P4 Software / cifraHQ

Commission Rules

Commission Rules

Commission rules tell CifraHQ exactly how much each salesperson earns when an invoice is posted - by product, customer, product group, or customer group. Once configured, commissions are tracked automatically: no spreadsheets, no manual tallying. Every posted invoice updates the salesperson's running balance.

Where to find it

Go to Master Data > Sales > Commission Rules.

Commission Rules list page in CifraHQ.

Commission Rules list, how salespeople earn commissions on sales.

How to create a Commission Rule

  1. Click New.
  2. Enter a Code for the rule.
  3. Select the Sales Person (a CifraHQ user) this rule applies to.
  4. Set the conditions - all are optional, leave blank to match any:
    • Product - earn commission only when this specific product is sold.
    • Customer - earn commission only on sales to this specific customer.
    • Product Group - earn commission on any product within this group.
    • Customer Group - earn commission on sales to any customer in this group.
  5. Enter the Commission % - the percentage of the invoice line amount the salesperson earns.
  6. Set Start Date and End Date if the rule is time-limited (e.g., a promotional spiff).
  7. Save.

How commissions accrue

CifraHQ evaluates all active commission rules for the assigned salesperson and adds earned amounts to their Commissions Balance whenever a commission event fires. The event that triggers accrual is controlled by the Commission Calculation setting in Settings > Business Configuration > Business Operations > Sales.

Setting When commissions are credited
Invoice Paid (default) When a payment is posted against the invoice. Commissions accrue only on collected revenue.
Invoice Posted When the invoice is posted. Commissions accrue immediately regardless of whether the customer has paid.

Choose Invoice Paid when you want to ensure salespersons earn only on cash that has actually been collected. Choose Invoice Posted when your business practice is to recognize the sale at the time of invoicing.

Every accrual writes a Commission Transaction row - a ledger entry showing the date, reference (which SO line generated it), percentage applied, and the running balance after the entry. Click Open full ledger on the Commissions tab to see the complete transaction history.

Paying out commissions

CifraHQ provides two payout paths depending on whether the salesperson is enrolled in Payroll:

If the salesperson is also an employee with an active Payroll contract, pay their commissions through the Payroll run so that CSS, ISR, and Decimo benefit bases are calculated correctly:

  1. Open the Payroll run for the relevant period (Payroll > Periods > [Period] > Run).
  2. Click Import Commissions in the run header.
  3. CifraHQ shows all salesperson-Employees with open commission balances. Select the ones to include.
  4. Click Import N lines. CifraHQ creates a COMMISSION concept line for each selected employee and zeros their balance.
  5. Run Calculate as normal - the engine adds the commission to the cotizable salary base for CSS, ISR, Decimo, and other benefit calculations.

The Import Commissions dialog is only available on draft runs. Once a period is closed, balances can no longer be imported into it.

Path 2 - Contractor or non-Payroll salesperson

If the salesperson is not enrolled in Payroll (independent contractor, commission-only rep):

  1. Go to Settings > Users > [Salesperson] > Commissions tab.
  2. Click Pay.
  3. Enter the amount and select the bank account to pay from.
  4. Save. CifraHQ creates an Expense entry and reduces the salesperson's balance by the paid amount.

The Pay button uses the Commission Payable account configured in Account Priming. Make sure this account is mapped before making your first payment.

Viewing the transaction ledger

Every accrual, payment, reassignment, and Payroll import is recorded in the salesperson's commission ledger. To view it:

  • From the user detail: go to Settings > Users > [Salesperson] > Commissions tab and scroll to the Transactions section, or click Open full ledger for the standalone page.
  • From the standalone page: navigate directly to /settings/Users/{id}/transactions.

Each row shows: Date, Reference type (SalesOrderLine, Expense, Reassign, Payroll), Reference link (clickable to the source document), Amount, Running Balance, and Comments.

Reassigning commission balances

If a salesperson leaves or transfers their accounts to another rep, you can move their open balance to the new rep:

  1. Go to Settings > Users > [Salesperson] > Commissions tab.
  2. Click Reassign.
  3. Select the target salesperson from the dropdown.
  4. Optionally check Also reassign open commission rules to move active (unexpired) rules to the new rep as well.
  5. Save. CifraHQ writes two ledger entries - one debit on the source, one credit on the target - and updates both balances atomically.

Tips

  • Salespeople are assigned to Customers on the Customer detail page. When that customer's Invoices post, CifraHQ automatically looks up commission rules for the assigned salesperson - no manual step required.
  • One salesperson can have multiple rules (e.g., 5% on standard Products, 8% on a premium product group). All matching rules apply, and commissions accumulate accordingly.
  • Use date-limited rules to run time-bound incentives - promotional rates for a specific product line during a campaign period - without having to manually adjust rates afterwards.
  • A salesperson's current balance appears in the Balance column on the Users list page (/settings/Users) and on their user detail page at a glance.

Related: Customers · Users · Price Rules · Sales Orders · Invoices · Periods & Runs

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