Note: Some workspaces may see updated terminology. “Owed” is now labeled “Earned,” and “Eligible” is labeled “Payable.” This is a terminology update only; calculations and payout logic remain the same.
In this article, we'll walk you through how Admins can run a commission payout cycle in QuotaPath, providing step-by-step guides on how to navigate each section. Visit this article for a product video walkthrough.
How to run a commission payout cycle
Admins can prepare commissions for payout in three easy steps, using the Approvals (step 1) and Payouts pages (steps 2 & 3):
Approve earnings on deals
Schedule payout timing and frequency
Export CSV to upload into payroll
In the left hand navigation menu, you'll start the payout process on the Approvals page. Approved deals will move to the Payouts tab for scheduling and export.
In the following sections, we'll walk you through how to complete each step on the tabs to successfully complete a commission payout cycle.
Approval Page & Inbox View
The first step to run a commission payout cycle is to approve earnings on the 'Approvals' page in Payouts. The 'Approvals' page will only display members or deals with unapproved earnings, similar to a zero-inbox approach. Once deals and earnings are approved they move to the Payouts page.
If you have disabled the approval workflow in your workspace Settings (bottom left, Preferences tab), approval is not required, and you can proceed to the next step on the Payouts page.
If you have an approval workflow with more than one step, and you have no deals currently in your Approval inbox, you may see this view when you click to the approvals page, showing how many deals sit in the inbox for each approval step/approver. In this example, all deals are awaiting a manager approval, and there are zero deals awaiting admin approval, so this would be the admins' view:
When multiple approval steps are being used, Admins can always complete approvals for every step. If a teammate is out of office or unable to complete their approvals, the admin can complete them for them.
If you have an approval workflow with a single step, you will not see separate inboxes and steps. Your deals and earnings will be showing in a table by member, like below:
Detailed overview of the Approvals page
Approval Workflow Inboxes / Steps: Each approval step shows the number of deals currently in that step to track deal approval progress.
Filters: Filter by Deal Date, Owners, Plans, and Components to adjust the data for viewing and approval.
Total Deal count in filtered set: How many deals meet your filtered criteria.
View by: Choose whether to view data by 'Member' or by 'Deal' to approve.
Currency: If you have enabled more than one currency in your workspace, you can select which currency to view approvals.
Total Earnings: Total earnings to be approved based on your filters.
Approve All / 'Approve X Members', 'Approve X Deals': Approve all members or all deals in your filtered set.
Select Members / Deals: Check the box to select specific members or deals to approve.
Approve Selected Members / Deals: Click the 'Approve' button on the dark green bar to approve all selected Members / Deals.
Approve Singular Record: Cick the white Approve button to approve all of a single member's deals or a single deal record.
Unapprove: Unapprove selected members or deals to send the record back to the previous approval step, when using a multiple approval step workflow.
Table customization: The triangular line icon will let you filter records by that column. the three-dot menu in the column header has several options to help you organize columns in the table and customize your view. Your edits will persist each time you login. You can also drag and drop column headers to reorder.
Manage workflow: Click to go to the workflow setup on the Settings page to adjust your approval workflow.
Record Selector: Choose the max number of members or deals to view at once. Be sure to approve all deals for your filtered set so you are not missing payouts in the next step. A common error is approving the deals on the first page but not beyond, resulting in missed payouts.
The Approval Process
Completing your approvals on the Approvals page is the bulk of the work in your payout process in QuotaPath. The Approvals page is where you review each deal and its earnings to ensure your payouts will be accurate and complete. If you are using payout eligibility, you will still be approving the full commission, even if that commission will not be payable immediately.
Filter by dates: To complete your approvals, always start by filtering to the correct deal dates for your pay period. This filter will be sticky and follow you to the payouts page, making it simple for you to quickly schedule everything that you approve.
Review and Approve: After filtering goes through each member and deal, reviewing deal values and earnings, and when satisfied with accuracy, click Approve.
Your approved deals will now appear either in the next approval step assigned to the next approver, or, if you were the only or final approver, the approved deals will be on the payouts page.
How to schedule Payouts
The second step to run a commissions payout cycle is to schedule the payout date and frequency on the 'Payout' tab on the Payouts page. The 'Payout' tab will only display members or deals with owed payouts, similar to a zero-inbox approach.
*There are TWO tabs on the Payouts page - Payout and Export. This applies to Admins only. For non-Admins (Members and Team Managers), the tabs, respectively, are called Earned and Resolved.
Detailed overview of the Payout tab
Filters: Use the Deal date, Owners, Plans, Components, and Partial Payouts filters to adjust the data to view and approve.
Payout Charts: View a summary of the approved earnings and breakdown of Earned (previously 'Owed'), paid, Payable (previously 'Eligible') and Overpaid earnings.
Currency selector: Toggle between workspace currencies.
View by: Choose whether to view data by 'Member' or by 'Deal per Component' to approve.
Note: A payout record is created for every component on a deal in which there are approved earnings. This allows you to schedule these payout records at different times and frequencies if needed.
View Owed, Eligible or Overpaid: Choose whether to view all Earned payouts, only Payable payouts, or only Overpaid payouts (clawbacks). Eligible payouts will only appear if you have added Payout Eligibility rules into the applicable component/plan.
Overpaid: Where a payout has been made but a change in deal data has resulted in a new, lower amount being approved, QuotaPath will create Overpaid records and you will be prompted to schedule those as a clawback. Claw backs are scheduled separately from earned or payable payouts.
Total Owed: View a summary of the total owed payouts to be scheduled based on your filters and/or selected members or deals per component.
Payout All / 'Payout X Members' / 'Payout X Records': Schedule payouts for all members or all records.
Select Members / Records: Check the boxes to select specific members or records to schedule.
Payout Member / Records: Click the 'Payout' button to approve a single member or record.
View Member's Records: Click anywhere on the Member row or the arrow at far right to drill down to view the Member's owed payout records and see individual deal data.
Create manual Payout or Clawback / Export: Click '+ Create Payout' to create a manual payout or clawback record. Click the dropdown arrow to export a CSV of owed payouts.
Manual payouts and clawbacks are not connected to any Deal record in QuotaPath. They are a single individual record of a payout that just contains a date, amount, and payee.
Note: As a best practice, it's recommended to create manual payouts or clawbacks only when adjustments to payroll fall outside the rules of the compensation plan. Clawbacks, or overpaid payouts, will be automatically generated following approval of discrepancies based on changes to the plan or deals. For one-time SPIFs, you can also add a new component to the plan.
Column Selector: Choose columns to add or remove from your view.
Record Selector (not pictured): At the bottom of the Deal/Member payout table, choose the max number of members or records to view at once. Be sure to always check for additional pages of payout records so that you do not miss a payout that should be scheduled.
How to 'Export' payouts
The third and last step to run a commissions payout cycle is to export the completed payout records from the 'Export' tab in Payouts to upload into your payroll system. The 'Export' tab will only display members or records with scheduled or completed payouts, similar to a zero-inbox approach.
Below you'll find a detailed overview of the 'Export' tab:
Filters: Use the Deal dates, Payout dates, Owners, Plans, Components, Currency and Partial Payouts filter to adjust the data to view and approve.
Note: The 'Payout dates' filter only appears on the 'Export' tab as only scheduled and completed payouts can have payout dates. As a best practice, it is recommended to use this filter to select the data to export for payroll.
Export Charts: View a summary of scheduled and completed payouts, and a breakdown of the top components with scheduled payouts.
Note: Scheduled payouts refer to payouts where the payout date is in the future, and completed payouts refer to payouts where the payout date is in the past.
Export: Click the dropdown arrow to export a CSV of scheduled payouts to upload into payroll based on the selected filters. There are three exports:
Export CSV by Payout: Export of scheduled and completed payouts broken down by payout installment.
For example: Let's say there are $500 in earnings on a Quarterly Bonus component on a deal and that payout is scheduled to be paid in monthly installments. In this export, you will see 12 rows for each of the 12 payout installments on this deal per component record.
Export CSV by Deal per Component: Export of scheduled and completed payouts broken down by deal per components.
For example: Let's say there are $500 in earnings on a Quarterly Bonus component and $200 in earnings on a Monthly Commission component for the same deal and both records are scheduled to be paid out at the same time. In this export, you will see 2 rows for each of the deal per component payout records.
Export CSV by Member (Recommended): Export of scheduled and completed payouts grouped by member. This is the recommended export in order to upload into payroll.
View by: Choose whether to view data by 'Member' or by 'Deal per Component' to approve.
Note: A payout record is created for every component on a deal in which there are approved earnings. This allows you to schedule these payout records at different times and frequencies if needed.
Select Members / Records: Check the box to select specific members or records to delete / undo payout records.
View Member's Payouts: Click the Member row or the arrow to drill down to view the Member's payouts.
Column Selector: Choose columns to add or remove from your view.
Record Selector: Choose the max number of members or records to view at once.