'That job was mine'
A salesperson signs a job with panels and a battery. The survey finds the roof takes fewer panels, the value drops. The customer then adds a larger battery. Then the customer cancels within their cancellation period, and later re-signs with a different salesperson. At month end, the commission spreadsheet shows the original value, and two people think the job is theirs.
The sales manager spends a day sorting commission, and somebody leaves the meeting unhappy.
Why commission is disputed
- Job values change after signing: redesigns, extras, discounts.
- Cancellations and re-sales happen, and the scheme's rules for them are unclear.
- Commission is paid on different events: signed, deposit paid, installed, balance paid.
- The spreadsheet is updated by hand from the CRM.
- Salespeople cannot see how their figure was worked out.
What disputes cost
Manager time every month. Trust between the sales team and management. Good salespeople leaving over a sense of unfairness. Overpayments that are hard to claw back. And a scheme that drives the wrong behaviour because nobody can see how it works.
Statements from the job history
- Your commission scheme is written as rules: which event triggers payment, how value is measured, what happens on cancellation, redesign, discount or re-sale, and splits between people.
- Each job's history is read from the CRM: who signed it, value changes, status changes, payments.
- Commission is calculated per job by those rules, with each change explained.
- Each salesperson sees their own statement, job by job, with the reason for each figure.
- Queries are raised against a specific job, so they are resolved on evidence.
- The approved statement is passed to payroll.
The scheme and its fairness are yours to decide. We write down the rules you have and apply them consistently. Your accountant advises on payroll treatment.
A salesperson's statement
| Job | Event | Value used | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Job A | Installed | Final value | Redesign reduced value |
| Job B | Deposit paid | Signed value | Stage payment under scheme |
| Job C | Cancelled | None | Cancelled within period |
| Job D | Re-sold | Split | Scheme rule on re-sales |
Commission that people understand
Salespeople can see how each figure was reached. Disputes are about specific jobs, settled by the history. Month-end commission takes minutes, not a day. And the rules are written down, which often shows where the scheme itself needs work.
Writing the scheme down
Most commission schemes exist as a combination of a document written a few years ago, a set of decisions made case by case since, and what the sales manager remembers. Turning that into rules for a system forces the unclear parts into the open: what happens when a customer cancels and comes back, whether a redesign reduces commission, how a job shared between two salespeople is split.
We go through recent disputed jobs with you and the sales manager to find those gaps. Deciding them is yours. Once they are decided and written down, the system applies them the same way every month, and salespeople can read the rules as well as their statements.
That transparency often does more for the team than the time saved at month end.
Is commission a monthly argument?
- Commission is worked out in a spreadsheet by hand.
- Salespeople dispute figures most months.
- Rules for cancellations and redesigns are unclear.
- Two people have claimed the same job.