Plans
How sales incentive plans work
A sales incentive plan defines who is eligible, what performance is credited, how attainment converts to variable pay, when earnings are measured and paid, and how exceptions are handled. The plan becomes operational only when those terms are connected to source data, assignments, quotas, calculations, and statement evidence.
- Product location:
- Dashboard → Plans
- Reviewed:
- 2026-08-23
Before you begin
- A role with measurable outcomes
- Authoritative performance data
- A target incentive or commission budget
Worked example
Turn an incentive design into operable terms
Illustrative Northstar Software workspace. The people and transactions are fictional; the workflow and product UI are real.
| Design decision | Northstar example | Product evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Credited event | Closed-won eligible revenue | CRM stage and close date |
| Performance baseline | $100,000 monthly quota | Participant quota assignment |
| Payout curve | 8% base; 12% above quota | Ordered base and accelerator rules |
Result: Every design choice has both an authoritative input and a statement-level explanation.
The parts every incentive plan must define
- Eligible role, participant, and effective dates
- Credited event, value, owner, and eligibility conditions
- Quota, target incentive, or other performance baseline
- Rates, tiers, accelerators, bonuses, caps, draws, and exclusions
- Measurement period, payout timing, and statement review process
- Treatment of splits, overlays, corrections, cancellations, and clawbacks
Common sales incentive plan structures
A plan structure should follow the behavior the business wants to reward and the data it can reliably prove. A flat-rate plan applies one rate to eligible credit. A tiered plan changes the marginal rate as performance crosses thresholds. An accelerator increases earnings after a defined attainment point. Bonuses and SPIFs reward discrete outcomes, while team and overlay rules allocate additional participation without changing primary ownership.
More mechanics do not make a plan more effective. Every added rule needs a clear business purpose, an authoritative data field, and an explanation a representative can verify.
From approved document to operable plan
- 1
Normalize the terms
Identify every rate, threshold, date, eligibility condition, quota, cap, draw, split, exception, and approval requirement in the approved document.
- 2
Map each condition to evidence
Connect the term to an authoritative CRM, assignment, product, period, or adjustment field rather than relying on manual interpretation.
- 3
Model and assign the plan
Create the ordered rules, effective dates, participant assignments, and quotas in a draft version.
- 4
Reconcile a closed period
Test the hardest real transactions and compare deal-by-rule output with the previously approved result.
- 5
Publish and review
Publish the reviewed version, capture required acceptance, and use statements to expose calculation evidence before payout.
How to evaluate a plan before launch
- A representative can explain how an eligible deal becomes credited performance.
- Threshold and tier behavior is unambiguous at boundary values.
- Every exception has an owner and supporting data source.
- The plan can be reproduced from source data without private spreadsheet logic.
- Statement line items show which rule produced each amount.
- A versioned process exists for future changes.
Product walkthrough
See the workflow in Quota Queue
These captures show the real product interface with demonstration data. Product UI shown as of August 2026.
Expected result
A representative can explain what earns credit, how performance is measured, and how each rule changes payout.
Open this workflow in Quota QueueTroubleshooting
Why is the plan hard to administer?
A rule without an authoritative source field becomes a recurring manual interpretation. Simplify the term or establish the source before launch.