Commission Overview
Commissions can be handled many different ways across the industry. Each company may calculate, approve, and pay commissions differently based on its sales structure, compensation philosophy, project types, margin goals, and internal approval process.
Because of this, there is not one standardized commission process that fits every customer.
Q360 provides commission-related data through reports or our commission module that can be exported and used to support your internal commission calculation process. This approach gives your team flexibility to apply your own commission rules, thresholds, rates, exceptions, and approval workflow without being limited by a fixed system calculation.
Q360 does include a Commission Module; however, the module is best suited for companies whose commission plan fits within the system’s standard logic. The module is not customizable and does not interact with other Q360 modules in a financial posting capacity, including Accounting or Payroll.
Recommended Approach: Reporting-Based Commission Calculation
The recommended approach is to review commission-related data using Q360 reports, export the data as needed, and calculate commissions outside of Q360.
This approach is recommended because it allows your company to maintain full control over:
- Commission rates
- Commission tiers
- Gross profit or revenue-based rules
- Sales rep splits
- Thresholds and accelerators
- Exceptions and overrides
- Approval requirements
- Payroll timing
- Manual adjustments
- Department-specific rules
- Project-specific rules
This prevents the company from having to change its commission plan just to fit the software.
The goal of a commission plan is to motivate the right sales behavior. If the system logic does not match the plan, the compensation plan should not be changed simply to force automation.
Recommended Reports
Invoice Record Analysis
The Live Data Invoice Record Analysis | Q0312 report can be used to review invoice-related details.
- This report is helpful for companies that calculate commissions based on billing activity, invoice posting, or customer payment.
- It is often the best starting point for commission plans based on invoicing or payment activity.
It may help identify:
- Invoiced revenue
- Invoice details
- Paid invoices
- Posted invoices
- Project or service-related invoice activity
- Supporting information for commission calculations
Sales Booking Report
The “Sales Booking” Report: Dashboard Sales Order Bookings | Q0318 can be used to review sales booking information.
- This report is helpful for companies that calculate commissions based on booked sales, project awards, signed quotes, or initial project value.
- It is often useful for companies that pay commission when a deal is booked rather than when it is invoiced or paid.
It may help identify:
- Booked sales
- Sales order activity
- Customer change order activity
- Salesperson assignment
- Booking-based commission opportunities
For more information on this report, refer to:
- MasterClass webinar: “Report II: Key Reports for Sales and Operations” (section on “Sales Reports”)
- Video: Sales Bookings
Project Status Report
The Project Status Report can be used to review project-level information.
- This report is helpful when commission eligibility depends on project status, project progress, percent complete, or project closeout.
- It is useful when commission should be reviewed based on project lifecycle stage.
It may help identify:
- Active projects
- Closed projects
- Project status
- Project manager details
- Project progress
- Project financial position
- Projects ready for commission review
For more information on this report, refer to
- Procedures: Projects > View Project Reports (section on “Project Status”)
- Video: Project Reports (section 1 on “Project Status”)
Understanding the Q360 Commission Module
The Q360 Commission Module is an advisory tool that can create commission records based on predefined system logic.
- It is important to understand that the Commission Module is separate from Accounting and Payroll. It can help calculate and track commission advice records, but it does not post payroll, create payroll checks, calculate taxes, or post journal entries to the General Ledger.
- The module should be viewed as a commission calculation and review tool, not as a full payroll or accounting automation process.
In summary: Actual payouts still need to be handled outside the module through payroll, accounting entries, or another internal process.
Important Limitation: The Commission Module Is Not Customizable
The Commission Module works within a fixed framework. It is not designed to support every possible commission structure.
This means that if your commission plan does not align with the module’s available configuration options, the system may not calculate commissions the way your company expects.
When the Commission Module May Be a Fit
The Commission Module may be a fit if your commission plan is simple, consistent, and based on standard system logic.
The module is more likely to work if:
- Commission is calculated using one consistent method
- The company pays based on either gross profit or total revenue
- The calculation logic is consistent across the organization
- Rates are based on defined commission plans
- Payouts are triggered by invoice posting or invoice payment
- Sales rep splits are straightforward
- Exceptions are limited
- Manual overrides are uncommon
- Payroll is comfortable reviewing an export before payout
If your process meets these conditions, the module may provide value as an internal commission tracking and approval tool.
When to Avoid Using the Commission Module
The Commission Module may not be the best fit if your commission process includes any of the following:
- Complex or dynamic tier structures
Avoid using the module if commissions are based on quota tiers, annual sales thresholds, accelerators, individualized rep tiers, or different tiers by department, product line, or sales role. - Different pay methods by rep or role
The module uses global configuration logic. It may not work cleanly if some reps are paid on gross profit, others on revenue, recurring revenue, flat bonuses, team performance, or other mixed methods. - Flat bonuses or unit-based incentives
Plans that pay bonuses for service contracts, new customers, appointments, units sold, quarterly goals, or specific products are often better handled outside the module. - Payouts based on non-financial milestones
The module is typically driven by invoice posting, invoice payment, or other financial events. It may not support payouts based on site surveys, customer approval, equipment delivery, installation completion, customer acceptance, or PM approval. - Heavy manual review or approval requirements
If Finance, Sales Leadership, Operations, Project Management, Payroll, or Executives need to review, adjust, negotiate, or approve commissions before payroll, a report-based process usually provides better control. - Frequent exceptions or overrides
Avoid the module if your plan regularly includes special customer deals, house accounts, split rep changes, low-margin overrides, excluded product categories, strategic accounts, warranty work, internal work, change orders, or one-time leadership adjustments. - Custom payroll output requirements
If payroll requires a custom file format, special grouping, additional calculations, or manual adjustments, the Commission Export may still need to be modified before use. In that case, it may be more efficient to calculate commissions directly from Q360 reports.
Commission Module Set Up and Help Guides
- Commission Setup and Configuration
- Report: Commission Export (Accounting > Commissions > Commission Export) – guide also covers commission module life cycle: Used to review commission advice records generated by the system. This is typically the main report for reviewing commission records before they are approved or released.
- Report: Commission Accrual | Q0205: Used by finance to review commission liability, earned commission, paid commission, and remaining balances.