Customer Success Manager, renewals
CSM commission plan template
An 80/20 renewals plan: $1.2M book, a 20% kicker for hitting the renewal target, and a monthly cap to keep pay steady.
80/20 split at $110k OTE — 1.833% effective rate on a $1.2M renewal book, 20% kicker at target, $4,000/month cap
- Annual quota
- $1,200,000
- OTE / base
- $110,000 / $88,000
- Effective rate
- 1.833%
| Attainment | Payout rate | Kicker |
|---|---|---|
| 0% – 100% | 1× | — |
| 100%+ | 1× | 20% at 100% |
| Monthly cap $4,000 | ||
Drag the attainment slider, edit the tiers, and see the payout and cost curves respond.
Why the plan is shaped this way
Why so little variable
Most of a CSM's work, like driving adoption and handling escalations, doesn't show up directly in the renewal number, and much of the renewal number isn't driven by the CSM. An 80/20 mix keeps the renewal target as a real responsibility without treating the role as a sales job.
A kicker instead of an accelerator
There's no accelerator tier because you can't meaningfully renew more than the book that's up for renewal. What matters is hitting the target, so the plan pays a flat rate plus a 20% kicker at 100% and stays flat otherwise. Accelerating a renewal rate mostly rewards whoever happened to inherit the healthiest accounts.
What the cap is for
The $4,000 cap, a little over twice the monthly variable, covers the month when several multi-year renewals land at once. That kind of month reflects contract timing rather than CSM performance, and smoothing it keeps the pay predictable, which is what most people in this role want from it.
What breaks this plan
- Holding the CSM to a gross renewal target when the book shrank for product or pricing reasons outside their control.
- Mixing dollar and logo targets. The kicker should pay on one or the other, decided up front.
- Paying this plan's 1.8% rate on expansion the CSM sells. Expansion deserves the AM plan's rate; route those dollars there.
These numbers are a conventional starting point, not a benchmark. Adjust them to your team; the reasoning is what carries over. Related templates: Account manager commission plan template · SDR commission plan template. Or read how comp plans are built in Earnest.
Set it up for a real team
The same tiers, kickers, and caps configured here run actual payouts in Earnest — free for up to 5 users, no credit card required.
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