• Setup plans for any calendar. Calculate payouts weekly, monthly, and/or quarterly.
• Setup calendars for other frequencies.
• Setup calendars starting at any date of the year.
• Model one reps' plan from another rep's.
• Create unique plans for every rep with very specific commission rates.
• Split credit between multiple reps.
• Setup many commissions for a single plan.
• Include draws and guarantees.
• Calculate straight commissions, tiered commissions, bonuses, etc.
• Pay different commissions by product, customer, or by type of sales.
• Calculate based on sales, profit, and quantity.
• Pay sales people as well as managers.

Reports

• Generate detailed commission statements by rep.

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• Historical commission statements are available.
• A standard set of reports are available in the system.
• New reports can be created within the system.

Analytics and Dashboard

• Slice and dice analytical ability.

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Feature Matrix

Download Easy-Commission Feature Matrix

This document lists most of the features found in the Easy-Commission product. It is segmented by functional areas. This is not an exhaustive list. Easy-Commission is available in multiple Editions. Not all listed features are available in all Editions. Easy-Commission can handle basic to moderate commission needs for any number of reps.

Functionality	Feature	Description
Calendar	Calendar specifies the commission processing schedule for the company.
Monthly, Quarterly, Half Yearly, Annual Commission processing can be based on these standard frequencies.   Weekly, Bi-Weekly, Twice-Monthly Commission processing can be based on these more unusual frequencies.   User definable processing schedule User can define a calendar with any start and end date for any period.
Reps	Reps are entities that receive variable payouts. Reps can be employees, external individuals or external companies.
Functionality Feature Description   Reps can be employees Payment recipients are commonly employees.   Reps can be non-employees Reps can be outside agents.   Reps can be companies Reps can be individuals or firms.   Reps can have different roles Reps can be many different roles. E.g. Sales Rep, Sales Manager.   Reps can be associated with organizational units Reps can be associated with different organization units such as territories/depts/business units/teams.   Reps can report to specific Managers Rep can have a reporting relationship to a manager   Rep contact information is available Complete contact information is available for a Rep.   Rep email id can be stored Rep email can be used to email commission statements   Reps can be added online Reps can be directly added to the system online.   Rep can have a unique commission plan Each Rep can have their own unique commission plan.   Rep can access the system Rep can be provided access to the system through the web. Or not.   Reps can be made inactive Terminated/inactive rep data can still be maintained in the system.   Reps can be unlimited Any number of reps can be maintained in the system, depending on edition license limitations.
Sales Organization	Territory stores the sales territories in the organization.
Functionality Feature Description   Sales Organization can be any sort of organizational entity. Territories can be organized as postal codes, states, regions, countries, business units, departments, etc.   Sales organization based crediting Sales organization can be used credit rules. A particular territory related transactions can be credited to a particular Rep. E.g. Sales in "Northern California" should be credited to "Andy Rep".
Customer	Customers are the firms and individuals to whom sales is made.
Functionality Feature Description   Customer Leads Leads about prospective customers can be entered in the system. Lead souces, status and interaction can be tracked.   Customer Lead conversion Qualified leads can converted to a customer record and an opportunity record.   Customer Opportunity Opportunity for a deal with a customer can be tracked. Multiple opportunities can be tracked. Deal amount, likelihood of close, etc, can be tracked. Closed opportunity can be converted to a commissionable transaction.   Customer based crediting Customer information can be used in credit rules. A particular customer's sales can be credited to a particular payee. E.g. crediting strategic accounts to a rep.   Customer crediting for multiple reps. Customer's sales can be credited more than one rep at differing credit rates. E.g. For customer XYZ credit 70% to Rep A and 30% to Rep B.   Unique commissions by customer Customer information can be used in commission calculations. Different customers can have different commission rates.   Customer contact info Customer contact information such as address can be maintained.   Customer can have multiple contacts Multiple contacts for an individual customer can be maintained.   Customer relationship dates Customer start and end dates can be maintained. This can be used to direct commissions. For example: pay a higher commission rate for the first year of customer relationship.   Customer Notes Unlimited notes related to customer interactions can be maintained in the system.   Customer ownership Customer records can be owned by specific reps so only they can have direct access.   Customer Jobs Multiple jobs/projects for customer can be maintained in the system.   Customer Amounts Customer field Commission_Rate can be used in commission calculations.
Products	Products and Services are what the company sells.
Functionality Feature Description   Product based crediting Product information can be used in credit rules. A particular Product or group of product's sales can be credited to a particular Rep. E.g. crediting 'Hardware' sales to a rep.   Unique commissions by product Product information can be used in commission calculations. Different Products can have different commission rates. E.g "Paper" is paid at 5% and "Pencil" is paid at 6%.   Product groups Product can be grouped in a hierarchical manner. Groupings can regions or industry segments, for example. Sales can be credited by product group.   Product Amounts Product field Commission_Rate can be used in commission calculations.
Commission and Bonus Calculations	Any kind of variable payouts can be calculated by the system. Calculations can include, commissions, bonuses, referrals and royalties.
Functionality Feature Description Plan Commission plans are the agreements that the company has with its Reps. The plan specifies the rules for awarding commissions and incentives to the Rep. A plan is made up of many incentives   Individual and Unique Plans Every Rep can have their own unique commission plan.   Shared Commission Plan Components Commission plan components can be shared by many Reps if need be. This allows changes in one place to affect a group of people.   Commission plan duration Commission plans are typically for one fiscal year. But can be used to calculate commissions for multiple years as well.   Creation of plans A plan can be created directly or can be copied from another Rep's plan.   Unlimited Incentives Unlimited number of commissions and bonuses can be set within a single plan. Processing Schedule The period of calculating commissions can vary significantly. The calendar specifies the periods and dates for the calendar.   Monthly Commissions are typically paid out monthly.   Other standard frequencies Commissions and bonuses can be paid as Weekly, Bi-Weekly, Monthly, Twice-monthly, Quarterly, Half yearly and Annual.   Other unique frequencies Commissions and bonuses can be paid on any period with a unique user defined start and end date.   Multiple frequencies Different Commissions and bonuses can be paid on different frequencies. E.g One can be monthly and another can be quarterly.   Transaction dates in period Transactions have an effective date that allows them to be calculated in the correct period.   Future dated transactions Transactions have an effective date that allows them to be future dates and defers processing until that time.   Multiple calculation runs Commissions can actually be calculated multiple times witin a period, even daily.   Preliminary and final processing schedule Commissions can be processed and results distributed on a preliminary basis. Upon feedback and issue resolution, the commissions can be recalculated and distributed as a final run. Transactions Commissions can be calculated on almost ANY kind of transactions. Transactions can be imported from external sources. Transactions can also be entered/modified in the system. Some examples of other transactions that can be handled are: "Customer Satisfaction" scores, or "Appointments Made".   Any transaction Commissions can be calculated on any kind of transactions. A generic transaction type can be used in the calculations.   Invoices Commissions can be calculated based on Invoices. Invoices can be entered into the system and converted into generic transactions.   Receipts Commissions can be calculated based on money received   Expenses Commissions can be deducted for expenses. E.g. Deduct $100 every month for Insurance Premium.   Bills Commissions can be deducted for Bills   Payments Commissions can be deducted for Payments   Credit Memo Commissions can be calculated for credit memos   Quotes/Estimates Commissions can be calculated based on Quotes/Estimates.   Sales Order Commissions can be calculated based on Sales Orders   Recognized Revenue Commissions can be calculated based on recognized revenue.   Purchase Orders Commissions can be calculated based on Purchase Orders   Contracts and projects Commissions can be calculated based on contracts and projects   Recurring Transactions Commissions can be calculated based on recurring transactions such as Premiums.   New Customer/Account Transactions indicating the acquisition of a customer/account can be used to trigger payments.   Non-commissionable Transactions Transactions can be made non-commissionable individually Transaction Adjustments Adjustments can be made to the transaction itself.   Adjust a Transaction Transactions can be adjusted positively or negatively. Transaction Events Transactions can go through various events , such as shipping and payments for an invoice.   Invoice event commissions Commissions can be paid based on an invoice event.   Paid Invoice event Commissions can be paid when invoices are paid. Transaction Amounts Amounts available on transactions can be used in the commission calculations.   Sales Commissions can be calculated based on sales/revenue amounts.   Quantity Commissions can be calculated based on quantity/units.   Cost Commissions can be calculated based on Cost   Profit/Margin Commissions can be calculated based on Profit/Margin. Profit is difference between sales amount and cost fields. E.g. Pay commission on Profit.   Other Amounts Commissions can be calculated based on almost ANY amount that is available on transactions. Crediting Transactions Crediting is the process of allocating a transaction (sales or other) to the right Rep. Mostly a single person gets the credit for a transaction, but sometimes multiple people may get credit for the same transaction. The credit rules are applied against all the transactions entered/imported into the system.   Crediting Rules Crediting rules can be pre-established and applied against all transactions entering the system.   Credit by Rep Incoming transactions can be credited to Reps, based on Rep values available on the transactions.   Credit by Territory Incoming transactions can be credited to Reps, based on Territory/sales organization values available on the transactions.   Credit by Customers Incoming transactions can be credited to Reps on Customer values available on the transactions.   Credit by Products Incoming transactions can be credited to Reps on Product values available on the transactions. Crediting can also be by product lines and families.   Credit multiple Reps and splits Incoming transactions can be credited to multiple Reps. The multiple Reps can be available right on the transaction, or the rules can determine which Rep the transaction credit should go to. The credit can be split to multiple Reps, or fully credited to multiple Reps.   Credits for overrides Credits can be provided to managers and other related Rep groups for override commissions purposes.   Crediting rules by Reps Each Rep could have their own set of crediting rules.   Crediting rules for an incentive Credit rules can be unique for each incentive. There can be multiple credit rules that make up the credits for a single incentive.   Credit by user definable criteria Incoming transactions can be credited to Reps by user definable Groups available on the transactions.   Credit by combinations Incoming transactions can be credited to Reps by combination of two of the above criteria.   Credit to managers Managers can be set up to automatically get credit for all their subordinates' sales and get override commissions. E.g. An agency can credit for all the reps in the agency.   Avoid duplicate crediting A transaction that has been credited to a person, can be set up to not credit again, after the period is closed.   Credit at line level Transactions can be credited to Reps at an individual line level. Incentives: Commission and Bonuses Incentives are any unique calculation formula used to calculate payouts for a Rep. A monthly commission for sales revenue is an incentive; an annual bonus based on quantity of items sold is also an incentive. A Rep's plan consist of multiple incentives.   Flat Rate Commissions can be calculated as a flat rate. The flat rate can be unique by Rep, Product, Customer, and other criteria. E.g. For "Widget" products, Sales rep "A" will get 5%.   Flat Amt Commissions can be paid as a flat amt. This can be based on quantity or an event being satisfied. E.g. Pay $100 for every Loan processed. E.g. Pay $1000 on Customer satisfaction score over 90%.   Varying commission rates by Customer Commission rates can change by customer.   Varying commission rates by Products Commission rates can change by products or product families   Varying commission rates by other criteria Commission rates can change by almost any criteria available for a transaction.   Threshold attainment Commissions can be paid only if a certain performance threshold is achieved. E.g. Every month, accumulate all sales for a rep. If sales are < $50,000 pay 0% commissions, if sales are >$50,000 pay 10% commission.   Tiered Attainment Commissions can be paid based on tiers of attainment for a period. E.g. Every month, accumulate all sales for a rep. If sales are < $50,000 pay 5% commissions, if sales are >$50,000 and < $100,000 then pay 7%; if sales are above $100,000 pay 10% commission.   Quota Tiered Attainment Percent Commissions can be paid based on tiers of attainment percent calculated against a specified quota. E.g. Every month, accumulate all sales for a rep. Compare to a quota of $100,000. If attainment percent is < 80% pay 5% commissions; if attainment percent is between are 80% and < 100% then pay 7%; if attainment percent is above 100% pay 10% commission.   Quota frequency Quota can be monthly, quarterly, annual, year-to-date, etc. and attainment against quota can be different frequencies.   Profit based commissions Commissions can be calculated based on Profit. E.g. Pay 10% of commission on Profit.   Profit level based commissions Commissions can be calculated based on Profit level. Profit can at line level or total order/invoice level. E.g. For 35% and above profit commission rate is 10%; if profit level is below 35% then commission rate is 5%.   Multiple Incentives A Rep can have many commissions and bonuses in the same plan. E.g. Monthly sales commission and Quarterly Unit Bonus   Discount based commissions Commissions can be paid based on varying discount levels. E.g. Standard commission rate is 10%, if sales is discounted by 10%, commission rate is 5%. If the discount is greater than 10% then no commission is to be paid.   Differing Frequencies Each incentive can be calculated at a different frequency. E.g. Monthly sales commission and Quarterly Unit Bonus   Negative Commissions System can calculate negative commissions. Negative balances can be retained and applied against future periods.   SPIFF Special promotional incentive programs can be set in the system and executed.   Bonus Bonuses are governed by similar rules to commissions. They are just as flexible and can be set up in all the same ways.   Referral Fee Referral fees can be calculated to external and internal Reps.   Royalties Royalties can be calculated for any external entity   Flexible user defined calculations Different kinds of commissions can be calculated using an excel like formula. Rep Summary Calculations Some calculations are done at the summary level after all the commissions are calculated.   Draws - Recoverable Recoverable draws can be set by individual Rep. A draw of certain amount can be set and the system will automatically loan draws as necessary, keep the balance and recover the loans when possible.   Guarantees Guarantees are essentially Non-recoverable draws. Guarantees can be set by individual Rep. A draw of certain amount can be set and the system will automatically loan guarantee amount as necessary.
Adjustments	Adjustments to commissions
Functionality Feature Description   Payout Adjustments Can adjust the total payout amount positively or negatively   Adjustment Comments All adjustments can be created with an audit trail with comments.
Other Data	There are other master data which can also be used in commission calculations.
Functionality Feature Description Vendor Vendors are firms that the company pays funds to. They may be suppliers of products or services. For insurance companies they can be Carriers; for manufacturing rep firms, they can be Manufacturers.   Vendor Vendor master records can be maintained.   Vendor on Transaction Individual Transactions can be associated with vendors. Group User definable grouping of transactions. Company need to classify transactions in an unique way.   Group on Transaction Transactions can be grouped with unique values so commissions can be varied. For example, some transactions may be considered "New Business" and others "Repeat Business".   Group based Crediting Transactions for a particular group can be credited to one or more reps. For example, transactions with Group "Strategic Products" can be assigned to a Business Development Rep.   Group based Commission Transactions for a particular group can have a different commission rate than other groups.
Commission Statements	Commission statements are the special, periodic reports provided to Reps indicating the commission payout and the detail that made up that commission payout.
Functionality Feature Description   Standard commission format There is a standard commission statement format that is used for all reps.   Historical commission statement Commission statement can be reviewed for prior periods.   Show unique comments Commission statements can show unique comments by Rep.   Export to PDF Commission statements can be exported as PDF files.   Export to XLS Commission statements can be exported Excel files. They can also be exported as raw data without report formatting, etc.   Web based commission statements Commission statements are available through the web   Email Commission statements A link to Commission statements can be emailed to reps.   Customize commission statements Commission statements can be customized for company needs.   Create new commission statements Commission statements can be created for company needs.
Reporting	Reports are standard reports for the available data. There are a lot of standard reports available in the system.
Functionality Feature Description Payout Reports Payout reports are based on the results generated from commission plan execution.   Payment by Transaction Payment by Transaction   Commission Crosstab by Rep and Period Commission Crosstab by Rep and Period   Commission Crosstab by Group and Period Commission Crosstab by Group and Period   Commission Crosstab by Product and Period Commission Crosstab by Product and Period   Commission Report by Rep and Period Commission Report by Rep and Period   Commission Report by Group and Period Commission Report by Group and Period   Commission report by Product and Period Commission report by Product and Period   Commissions paid per rep per period for all reps Commissions paid per rep per period for all reps   Year to Date Summary for Rep Year to Date Summary for Rep   Summary Rep by Period Summary Rep by Period   Year to Date Payout Summary for all Reps Year to Date Payout Summary for all Reps   Rep Ranking by Attainment Rep Ranking by Attainment   Rep Ranking by Attainment Percentage Rep Ranking by Attainment Percentage   Rep attainment against Goal Rep attainment against Goal   Rep Quota Report Rep Quota Report Transaction Reports Transaction reports are based on the source transactions imported/entered into the system.   Imported Transactions Imported Transactions   Transaction List Transaction List   Transactions by Rep by Product Transactions by Rep by Product   Transactions by Rep by Customer Transactions by Rep by Customer   Transactions by Rep by Group Transactions by Rep by Group   Paid Transactions Paid Transactions   Unpaid Transactions Unpaid Transactions   Production Crosstab by Rep and Period Production Crosstab by Rep and Period   Production Crosstab by Group and Period Production Crosstab by Group and Period   Production Crosstab by Product and Period Production Crosstab by Product and Period   Production Report by Rep and Period Production Report by Rep and Period   Production Report by Group and Period Production Report by Group and Period   Production Report by Product and Period Production Report by Product and Period Other Reports Miscellaneous reports   Calendar year payouts for Independent Reps (1099) Reports values stored in buckets across all periods.   Customer List Tax related commission payouts for full year Reporting Tools Built-in report designer tool can be used to create reports.   Report Designer All objects in the system can be accessed.   VSView VSView report writer can be used to access the data. Analytics Data can be analyzed using drag and drop analysis   Pivot table access Commission data can be presented as pivot table like views. User can drag and drop criteria to create quick views of the data for analysis.
Integration	Sophisticated integration facility allows the direct integration of data with other data and application formats.
Functionality Feature Description   Stand alone execution Integration to other systems is optional. System can completely execute stand alone.   Integration on demand Imports can be requested directly by the administrative user.   Extract from any table Data can be extracted out from any table.   Integrate all master data such as Customer, Products, Reps Integration can update any master data.   Integrate transaction data Integration can update any transaction data including sales orders, invoices, payments, credit memos, bills and purchase orders.   Insert or Update of data Ability to insert new records or update old records available.   Intuit QuickBooks® Integrate to Intuit QuickBooks® application   Text file Integrate to text files with delimited or fixed length formats. This includes CSV format.   Excel Integrate to Excel files.   Export statements Export statements and save them as HTML, PDF, Excel, Text and raw data.   Export file for Accounts Payable Export file for Accounts Payable update.   Export file for Payroll Export file for Payroll update.
Security and Auditing	This Software allows companies to introduce an automated process for defining and paying compensation that provides full auditing to meet US federal regulations. This Software also offers the ability to set the level of complexity within the companies' password policies to their corporate standards.
Functionality Feature Description Security Security controls the proper user access to the system functions.   Functional security Set security for functions available in the system. E.g. administrators are allowed to execute commission plans.   View/Update security Set security to distinguish between view and update access.   Role based security Create a role that combines the various functions that the role should have access to.   User based security Associate user to a role. Ensure access to system via user id and password.   Password expiration period Password expiration days can be set to force reset of password
Technology and Architecture	The software is built on Microsoft technology for an easy fit with most organizations' technology stack.
Functionality Feature Description   Multi-tenant SaaS application Application is hosted on the cloud and accessed individually by each customer and user.   Internet Browser Compatibility Internet Explorer 7.0 or later. Mozilla Firefox.

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Sales Commission Plans

Sales Commission is a standard way of compensating sales people in most businesses. Unlike standard compensation methods such as Hourly Salary or Exempt Salary, where employees are paid either by the hour or on an agreed upon rate per year, sales commissions are dynamically calculated based on the performance of the sales person. Sales commissions are also variously known as pay-for-performance, sales compensation, incentive compensation, variable pay, etc.

Sales commission programs are possibly the most variable programs conducted by a firm. These programs tend to vary significantly from industry to industry, and many times within companies in an industry. These programs tend to be different by employees even within a single firm. Unlike regular salary programs, sales commissions tend not to be governed by a lot of laws and rules, and this adds further variability to the programs. Variations can include the kind of performance being incented (Revenue vs. Gross Profit), the frequency of calculation (Monthly Vs. Quarterly), the type of transactions being incented (Sales orders Vs. Invoices Vs. Payments), the level of salespeople being incented (Sales Rep Vs. Sales Manager), whether Draw or Cap is being used, and so on.

Benefits

Reduce errors in sales commission calculation. Calculating commissions in Excel, Spreadsheets or other manual processes are highly prone to errors. A systematic, professional approach like Easy-Commission can help reduce errors that may creep in during calculation. You not only save money, but also gain your employees' trust.

Web-Based Access

Allowing your sales people to directly access the system online, may give them clear access to their commission statements. This will build trust with the sales force.

Direct Integration with QuickBooks® and Other Files

If you are a QuickBooks® user, you have an added advantage. You save a lot of time and effort in bringing the data into Easy-Commission. You also get to avoid dual typing as well as errors.

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Timely Payment of Commissions

Manual calculation processes consume a lot of time and can delay the distribution of commissions badly. An automated system for commission lets you calculate commissions on time.

Web-based access systems allow real time visibility to commissions to your sales people. This may allow them to better understand order flow and customer payment information and shorten the payment cycles from the customer.

Clear Communication

Even the most beneficial and well-designed plans may fail to serve their purpose if the payment details are not properly communicated. Easy-Commission can generate accurate and clear statements. This avoids confusion among the sales people and lets them focus on sales activities.

Accessible Data

Easy-Commission encompasses the ability to report comprehensively on sales and commissions. Additional information such as customer, product and invoice data can also be exposed to the rep to provide better decision making by the rep. An analytical component introduces slice and dice analysis of data maintained in the system.

CellarStone, Inc. Specializes in Enterprise Incentive Management (EIM), an umbrella term covering business processes and systems that are used to administer Pay- For-Performance programs. This includes Sales Commission Programs, Variable Pay and Bonus Programs, Executive Compensation Programs, Channel Incentive Programs, etc.

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