Commercial services
Commission software for service companies that sell contracts
Pest control, janitorial, security and alarm, uniforms and linen, waste hauling, commercial landscaping. The trades differ, but the sales job looks much the same in all of them: a rep signs a recurring service contract, gets paid on what it's worth, and gives some of that back if the customer cancels in the first year.
How service companies pay their salespeople
Plans vary more by company than by trade. Some pay a percentage of the first year's contract value; others pay a multiple of monthly billing, and one month's revenue per new account is a common figure in waste hauling. Pest control plans often pay one rate on the initial service and a smaller share of recurring billing, with a quarterly bonus for hitting a new-sales target.
Almost all of them have a chargeback rule for contracts that cancel early.
Why it ends up in Excel
The service software tracks the contract, not the commission
Your routing and billing system knows what was sold. It usually doesn't work out what the rep earned, so new contracts get copied into a spreadsheet and the rates get applied there.
Cancellations show up months later
Somebody has to remember which rep sold the account, what they were paid for it, and how much to take back.
How it works in Earnest
Upload new contracts by rep with the amount you pay on: annual value, or monthly billing already multiplied out if that's how your plan works. Earnest applies each rep's rate, adds the quarterly bonus when someone crosses the target, and drafts the payouts for you to review.
When a customer cancels inside your chargeback window, post a correction against the rep who sold the account. It nets against their next payout, and a shortfall carries forward instead of producing a negative check. If you also pay a share of recurring billing, upload each month's billing as its own rows.
Two limits worth knowing
- Cancellations aren't picked up automatically. Earnest has no link to your billing software, so you enter the chargeback yourself.
- Door-to-door teams paid as 1099 contractors on personal email addresses can't be added, because every user needs an address on your company's domain.
Common questions
- We only have three salespeople. Is it worth setting up?
- It's free for up to 5 reps and managers, and admins don't count toward that, so the only cost is your setup time.
- Can residential and commercial sales pay different rates?
- Yes, with a plan for each and contracts tagged to the right one. It takes more setup than a single rate.
- What does a chargeback look like to the rep?
- It appears as an adjustment on their next statement, with the reason you entered, so they can see what was taken back and why.
- What does it cost?
- Nothing for up to 5 reps and managers, and admins don't count toward that. After that it's $149 a month for 6 to 19 people, $299 for 20 to 50 and $799 above that, billed month to month with every feature on every plan.
Try it on last quarter's contracts
Make a free account, set up your plan and upload last quarter's new contracts. You'll see the payouts and the bonus math before anything goes to payroll.