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Commission calculator

See what a pay plan really pays before anyone signs it.

For owners writing a plan and reps weighing an offer. Pick a pay model, put in appointments, close rate and ticket, and get monthly and annual pay, the split between base and commission and, for owners, what the plan costs as a share of revenue.
Model a pay planThe five pay models

Calculator

Your plan

Example values
I'm using this as

Example values: round numbers picked to show how the plan works. They are not benchmarks for your trade or market. Put in your own numbers.

This plan pays the rep $7,200 a month, $86,400 a year. Sales cost is 8% of revenue.

What this plan pays the rep

$7,200/ month

Per year

$86,400

rep pay

Sales cost

8%

of revenue sold

Pay mix, per year100% commission
Base or draw
None on this plan
Commission
$86,400
Revenue the rep sells
$1,080,000 a year
Jobs sold
120 a year
Rep pay as share of GP
20%
GP left after rep pay
$345,600

appointments × close rate × (1 − cancels) × ticket × weeks = sales · sales × commission % = pay

Switch between owner and rep to see the same plan from both sides. The calculator leaves out SPIFFs, overrides, contests and benefits: add those on top.

Pay models, explained

Five ways to pay an in-home closer.

Each model rewards something different. Pick the one that pays for the behavior you want at your tables.
01

Percent of sale

The rep earns a set percentage of each sold job’s price. It is the easiest plan to explain, and the easiest for a rep to check against their own sales log.

Watch for: The rep is paid on price, not profit. A rep who discounts to close costs you margin while their own pay barely moves, so set a price floor and a rule for who can approve discounts.

sales × commission %

Worked exampleExample

A rep sells $1,000,000 in a year at 8%. Pay: $80,000.

Where you see it

ServiceTitan’s target for comfort advisors is 9% of sales, a goal rather than an average. Home improvement commissions typically run 6-12% of the sale (Pro Remodeler, 2018). In roofing, 10% of gross is the most common plan (JobNimbus). Jessica Stahl of Ignite Results sets a ceiling on total commission: Under 12% of gross.

02

Percent of gross profit

The rep earns a share of each job’s gross profit: price minus materials, labor and other job costs. Discounts now come out of the rep’s pay as well as yours, which keeps price and margin pulling the same way.

Watch for: The rep has to trust your job costing. Show how GP is worked out on every job and when the number is final, or the plan turns into a monthly argument.

sales × gross margin × commission %

Worked exampleExample

$1,000,000 sold at a 40% margin is $400,000 of GP. At 15% of GP, pay is $60,000.

Where you see it

EGIA published an example comfort advisor plan that pays 15% / 12% / 15% of GP by trimester after a training wage, plus a bonus on GP above budget. AccuLynx describes roofing plans at 7-12% of contract, or 30-50% of profit.

03

10/50/50 profit split

Take 10% of the contract price off the top for overhead, subtract the job’s hard costs, then split what’s left 50/50 between the company and the rep. It is mostly a roofing plan, best known on insurance and storm work.

Watch for: Rep pay swings with job costs and with the supplements the insurer approves, so share the cost sheet on every job. In the calculator, job margin means price minus materials and labor, before the overhead cut.

(price − job costs − 10% of price) × 50%

Worked exampleExample

A $20,000 insurance job with $12,000 of materials and labor. $2,000 comes off for overhead, leaving $6,000. The rep gets $3,000, which is 15% of the job.

Where you see it

On insurance jobs it averages 10-20% of the job for the rep, per Adam Bensman (via Hook Agency). Hook’s writer argues it suits storm work better than retail.

04

Base plus commission

A fixed salary plus commission on each sale or on gross profit. The base is paid whether the rep sells or not, so set the commission rate with it in mind.

Watch for: A base suits a first hire who has to learn your leads and your process. If it steps down after a set period, put the date and the new rate in the offer letter.

base + (sales or GP) × commission %

Worked exampleExample

A $40,000 base plus 4% of $1,000,000 sold. Pay: $80,000.

Where you see it

Fixed pay can also be a training wage: a Groundworks posting for field inspectors paid $750/week during a mandatory training class. Other postings are vaguer: a Bath Planet of Metro NY design consultant posting advertised $100k/yr + commission + bonus, with company-provided leads, without saying how much of it is guaranteed.

05

Draw against commission

The rep gets a set amount each pay period as an advance on commission not yet earned, and earned commission is settled against it. With a recoverable draw, any shortfall carries forward and comes out of later commission. With a non-recoverable draw, the shortfall is forgiven, so the draw works as a minimum.

Watch for: A recoverable balance that keeps growing is a reason to quit. Write down what happens to the balance if the rep leaves, and check your state’s wage rules with your accountant or an employment lawyer.

each period: the larger of the draw or (commission − balance owed)

Worked exampleExample

A $3,000 monthly recoverable draw. Month one the rep earns $2,000 in commission: paid $3,000, owes $1,000. Month two the rep earns $5,000: paid $4,000, balance cleared.

Where you see it

Among roofing companies on Contractors Cloud’s payout software, draws were 11% of payout setups and commissions 54%. That is the vendor’s own customer base, not the whole industry.

What moves the number

Same plan, very different paychecks.

The model matters less than the activity and the rules behind it. Get these four straight before you argue about the rate.

  • Lead source

    ServiceTitan’s close-rate targets run from 25-35% on marketing leads to 75-85% on technician leads. Two reps on the same plan, one on tech leads and one on marketed leads, take home very different money. Use the close rate for the seat’s real lead mix.

  • Cancels and chargebacks

    Under the FTC Cooling-Off Rule, a buyer can cancel most sales made in their home within 3 business days (the rule has a minimum sale amount; see the source). Decide whether you pay on signed, installed or collected jobs, and how a cancel comes back out of pay. Then put the cancel rate into the calculator.

  • When it pays out

    On signing, on install or on collection. The rate can be identical and the rep’s cash flow very different. Put the payout timing in the offer letter, next to the rate. In our experience, late or short checks lose good reps faster than anything else.

  • W-2 or 1099

    93% of roofing sales leaders surveyed by Leap had moved reps from 1099 to W-2. Classification is a legal and tax question, so settle it with your accountant before you write the plan.

Reality check

If the result looks too good, check the inputs.

Before you put a number in a job ad or an offer letter, hold it up against what W-2 sales reps in these trades are actually paid.

Read these with care

BLS counts W-2 employees only, so self-employed 1099 commission reps are left out. Postings run higher: one 100% commission comfort advisor posting advertised $120,000-$200,000 in first-year potential. That is advertised pay, not what anyone earned.

Appointments a week and close rate are where models drift. A plan that only works at a close rate your current reps don’t hit will be hard to hire for and harder to keep.

Commission plans by trade

FAQ

Questions about commission plans.

  • How do you calculate commission for an in-home sales rep?

    Start with sales: appointments run times close rate times average ticket, less cancels, over the weeks they sell. Then apply the plan: a percentage of sales, a percentage of gross profit, a profit split, or a base or draw plus commission. The calculator runs each one and shows monthly and annual pay.

  • What is a normal commission for an HVAC comfort advisor?

    There is no single standard. ServiceTitan’s published target is 9% of sales, and that is a goal, not an average. Plans built on gross profit pay a bigger percentage of a smaller number, such as EGIA’s example of 15% / 12% / 15% of GP by trimester.

  • How does a 10/50/50 roofing split work?

    10% of the contract price comes off the top for overhead, job costs come out, and the company and the rep split what’s left 50/50. On insurance jobs that averages 10-20% of the job for the rep, according to Adam Bensman via Hook Agency.

  • What's the difference between a recoverable and a non-recoverable draw?

    With a recoverable draw, any month the rep earns less commission than the draw, the gap carries forward and comes out of future commission. With a non-recoverable draw, the gap is forgiven, so the draw works as a minimum the company pays.

  • Should I pay commission on the sale price or on gross profit?

    Percent of sale is simpler and easier for the rep to check. Percent of gross profit ties pay to margin, so discounting costs the rep too, but the rep has to trust your job costing. Run both through the calculator and compare sales cost as a share of revenue.

  • Should commission reps be W-2 or 1099?

    That is your call, made with your accountant. For context, 93% of roofing sales leaders surveyed by Leap said they had moved reps from 1099 to W-2.

  • Should a first sales hire be on commission only?

    Our usual advice is a base or a draw for the first two to three months, then commission. A new rep with no cushion tends to discount to get deals through. Model both here: the base plus commission and draw options show what the ramp costs you and what the rep takes home.

  • Are the calculator's starting numbers benchmarks?

    No. They are round example values that show how each plan works. The real-world figures on this page come from named sources, and the page says whether each is a target, a posting or survey data.

Terms on this page

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