Commissions Manager
General Summary
The Commissions Manager is responsible for the accurate administration, calculation, validation, and payment of sales compensation plans. This role oversees commission operations end-to-end, ensuring compensation plans are executed consistently, commissions are processed accurately and on time, and policies are applied in accordance with company guidelines.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Administers monthly, quarterly, and annual commission calculations, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with approved compensation plans.
Partners with Sales, Revenue Operations, Finance, HR, Legal, and Payroll to support the commissions process.
Maintains commission-related data across Salesforce, Captivate IQ, and other reporting systems.
Audits bookings, quota attainment, accelerators, credits, adjustments, clawbacks, and exceptions to ensure payout accuracy and integrity.
Prepares commission statements, payout files, accruals, reconciliations, and management reporting.
Analyzes commission trends, attainment patterns, plan effectiveness, and cost of sales to identify risks and improvement opportunities.
Serves as the subject matter expert for incentive compensation programs, supporting plan implementation, system configuration, audits, reporting, dispute resolution, and process improvement.
Supports annual and in-year compensation planning, including incentive plan design, modeling, testing, documentation, rollout, and maintenance within the CaptivateIQ platform.
Buils and configures commission plans in CaptivateIQ, including eligibility rules, quota and attainment logic, accelerators, tiers, splits, credits, adjustments, clawbacks, and payout calculations.
Translates approved compensation plans and business requirements into scalable models, workflows, statement views, and calculation logic.
Serves as the primary point of contact for commission inquiries and dispute resolution.
Improves commission processes through automation, documentation, controls, and scalable workflows.
Ensures commission practices comply with company policies, internal controls, employment agreements, and applicable regulations.
Acts as SME on commissions and sales compensation-related inquiries.
Identifies and recommends process improvements to reduce risk and increase operational efficiency.
Knowledge, Skills, and/or Abilities Required
Advanced knowledge of sales compensation administration and commission plan design.
Strong understanding of quotas, bookings, attainment, accelerators, splits, clawbacks, and payout eligibility concepts.
Ability to manage projects and processes independently with limited supervision.
Advanced analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
Strong knowledge of CRM, compensation management, payroll, and reporting systems.
Advanced spreadsheet skills, including complex formulas, lookups, pivot tables, reconciliations, and data validation.
Ability to follow and reinforce standard operating procedures and internal controls.
Ability to meet firm deadlines with multiple ongoing priorities.
Strong communication skills, both verbal and written.
Strong organizational and detail-oriented skills.
Ability to communicate complex compensation concepts to technical and non-technical audiences.
Ability to handle confidential compensation information with discretion and sound judgment.
Education/Vocational/Previous Experience Recommendations
Bachelor’s degree in finance, Accounting, Business, Economics, or related field, or equivalent business experience.
5+ years of relevant experience in sales compensation, commissions administration, finance operations, revenue operations, sales operations, or a related analytical role.
Experience supporting commission plans in a software, SaaS, technology, or recurring revenue environment.
Hands-on experience with Captivate or a similar incentive compensation management platform.
Experience with Salesforce, NetSuite, or similar CRM/ERP systems.
Experience supporting global sales teams and/or multi-currency commission plans.