The workflow

From the Salesforce export to the number you send payroll

RevOps sends an export. This page is the path from that file to the number payroll gets.

Eight steps around one payout

01
Import

Bring in commission inputs from spreadsheets, HubSpot, Salesforce, or a database.
02
Map

Transform source fields into the names, roles, products, and territories your plan uses.
03
Adjust

Record corrections, splits, exceptions, and other manual adjustments with their context.
04
Configure

Set up a commission plan and make changes without losing the previous version.
05
Calculate

Run a deterministic payout calculation from the mapped data and selected plan version.
06
Audit

Keep a record of what changed, who reviewed it, and why an exception was accepted.
07
Version

Compare plan and workflow versions so the path to a result can be reconstructed.
08
Explain

Give each rep a payout explanation that connects the result back to the underlying work.

The trust model

The explanation stays with the payout

AI agents handle the repetitive steps. The payout still has a path from the inputs to the result: the plan version, the calculation, and a record of what changed.

Deterministic calculation

The same plan version and data snapshot should produce a repeatable result.

Versioned change

Plan changes and workflow edits stay visible. The previous version is still there.

Human review

Operators can inspect exceptions and approve the work before it becomes a payout.

Rep explanation

The statement shows how the payout was produced, along with the total.

Glossary

Terms used in sales commission work

Definitions for the plan, credit, and payout language that shows up in a commission run.

Pay

Base Salary: Fixed guaranteed pay. For example: $100k.
FSE (Full Salary Equivalent): Target compensation at 100% attainment. For example: Base 100k + Incentive 20k = 120K.
Leveraged Base Rate: Fixed salary portion of FSE. For example: 80% × $100k FSE = $80k.
OTE (On-Target Earnings): Base + (Variable at 100% quota). For example: Base 100k + Variable 100k = 200k.
Pay Mix: Ratio of Base to Variable. For example: 50/50 = 100k base + 100k variable.
Salary + Bonus: Fixed bonus for target (not variable). For example: $20k at 100%.
Straight Commission: 100% variable. For example: 0 base.
Target Incentive: Variable pay at 100% quota.
Target Variable: Variable earned at 100% quota. For example: $100k = Commission rate × Quota.
Variable Pay: Performance-based earnings. For example: Commission earnings.

Quota and attainment

2x Capped Plan: Limited upside. For example: Max 200%.
3x Uncapped Plan: High leverage, no cap. For example: 300%+ possible.
Attainment: % of quota achieved. For example: Sell $1.2M → 120%.
Cap: Maximum payout allowed. For example: Max payout = 300% quota.
Floor: Minimum payout guarantee. For example: AE earns $2k, floor = $5k, then AE gets $5k.
Quota: Performance target. For example: Sell $1M.
Rate / Accelerator: Limit on payout multiplier or accelerator tier. For example: Accelerator capped at 2× rate.
Sales capacity: The revenue a seller can produce.
Threshold: Minimum before payout starts. For example: No pay below 50%.

Rates

Accelerator: Higher rate above quota. For example: 10% up to quota, 15% after.
Commission Rate: % paid on revenue. For example: 10% of revenue.
Decelerator: Higher band pays less. For example: $50k at 4%, $100k at 2%.
Flat Bonus: Fixed payout. For example: $5k for deal.
Kicker: A lump-sum bonus paid when a threshold is hit, such as an extra $20k at 200% of quota.
Marginal: Higher rate applies only to subsequent rev. For example: First 1M at 8%, rest 12%.
Retroactive: Higher rate applies to previous rev. For example: 120% → all at 12%.
Tiered Rates: Different rates by band. For example: 0–100% = 8%, 100–150% = 12%.

Draws and guarantees

Advance Commission Payment: Commission paid before it is earned. For example: 50% commission at signature.
Draw: An advance paid against future commissions.
Non-Recoverable: Advance not repaid if under. For example: Forgiven shortfall.
Recoverable: Advance against commissions. For example: $5k/month advance.

Crediting

Certification Rule: Role qualification requirement. For example: Must hold product certification.
Commission Override: Overlay paid a % of deal revenue. For example: AE earns 8%. Overlay - 2% override.
Crediting Event: Trigger that creates commissionable credit. For example: Revenue recognition.
Crediting Rule: The logic that assigns revenue to a payee.
Crediting Splits: Revenue divided across dimensions. For example: 70% AE / 30% SE.
Eligibility Rule: Conditions to earn commission. For example: Must be active employee on invoice date.
Employment Status Rule: Requires active employment. For example: Terminated rep loses unpaid earnings.
House Account: No rep credited. For example: Strategic account.
Milestone-based overlay: Overlay paid when specific event occurs. For example: $3k at contract sign + $5k at go-live.
Non-reducing overlay: Overlay's credit doesn't reduce AE credit. For example: AE - 100% credit, overlay - 30%.
Overlay: Secondary seller gets partial credit. For example: Overlay rep gets 30% credit.
Overlay pool: Overlay is paid from a separate pool. For example: $400k pool → split among overlays.
Overlay with own quota: Overlay has independent quota. For example: Overlay quota = $5M influenced revenue.
Percent of AE commission: The overlay is paid a percent of what the AE earns.
Required Field Rule: Data validation dependency. For example: No commission if Opportunity Owner missing.
Split Credit: Revenue is split between AE and overlay. For example: AE - 70% credit, overlay - 30%.
Territory: Geographic assignment. For example: West region.

Timing

Booking: Commission paid when deal is signed.
Booking created: Paid when deal is booked in system. For example: Closed-won booking.
Booking validation: Seller recognizes the order as bookable. For example: Booking record, order record, ERP/CRM booking entry.
Cash collected: Paid when customer pays. For example: Invoice paid Net 30.
Cash collection: Paid when payment is collected.
Contract signature: Paid when contract is signed. For example: Order form executed.
Deferred payout: Paid later period.
Effective Date: Plan start date. For example: March 1.
Expansion / amendment: Existing customer increases scope, product, or volume. For example: Amendment, add-on order form, expanded SOW.
Invoice: Paid when invoice is issued.
Invoice issuance: Customer is billed. For example: Invoice, billing run record.
Invoice issued: Paid when invoice is sent. For example: Annual invoice raised.
Lag: Delay from event to pay. For example: Paid 60 days post-invoice.
Milestone: Paid when implementation stage completes.
Milestone achieved: Paid when milestone is completed. For example: Go-live accepted.
Outcome verified: Paid when result is confirmed. For example: Savings target hit.
Payment Frequency: How often you're paid. For example: Monthly / quarterly payout.
Payout trigger type: When the salesperson earns credit.
Plan Year: Active period. For example: Jan-Dec.
Proration: Partial credit for time. For example: Hired in July: quota $1m → $500k.
Ramp: Lower quota during onboarding (new hire). For example: 50% quota first 3 months.
Renewal executed: Paid when renewal closes. For example: 1-year renewal signed.
Revenue recognition: When revenue recognized.
Revenue recognized: Paid as revenue is recognized. For example: Monthly rev rec.
Staged payout: Multiple releases over time.
True-up: The correction on the next payroll cycle when the extract was late or a deal changed after you paid. It is a new line on the next statement, not a silent edit to last month’s total.
True-up / reversal: Prior credited amounts are adjusted up or down. For example: Credit memo, cancellation, comp adjustment entry.
Usage realized: Paid on actual measured usage. For example: Billed API usage.
Usage-based / consumption: Price tracks actual usage. For example: Per API call.

Adjustments

Adjustment: Manual correction. For example: Finance fixes data error.
Cash holdback: Commission stays held until the customer pays.
Chargeback: Triggered by a defined commercial event. For example: Cancel, return, non-payment.
Clawback: Triggered by policy/behavior/compliance. For example: Fraud, policy violation, misrepresentation.
Discretion Clause: Company can modify payout. For example: Plan ambiguity or Extreme deals.
Full clawback: The entire commission is reversed.
Holdback: Portion temporarily withheld. For example: 20% held 90 days.
Milestone holdback: Commission stays held until the project milestones are complete.
Overpayment: Commission paid, later found not earned. For example: $10k commission paid, deal canceled.
Partial clawback: Part of the commission is reversed.
Performance holdback: Commission stays held until the rep meets the stated conditions.
Quota Overallocation: Rep quotas > achievable market demand. For example: Total team quota: $12m, Demand: $9m.
Quota Relief: Temporary adjustment of quota. For example: Territory is split mid-year → Quota lowerd %30.
Retention holdback: Commission stays held for a set period.
Revenue holdback: Commission stays held until revenue is recognized.
Territory Alignment: Adjustment of accounts/geography/markets. For example: Northeast into NE Enterprise & NE SMB.

Special programs

Add-On: Long-term incentive. For example: Extra 2% on strategic accounts.
Gainsharing: Profit or cost-based team bonus. For example: Team shares 10% of savings.
New Account Incentives (NAI): Bonus for opening/winning a new account.
SPIFF: Short-term incentive. For example: $1k bonus for selling new product.
Team Quota: Shared performance goal. For example: $10M regional target.

What gets credited

ARR/MRR movement: Recurring revenue delta.
Billing / invoicing: Customer is invoiced or made billable. For example: Invoice, billing run, invoice schedule.
Booking / signing: Contracted order becomes signed or bookable. For example: Signed order form, booking record, ERP order entry.
Collections: Customer cash is received. For example: Remittance, cash receipt, paid invoice.
Cross-sell: New product to current customer.
Eligible Revenue: Revenue that counts. For example: Excludes renewals.
Expansion: More value into same customer broadly.
Expansion / upsell: Existing customer increases value, volume, or scope. For example: Amendment, expanded order form, higher commit, usage growth report.
Expansion ACV: Incremental ACV on existing account.
Gross Revenue: Before any deductions. For example: Full contract value.
Net Revenue: After discounts, refunds, credits. For example: Excludes refunds.
New ACV: Newly booked annualized value.
New logo: First sale to that customer/account.
New logo acquisition: First revenue from a net-new customer. For example: First order form, new account booking, CRM new-logo flag.
Partner influenced: Partner materially helped.
Partner sourced: Partner originated.
Partner sourced / influenced: Partner creates or materially advances the deal. For example: Partner registration, referral record, attribution flag, partner note.
Product Weighting: Different rates by SKU. For example: Hardware 5%, Saas 10%.
Recognized Revenue: Revenue recorded under accounting rules.
Renewal: Extension of existing term.
Renewal / extension: Existing customer extends the contract term. For example: Renewal order form, extension amendment, renewal booking.
Renewal ACV: ACV associated with continued term.
Reversal / clawback: Prior payout or credit is reversed. For example: Comp adjustment, credit memo, cancellation record.
Services value: Non-recurring services amount.
TCV: Total contract value.
Units-Based Plan: Pay per unit. For example: $50 per device.
Upsell: Higher tier / more scope / richer package.
Usage revenue: Consumption-driven value.

Measures

Annualized booking (ACV): Annualized value used for credit. For example: $300k / 3 years = $100k ACV | SaaS.
Backlog: Contracted revenue not yet delivered.
Booking Credit: Sales amount counted toward quota.
Bookings: Contract value credited when deal is signed. For example: $300k contract → booking recorded.
Commission: Commission attributable to the booking slice.
Commission credit: Sales amount eligible for commission.
Commission Paid: Money actually paid.
De-booking: A sale that was already recorded is removed.
Deficit Carryforward: Missed quota carried to next period. For example: Q1 $20k miss → +$20K to Q2 accelerator.
Flat fee per deal: Fixed payment for each successful referral.
One-time referral bonus: Single payment when the deal closes.
Out Year Bookings: This period contract's value after this year. For example: $300k 3-year deal → $200k out-year bookings.
Overage: Amount of performance above quota. For example: Overage = Actual Performance - Quota.
Participant: A person eligible to participate in the Plan.
PCP (Personal Compensation Plan): Participant-specific commission schedule.
Percentage of deal value: Referrer earns a % of the partner's sale. For example: 5% of contract value.
Percentage of margin: Based on partner's profit margin.
Qualified Bookings: Bookings eligible for commission credit. For example: $100k ACV deal in rep territory.
Quota-Carrying Personnel: People responsible for hitting a quota target.
Recurring referral fee: Paid on renewals or subscription revenue.
Referral fee: Fee for introducing a sales opportunity.
Revenue-based: Credit only when revenue recognized. For example: Services companies.
TCV booking: Total contract value counted immediately. For example: Enterprise deals.

Plan documents

Amendment: Plan modification. For example: Rate updated mid-year.
Clawback support: Evidence for payout reversal. For example: Clawback calculation.
Comp Letter: Your terms (quota, territory, OTE, pay mix). For example: Your quota = $1.2M.
Credit memo: Negative billing adjustment. For example: Refund credit memo.
Effective Period: Validity timeframe. For example: 1/1/25 - 6/30/25.
Frozen Statement: Locked historical payout record. For example: Q1 payout snapshot.
Incentive Statement: Report of rep earnings under the plan. For example: Quota → Bookings →...→ Final payout.
Payout Curve: The relationship between attainment and payout.
Plan Document: Master policy (Rate tables, rules). For example: Annual Sales Plan.
Plan Governance: How a plan is approved, changed, and audited.
Plan Hierarchy: Override order. For example: If conflict: Plan > Letter > Email.
Plan Version: Specific plan instance with effective dates. For example: FY2025 Plan v1 (Jan-Jun).
Recalculation Rule: Logic for reprocessing past earnings. For example: Recompute from Jan 1.
Retro Change: Backdated plan modification. For example: Rate changed from 8% to 10%.
Traceability: Full lineage of payout. For example: Invoice → Credit → Commission → Payment.

Payments

Accrued: Recorded but unpaid. For example: Accrued in March.
Earned: Commission calculated per rules. For example: $25k earned.
FX Conversion: Exchange rate handling. For example: EUR → USD at month-end rate.
Minimum Guarantee: Guaranteed payout floor. For example: Minimum $5k/month.
Paid: Commission disbursed. For example: Paid April payroll.
Payment Currency: Currency used for payout. For example: USD.
Reconciliation State: Payment lifecycle stage. For example: Pending → Approved → Paid.

Disputes

Adjustment Type: Correction method. For example: Manual credit +$2k.
Approval Workflow: Escalation path. For example: Manager → Finance.
Dispute Case: Formal commission challenge. For example: Case #D-204.
Reason Code: Standard dispute classification. For example: Incorrect split.

Payees

AE (Account Executive): Primary sales, owns relationships/deals. For example: AE selling SaaS to Fortune 500.
Alliance Manager: Internal owner of SI/cloud/ecosystem relationships. For example: Alliance manager on AWS co-sell win.
AM (Account Manager): Managed relationship and account revenue. For example: Renewals, Upsell.
BDR (Business Development Rep): Generates outbound opportunities. For example: Cold outbound prospecting.
Bid / Tender Manager: Seller/owner of formal public bids and tenders. For example: Bid manager wins agency tender.
Branch Rep / Branch Manager: Seller/manager in branch-led distribution model. For example: Branch rep sells local supply contract.
Broker / Agent: Intermediary earning on placed business. For example: Broker places financing/insurance account.
Channel Manager: Manages partner ecosystem. For example: Drives revenue via resellers.
Channel partner: Intermediates the sale.
CSM: Post-sale owner driving adoption, retention, sometimes expansion. For example: CSM earns save/adoption incentive.
Dealer Account Manager: Internal rep managing dealer channel accounts. For example: OEM dealer manager drives dealer orders.
Dealer Rep: External rep at dealer selling to end customer. For example: Medical device dealer rep closes hospital order.
Distributor Rep: External rep selling through stocked distributor route. For example: Distributor rep moves industrial product order.
Expansion Rep: Focuses on growing revenue. For example: Cross-sell.
Implementation / Delivery Seller: Seller paid on services delivery or milestone commercialization. For example: Services seller paid on signed SOW/go-live.
Independent Rep / Manufacturer’s Rep: Independent external rep covering territory/products. For example: Manufacturer’s rep wins component design-in.
Inside Sales Rep: Rep handling mid-market or high-velocity remote sales.
Line Manager: Direct supervisor assigning territories/quotas.
Marketplace / Cloud Co-sell Manager: Internal owner of marketplace/cloud route-to-market. For example: Co-sell manager paid on marketplace booking.
Marketplace / cloud partner: Deal goes through cloud marketplace or ecosystem.
Marketplace Partner: External platform/ecosystem participant in payout flow. For example: Cloud marketplace partner earns referral fee.
National Account Manager: Rep owning national/global strategic accounts. For example: NAM closes multi-site national account.
Overlay Rep / Specialist: Supports deal but does not own it. For example: Security specialist assisting AE.
Partner Rep: Seller employed by partner organization. For example: Sells your product via channel.
Referral Partner: External party paid for qualified introductions. For example: Consultant refers net-new customer.
Relationship Manager: Relationship-led seller in banking/services/strategic accounts. For example: Commercial banker grows client wallet.
Renewals Desk: Centralized team handling renewals.
Renewals Rep: Individual seller responsible for renewals.
Reseller / VAR: Sells or transacts the product.
Reseller Rep / VAR Rep: External rep selling through reseller/VAR channel. For example: VAR rep closes hardware/software bundle.
RVP (Regional VP Sales): Oversees multiple sales teams in a region.
Sales Manager: Manages AEs and quota attainment. For example: Oversees team performance.
SDR (Sales Development Rep): Prospects and qualifies leads. For example: Books meetings for AE.
SE (Sales Engineer): Technical expert supporting deal. For example: Runs demos, handles technical objections.
SE Prime: Lead sales engineer.
SE Support: Supporting engineer.
Service Contract Rep: Seller focused on maintenance/service agreements. For example: Rep renews maintenance contract.
Sub-agent / local execution partner: Local external partner executing part of national/global motion. For example: Local partner services regional site rollout.
Systems Integrator Rep: SI-employed rep influencing or co-selling deal. For example: Deloitte rep shapes enterprise program.
Territory Manager: Field seller in industrial/distribution territory. For example: Territory manager expands plant account.
Territory Rep: A rep responsible for an account territory.

Records

Opportunity: CRM sales object. For example: Opp #8472 worth $500k.
Order / Contract: Executed agreement. For example: 3-year SaaS contract.
Plan Assignment: Rep linked to plan version. For example: AE → FY2025 Plan v2.
Product / SKU: Commissionable item. For example: SKU-SaaS-PRO.

Before a demo

See whether it fits your current process

The public checkup sends the file to a model so it can read the structure. A plan sheet or a calculation workbook is enough. Skip the full payroll export. A demo can cover product scope, integration depth, and a redacted or parallel evaluation path.

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