Commission billing, automated instead of in Excel
Recalculating variable pay by hand costs time and invites arguments. In projectfacts the commission rules sit on the order and settle themselves.
Enquire nowWhat is commission billing?
Commission billing is the process of working out performance related pay, evidencing it and bringing it to payment. It answers three questions: what the calculation is based on, how much falls due and when. This page is about the route from the agreement to the payment.
In many companies, pay in sales consists of a fixed base plus a variable share, while other models pay purely on commission. The more models run side by side, the less a spreadsheet can carry.
Transparent for both sides
Your staff can see at any time which deals count and what follows from them. That takes the ground out of month end discussions.
No duplicated work
The figures are already in the system. Copying them into a spreadsheet for the commission run simply builds a second source of error.
Several models at once
Field sales, office sales and team leaders rarely settle on the same rule. All of them can run side by side without a special solution.
Commission on revenue or on gross profit?
What a commission rule consists of
Whichever model you run, a rule always answers the same four questions. Settling them in writing beforehand saves settling them afterwards.
Calculation basis and rate
What is the calculation based on, revenue or gross profit, and at what percentage or fixed amount? A mix is common too, for instance a percentage on your own work plus a fixed amount per deal.
Scope of the order
Does the commission apply to all parts of the order or only to individual items? Third party services that are passed on are often excluded, or valued differently from your own work.
- Whole order or individual items
- Third party services valued separately
When it falls due
When does the commission fall due, on the deal, on invoicing or only once the payment arrives? And does the rule apply only to deals closed within a certain window?
- Set the trigger: deal, invoice or payment
- Period in which the rule applies
Recipient
Who receives it? Alongside the person who closed the deal there is often a second rule for the team leader, with a different rate and a different basis.
An example: two rules on one order
A sales employee receives four per cent commission on the gross profit of an order, for each invoice relating to that deal. The division manager receives a flat 50 euros on every invoice for the same deal.
What follows from that
Both rules sit on the same order and settle independently of one another. The gross profit is the difference between the value received and the cost incurred, for example resold working time less the internal transfer rate, or, for a licence bought in and resold, the margin between the two.
Commission on a gross profit basis therefore does not relate to the full order value, but to the value that the work actually adds.
Variable pay without spreadsheet upkeep
As soon as several models run in parallel, commission billing by hand becomes a source of errors. In projectfacts you set up the rules once and let them settle.
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Setting up commission rules in projectfacts
The rules sit on the order, not in a separate list. Authorised users store several commission rules there side by side, so that even unusual arrangements can be represented without anyone keeping a spreadsheet alongside.
Since version 2026.2 you can also name groups as the recipient of a rule and store a different recipient in addition. A team leader commission is now a setting rather than a separate calculation.
- Several rules in parallel on one order
- Revenue or gross profit basis selectable per rule
- Groups and alternative recipients since 2026.2
From the rule to the payment
Because orders, invoices and time entries in projectfacts share the same data, the commission is derived from figures that are already there. There is no second version that would have to be reconciled with the first.
The calculated amounts flow into wage and salary together with bonuses and overtime, ready to be exported for payroll. Every employee has a transparent overview of their performance and the payments that follow from it.
- Calculated from order and invoice data, no second version
- A transparent overview for every employee
- Handover to preparatory payroll accounting
Commission billing with projectfacts at a glance
Rules on the order
Several commission rules side by side instead of a spreadsheet
Revenue or gross profit
Calculation basis freely selectable per rule
Team leader commission
Groups and alternative recipients since version 2026.2
Controlled timing
Store the trigger and the period of validity per rule
Transparency
Everyone sees their deals and the pay that follows from them
Linked to payroll
Amounts arrive export ready in preparatory payroll accounting
Show us your commission model
In 30 minutes we will look together at whether and how your rules can be represented in projectfacts. The unusual ones included.
Enquire nowStill have questions? We have the right answer!
Give us a call, send us an e-mail or take a look at our FAQ section! We will be happy to answer your questions!