Commission day,
without the arguments.
Sales compensation is the largest variable cost in a tech company and the one most often calculated in a spreadsheet nobody trusts. We design the plan, build it in CaptivateIQ and run the monthly calculation, so reps get a statement they can reproduce and finance gets an accrual it can defend.
Arguments about facts,
not about rules.
We have designed and run commission plans at three tech companies, first in spreadsheets and then in CaptivateIQ. The pattern is the same every time: once the rules are written down and the data arrives from one system of record, the disputes that remain are about a deal booked in the wrong month, which can be checked, and no longer about how the plan works.
Six pieces,
engaged together or alone.
Some companies need the plan rewritten, some need the tool built, some need someone to run commission day so the controller gets the week back. Every piece has an owner, a due date and a definition of done.
Plan Design & Modelling
Quotas, rate tiers, accelerators, clawbacks, splits, hierarchies and roll-up targets written as rules a system can calculate. Each plan comes with a worked example every rep can follow and a cost model finance can budget.
Commission Data Model
One deal ID from HubSpot or Salesforce through NetSuite invoicing to cash. Quotas and plan membership in a controlled sheet. A reconciliation step that has to pass before any calculation starts.
CaptivateIQ Implementation
Plans, effective-dated hierarchies, rate tables, adjustments and statements configured in CaptivateIQ, then two full parallel cycles against the old spreadsheet before the first live payout.
Monthly Commission Run
Sync, reconcile, calculate, review the exceptions, publish statements with a fixed dispute window, collect approvals, hand payroll its file. Run by us, or by your team on the checklist we leave behind.
Accruals & Board Reporting
Commission accrued in the month the deal is credited, clawbacks as negative adjustments, and the total by team and plan in the board pack with the attainment distribution behind it.
Plan Changes & Annual Reset
Mid-year quota changes prorated by rule, territory moves with effective dates, and the new-year plan rolled out with the specification, the model and the statements updated together.
Three formats,
one specification.
Everything starts with the plan written as a one-page specification per plan. It is what we configure from, and it is what a rep sees when a statement is questioned. If a rule is not on that page, nobody is paid on it.
Plan specification & cost model
Four to six weeks. Current plans and disputes reviewed, the new plans specified rule by rule, a cost model by attainment scenario, and a communication pack for the sales team.
CaptivateIQ build & parallel run
Six to ten weeks. Data model, configuration, statements, two parallel cycles against the old calculation, every difference explained, then go-live with your team trained on the run.
Commission operations
We run commission day on a fixed calendar: reconciliation, calculation, statements, disputes, approvals, the payroll file and the accrual journal, with the numbers reported into the board pack.
Three situations
where it fits.
SaaS, marketplace and other tech companies with a sales team of ten or more, more than one plan, and a finance team that would rather not spend the first week of every month on commissions.
Four questions
we hear first.
If yours is not here, book a 30-minute intro call and bring the current plan document, if there is one.
Below ten reps with one plan and no roll-ups, a well-built spreadsheet with a written specification is usually enough, and we will build that. Managers paid on team attainment, split deals and clawbacks are the point where a tool costs less than the disputes. We implement CaptivateIQ because it is what we know from running it monthly; the specification and data model we build work in any commission system.