No sales process is flawless. Your current process may be closing many sales. However, if you poke around enough, chances are you’ll find areas for improvement. 

And there’s nothing wrong with that. The world of sales is dynamic—what works today may not work tomorrow. This is why sales process optimization is crucial. It allows businesses to adapt and thrive in an ever-changing marketplace.

If you want to get the most out of your sales process and boost conversions, keep reading this post. We share ten useful strategies to help you achieve this. But first, let’s briefly define sales process optimization. 

What is Sales Process Optimization?

Sales process optimization involves refining and improving the effectiveness of each step in the sales cycle, from lead generation through closing and customer retention. This results in improved sales performance, higher customer satisfaction, brand loyalty, and overall business growth.

10 Effective Sales Process Optimization Tactics

Optimizing your sales process doesn’t have to be complicated. The main idea is to analyze your current process to understand what is working and what isn’t. Then, based on those insights, make strategic adjustments to drive better results.

Here’s how you can accomplish this:

1. Start with a Clear Goal

All sales optimization processes that are worth their salt begin with a goal. Define what you want to accomplish at the end of your campaign. 

Do you want to increase profit margins, improve customer retention, or lower customer acquisition costs? Whatever it is, outline it. By doing so, you can identify what aspects of your sales process are critical to the overall success of your business.

Ideally, your goal(s) should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound). 

This means that your goals should have a clear objective that your team has a realistic chance of achieving. They should also have defined metrics you can use to assess your performance in real time and clear deadlines for completion. Finally, your goal should relate to your organization’s main mission.

An example of a SMART goal could be to increase profits by 25% within the next fiscal quarter through targeted upselling to existing enterprise clients.

Another approach to ensuring you’re setting realistic goals for your team is demand planning. Demand planning involves using data to predict customer demands and ensure your business can meet them. This helps you identify market opportunities and align your objectives with actual market demand.

Once you establish your goals, you will be clear on how to make strategic decisions that drive measurable business results.

2. Build Your ICPs

ICP stands for ideal customer profile. It describes the perfect customer for your products or services. As a result, your sales team can target the right group. Common categories of ICPs include demographics, firmographics, technographics, behavioral patterns, and buying history.

To determine your ideal customer profile, research your existing and past customers. Analyze their profiles to identify their common characteristics. Then, use those characteristics to identify prospects. 

If you are a new business without customers, don’t panic. You can build your ICPs by revisiting your early mission. Consider who you created the product or service for. That’s your ideal customer. 

Say your mission is to help small business owners do their bookkeeping with your accounting software. In that case, they are your perfect customers. 

Now, to be even more specific in your customer-targeting efforts, combine your ICPs with buyer personas. Buyer personas zoom in on individual customers within the ICP framework. 

So, if your ICPs are small business owners, one buyer persona can be a mom-and-pop shop that struggles with bookkeeping. Another buyer persona can be a virtual assistant who already uses a bookkeeping program but is looking for alternatives. 

A well-crafted buyer persona will look like the image below. It will also give your reps an advantage during negotiations. 

3. Identify Bottlenecks in Your Pipeline

Another sales process optimization strategy is evaluating your pipeline for friction points and leaks. Even after nailing down your ICPs and buyer persona, you may encounter prospects who simply aren’t suited to your offer. This group either gets stuck at a particular stage in the sales funnel or fails to convert.

When this happens, it means there is a problem with your sales process or offer. In other words, you may have a pipeline bottleneck or leak. 

The solution to this is a good lead-nurturing campaign. There’s no point in gaining new leads if you can’t move them through the funnel. Hence, you need to nurture leads over time so that they remember you when they are ready to buy. 

Some practical lead-nurturing practices include:

• Creating targeted content
• Connecting with prospects through multiple channels
• Send personalized emails
• Follow up with leads on time
• Use lead-scoring tactics

4. Refine Qualification Criteria

The best solution to many sales process issues is being proactive. That means addressing problems before they become major roadblocks. One such problem is lead quality. 

To rectify this, you need to refine your lead qualification criteria. No sales optimization process is complete without this, as key buying indicators change frequently. If you let your guard down for even a few months, your entire sales operation could be misaligned with your ICPs. 

As you refine your qualification criteria, you must involve reps. Educate your team about the latest changes. Additionally, train reps to ask targeted questions during discovery calls, sales presentations, and product demonstrations.

5. Empower Your Sales Team

Your sales team is as good as the resources you provide for them. Resources in this context include coaching, technology, and the necessary tools and support systems. 

Organize regular coaching for your team. Analyze individual rep performance and team-wide metrics to identify improvement areas. Then, work with reps to improve in these areas. 

Your sales team needs proper sales enablement materials to increase their close rates. This includes prospecting plans, sales scripts and templates, product documentation, and even a call recording disclosure script. But if you’re in the early stages, take it slow. Start with essential, bare-bones sales documentation and gradually expand it based on real-world needs and experiences.

In terms of technology, you don’t have to get the fanciest new tools. A simple CRM that reduces data entry work, has automation tools, and can integrate with current and future tech stacks will suffice.

6. Align Sales and Marketing

While they share the goal of increasing revenue for the business, the sales and marketing teams don’t always agree on everything. But it is in your best interest to change that. 

Consistent messaging is a considerable benefit of an aligned sales and marketing team. When both teams sing from the same hymn sheet, it reinforces your brand’s value proposition and increases your chances of closing the deal. 

One approach to accomplish this is through an integrated business planning process. This process helps align sales and marketing teams by fostering collaboration, sharing real-time data, and ensuring both functions work toward a common goal. 

As a result, marketing teams can provide the right type of content and qualified leads, enabling sales teams to win and retain more customers.

7. Use Automation

Can you close sales without automation? Absolutely! 

However, you’ll do so at the pace of an old-fashioned steam locomotive compared to your competitors.

That’s like waving a white flag in this fast-paced, digitized world. So, embrace automation. Your sales reps will thank you!

One of the first uses of automation is to streamline recruitment. Through automation, you can quickly and efficiently match the right candidates with job requirements, reducing the time-to-hire and improving the quality of candidates.

Automation can eliminate simple, monotonous tasks like data entry, email follow-ups, and appointment scheduling from your team’s plate. It can also help with prospecting, which many sales reps dread. Other sales activities that can be automated include lead scoring, lead assignment, and dialing.

Thanks to all this free time, your team can focus on human sales, building connections with prospective buyers. 

8. Optimize Pricing

Pricing can determine whether or not you close a sale. It is an important factor in buying decisions. If you price your product too high, you can scare off prospects. If you price it too low, it may be perceived as inferior.

Hence, you must find the balance between competitive pricing and protecting your profit margins. This is where price optimization comes in. It allows you to find the optimal price for a product or service. That way, you can satisfy customers and still make a profit. 

Intelligent pricing software, such as PriceShape, can help with this. These solutions analyze market data and competitor pricing in real time to recommend optimal price points that maximize revenue and maintain competitiveness.

You can also consider a tiered pricing strategy. This approach enables your sales reps to be flexible during negotiations. For instance, if a prospect hesitates to commit due to the price point, they can be offered a lower-tier package with reduced features. 

This ensures your rep closes the deal without devaluing the product. It also sets the stage for potential upselling or cross-selling later.  

9. Leverage Customer Feedback

Sales process optimization isn’t just about technology and metrics. Enhancing your sales process also requires building meaningful human connections. 

This means treating potential prospects and qualified leads as more than just numbers on a spreadsheet. You need to show them that you genuinely care about solving their challenges. Otherwise, you risk losing them to competitors who meet these demands. 

To prevent this, listen to your customers. Set up surveys, interviews, and focus groups to understand their frustrations. Then, use this information to refine and optimize your sales approach. 

In the future, you can send them surveys to measure their satisfaction over time. 

10. Measure Performance and Refine for Future Sales Campaigns

Optimizing the sales process is a continuous effort. You must constantly evaluate performance and iterate on future campaigns. 

Consider whether the performance matches the goals you set at the start of the campaign. If you set out to increase revenue, did you achieve the projected revenue growth percentage?

Understand what aspect of your campaign worked and where you fell short. Then, use this insight to optimize your future strategies.

Using rolling forecast best practices can elevate this process. Rolling forecasts provide a dynamic framework for continuously updating performance projections based on real-time data. 

For example, if your current campaign is underperforming in a specific channel, a rolling forecast allows you to identify the issue early. This will enable you to make data-driven adjustments and ensure the campaign stays aligned with broader sales goals. 

Combining performance measurement with flexible forecasting allows you to refine your current strategies. It also enables you to build a roadmap for more effective, data-informed campaigns. This, in turn, ensures your sales process remains agile and consistently optimized. 

Benefits of Sales Process Optimization

A well-implemented sales optimization process has several benefits, including:

Increased Conversions

An optimized sales process will increase conversions by reducing or eliminating frictions that prevent prospects from completing a purchase. 

For instance, a well-defined sales process will ensure reps address any customer objections or pricing concerns. As a result, prospects move through the pipeline more efficiently and close deals faster.

Cost Reduction

Sales process optimization can save you money. It can reduce customer acquisition costs and ensure better resource allocation. A comprehensive sales plan identifies your ideal customers, enabling your sales team to focus on them. This saves you time and money. 

Improved Efficiency

Sales optimization involves using cloud-based software to streamline workflows. For most businesses, this means migrating their sales data and processes from legacy systems to modern CRM platforms. 

While this can seem like a hassle, several cloud migration benefits make it worth it. One such benefit is improved efficiency. Cloud-based platforms help sales teams work faster by automating repetitive tasks and providing instant access to customer data.

Thus, sales teams can focus on building strategic relationships and closing high-value deals.

Higher Revenue

Sales are directly linked to revenue. The amount you sell determines the revenue your business generates. Sales optimization can ensure that the amount is high. 

An optimized sales process gives sales reps access to data and the technology to make the right call during each funnel stage. This results in more conversions and, ultimately, higher revenue. 

Sales Process Optimization is a Continuous Practice

Sales process optimization helps organizations adapt to changing market conditions. It gives sales teams the tools they need to close more deals. 

To implement a sales optimization strategy, you need to assess your current process and identify areas for improvement. Then, you can use this knowledge to develop targeted solutions that maximize revenue and streamline your sales cycle.

However, sales process optimization isn’t a box-ticking activity. It must be a continuous journey of strategic refinement and improvement to get the most out of it.

By the time Q2 rolls around, most Finance and Sales leaders know which reps are tracking toward quota…and those lagging behind. Time for quota adjustments?

While some underperformance is due to ramp time or market shifts, it’s often a signal to evaluate whether quotas, territories, or compensation structures need to be reset. In fact, 91% of organizations reported that fewer than 80% of their reps hit quota in 2023, highlighting a widespread disconnect between expectations and execution​.

That disconnect doesn’t just belong to Sales. Finance has a seat at that table, too.

When comp plans are tied to quota attainment and accelerators, underperformance can lead to disengagement and even attrition. 

That means Finance not only needs to understand the cost implications of mid-year changes but also how those changes could prevent bigger budget hits down the line, such as rep turnover to missed targets.

To protect both performance and profitability, Finance leaders should play an active role in identifying when, and how, to course-correct comp plans mid-year.

In this blog, we’ll cover:

• The hidden risks of ignoring mid-year underperformance
• How to spot when compensation adjustments are warranted
• Tactical levers Finance can pull without overcomplicating payouts
• Examples of how leaders are using mid-year tweaks to re-engage reps and drive results

Read on to see if quota adjustments are needed.

The Hidden Risk: Motivation Drain

One of the biggest risks of keeping the status quo is losing rep motivation. 

In accelerator-heavy comp plans, missing early milestones can leave reps feeling like there’s no way to catch up, especially if the majority of their upside is locked behind hitting their full quota.

As Thomas Egbert, Head of Finance at Prefect, put it:

“The whole point of having generous incentives is to energize the team and not have it be mysterious,” said Thomas. “If you’ve got a great plan, but no one can see how they’re tracking or what’s realistic, it kills the motivation”​.

A well-structured comp plan can become demotivating if it’s not achievable. And when reps start to mentally check out mid-year, not only is performance at risk, but rep churn, too. 

Finance’s Role: Advocate for Data-Driven Adjustments

Our report found that the above percentage of companies that missed quota attributed these misses to market conditions.

However, a third of leaders said misaligned sales activities and a lack of motivation were root causes. 

And guess what? While comp plans can’t fix a market, they can directly impact motivation and rep attention to business metrics.  

So, what should Finance leaders be looking at?

• Quota:OTE Ratios: Are they realistic based on historical rep performance and current market conditions?
• Time-to-Ramp Data: Are underperformers actually ramping slower, or is quota misaligned?
• Forecasting Models: Use tools like QuotaPath’s scenario modeling to test how tweaks to quotas or accelerators would impact payouts and morale.
  

Our CEO, AJ Bruno, offered a rule of thumb: “Your plan should be structured so that 80% of your team can realistically hit quota. That promotes consistency and sustainable growth, especially in tougher markets”​.

Mid-Year Levers You Can Pull (Without Breaking the Bank)

Now with that said, let’s say you need to adjust comp plans mid-year.

First and foremost, don’t be afraid to change it. The key is to keep changes simple and targeted (and when you use a tool like QuotaPath, these changes become much easier to implement at scale). 

Here are three approaches that balance motivation and budget control:

1. Quota Relief (Targeted and Temporary)

Instead of making permanent quota adjustments, you could offer partial quota forgiveness for specific periods or segments. This is especially useful when reps were assigned territories or ideal customer profiles (ICPs) that underperformed due to external market changes.

“During a recent rough Q1, we gave quota relief on a deal-type basis. It helped reps refocus on what they could control and salvaged our pipeline health,” said Ryan Milligan, VP of RevOps at QuotaPath​.

Additional Reading

Unpacking 5 of the Most Effective Customer Retention Strategies

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2. Territory Realignment

Another tactic is adjusting territories.

Because, as much as it will pain you to admit this, sometimes the issue isn’t the rep, it actually is the territory.

Utilize performance and lead volume data to redistribute accounts and provide underperforming accounts with a fresh start. Just be mindful of perceived fairness and how overlays (like SEs and BDRs) will be affected.

3. New Accelerators for Late-Stage Deals

Next, consider accelerators.

Introduce temporary accelerators for Q3 and Q4 to reignite motivation. This is especially powerful if you can align them with company-wide efficiency metrics, like gross margin or GRR.

Christine Leclercq, Finance Manager at Botify, emphasized the importance of aligning reps and Finance around the same numbers:

“QuotaPath gave us the ability to make small, mid-cycle tweaks without triggering massive recalculations or eroding trust. Everyone sees the same data, and Finance doesn’t get stuck fielding questions or reworking models”​.

It’s Not Too Late: Keep Reps in the Game

Remember, letting underperformance linger is more expensive than fixing it.

According to our report, 65% of companies had a rep quit over commission disputes or confusion in the last two years​. Even if they don’t leave, reps who feel like they can’t win are unlikely to put in their best effort.

Visibility matters. As does simplicity. 

That’s why companies like NeuroFlow prioritize transparency across the entire commission cycle.

“The transparency we have back to the team is fantastic,” said Genevieve Moss-Hawkins, Sr. Systems Operations Manager at NeuroFlow. “Reps can look at their pipeline and forecast what they’d earn if certain deals close. Then, when a deal does close, they see exactly how their commission was calculated, without having to come through Finance. That kind of visibility keeps them engaged”​.

Additional Reading

Build and test comp plans with Draft Plans and plans Details tools.

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Final Thoughts: Motivation Is a Metric, Too

If Q2 shows your reps are off pace, resist the urge to wait and see. Misaligned plans and stagnant motivation have a real cost: lost revenue, higher attrition, and greater strain on your Finance team.

Instead, take a data-backed approach.

Assess where the gaps are. Use tools to test potential fixes or quota adjustments. And above all, bring clarity to the people responsible for driving your top line.

Whether that means quota relief, adjusted accelerators, or simply giving reps better visibility into how they earn, don’t underestimate the power of a mid-year reset.

Want help modeling what those changes could look like?

Schedule time today to learn about our plan modeling and testing capabilities. 

Deferred commissions are sales incentives paid in advance for revenue earned over time. These incentives are then capitalized and recognized as assets over the entire contract period.

This is important in industries like SaaS, telecom, and insurance as it complies with accounting standards like ASC 606 and provides a more accurate picture of a company’s financial health.

ASC 606 sales commissions significantly impact commission accounting by requiring capitalization and amortization of commissions associated with customer contracts. Commissions used to be included on a business’s income statement as expenses when they were paid. However, under ASC 606, incentives are handled as assets and recognized over the contract’s duration, along with the related revenue recognition.

According to Deloitte, over 85% of sampled entities adopted the new revenue standard using the modified retrospective method, indicating widespread challenges in transitioning to ASC 606. Let’s break down everything you need to know about deferred commissions, with examples, data, and best practices.

What is a Deferred Commission?

A deferred commission is a sales commission paid upfront but recognized as an asset instead of an expense. Companies amortize these commissions over time to align with revenue recognition. In other words, the cost of an intangible asset is spread out throughout a contract, rather than being deducted in a single accounting period. 

This is done to match the expense with the revenue generated by the contract. This ensures compliance with ASC 606 and prevents financial misstatements.

How Are Deferred Commissions Treated in Accounting?

Understanding how deferred commissions are recorded in accounting is essential for ASC 606-compliant financial reporting. 

• Deferred commissions are recorded as a long-term asset.
• They are amortized over time, aligning with contract revenue recognition.
• ASC 606 sales commissions require companies to capitalize commission costs and expense them over the contract term.

Deferred Commission Journal Entry Example:

Deferred Commission Examples

Deferred commissions vary by industry. For instance, in the SaaS industry, capitalized commissions are amortized over the contract period and can range from months to years, depending on renewal rates and customer retention. However, broker commissions are deferred in real estate until the sale is finalized. Deferred commissions differ by industry depending on business model, contract length, and accounting standards. 

How Amortization Works

Deferred commissions are amortized under ASC 606 rather than expensing them upfront. This practice aligns expenses with the revenue they generate, ensuring financial statements accurately reflect the economic reality of sales. The process involves capitalizing the commission as an asset and then amortizing it throughout the contract, mirroring the timing of revenue recognition. 

Step 1: Capitalize the Commission Cost: When a sales commission is paid, it is recorded as a deferred commission asset on the balance sheet.

Step 2: Determine the Amortization Period: The amortization period is based on the expected customer benefit period.

This often aligns with contract length (e.g., 3 years) for SaaS and subscription businesses.

Step 3: Recognize Commission Expense Monthly: A portion of the deferred commission is expensed monthly or quarterly over the contract term.

The Impact of ASC 606 on Commission Accounting

ASC 606 significantly changed commission accounting. Previously, companies could expense sales commissions immediately. However, under ASC 606, commissions must be capitalized and amortized over time to align with revenue recognition. This impacts financial reporting by increasing deferred commission assets, affecting EBITDA and profitability, and requiring businesses to adjust incentive compensation structures.

Businesses also face several key compliance challenges, especially in commission tracking. Accurate commission tracking is essential for ASC 606 compliance, ensuring that commission expenses are properly amortized over the life of a contract, according to revenue recognition principles.

Financial Impact of ASC 606 on Commissions

Beyond just changing accounting entries, ASC 606 has a broad financial impact on companies’ balance sheets, profitability metrics, and even sales compensation strategies.

Increases Deferred Commission Assets: Instead of expensing commissions upfront, companies must record them as an asset on the balance sheet.

Affects EBITDA & Profitability: Since commissions are amortized, companies see higher net income in the first year but lower net income in later years as expenses gradually increase.

Alters Sales Compensation Strategies: Some businesses adjust commission structures to minimize the financial impact (e.g., lower upfront commissions, higher renewals).

Compliance Challenges with ASC 606

While the principles of ASC 606 are clear, many companies struggle with the day-to-day operational challenges of accurately tracking and managing deferred commissions.

Tracking Different Amortization Periods: New vs. renewal commissions may require different amortization schedules.

Commission Adjustments & Clawbacks: Businesses may need to adjust recognized expenses if customers cancel early.

Data Complexity: Companies need accurate commission tracking software to manage amortization schedules and ensure compliance with ASC 606 sales commissions rules.

How QuotaPath Simplifies ASC 606 Compliance

QuotaPath helps businesses navigate ASC 606 compliance with ease. Automating commission capitalization and amortization significantly reduces the risk of manual errors in revenue recognition. The software tracks compliance-ready reports that streamline audits and ensure transparency. QuotaPath also integrates seamlessly with leading CRMs and ERPs for accurate commission tracking.

See how QuotaPath can simplify ASC 606 compliance. Schedule a demo today. 

Managing sales compensation manually is a recurring pain point for fast-growing teams. 

And leaders are tired of having to do it by hand.

“QuotaPath is doing a lot of the things that I have to do manually and that is the end goal,” said a recent customer during onboarding. 

As deal velocity increases and comp plans become more complex, spreadsheets and disconnected tools break under the pressure. 

That’s why modern revenue teams are turning to an integrated approach, one that tracks sales performance in their CRM, automates commission calculations, and syncs seamlessly with payroll.

In this post, we’ll walk through what a modern end-to-end compensation workflow looks like using HubSpot, QuotaPath, and Rippling, and how teams have used this integration to reduce errors, save time, and increase sales rep trust.

The Challenge of Managing Sales Compensation Manually

First, let us reiterate that we are not anti-spreadsheet. We love them. We use them. But tracking a team’s earnings in spreadsheets for a team of three is a lot different than that of a team of 20. 

When you start scaling, manual processes crumble.

• Sales and finance teams often deal with:
• Time-consuming commission calculations
• Discrepancies in payout amounts
• Miscommunication between CRM, RevOps, and payroll systems
• Frustrated reps who can’t see what they’ve earned
• And even hundreds of thousands of dollars in incorrect payouts

So, how can you get ahead of the errors before they even happen? Automating, baby!

We outline three steps below, beginning with the data in your CRM. Below, we’ll use HubSpot as an example.

Step 1: Tracking Sales Performance in HubSpot

Everything starts with your CRM.

HubSpot captures the deals your reps are closing and acts as the foundation for calculating commissions.

And accurate deal data is key. 

When CRM records are up to date, compensation teams can trust that the right numbers are flowing downstream into their commission engine.

We’re using this example because QuotaPath integrates directly with HubSpot, so there’s no need for manual data pulls or exports. This means deal information, like closed-won amounts, contract terms, and owner details, automatically feeds into your commission calculations.

What’s more, our HubSpot App Cards enable reps and leaders to see and manage commissions (respectively) directly in HubSpot, without having to toggle between the two. 

Step 2: Automating Commission Calculations in QuotaPath

Once deals are closed in HubSpot, QuotaPath takes over.

The platform applies compensation plans to the synced deal data and calculates earnings instantly. Reps can see what they’ve earned (or forecasted to earn) in real time, while finance and RevOps teams gain confidence in payout accuracy.

For NeuroFlow, this visibility was game-changing:

“The sales team loves having the ability to see their pipeline, forecast potential commissions, and understand exactly how payouts are calculated and when they’ll receive them,” said Genevieve Moss-Hawkins, Systems Operations Manager at NeuroFlow.

QuotaPath also offers approval workflows, audit trails, and the ability to make plan updates without disrupting your payout cycle.

Step 3: Sending Payouts Seamlessly to Rippling

Then what? 

Once commissions are approved in QuotaPath, they’re ready for payroll. Now, those without Rippling will simply prepare an export and upload into your payroll system. 

However, those with the QuotaPath + Rippling integration can push payouts directly to payroll in just a few clicks. No spreadsheets, reformatting, or double-checking required.

“Pushing payouts from QuotaPath directly into Rippling saves me at least 30 minutes every cycle. No CSVs, no toggling between tools, no reformatting, said Joan Schiffer, Director of Accounting at Virtuous.

Plus, with theintegration, Joan doesn’t have to triple-check payout totals anymore. 

“The data is consistent across systems, and the risk of errors is dramatically lower, added Joan. 

This final step in the workflow ensures commissions are calculated correctly and paid out on time… every time.

The Business Impact of an End-to-End Compensation Workflow

When you connect HubSpot, QuotaPath, and Rippling, you build a comp process that’s:

Accurate: No manual entry means fewer errors and disputes
Efficient: Save hours each month across RevOps, Finance, and Leadership
Transparent: Reps are motivated by clear, real-time earnings visibility
Scalable: Ready for whatever your comp plans and headcount look like tomorrow

Doesn’t that sound nice? Commissions go from being a burden to being a growth lever.

“The payout process was improved with the Rippling-QuotaPath integration by saving time and reducing the risk of error. Time savings were probably close to an hour per payrun,” said Hona Head of Finance Jordan Rupp. 

How to Get Started with HubSpot, QuotaPath, and Rippling Integration

1. Clean your CRM: Ensure your HubSpot pipeline and deal records are accurate.
2. Configure comp plans in QuotaPath: Use templates or our AI-Powered Plan Builder to configure plans and map out logic.
3. Connect QuotaPath to HubSpot and Rippling: Integrate both systems with just a few clicks.
4. Test and go live: Run a dry cycle to confirm accuracy, then start paying commissions automatically.

Most customers are fully set up and running within two to four weeks.

“We got the whole thing implemented in a week,” said Gappify EVP of Revenue James Hall. “I probably spent 60 to 90 minutes a day with my professional services contact from QuotaPath… it was a nice mix of teaching me how to use it and taking some of the work off my plate.”

Final Thoughts

Modern compensation shouldn’t be a source of stress. 

With HubSpot, QuotaPath, and Rippling, you can go from pipeline to payroll without breaking a sweat (or a spreadsheet!).

If you’re still managing commissions manually, now’s the time to streamline your stack. You’ll save time, increase trust, and motivate your sales team with the visibility they deserve.

Schedule a demo to see the full workflow in action.

Ready to build your first HR technology stack? Start here.

HR tech adoption is growing steadily, as evidenced by its 66% increase between 2020 and 2023. With 12.1 million U.S. employers investing more than $5 trillion in HR solutions and 74% of companies planning to raise their HR tech budgets, the trend is expected to continue.

There’s no mystery to HR tech’s popularity, delivering many proven benefits such as: 

• Greater employee productivity: Organizations with a fully integrated HR technology stack saw a 15% increase in employee productivity, according to Deloitte research.  
  
• Better change management: Companies that leverage HR tech are 4 times more likely to successfully manage change and are more efficient in attracting and retaining top talent, according to a PwC study.
  
• Higher revenue growth: Organizations using advanced HR technology experienced 26% higher revenue growth, according to PwC.
  
• Improved employee retention: Companies using HR tech had 40% lower employee turnover rates, according to PwC.
  
• Increased efficiency: Companies that invest in HR technology saw a 22% increase in efficiency, according to PwC.

The evidence is clear: HR technology is no longer a nice-to-have; it’s crucial to an organization’s ability to survive in today’s highly competitive marketplace. With the boost in efficiency, productivity, and revenue growth alone, the sooner you start building your HR tech stack, the better.

It’s been recommended that even early-stage companies benefit: “As small businesses scale and roles become more complex, they may consider tools to manage HR operations. Instead of relying on spreadsheets, small businesses can use HR software for tasks like onboarding, managing payroll, tracking time off, and performance reviews.”

HR technology stacks vary in size. However, according to HR.com’s State of Today’s HR Tech Stack and Integrations 2024, 13% of organizations have only one solution, while 68% have between 2 and 7 HR solutions in their HR tech stacks.

In our blog below, gain the confidence you need to develop the most streamlined, efficient, and effective HR technology stack.

Blog Takeaways:

• 74% of companies plan to expand HR tech investments
• HR tech stacks improve efficiency, employee experience, and compliance.
• Essential software includes payroll, commission management, recruiting, engagement, performance, and LMS platforms.
• Integration with Rippling and QuotaPath ensures smooth HR and payroll processes.

Integrate Rippling with QuotaPath

Automated commission tracking and push directly into your Rippling payrun schedule.

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What is an HR Tech Stack?

First, let’s define it.

An HR tech stack is a collection of software and digital tools designed to automate and enhance HR functions. These tools can streamline payroll, recruitment, benefits administration, and performance management, ensuring better compliance and efficiency.

Popular HR tech tools include Rippling and ADP for payroll and compliance, and QuotaPath and Xactly for commission automation. Many HR teams also use Greenhouse and Lever for recruiting, Peakon and 15Five for performance and engagement, and Docebo or TalentLMS for learning management. These platforms offer scalability, ease of use, and strong integration capabilities.

Why Having a Solid HR Tech Stack is Important?

As you can piece together, an effective HR technology stack enables your HR team to work smarter, deliver a better employee experience, and make more informed decisions while adopting the latest tools.

Key Benefits:

The key benefits are as follows.

Increased efficiency: Automating HR tasks reduces administrative burdens, allowing HR teams to focus on strategic initiatives.

Improved employee experience: Digital tools make processes like onboarding and payroll seamless, boosting satisfaction and engagement.

Data-driven decision-making: HR analytics help optimize workforce planning, compensation structures, and talent acquisition.

Software You Should Add to Your HR Tech Stack

Before building your HR tech stack, it’s essential to understand which tools offer the most value. A strong HR technology stack integrates a range of tools that support the entire employee lifecycle, including:

• Payroll software: Handles wages, taxes, and compliance to ensure timely, accurate pay.
• Commission management software: Tracks and automates variable compensation, especially for sales teams.
• Recruiting software: Streamlines job postings, applicant tracking, and hiring workflows.
• Employee engagement software: Gathers feedback and monitors morale to improve retention.
• Performance management software: Tracks goals, reviews, and feedback to align individual performance with company objectives.
• Learning management systems (LMS: Deliver and track employee training to support skill development.

Together, these tools help HR teams operate efficiently and strategically.

How to Pick the Right Software For Your HR Tech Stack

That’s a lot of options, huh? When you’re ready to start selecting programs, choose tools for your HR tech stack that align with your processes, integrate smoothly, and support long-term growth.

These steps will help you select the solutions that best suit your organization.

Step 1: Assess Your Needs: Identify key pain points and gaps in your current HR processes. Does recruiting slow you down the most? Onboarding new hires? Payroll?

Step 2: Prioritize Integrations: Ensure that selected tools seamlessly integrate with existing systems. Think single-sign-ons for employees, shared data, seamlessly working together to build adoption and workflows, like Rippling & QuotaPath.

Step 3: Evaluate User Experience: Choose platforms with intuitive interfaces to drive adoption among HR teams and employees. Request demos or free trials to test usability and gather input from actual users to see how easy the system is to navigate.

Step 4: Consider Scalability: Opt for solutions that can grow with your company’s workforce. Look for flexible pricing models, modular features, and vendor case studies that show successful scaling in companies of similar size or industry.

HR Tech Stack Challenges

Even the most advanced HR tech stack can create friction. Including the wrong tools or too many, can lead to inefficiencies, data silos, and low adoption rates instead of improving workflows. Companies face several common challenges when building and maintaining their HR technology stack. Here are the most common issues to watch for and how to address them:

Integration Issues

Many HR tech tools operate in silos, making it difficult to sync data across platforms.

• Lack of seamless integration with payroll, benefits, and commission management software can create inefficiencies.
• Solutions: Choose platforms with native integrations (like Rippling & QuotaPath) or use middleware tools like Zapier.

Data Security & Compliance Risks

HR software stores sensitive employee data, increasing the risk of data breaches.

• Companies must ensure compliance with GDPR, CCPA, and SOC 2 standards.
• Solutions: Prioritize software with strong encryption, role-based access, and audit trails.

User Adoption & Change Management

Employees resist change when new tools are introduced, leading to low adoption rates.

• HR teams need training programs to help employees transition smoothly.
• Solutions: Select tools with intuitive UX, self-serve resources, and strong customer support.

Choosing the Right Tech for Business Needs

HR teams often struggle with overlapping functionalities or choosing tools that don’t scale.

• Companies may prioritize cost over feature fit, leading to future inefficiencies.
• Solutions: Conduct a tech audit, prioritize must-have features, and consider future scalability.

Cost & ROI Justification

Budget constraints can limit the number of tools a company can implement.

• Demonstrating the ROI of an HR tech stack investment can be challenging.
• Solutions: Start with core platforms (payroll, commission management, recruiting) and expand as needed.

HR Tech Stack Example

To bring your HR tech strategy to life, it helps to see how different tools can work together in a real-world scenario. An example for a mid-sized company of 50–200 employees, a well-integrated HR tech stack might include:

Payroll & Benefits Management

Rippling: Runs payroll in 90 seconds, seamlessly integrates with HR data, and ensures compliance with tax regulations.

Commission Management

QuotaPath: Automates commission tracking, integrates with CRMs, and provides transparency into earnings for sales teams.

Recruiting & Talent Acquisition

Lever: An AI-driven applicant tracking system (ATS) that streamlines hiring processes, supports collaborative recruiting, and offers deep analytics.

Employee Engagement & Feedback

Culture Amp: Provides real-time feedback, employee engagement surveys, and actionable insights to improve workplace satisfaction.

Performance Management

Betterworks: Enables continuous goal-setting, OKR tracking, and performance reviews, fostering a culture of high performance and accountability.

Learning & Development

Seismic Learning (formerly Lessonly): Offers training and coaching for sales and support teams, with interactive learning experiences to drive skill development.

This HR tech stack ensures efficiency, compliance, and employee satisfaction, helping organizations easily manage their workforce.

Implementing Your HR Tech Stack

Rolling out your HR tech stack is a crucial step. To start, audit existing tools and remove outdated software to eliminate redundancy. Create an implementation timeline, prioritizing essential systems like payroll, recruiting, and compliance tools.

Train employees on new platforms and establish usage best practices to ensure a smooth transition. Finally, monitor adoption and performance using HR analytics and adjust as needed. A thoughtful, phased rollout will help your organization maximize the impact of your HR technology investment.Learn how QuotaPath and Rippling work together for effortless commission payments. Then schedule a demo to see it for yourself.

Did you know payroll typically accounts for 15-30% of revenue in most industries? But how do you know if you’re overspending?

The payroll to revenue ratio measures the proportion of a company’s revenue spent on employee compensation, including salaries, wages, benefits, and payroll taxes. This ratio is a key indicator of how efficiently a business manages its labor costs relative to the income it generates.

In financial management, the payroll to revenue ratio plays a critical role in evaluating operational efficiency, maintaining profitability, and guiding strategic decisions related to hiring and scaling. A well-balanced ratio helps ensure that payroll expenses are sustainable and aligned with the company’s revenue performance.

Moreover, most CFOs consider their organization’s compensation and payroll structures “ineffective.”

Plus, businesses in Sales, RevOps, Finance, and now HR can leverage this metric for decision-making around labor cost efficiency, business scalability and profitability, industry competitiveness, hiring and compensation strategy, and more.

Why are we writing about this? Because QuotaPath’s role in helping businesses manage commissions and payroll efficiency includes commission projections, gauging revenue and team efficiency, and maintaining teams aligned on revenue expectations.

In this blog:

• Understand the Payroll to Revenue Ratio: Learn how this financial metric helps businesses measure labor cost efficiency, predict profitability, and align workforce expenses with revenue goals.
• See Industry Benchmarks & Trends: Explore payroll-to-revenue ratio benchmarks across industries, from SaaS and tech (20-30%) to healthcare (40-50%) and retail (8-15%), and understand what these numbers mean for your business.
• Learn How to Optimize Payroll Costs: Discover strategies to improve payroll efficiency, from automating commission tracking to aligning compensation with revenue growth for better financial decision-making.
• Understand QuotaPath’s Role in Financial Planning: See how QuotaPath helps businesses anticipate commission expenses, track sales performance, and improve cash flow management in real-time.

What is a Payroll to Revenue Ratio?

First, let’s define what it actually is. The payroll to revenue ratio is a financial metric that shows what percentage of a company’s revenue is spent on payroll. In other words, it helps you understand how much of every dollar earned is allocated to employee compensation, including salaries, wages, benefits, and payroll taxes. It’s a straightforward way to gauge how efficiently labor costs are being managed in relation to company income.

Formula:
Payroll to Revenue Ratio = (Total Payroll Expenses / Total Revenue) × 100

For example, if a company’s payroll is $1,000,000 and its revenue is $5,000,000, the ratio would be 20%. This ratio matters because it helps gauge labor cost efficiency and profitability impact. It’s a key metric that enables HR, Sales, and Finance teams to align workforce expenses with revenue growth, ensuring headcount investments are sustainable and strategically sound.

Calculating Your Payroll to Revenue Ratio

Before optimizing payroll spending, you must understand where you stand. Calculating your payroll to revenue ratio is the first step in assessing labor cost efficiency and financial performance.

Step-by-step guide to calculation: 

• Identify total payroll expenses: Salaries, benefits, bonuses, commissions, taxes.
• Determine total revenue: Sales, services, recurring revenue.
• Apply the formula: Use the equation to calculate the ratio.
• Compare over time: Monthly, quarterly, or annually to track trends.

Payroll Costs vs. Revenue Comparison

Benefits of Calculating Your Payroll to Revenue Ratio

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, labor is one of the largest business expenses, accounting for up to 70% of total operating costs in some industries. What percentage of expenses should payroll be?

Once you’ve calculated your payroll expense to revenue ratio, interpreting the result is just as important. Understanding this ratio can unlock valuable insights that drive better financial planning and business growth.

Labor Cost Efficiency: Helps businesses control expenses and improve profitability.
Workforce Optimization: Ensures HR teams effectively structure salaries, bonuses, and commissions.
Strategic Decision-Making: Aligns workforce costs with revenue goals and business scaling.
Predicting Profitability: Helps forecast hiring costs and future payroll budgeting.

Average Payroll to Revenue Ratios By Industry

Payroll structures vary widely by industry, driven by differences in labor intensity, operational models, and cost structures. What’s considered a healthy payroll to revenue ratio in one sector might be unsustainable in another. The table below outlines payroll as a percentage of revenue by industry to help you compare and contextualize your own numbers.

Source: Rippling

Statistical Insights

Understanding how the payroll to revenue ratio varies across industries provides important context for evaluating what’s considered a healthy or sustainable benchmark.

Tech and SaaS companies have higher payroll expenses due to commissions, bonuses, and the need to attract top talent in a competitive market. This drives their payroll to revenue ratios upward, reflecting the significant investment in human capital required to stay competitive and innovative.

Healthcare and service industries often have a higher ratio because a substantial portion of revenue is dedicated to payroll expenses, which can potentially reduce profitability. Conversely, a lower ratio indicates that the company is retaining a larger revenue share after accounting for labor costs, which can improve margins and support reinvestment in other business areas.

According to Rippling, retail businesses operate with tight margins and rely heavily on sales volume. As a result, these companies tend to maintain lower payroll to revenue ratios to preserve profitability and remain agile in highly competitive environments.

What to Include in Payroll Costs

To accurately calculate payroll to revenue ratio, it’s important to understand what goes into the “payroll” side of the equation. Here’s a breakdown of the most common payroll components that factor into this metric.

Breakdown of payroll expenses that impact the ratio: 

• Salaries and Wages: Fixed salaries, hourly wages.
• Bonuses and Commissions: Sales incentives, performance bonuses.
• Payroll Taxes: Employer contributions to social security, Medicare.
• Benefits and Perks: Health insurance, retirement plans.
• Stock Options & Equity Compensation (for startups & tech companies).

How QuotaPath Helps with Optimizing Pay Spend

Unexpected financial events, such as the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in 2023, highlighted the importance of having real-time visibility into payroll and commission expenses for companies.

While traditional payroll systems provide insights into fixed salaries, they often lack clarity on variable compensation, like commissions.

That’s where QuotaPath plays a role.

In the wake of SVB’s shutdown, many businesses turned to QuotaPath’s earnings forecasts, deal reviews, and approval tools to assess upcoming commission expenses.

Instead of scrambling for spreadsheets or waiting on reports, they could log in and instantly see expected payouts. Here are three key ways QuotaPath helps businesses manage payroll, cash flow, and team efficiency, regardless of market shifts.

1. Get a Pulse on Expected Commission Expenses

• Understanding upcoming payroll expenses is critical for financial planning, especially in uncertain times.
• QuotaPath provides real-time commission tracking, helping teams:
  • Prepare for end-of-month or quarterly payroll runs
  • Forecast commission payouts when applying for loans, fundraising, or managing cash burn

Use Case: Finance and HR leaders can quickly assess how much cash is needed to cover payroll, including commissions.

2. Measure Your Capital & Team Efficiency

• QuotaPath tracks historical commission data, giving businesses deeper insights into cost-per-win and rep effectiveness.
• Teams can:
  • Analyze effective commission rates
  • Showcase revenue efficiency to investors
  • Identify patterns in sales performance and compensation trends

Use Case: A startup preparing for a funding round can present commission expense trends to investors to demonstrate capital efficiency.

3. Improve Weekly Pipeline & Sales Reviews

• QuotaPath’s pipeline tracking tools help sales and finance teams stay aligned on revenue expectations.
• How it works:
  • Use Team Attainment leaderboards to review active deals and projected commissions
  • Reps can share won deals, forecasted earnings, and upcoming opportunities
  • Leadership can evaluate sales momentum and compensation impact

Use Case: Sales teams can align forecasts with finance, ensuring accurate projections of cash flow and commissions.

Optimizing Your Payroll to Revenue Ratio

Keeping payroll and revenue balanced is critical as compensation is often a company’s largest ongoing expense. If payroll grows faster than revenue, it can quickly erode profitability, strain cash flow, and limit growth. A strong payroll to revenue ratio reflects labor cost efficiency and indicates that compensation strategy is aligned with financial performance.

Improving this ratio requires visibility into fixed and variable pay structures and real-time insights into how compensation impacts your bottom line. This is where QuotaPath makes a difference. QuotaPath helps businesses manage compensation, cash flow, and team efficiency to optimize the payroll-to-revenue ratio.

See how QuotaPath simplifies payroll to revenue ratio optimization. Schedule time with a team member today.

We just got back from RevOpsAF, RevOps Co-Op’s annual conference down in New Orleans. 

And, let me tell you, this community just keeps getting sharper, louder (figuratively and literally, shoutout to all those who braved the karaoke stage), and more essential to the future of go-to-market strategy.

Between beignets and breakout sessions, I walked away with a fresh dose of inspiration, amazing new connections, and a few takeaways on RevOps, which is evolving fast.

1. AI is giving CRMs a glow-up

Reps not updating their CRM? Never!

A recurring theme at RevOpsAF was how teams are leaning on AI to automate CRM updates. No more manual data entry, no more begging reps for pipeline notes. This is a win for RevOps and sales, freeing up time and energy for more strategic, revenue-driving work.

2. RevOps is leveling up (fast)

There was a lot of talk at the conference about what it means to act senior in RevOps. It’s not just about reporting metrics or running ops efficiently anymore. It’s about thinking like a business partner. Driving strategy. Showing up with insights that shape product direction, financial planning, and yes, board-level conversations.

The climb from analyst to VP is real, and RevOpsAF was packed with tips on confidently taking that next step.

3. The function best positioned for alignment: RevOps

RevOpsAF made it clear: this team is the MVP of an org.

You’ve got the line of sight across sales, marketing, customer success, and finance. And you’re often the only team thinking holistically about how they all connect.

At QuotaPath, we talk a lot about alignment, especially when it comes to comp planning. 

Having a north star metric that teams can rally around is powerful. And when RevOps leads that alignment conversation (especially with the help of AI for prioritization and visibility), the whole GTM machine runs smoother.

That’s a Wrap Until 2026

RevOpsAF left me energized. This growing community is shaping the future of revenue and doing it with intention and serious strategic chops.

If you missed the conference but want to get plugged in, come join us at RevOps Co-op. 

And if you want to talk about how comp planning fits into all of this (hint: it does), let’s chat. 

We’ve got ideas.

Effective sales tools play a critical role in enhancing B2B sales processes. According to McKinsey, leading B2B companies increased sales team capacity by 20% with automation. These companies also shaved significant costs and improved sales productivity by as much as 30%.

Results like these have led to an increasing reliance on digital platforms in B2B sales processes, with 81% of sales teams testing or using these AI-powered tools, according to Salesforce. A boost in efficiency is evident as 83% of sales teams using these technologies saw revenue growth versus 66% of those not leveraging them.

As the adoption of advanced sales tools increases in popularity, businesses must follow suit to remain competitive.

These technologies enable organizations to outperform their rivals by providing them with insights that facilitate more informed decision-making. For instance, 84% of B2B businesses already use advanced analytics tools to manage content effectively.

In this blog, we’ll guide you through selecting and integrating the most effective sales tools into your B2B tech stacks, through categories like CRM systems, commission management, email automation, sales intelligence, prospecting software, and demo tools.

Let’s start with the key features to consider in B2B sales tools.

What To Look For In A B2B Sales Tool

Searching through the vast selection of available B2B sales tools can be overwhelming. According to the 10th edition of the SalesTech landscape, the number has surged to 2,100, a 34% increase over the previous year. Simplify the selection process by knowing what to look for before you get started.

1. Identify Your Business Needs: Determine your sales team’s specific challenges to select tools that effectively address these issues.​
2. Comprehensive Feature Set: Seek tools offering a range of functionalities, such as CRM integration, lead generation, and analytics, to streamline sales processes.​
3. User-Friendly Interface: Choose tools with intuitive designs to ensure quick adoption and minimize training time for your team.​
4. Scalability: Ensure the tool can accommodate your business growth, adapting to increasing data volumes and additional users.​
5. Integration Capabilities: Verify that the tool integrates seamlessly with your existing software, such as email platforms and marketing automation systems.​
6. Data Quality and Accuracy: Opt for tools that provide reliable and up-to-date data to enhance decision-making and targeting.​
7. Customization and Flexibility: Select tools that allow tailoring to your specific sales processes and workflows for optimal alignment.​
8. Pricing Structure: Consider the tool’s cost relative to its features and your budget, ensuring it delivers value without unnecessary expenses.​
9. Customer Support and Training: Prioritize vendors offering robust support and training resources to assist with implementation and ongoing use.​
10. Security and Compliance: Ensure the tool complies with relevant data protection regulations and incorporates robust security measures to protect sensitive information.

The Best B2b Sales Tools For Your Tech Stack

Next, let’s take a look at key tools within each of the major B2B sales tools categories.

How To Build A B2B Sales Tech Stack

Now, you’re ready to build your own! Check out the following process to build your first sales tech stack or update an existing one.

Assess Your Sales Process and Needs

Before investing in new tools, identify pain points and inefficiencies in your current sales workflow. Where are the bottlenecks? Are reps spending too much time on manual tasks? Are qualified leads slipping through the cracks? Pinpointing these issues will reveal where technology can make the most significant impact.

From there, establish key sales objectives. Are you focused on generating more leads, improving pipeline visibility, or boosting forecasting accuracy? Being clear on your priorities will help guide your tool selections. Make this a cross-functional effort. Loop in sales, marketing, and RevOps to align tool selection. Diversified input ensures that the tech stack solves real problems while supporting the entire revenue engine.

Define the Core Categories of Your Tech Stack

The next step is to outline the key categories your tech stack should cover. By defining these categories upfront, you can ensure your stack is aligned with your team’s daily workflows and long-term goals. The following categories represent typical B2B sales tools used by high-performing B2B sales organizations. Select the ones that best address your current requirements.

• CRM – The foundation for managing customer relationships and tracking deals.
• Commission Management – Automates sales compensation to ensure transparency and accuracy.
• Email Automation – Streamlines outreach and follow-ups to improve engagement.
• Sales Intelligence – Provides data insights on prospects and market trends.
• Sales Prospecting – Helps reps find and connect with the right leads efficiently.
• Demo & Presentation Tools – Enables engaging and interactive product

Prioritize Integration and Scalability

As you evaluate B2B sales tools for your tech stack, choosing platforms that seamlessly integrate with your CRM and other existing software is crucial. This reduces data silos, improves workflow efficiency, and creates a unified ecosystem for your team to work in. Otherwise, you risk creating duplicate work, misaligned data, and frustrated teams.

Remember to think long-term to ensure flexibility for future growth, avoiding tools that might become bottlenecks. Choose flexible platforms that can scale as your team expands or your sales process evolves. Investing in scalable solutions now can save you the time, cost, and disruption of replacing tools down the road.

Evaluate and Test Different Solutions

Research the top solutions in each category. Leverage free trials, product demos, user feedback, and customer reviews to get a well-rounded view of each option. Consider factors like usability, automation capabilities, and pricing. Then, test new tools with a small team before a full rollout. This phase allows you to gather hands-on feedback, identify potential roadblocks, and set the stage for a smoother, more successful implementation.

Implement, Train, and Optimize

Once you’ve selected the right tools, create a structured onboarding process to drive adoption. Start with a structured onboarding plan that includes setup, configuration, and clear documentation. This helps your team get up to speed quickly and seamlessly, so reps start seeing value without daily workflow disruption.

Implementation isn’t one-and-done, so provide ongoing to maximize tool efficiency. Schedule regular check-ins, provide refresher sessions, and gather user feedback to identify areas for improvement. Regularly assess and refine the stack to align with evolving sales needs.

Build Your Tech Stack with the Best B2B Sales Tools 

Building your tech stack with the best B2B sales tools means assessing your sales process for pain points and inefficiencies to determine your key objectives and priorities. Then, seek seamless integration with your current tools and look for the key characteristics we discussed above. After testing and evaluating your options, implement, train, and optimize your tech stack to align with evolving sales needs.

QuotaPath meets all our recommended criteria, fits seamlessly into your tech stack, and is pivotal in rep visibility, motivation, and time savings. Don’t take our word for it. Schedule a time with a team member to see QuotaPath for yourself.

FAQs

What is a B2B sales tool

A B2B sales tool is software designed to help businesses streamline and automate various sales tasks, such as lead generation, customer relationship management, and sales forecasting, to improve efficiency and boost revenue.

What are the best B2B sales tools for SaaS companies?

The best sales tools for B2B SaaS companies include CRM platforms like Salesforce and HubSpot, sales engagement tools like Salesloft and Outreach, and sales intelligence platforms like ZoomInfo and Clearbit to streamline lead generation, prospecting, and sales cycle management. 

What are the best sales tools for startups?

The best sales tools for startups include CRM like HubSpot or Close, sales automation platforms like Salesloft or Outreach, and prospecting tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator or Apollo.io, to streamline outreach and boost efficiency. 

Sales compensation plans are designed to reward performance, but they can expose your business to unexpected and outsized liabilities without the right safeguards. 

A wildly overperforming rep, a misaligned deal, or a lack of control around payout timing can skyrocket commission costs and wreck your forecast.

Example: A rep closes a $1.2M multi-year deal in Q2 with heavy discounting and poor margin. With a rich accelerator and no controls, they earn a $150K commission — all paid before the customer is fully onboarded or any revenue is recognized.

Finance now has a six-figure payout booked against zero collected cash and no visibility into long-term retention.

That’s where cash protection levers come in.

Why Cash Protection Levers Matter in Sales Compensation

These aren’t about capping commissions or discouraging overperformance. Instead, they act as smart financial guardrails that help you:

1. Avoid surprise commission liabilities that blow past your budget
2. Drive more strategic selling tied to margin, retention, or payback periods
3. Delay payments until value is realized, protecting cash flow and aligning with revenue recognition
4. Improve forecasting and financial control by adding predictability to comp expenses
5. Maintain plan flexibility as business goals and GTM strategies evolve

In this post, we’ll break down five proven cash protection levers you can build into your comp plans — so you can continue incentivizing top performers without risking your budget or financial strategy.

5 Compensation Safeguards

These levers let you reward high performance without creating runaway liability. 

Plus, they’re already being used by SaaS finance leaders trying to strike the balance between growth and efficiency, which matters most to venture capitalists right now. 

1. Tiered Accelerators Based on Payback Period or Margin Thresholds

Instead of a flat accelerator, reps unlock higher rates only after the deal meets key financial criteria, like:

• Payback period under 6 months
  
• Gross margin above a set threshold (e.g. 70%) This ensures high payouts only come when deals are financially healthy.

2. Ramp-to-Quota Safeguards

During a rep’s ramp period, limit full accelerators until a minimum activity level is hit (e.g. pipeline creation, number of qualified opportunities). This avoids ballooned payouts for a few early wins that don’t represent sustained performance.

Sales Ramp Calculator

Input annual quota, contract value, sales cycle, and variable pay below to calculate a monthly or quarterly breakdown for your new hire’s quota and ramping comp plans.

Use Calculator

3. Accelerator Gates Based on Strategic Metrics

Instead of giving top-heavy accelerators purely on revenue, you can gate them behind strategic behaviors like:

• Multi-year contracts
  
• Full-price deals (low discounting)
  
• ICP-fit customers

This directs reps to deals that support efficient growth and cash flow, not just volume.

4. Commission Timing Tied to Collections or Milestones

Delay commission payouts until cash is collected or the customer reaches a product milestone (e.g. implementation complete or first usage). This avoids paying large commissions upfront for deals that might churn quickly or default on payment.

5. Deal Size Caps Per Period with Manual Review

Set a soft ceiling on how much commission can be paid out per deal or time period (e.g. monthly), triggering a review for high-value deals. You still reward the rep, but finance gets a chance to model cash impact and time payouts if needed.

Final Thoughts 

These safeguards aren’t about limiting reps. Instead, they’re about protecting the business while still celebrating great sales behaviors.

Protecting your bottom line shouldn’t come at the cost of demotivating your sales team. By building in thoughtful cash protection levers, you can confidently reward overperformance and keep commission costs predictable.

QuotaPath makes it easy to design, test, and manage comp plans with the proper safeguards, without the spreadsheets or surprises. 

Book a demo to see how.

Q2 often feels like a slump… even for the strongest sales teams.

Let’s set the scene (although hopefully it’s not too triggering). 

Your team came out swinging in Q1. 

Fueled by fresh quotas and the urgency of a new year, reps leaned into January’s pipeline with aggressive deal cycles and executive-assisted closes to hit early-year targets. Everyone wins. Attainment is high. Commissions land (accurately and timely, thanks to a little help from your commission automation tool *wink*).  And spirits remain up.

But now it’s the Spring. 

You notice a lighter demo schedule across your team’s calendars. 

Prospect responses slow down.  

Your Q2 pipeline looks emptier than you’d like, and reps are feeling the hangover from a front-loaded quarter. 

It’s not just your team. It’s the pattern.

Behind the Q2 Dip

This happens every second quarter.

For many B2B buyers, Q1 represents new budget authority. 

That often triggers a wave of purchases aimed at kicking off initiatives early. In contrast, Q2 sees decision-makers re-evaluate spending, delay onboarding, or pause until H2 planning. Add in procurement cycles, fiscal year misalignment, and post-Q1 buyer fatigue, and fewer signed deals follow.

Comp plans don’t always help here.

If quotas are evenly spread across quarters without adjusting for real buying patterns, or worse, if Q1’s quota was heavier to take advantage of early momentum, Q2 can feel like a desert. Sellers see commissions dry up, motivation dips, and attainment suffers.

But this isn’t inevitable.

Below, we’ll cover:

• How seasonal buyer behaviors impact Q2 attainment
• Compensation and quota structuring strategies to offset mid-year slowdowns
• Tactical ways to deploy SPIFs and short-term accelerators 
• How leading RevOps teams are using QuotaPath to fix attainment discrepancies and keep teams aligned and motivated

Recommended Reading

The SPIF Report: Curious how top revenue teams use SPIFs and accelerators to align with key business goals and drive measureable results? Our latest report below dives into our data from $7.3M in sales incentives.

View Report

Compensation: The Quiet Culprit Behind Q2 Underperformance

If you’re only looking at pipeline health or rep activity in Q2, you’re missing a big piece of the story. The compensation structure is critical in sustaining momentum following a strong Q1.

Here are a few levers to pull should you find yourself in this situation. 

1. Rebalance Quotas Around Seasonality

First, instead of evenly dividing quotas across four quarters, align them to historical attainment data and buyer behavior. 

For many SaaS orgs, that might look like:
– Heavier quotas in Q1 and Q4
– Lighter quotas in Q2 when deal velocity slows
-A buffer in Q3 to prep for year-end pushes

To help, you could use QuotaPath’s Plan Performance Modeling tool to simulate different quota distributions to predict rep earnings, attainment, and commission cost impact. Use it to test a “light Q2” model without overcorrecting total OTE.

2. Deploy SPIFs Preventatively (not reactively)

Additionally, you could implement SPIFs.

The key, however, is to have these SPIFs lined up before you start to lose out on pipeline. 

According to our Q1 SPIF Report, the most effective SPIFs are those tied to very specific behaviors, not just general revenue boosts.

In Q2, consider:
– SPIFs tied to self-sourced opps to offset demand gen lulls
– Bonus for multi-product deals to maximize value per close
– Higher rate accelerators for deals with shorter time-to-close

An easy way to spin up temporary plan components without disrupting core plans is through QuotaPath. Reps see the incentive in real time, while leadership tracks performance in the same dashboard. Frees you up from having to track and calculate SPIFs in an extra spreadsheet, too. 

3. Add a Q2-Only Bonus Layer

Even a simple milestone bonus, “Close 3 deals in May, get $500,” can re-inject urgency.

Reps respond well to tangible, near-term goals. 

Unlike a quarterly quota that may feel out of reach by mid-May, a defined milestone tied to a bonus delivers immediate focus and motivation, especially for your mid-tier performers.

It gives sellers something they can realistically strive for and track in real time. These bonuses also work especially well in Q2 when the pipeline might be lighter, helping to build momentum through smaller wins.

Pro tip: Include a visual forecast of bonus impact inside your reps’ dashboards. Seeing how close they are to earning more drives action.

(Reps thrive on short-term visibility. QuotaPath’s component-based plan build structure allows you to add these in minutes and toggle them off at the end of the quarter.)

Pipeline Fixes Start with Plan Design

Implementing SPIFs, milestone bonuses, or shifting quota targets isn’t just a flip of the switch. Instead, it starts with how your comp plan is designed and modeled in the first place.

This is where RevOps and Finance teams can get ahead. 

Using QuotaPath’s AI-Powered Plan Builder and our Draft Plans feature, you can quickly build different versions of your plan before you roll them out and test them against historical numbers to see how they’d fare. That means less guesswork, more clarity, and faster alignment across stakeholders.

With QuotaPath, teams can:
– Forecast the cost and impact of Q2-only adjustments
– Test SPIF scenarios using real CRM and attainment data
– Visualize how individual reps would be affected based on their historical performance

This level of flexibility gives teams the confidence to act quickly when Q2 shows early warning signs, without risking confusion or misalignment.

Final Thoughts: Get Ahead of the Dip

You don’t need to accept a slow Q2 as the norm. 

With thoughtful comp structuring, aligned incentives, and visibility into earnings potential, your team can sustain momentum even when the market slows.

The key? Use your comp plan as a performance driver, not just a calculator.

If reps can see exactly how to earn more, and your plans adapt to real pipeline behavior, Q2 becomes an opportunity, not a letdown.

Learn more by scheduling a time with our team. 

Skip the blog and go straight to our free comp plan ramp calculator.

When a new sales hire joins your team, the first few months can make or break their long-term success. Without a structured ramping comp plan, new reps risk falling behind, losing motivation, and burning out before they’ve even had a fair shot at full productivity.

That’s where our Sales Ramp Calculator comes in—a free tool designed to help revenue leaders create fair, motivating, and data-backed ramping compensation plans.

Comp Plan Ramp Calculator

Set rep quotas and ramp comp plans to give them an equal shot at their full on-target earnings.

Use Calculator

Why Ramping Comp Plans Matter

Most reps don’t ramp overnight.

 In fact, our Sales Ramp Report found the average ramp period to be 6 months, with some stretching as long as 12–18 months for teams with longer sales cycles. Despite this, few companies have a structured approach to adjust quotas and commissions during this critical time.

Without a clear plan, new hires face unrealistic expectations. Meanwhile, leadership is left guessing on payout structures and ramp ROI.

Here’s the truth: you can’t afford to wing it.

QuotaPath’s Sales Ramp Calculator takes the guesswork out by turning your sales inputs into a clear, fair ramp plan—complete with quota breakdowns, commission rates, and earnings projections.

How the Sales Ramp Calculator Works

In just a few steps, the calculator helps you build a tailored ramping comp plan:

1. Input Your Key Metrics:
   
   • Annual Quota
   • Average Contract Value
   • Sales Cycle Length
   • Variable Pay (OTE)
     
2. Generate a Ramp Structure:
   
   • Starts with guaranteed OTE
   • Transitions to partial quota + higher commission rate
   • Ends with full quota and standard rate
     
3. Customize by Ramp Length:
   
   • Monthly, quarterly, or annual depending on deal volume
     Adjusted quotas based on sales cycle
     
4. Get a Downloadable Breakdown:
   
   • Earnings, commissions, and quota month-by-month
   • Easy to export and share
     

Report: Ramping Comp Plans

See how 100+ revenue leaders set their new reps up for success by creating ramping comp plans with adjusted quotas and commission rates.

View Report

Backed by Industry Data

Plus, we surveyed 100+ revenue leaders on how they approach ramping comp plans. Here’s what we found:

• 40% offer guaranteed commissions (draws or bonuses)
• Quota adjustments are the most common ramping strategy
• Only 30% of teams allow accelerators during ramp
• Enterprise teams rely more heavily on progressive quota steps than small teams
  

The calculator is built around these patterns—balancing structure with flexibility.

Examples of Ramping Models We See

Here are real frameworks from teams who participated in our report:

• 0-50-75-100% quota over a 4-month period
• 3 months guaranteed pay, followed by higher commissions on reduced quota
• Flat bonus payouts with eligibility for accelerators once reps are fully ramped
  

The calculator can model all of these—and more—based on your unique data.

Structuring Ramping Comp Plans

The right ramping comp plan aligns your team from day one. 

Without it, reps can’t predict their earnings, and leadership can’t forecast compensation expenses.

With QuotaPath’s ramping tools:

• Reps see how, when, and what they’ll earn
• Leaders get accurate commission projections for cash planning
• RevOps, Finance, and Sales stay aligned
  

Most importantly, ramping plans become repeatable, transparent, and strategic.

Build Your Ramping Comp Plan in Minutes

If you’re still relying on spreadsheets or building plans from scratch, it’s time to simplify.
Use the Sales Ramp Calculator to design a data-driven plan in minutes—and set your reps up for long-term success.

To dig deeper, check out the full Sales Ramp Report for more data-backed trends and examples.

Ramping a new sales rep is one of the trickiest balancing acts in revenue leadership. Reps need time to build pipeline, but the business needs bookings. Enter ramping comp plans: the not-so-secret weapon that aligns early rep activities with long-term performance goals.

We surveyed 114 revenue leaders across team sizes and industries to learn exactly how they’re building these plans. The results? Tactics you can borrow today to design a ramping strategy that supports new hires and hits your number.

Report: Ramping Comp Plans

See how 100+ revenue leaders set their new reps up for success by creating ramping comp plans with adjusted quotas and commission rates.

View Report

6 Months is the Sweet Spot

While ramping timeframes vary, six months was the most common ramp period among respondents. For companies with long sales cycles, that stretch can extend to 12-18 months. The takeaway: base your ramp period on your sales cycle length and how long it truly takes for reps to close their first deal.

Draws, Reduced Quotas, and Safety Nets

40% of companies provide guaranteed commissions during ramp, mostly through draws:

• 20% use non-recoverable draws
• 10% use recoverable draws
• 10% offer flat-rate bonuses

Smaller teams (1-10 reps) are more likely to offer higher commission rates with lower quotas. Meanwhile, 100% of enterprise teams (101+ reps) rely on reduced quota structures to give new hires breathing room.

Adjusting Quotas is the #1 Ramping Tactic

The most widely adopted ramping method? Lowering quota expectations. This allows reps to focus on pipeline generation before jumping into the deep end. Some companies pair this with higher commission rates to keep early earnings competitive.

An example progression might look like:

• Month 1: 25% of full quota
• Month 2: 50%
• Month 3: 75%
• Month 4+: 100%

Or a quarterly model with quotas ramping 50% > 75% > 100%.

Accelerators: Earn More, Earlier

Only 30% of companies allow reps to hit accelerators during ramp. But when used, this tactic boosts early motivation and rewards high performers from day one. For companies that delay accelerators until full ramp, the goal is to prevent overpaying before consistent performance is proven.

Activity-Based Pay? Not So Much

Less than 3% of teams tie ramp pay to activities like calls or demos. The majority reward only closed-won revenue. However, several leaders noted they’re exploring MBO-based ramp plans to offer structure before deals start closing.

Ramp Plan Examples to Steal

Here are some real frameworks from survey respondents:

• Small team (1-10 reps): 6-month ramp. First 3 months focus on pipeline only. Months 4-6 carry progressive quota (33%, 66%, 100%). Accelerators kick in at full quota.
• Mid-sized team (11-50 reps): Reduced quota with flat-rate payout. Bonus if rep hits full ramp quota. Accelerators delayed until post-ramp.
• Large team (51-100 reps): 90-day ramp. Non-recoverable draw instead of reduced quotas. Accelerators allowed during ramp.

Want to see how your plan stacks up? Try our free Ramp Calculator to model your own.

Final Thought: Ramp is Your First Chance to Get Comp Right

The right ramping comp plan doesn’t just shorten time to productivity. It builds trust. It aligns effort with earnings. And it sets the tone for performance expectations going forward.

With QuotaPath, you can design, implement, and communicate comp plans that reps actually understand. Use our intuitive builder to create structured ramp plans, add transparency with deal-by-deal earnings visibility, and drive the right behaviors from day one.

Want to see how it works? Schedule a demo and let’s build your best ramping strategy yet.

Lastly, need more data? Don’t miss our Q1 Spiff Report for insights into tactical short-term incentives.