smaller team, and one rep being out for an extended period means a 25% loss of potential revenue toward the team target, then the manager will receive quota relief to the tune of that rep’s quota.
As you move up the command in leadership, like a VP of Sales, this relief matters less and less since they are typically held to the financial target number.
Try QuotaPath for free
Try the most collaborative solution to manage, track and payout variable compensation. Calculate commissions and pay your team accurately, and on time.
In conclusion, quota relief is a valuable tool for motivating and retaining employees, as well as ensuring fairness and equity in the workplace. Standardize your quota relief policy to treat everyone fairly.
Here are some key takeaways from this blog:
Quota relief should grant new hires time to ramp up and reach their full potential.
Quota relief helps reps who are on leave, such as parental leave, to ensure that they are not penalized for taking time off.
For managers, quota relief ensures that they have a fair chance of hitting goal even if they have teammates out on leave.
Follow these guidelines and make it easier to edit, add, and remove quota relief for your team using QuotaPath. We’ll automate it so that you don’t have to track and change dates while your team is out manually.
The process of commission accuracy involves several vital steps to ensure that sales representatives are compensated fairly and accurately for their efforts, including clean data, clear commission structures, and regular auditing and review.
Getting commissions right is crucial in any business that relies on sales incentives to motivate and reward its sales teams — which, according to this study, 80% of the top-performing companies do.
Not only does commission accuracy ensure fairness and transparency, but it also drives sales performance, promotes a healthy company culture, and establishes trust between reps and their organizations.
However, achieving commission accuracy has its challenges.
Many organizations need help with commission management, including setting clear commission structures and sales performance metrics, integrating and maintaining accurate data, and aligning sales and finance teams.
In fact, our 2024 Compensation Report found that 83% of companies reported sales rep exits due to inaccurate commission calculation. A quick LinkedIn survey also uncovered that 42% of people had quit their roles over compensation disputes, and another 45% would if significant commission errors unfolded.
Fortunately, technology solutions can help streamline the commission process, provide more visibility with sales compensation reporting, and minimize mistakes. Regular auditing, review, effective communication, and training are also essential for maintaining accuracy.
This blog will explore these challenges in detail and provide practical strategies and case studies to help businesses increase commission accuracy.
Furthermore, we will discuss the future of commission accuracy and how advancements in technology and data analytics will continue to revolutionize accuracy in sales compensation.
The importance of accurate commissions
Paying accurate commissions is critically essential for various reasons, as it benefits the organization and significantly impacts employee motivation and the overall business environment.
Here are several vital reasons to invest in accurate commissions:
Motivation and Performance: The core goal of variable pay is to incentivize, motivate, and reward performance. When employees see a direct correlation between their efforts and earnings, they are more likely to stay motivated and consistently perform at their best. But every error you make de-legitimizes (and de-motivates) your team.
Fairness and Trust: Accurate commissions ensure fairness and transparency within the organization. When employees perceive that their commissions are calculated accurately and consistently, it fosters trust among team members and management. This trust is vital for a positive work environment and employee satisfaction.
Retention and Loyalty: High employee turnover can be costly and disrupt the sales team’s continuity. Accurate commissions help retain valuable talent.
Cost Control: Paying commissions accurately helps organizations manage their costs effectively. Overpayments due to errors can be costly for the company, while underpayments can lead to demotivation and attrition among sales representatives.
Compliance and Legal Issues: Inaccurate commission payments can lead to compliance and legal problems. Failure to adhere to agreed-upon commission structures or disputes arising from inaccurate payouts can result in legal action and damage the company’s reputation.
Improved Financial Planning: When commissions are calculated correctly, financial projections become more reliable, helping the company allocate resources effectively.
Reduced Disputes: Commission errors often lead to disputes and conflicts among sales representatives and between sales and management. Commission reconciliation consumes valuable time and resources that could be better invested in revenue-generating activities.
Transparency and Communication: Employees appreciate knowing how their commissions are calculated, and this transparency fosters a sense of unity and cooperation within the organization.
Enhanced Employee Morale: When employees feel they are being compensated fairly for their efforts, they are more likely to be engaged and enthusiastic about their work.
Customer Satisfaction: Accurate commissions can indirectly impact customer satisfaction. Satisfied and motivated sales teams are likelier to provide better customer service, resulting in higher customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Despite all of the positives that come with striving for commission payment accuracies, as our data shows, many leaders need help implementing processes to mitigate errors.
That’s because ensuring sales commission accuracy can be complex, and various challenges can arise in the process, such as the following:
Complex Commission Structures
Many organizations have intricate commission structures with multiple tiers, rules, and criteria. Plus, if they aren’t using an automated tool, they’re likely using a spreadsheet to calculate commissions, which are error-prone.
Manual Calculations
Relying on manual calculations and spreadsheets increases the likelihood of human-inputted errors, leading to payout discrepancies.
Additionally, manual processes are time-consuming and can lead to delays in commission payments.
Lack of Regular Auditing
Failing to conduct regular audits and review commission calculations can allow errors to persist and go unnoticed. Without a system to catch and rectify inaccuracies, they can accumulate over time, causing frustration and demotivation among sales teams.
Technology Limitations
While technology can significantly aid commission calculations, it can also lead to errors. Programming or configuration errors in commission management software can lead to miscalculations. Additionally, technical issues, such as server outages or software glitches, can disrupt the commission calculation process.
Data Integration and Accuracy
Accurate commission calculations rely on correct and up-to-date data. Data integration can be problematic when organizations use disparate systems, leading to discrepancies between sales data, order information, pricing, and customer details. See how QuotaPath integrates with your CRM.
Addressing these common challenges requires organizations to simplify commission structures, invest in technology solutions, improve data integration and accuracy, conduct regular audits, and provide training and education to sales teams and commission administrators.
Below, we dive into each one.
Establishing clear commission structures
Establishing a transparent commission structure that makes sense for the business and that reps understand is vital to ensuring accurate commissions.
When the commission structure is well-defined and transparent, it promotes fairness and transparency, motivating and rewarding sales teams effectively.
However, many organizations face challenges in creating and maintaining clear commission structures, which can lead to errors and misalignment between sales and finance teams.
For instance, our report found that 97% of leaders struggled to design comp plans and cited doesn’t motivate reps, unrealistic expectations, too hard to execute, and too complicated to understand as their top challenges.
To help, here are 10 best practices to establish clear commission structures.
Define Your Commission Objectives: Clearly define your commission plan’s objectives. Determine what you want to achieve with your commission structure, whether driving sales, incentivizing specific products, or rewarding specific behaviors.
Set Clear Goals and Targets: Outline your sales goals and targets. Ensure that your sales representatives clearly understand what they need to achieve to earn commissions. Show the math behind the targets in how they achieve X goals for the company and how they are paid when they hit those goals.
Document your Compensation Plan: Produce documentation of the commission plan in a comprehensive and easily accessible manner in a commission agreement.
This document should include commission rates, commission eligibility, payout periods, performance metrics, rules or exceptions, clawback clauses, on-target earnings, quotas, and more. Then, collect rep signature to protect your organization and the rep against potential disputes.
Make the Plan Accessible: Ensure that everyone on variable compensation has access to the commission plan document. This will help prevent misunderstandings and disputes as it offers a place of reference.
Simplify Rules and Criteria: Keep the commission structure as simple as possible. Avoid overly complex rules and criteria that can confuse sales representatives. We recommend keeping it to 3 compensation components or less, meaning that there are three rules or paths for the rep to earn compensation.
Provide Training and Education: Offer compensation-focused workshops to your sales teams to help them understand the commission structure. Ensure that all team members know how commissions are calculated and what they need to do to maximize their earnings.
Address Questions and Concerns: Create an open channel for sales representatives to ask questions and seek clarification regarding the commission structure. Encourage communication and promptly address any concerns or disputes.
For instance, QuotaPath enables reps to ask questions and “raise flags” directly on specific deals or payouts where admins are notified and can respond in-app.
Regularly Review and Update: Commission structures may need adjustments over time to align with changing business goals and market conditions. Conduct periodic reviews to ensure that the plan remains relevant and effective. If it’s not, be ready to implement changes.
Maintain Transparency: Give your team visibility into their past, existing, and forecasted earnings. Include a breakdown of their comp plan and progress of attainment. Bonus points if you use QuotaPath.
Seek Feedback: Solicit feedback from sales teams about their comp plan’s effectiveness. Their insights can help identify areas for improvement and ensure that the plan remains fair and motivating.
How to motivate your sales team
More than 450 RevOps, Finance, and Sales leaders said their biggest challenge with their sales compensation plans is that they don’t motivate their reps. Here’s how to change that.
Another way to increase incentive pay accuracy — and one of the best ways, in our opinion — is to integrate your deal source of truth with sales quota management and compensation software.
When data from various sources is integrated seamlessly, it reduces the risk of errors and discrepancies, leading to more precise commission calculations. It also eliminates data silos.
Some things to pay attention to when connecting two platforms:
Data hygiene: You should have processes in place to ensure your deal data is accurate and clean because if that’s incorrect or out-of-date, so will the commissions.
Real-time updates: Look for integrations that provide real-time updates. This will ensure that calculations are based on the most recent data.
Regular data audits: Conduct regular data audits to identify discrepancies, anomalies, or inaccuracies in the integrated data.
Data security: Implement robust data security measures to protect sensitive data during the passing to and forth between platforms.
Regular auditing and review
You should also conduct regular auditing and review of sales commission calculations, even if this process is automated. These processes help ensure accuracy, fairness, and transparency in commission payouts, benefiting the organization and its sales teams.
Doing so will help you identify and rectify errors, reducing conflicts and fostering trust between you and your sales team. Plus, the whole regulatory requirements around company policies and legal requirements. Moreover, it acts as a cost control because you won’t have to allocate time and resources to address inefficiencies.
Auditing best practices include:
Scheduling routine audits
Creating a cross-functional audit team
Creating an audit checklist
Using technology
Verifying data
Maintaining audit trails
Reviewing & validating commission rules
Benchmarking your data
Technology solutions for commission accuracy
You’re here, so you’ve heard of QuotaPath (at least, we hope!). Yet we are not the only ones who can provide commission accuracy. In fact, there’s quite a growing list of competitors. Spiff, CaptivateIQ, Xactly, to name a few, have co-existed in our space for a while. Learn about the nuances between the platforms here.
When evaluating solutions, keep in mind
Accessibility and Usability: How easily the platform allows for plan creation and adjustments as your business grows.
Forecasted Earnings: Providing detailed revenue and earning potential reports for executives and sales reps linked to pipeline and quota achievement.
ASC-606 Compliance: Ensuring commission expenses are scheduled, recognized, and reported by ASC 606 regulations.
Time-to-Value: The speed at which customers can realize the platform’s value after purchase.
Accuracy: Confidence in the accuracy of calculations.
Plan building: Ability to build, test, and validate new compensation plans using past deal data before finalizing plans
Integrations: Direct, real-time data flow from the source of commission information.
Rep Accountability: Clear views of sales compensation, goal progress, and commission payment details.
In-App Communication: Tools for resolving commission discrepancies and maintaining records within the tracking app.
Support: Reliable and accessible vendor support.
Pricing: Transparent upfront pricing with no minimum user requirements
Streamline commissions for your RevOps, Finance, and Sales teams
Design, track, and manage variable incentives with QuotaPath. Give your RevOps, finance, and sales teams transparency into sales compensation.
There shouldn’t be a “versus” mentality unfolding at your organization between Sales and Finance. Instead, the two teams should work together during the sales compensation plan design process to create compensation structures that drive the right business behaviors and metrics and reward and motivate the sales team.
You’ll establish transparency and trust between the two departments, which will only increase once you have consistent, accurate commission payout processes.
Align Sales and Finance teams via commission accuracy
Aligning sales and finance teams using these strategies promotes transparency, accuracy, and cooperation in commission processes.
Clear Communication: Establish open and regular communication channels between both teams to keep them informed and aligned.
Shared Objectives: Define common goals and overarching objectives that both teams can work towards, ensuring they have a shared vision for commission accuracy.
Collaborative Roles: Clearly define and delegate roles and responsibilities for commission-related tasks, preventing overlap and miscommunication.
Data Integration: Ensure both teams work with the same, high-quality data and implement data quality assurance processes together.
Automate Calculations: Invest in commission management software and involve both teams in its selection and implementation to automate calculations and reduce errors.
The future of commission accuracy
So, what’s ahead for us? The future of commission accuracy will undergo significant transformations in the coming years.
Technological advancements, increased data integration, and a growing emphasis on transparency and fairness will continue to shape this future landscape.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning will play a central role, allowing organizations to predict commission trends, detect anomalies, and automatically correct errors in real time. This will enhance accuracy, reduce disputes, and improve efficiency in commission management.
Blockchain technology may become more prevalent, providing an immutable ledger of commission transactions, ensuring tamper-proof records, and boosting stakeholder trust.
Data integration and analytics will remain paramount, with organizations streamlining data sources and validating information to ensure precision in calculations. Real-time data flow and instant updates will further cement accuracy.
Focusing on fairness and transparency will remain a top priority. Companies will strongly emphasize collaborative processes that align sales and finance departments. Regular audits, reviews, and dispute-resolution mechanisms will become standard practice.
In summary, the future of commission accuracy will be characterized by advanced technology, data integration, transparency, and fairness. Organizations that embrace these trends will achieve more accurate commission calculations and foster trust. This ultimately drives higher sales performance and satisfaction.
About QuotaPath
Is QuotaPath in your future of commission accuracy? Schedule time with our team to see how our system can increase productivity, payment efficiencies, and compensation optimization.
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