Automating commissions calculation is tricky – everybody is doing it differently and no single solution can cover 100% of requirements. Over time, people settled for using Excel files or custom Crystal Reports to help with this task. It doesn’t necessarily take them all the way, they may have to print a couple of reports, copy / paste information into Excel, perhaps review it manually, make any adjustments necessary, before they arrive at the final calculation that can be shared with salespersons and used to pay commissions. Not ideal, but hey, it was 1999.
There is a better way now. Check out Commissions Master, which supports both Sage 300 and Sage Intacct. Not only does it have over 200 calculation methods built-in, but it also has custom override rules that allow you to tweak calculations further. And if that’s not enough, Commissions Master is built on modular architecture so the module responsible for the calculations can be swapped for a custom one with whatever logic you want in it. It requires additional development, but all good productivity improvements do. In exchange, you get features that could never be done using Excel or Crystal Reports alone.
Here is a quick comparison of what can be done using Excel/Crystal vs. Commissions Master.
| Feature | Excel / Crystal | Commissions Master |
| Flexible Calculation Methods | Requires changes in Excel and / or Crystal | User-friendly non-technical configuration screens |
| Custom Sales split for more than five salespersons | N/A | Yes |
| Hierarchical commissions (Sales manager’s commissions) | DIY, needs to be part of the Excel / Crystal logic. | Out of the box |
| Smart rules to override commissions logic based on certain customer or transaction fields. | Has to be included in the custom Excel file, can get complicated fast. | Out of the box |
| Different calculation methods in each calculation (useful for estimating future commissions) | Need to have separate Excel/Crystal reports for each calculation method. | Out of the box |
| Pay salespersons via AP bills | Manual entry | Out of the box |
| Pay salespersons via payroll timecard | Manual entry | Out of the box |
| Commissions history | Probably separate Excel file for each calculation period. Difficult to compile historical reports. | A SQL database with all calculations; easy to build custom reports. |
| Export calculations into Excel for all salespersons together and each salesperson separately. | Depending on how the Excel file is designed may require manual work. | Out of the box |
Don’t be stuck in 1999, make the switch to modern, powerful Commissions Master. Contact us today for a demo or explore the product page yourself, you can download the brochure, the full user guide as well as a 30 day evaluation copy.