ToolbagCRM Help

Commission Tracking ​

Commission Tracking helps managers define commission plans, log earnings for technicians or sales reps, and move each payout through a clear Pending → Approved → Paid workflow.

ToolbagCRM Commission Tracking enablement screen
This screenshot shows the Commission Tracking enablement state. Administrators can turn it on from Settings → Features when it is available on the account.

When to use this ​

Use Commission Tracking when you pay staff for upsells, maintenance agreement sales, completed jobs, referral bonuses, or other performance-based work and need a shared record before payroll.

It is especially useful for:

  • Tracking who earned credit for a sale, invoice, or completed job.
  • Standardizing commission rules so every manager calculates payouts the same way.
  • Reviewing pending commission liability before a payroll run.
  • Keeping an audit trail for approved, paid, deleted, or voided commission entries.
  • Separating plan setup from day-to-day commission logging.

Before you start ​

  • Confirm the plugin is included in your plan.
  • Enable Commission Tracking in Settings → Features.
  • Make sure the team members who will approve or pay commissions have the right permissions.
  • Decide whether commissions need manager approval before payout.
  • Gather the commission rules you already use: percent of revenue, percent of profit, flat per job, or flat per item.

Set up commission plans ​

Plans define how a commission should be calculated.

  1. Open Commission Tracking.
  2. Select the Plans tab.
  3. Choose New Plan.
  4. Enter a clear plan name, such as Maintenance Agreement Sale or Referral Bonus.
  5. Choose the commission type:
    • % of Revenue — calculates a percentage of the invoice or sale amount.
    • % of Profit — calculates a percentage of the job profit amount.
    • Flat per Job — pays a fixed amount for a completed job.
    • Flat per Item — pays a fixed amount for a sold item, agreement, or add-on.
  6. Enter the rate or amount.
  7. Add notes for eligibility rules, exceptions, or manager instructions.
  8. Save the plan.

Keep plan names plain enough that office staff can pick the right one while logging a commission.

Log a commission ​

  1. Open Commission Tracking.
  2. On the Commissions tab, choose Log Commission.
  3. Enter the technician or sales rep name.
  4. Choose a commission plan, or leave the plan as Manual entry.
  5. Enter a short description of what earned the commission.
  6. If the selected plan is percentage-based, enter the invoice or sale amount so ToolbagCRM can calculate the commission.
  7. Review or enter the final commission amount.
  8. Optionally add a job reference, invoice number, and notes.
  9. Save the entry.

New entries start as Pending when approval is required. Pending entries can be edited, deleted, approved, or voided.

Review and pay commissions ​

Use the status tabs to work through the payout cycle:

  • All — view every entry together.
  • Pending — review new entries before payout.
  • Approved — commissions that are ready to pay.
  • Paid — commissions already paid this month or in a prior run.
  • Voided — entries kept for audit history but removed from the active payout flow.

Typical payroll workflow:

  1. Review pending entries for accuracy.
  2. Approve entries that should be paid.
  3. Use the Approved tab during payroll.
  4. Select Mark Paid after the commission has been included in a pay run.
  5. Void entries that should remain visible for history but should not be paid.

Settings ​

From the Commission Tracking page, open the settings link to configure account-wide defaults:

  • Default commission plan — applies when a commission is logged without choosing a plan.
  • Default rate — flat fallback amount for plan-free entries when no amount is supplied.
  • Require approval before payout — when enabled, new entries begin as Pending; when disabled, new entries are approved automatically.
  • Payout schedule — records whether commissions are usually paid weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or quarterly. This is informational and does not change the workflow by itself.

Only users with write access to Commission Tracking can change these settings.

Tips ​

  • Start with one or two common plans before adding every edge case.
  • Use notes on plans for eligibility rules, such as minimum ticket size or excluded service lines.
  • Review the pending amount before each payroll run so commissions are not a surprise expense.
  • Keep invoice numbers and job references on entries whenever possible.
  • Void disputed entries instead of deleting them after a manager has reviewed the payout.

Troubleshooting ​

The commission amount does not calculate automatically ​

Automatic calculation happens when a percentage-based plan is selected and an invoice or sale amount is entered. Flat plans use the plan amount directly, and manual entries require you to enter the commission amount.

A pending entry is wrong ​

Edit the pending entry if it simply needs a correction. Delete it only if the record was created by mistake and no audit history is needed. Use Void when you want to preserve the record and document why it should not be paid.

An approved entry should not be paid ​

Open the entry from the Approved tab and choose Void. Add a short reason so payroll and managers can see why the payout was stopped.

Built for contractors and home-service businesses.

Copyright © Toolbag, Inc.