Commission Module

Owned by Mahnoor Khan (Deactivated)
Last updated: Sept 24, 2021 by Greg Walsh
35 min read

Module Required:

The functionality described below requires that you have the Commission module enabled in the EngageIP AdminPortal. If the module is not active the commission features detailed in this article will not be present in your EngageIP installation. Contact your LogiSense account representative if you wish to discuss adding the Commission module to your installation.

 

Summary

The Commission Module allows you to setup Commission Types (hardware commission, one-time payable commission, commission on monthly recurring services, etc.) and configure any Service in EngageIP to pay out commission for one or more of the Commission Types that you have setup. Sales Agents are setup with Commission Details which specify which Commission Types they earn commissions for as well as how much commission is payable and for how long (one-time commission payout, payout over multiple billing periods, indefinite payout as long as the service continues to be billed/paid).

Commission reports and statements are available which provide extensive detail into commission activities so that the commissions tracking and payment can be managed.

Features Overview

The sections below provide an overview of Commission Module features, for expanded information and configuration instructions related to these features proceed further into this article.

Commission Types

Commission Types allow you to pay out commission for any type of commission you wish, e.g hardware sales, software sales, MRC commission, one-time commission, etc. There is no limit to the number of Commission Types you can setup and assign to Services in EngageIP. Each Agent in EngageIP can be setup to earn commission for any number of Commission Types (e.g. pay one Agent for hardware and one-time commission and the next agent commission for selling monthly recurring services).

Commission Payment

Various payment/payout options are available in EngageIP, including:

  • The ability for commission to be payable either when billing occurs or when payment is made

  • Commission paid out at a flat rate or percentage of the service charge

  • Commission paid out for a specified number of occurrences (once, multiple times or indefinitely as long as the qualified service is being billed/paid)

Payment details are configurable per Agent, e.g. you can setup one Agent to receive a 5% commission on hardware sales and another agent to receive 3% commission on hardware sales).

Additional payment options are available depending on your EngageIP version, continue reading below to review these features.

Commissions for New Customers / on First Invoice

Introduced in EngageIP 8.5.19.0

This option allows commission to be paid out for signing up new customers, specifically when the new customer pays for their first invoice. This option is configurable per Agent and can work in conjunction with other Agent Commission Details (for instance, paying commission for signing up a new customer as well as paying commission on a monthly recurring basis for a service the customer has purchased).

Commission for New Contracts / Contract Renewal

Introduced in EngageIP 8.5.26.0

Agents can be setup to earn commission when Contracts are signed (when a User-Contract is set to active status on the customers account) or when a Contract is renewed (a User-Contract is manually renewed by the sales agent managing the account). Commission paid for new or renewed contracts can be configured with the standard Commission Detail options (e.g. commission can be earned at a flat or percentage rate and paid out as a one-time payment or paid out multiple times as customer billing/payment occurs).

Commission Advancement on Contracts

Introduced in EngageIP 8.5.26.0

Advancement allows Agents to earn commission on User-Contracts before services are bill/paid for. Commission Reports track the advancement amount and the commission calculated at the time of initial billing/payment for the Contract so that any difference between the commission advanced and actual commission is clear (in case the commission payout to the agent needs to be increased or reclaimed).

Bonus Commission

Introduced in EngageIP 8.5.26.0

Bonus commission permits additional commission to be paid to an Agent when the total commission the agent has earned meets or exceeds a certain threshold. Bonus commission can be configured to pay out based on one or more Commission Types that the agent receives commission for. For example an agent could be paid out a $100 bonus when commission earned for hardware sales reaches $1,000 and/or paid a $1,000 bonus when commission earned on all sales reaches $10,000.

Bonus commission can be setup to pay out based on a tiered configuration. For instance pay out a bonus of $500 if commission earned reaches a threshold of $5,000 and increase the bonus to $1,000 if commission earned reaches $8,500. There is no limit to the number of tiers that can configured for each Agents Bonus Commission configuration.

Commission on Usage

Introduced in EngageIP 8.5.26.0

Commission can be setup to pay out on any type of usage, for instance:

  • Specific types of calls (e.g. international, long distance, etc.)

  • SMS

  • Data

  • All usage on an account

Commission Retirement

Introduced in EngageIP 8.5.26.0

Commission Details setup on Agents can be retired immediately or as of a future date so that commission is no longer earned as of the specified date. For instance you could halt payment for One-Time commission payments for one particular agent.

Commission Clawbacks and Commission Holds

Introduced in EngageIP 8.5.24.2

Commission clawbacks allow commission to be reclaimed in whole or in part when services are canceled on a new account prior to meeting a minimum number of billed months. For instance, if commission is being paid out at 10% per month for a service sold, a clawback rule could be setup to take back commission at a rate of 5% per month should the customer cancel their account/service prior to it being active for 3 months. Multiple clawbacks can be configured to suit your needs, for example you could have two clawback rules designed to clawback 100% of commission earned if an account/service is canceled before a 2 month minimum period is reached, but clawback only 50% of commission earned if the account/service is canceled before a 6 month minimum period is reached.

A Hold Period setting is also configurable on each Agent and defines how long commission payment should be withheld for commission earned on new accounts (e.g. don't pay out commission for new accounts until 'X' number of months is reached).

Reporting, Tracking and Paying Commission

Introduced in EngageIP 8.5.26.0

Commission Statements are generated for each sales Agent and detail the commissions earned per customer account and per service on the account. Commission Statement features include:

  • Email delivery as pdf or html

  • File export as html/pdf

  • Setting Statements as Paid, Closed

  • Reprocessing Statements (in the event the event commission was applied at the incorrect rate)

  • Templates that can be customized to display additional commission details, your desired layout or branding

  • Bill Run integration so that Statements can be rendered and closed on a specified schedule (e.g. monthly)

A Commission Detail report also exists in addition to statements so you can track commission activity per event, including:

  • The Agents, Accounts and Services the commission relates to

  • How much commission is payable/how much advancement is payable

  • What Commission Type is being paid out for and at what Rate

  • Related Invoice and Statement details and statuses

Note: Prior to EngageIP 8.5.26.0 the Commission Payable report was used to track commission activity and set commissions as paid

Agent Management Features

Various configuration options for Agents exist, including:

  • Setting up any number of 'Commission Details' per each Agent which dictate what the Agent earns commission for (one-time commission, recurring commission, hardware sales, etc.)

  • Defining how each agent is paid for each Commission Type and for how long, e.g. pay out a flat rate of $20 a month for 6 months for a particular monthly service, pay 5% one-time commission for the sale of hardware, etc.

  • Configuring an Agent to receive commissions on specific customer accounts

  • Configuring an Agent to receive commission on specific services on a customer account

  • Configuring Agents to be shared from a Top Level Owner to other Branded Owners (in the event Sales Agents are selling products for multiple companies setup in EngageIP)

Introduced in EngageIP 8.5.26.0

  • Retire Agents stopping commission payments

    • Configurable globally (stop all commission payments for the Agent in question), or at lower levels (retire commission payment on an Account or Service)

  • Reassign Agents so that another Agent can take over their accounts and services, automatically setting the previous agent as 'Retired'

Functionality Overview

In general three elements need to be setup for commissions to be applicable:

  1. An Agent must be defined and assigned (this determines which sales agent receives the commission and for what user-service/account)

  2. A service must have a Commission Type Component on it (without this component commission is not applicable to the service sold)

  3. Commission types must be setup (used in combination with the Agent and the Commission Type Components to define if commission should be applicable. e.g. Commission Type = hardware, Agent is setup to earn commission for type hardware, commission is earned)

These aspects are explained in more detail below.

Agents

Agents are configured on the Setup tab and need to be created for any individual or organization that needs to earn commission in EngageIP (e.g. sales rep, sales manager, partners, etc.). Agents are created from EngageIP accounts, before you can add a sales agent you will first need to create an EngageIP account for the agent.

Agents have Commission Details which you can configure at many levels in EngageIP (Agent level, User-Agent level and User-Service Agent level), Commission Details will be explained in greater detail below.

Commission Types and Commission Components

Commission Types can be created for any kind commissions you wish to pay out (monthly recurring, hardware purchase, usage, one-time commission for selling a particular service, etc.). Commission Types are defined on the Setup tab.

Commission Type Components are used to specify the type of commission that is applicable to a Service. When you add the 'Commission Type' component to a Service you will be able to specify the type of commission from the Commission Types you have setup (recurring, one-time, etc.).

Agents cannot earn commission for any billed/paid Service unless one or more Commission Type Components are present on the Services sold.

Commission Details

Commission Details are added to Agents and determine what the specific Agent receives commission for and how much commission is earned. For instance if a Commission Detail is added to an Agent with the Commission Type of 'Hardware' then the agent will earn commission for hardware sales as long as commission is applicable for the Service that was sold (i.e. a Commission Type Component is attached to the Service with its Commission Type set to 'Hardware').

The commission earned will be based on the the Commission Detail configuration for the Agent (flat or percentage rate, the number of times that commission is to be earned (once, multiple occurrences), etc.). More information and configuration instructions on Commission Details will be provided later in this article.

Multiple Commission Details can be added per Agent, i.e. 'Agent 1' can be setup to earn commission on hardware sales and for services on a monthly recurring basis (ongoing/indefinite commission), while Agent 2 receives commission for the first three billing/payments for monthly recurring services.

Agent Association & Agent Hierarchy

Three types of Agents exist each with their own scope and hierarchy. Initially Agents are configured on the Setup tab, from there Agents can then be assigned to a User (account) or User-Service. This Assignment indicates that the Agent in question is able to earn commission for any User-Service sold on the account (User-Agent) or just for a particular User-Service on the account (User-Service Agent). As stated above, Commission will only be earned by an Agent if a Commission Type Component is present on the User-Services added to the account.

Below the three types of Agents are explained and how they interrelate.

  • User-Service Agent:

    • The User-Service Agent component is added to a User-Service within a User-Package that resides on a User/Account (via edit Package -> edit Service on the Packages or Overview tab)

    • The User-Service Agent component will take precedence (override) User-Agent settings on the account (if a User-Agent is configured on the account or parent account) If 'Commission Details' are configured on the User-Service Agent then commission will be applicable regardless of which Commission Type is configured on the User-Service. Matching the exact Commission Type specified on the User-Service is not required when Commission Details are defined on the User-Service Agent, any commissionable Service will result in commission being earned in this scenario

    • If Commission Details are not configured on the User-Service Agent then Agent commission settings (Setup tab -> Agents -> Agent Commission Details) will be referenced. If the 'Commission Type' on the User-Service matches the Agent Commission Details -> Commission Type then commission will be earned based on the the Agent Commission Detail configuration. If the Commission Type does not match, no commission will be applicable (Note: how commission is applied is laid out in a flow chart below this section)

  • User-Agent:

    • The User-Agent added to a User/Account (from the Tools tab)

    • The User-Agent commission settings will not be referenced for a User-Service on the account if the User-Service has a Agent Component on it (the lower level User-Service Agent agent takes precedence over the User-Agent)

    • If UserAgent Commission Details are configured for the User-Agent then a "Commission Type" defined in one of the UserAgent Commission Details must match the Commission Type setup on the User-Service. If the Commission Type does not match then Agent Commission Details (commission details configured for the Agent on the Setup tab) will be evaluated to see if commission is applicable, i.e. if the User Service -> Commission Type matches the Agent -> Commission Type then Agent commission settings will be applicable, if not no commission will be paid

    • If no UserAgent Commission Details are configured for the User-Agent then Agent commission settings will be evaluated, if there is no type match at the Agent level then no commission is applicable

  • Agent:

    • The Agent settings are configured on the Setup tab (Setup -> Commission -> Agents)

    • Agents are tied to and created from existing EngageIP accounts, i.e. accounts need to exist/be created for each sales agent that earns commission

    • Once Agents are defined they will be selectable when adding a User-Service Agent component to a User-Service or a User-Agent to an Account

    • Agent commission details are not referenced independently, they are only evaluated if a User-Service Agent/User-Agent is present on a User-Service/User and the Commission Detail Settings for these Agents are either:
      a. Not configured or
      b. The User-Agent Commission Details > Commission Type does not match the User-Service
      Commission Type

    • Like the User-Agent, the Agent Commission Detail settings will only be applied if the "Commission Type" (for instance 'One Time' commission) matches the Commission Type set on the Commission Type Component that is connected to the User-Service. If there is no Commission Type match (Service Component -> Commission Type matches Agent Commission Details -> Commission Type) then commission is not applicable

    • Agents and their commission configuration under one Owner can be shared with other branded owners (configuration steps are listed in this article below)

How Commission is Applied

The following flow chart displays how commission is earned

 

Multiple Agents

If multiple agents are configured on the same account/user-services then the agent configuration at the lowest level will be evaluated when determining commission. For example if you have Agent A added on a user-service and Agent B setup on the user (account level), then only Agent A will be eligible to earn commission on the particular user-service. If you desire to divide commission between agents at a user-service or user level you can do so by simply adding multiple agents at the same level and adjusting the commission rate so that each agent gets a percentage of the full rate.

Functionality Requirements

  1. The Event Manager Windows Service must be running for commissions to be applied

  2. The 'Commission Pay Type' must be configured on the AdminPortal Configuration page

     

  3. A Commission Type Component MUST exist on the Service or commission will not be applied

  4. The Commission Type Component must match the Commission Type setup on the User-Agent/Agent or commission will not be applied
    Note: the 'User-Service Agent' only requires a (i.e. "Any") Commission Type component to be on the User-Service in question when User-Service Agent Commission Details are configured, the type does not need to match when User-Service Agent Commission Details have been configured

  5. Commission details must be defined at some level (i.e. if not at a lower level Agent they must be configured at the Agent level) or commission will not be applied

Upgrading from EngageIP 8.5.25.x and Earlier Releases

Alert: When upgrading from EngageIP version 8.5.25.x or earlier to a version with commissions enhancements (version 8.5.26.0+) you will need to ensure that a Commission Statement Template is configured as the first step, otherwise Commission Statements will not be generated (which are critical to Commission Module functionality in EngageIP 8.5.26.0+ releases).

Configuration

Commission Pay Type Configuration

Before you begin it is important to ensure that the Commission Pay Type is configured correctly.

  1. Load the Admin account and click on the select Configuration link at the top of the screen

  2. Beside the field Commission Pay Type select either Billing or Payment

  • Billing - the commission will pay out when billing occurs

  • Payment - the commission will pay out when the invoice is paid

Setting up Commission Types

Commission Types are setup for every type of commission you wish to pay out (one-time, recurring, hardware, etc.). Commission Types are attached to one or more Services and are also referenced when setting up Commission Details at the User-Agent and Agent levels.

Example: If you want to have Commission for hardware sales at 5%, recurring Services paid at 3% and non-recurring services paid at 7% you would create three commission types, attach each one of the three types to each Service (via 'Services->Components' on the Setup tab) and then configure Agent details with the Commission Type and other commission details (Rate, Occurrences, etc.).

Configuration Steps:

  1. Load the Setup tab

  2. Locate the Commissions section and click on Commission Type

     

  3. Click the Add button

  4. Enter a Name for the commission type (e.g. "One-Time", "Recurring", etc.)

  5. Click Save

  6. Add additional types as needed

Agent Configuration

Agents in EngageIP are entities earn commission (dealers, inside sales reps, etc.). Agents are associated with accounts in EngageIP, the accounts for Agents in the AdminPortal must be setup before you can add Agents on the Setup tab and specify Agents Commission Details.

Adding Agents

  1. Load the Setup tab

  2. Locate the Commissions section and click on Agents

  3. Click on the Add button

  4. Select the appropriate account as the Agent

     

    1. MakeNewAgent - select the account in EngageIP that represents the Sales Agent you are
      setting up

    2. Hold Period (introduced in EngageIP 8.5.24.2) used to hold back commission payment until a
      certain period of time has passed (i.e. 2M = hold off paying out commissions to this agent until
      the Effective Date of the first package on the customer's account is two months old)

    3. Retire (introduced in EngageIP 8.5.26.0) used to set the Agent as retired stopping all
      commission calculations from being applied for this Agent

  5. Click Save when finished or Save/New to add another agent

 

Adding Commission Details to Agents

  1. Load the Setup tab

  2. Locate the Commissions section and click on Agents

  3. Click on the name of the Agent you wish to add Commission Details for

  4. The Agent Commission Detail page will load, click Add on this page

  5. Enter the Agent Commission Details (required fields are in red):

    • Select the CommissionType in the drop down list

    • Select the Commission Calculation Type (Flat rate or Percentage)

    • Enter the Rate to be in sync with the Commission Calculation Type. For example entering 5 with the type of Flat is $5.00, entering 0.05 with the type as Percentage is 5%

    • In the Occurrences field enter number of times commission should be applied when the service is billed/payment is collected (leaving this field empty or blank means keep applying commission indefinitely)

    • Calculate Commission On First Invoice Only (Introduced in EngageIP 8.5.19.0): should be selected if you want to pay out commission on the initial invoice only
      Note: the invoice must be paid for commission to be granted, not merely issued

      • If an agent should earn commission for both the first invoice and for subsequent Service billing/payments for the Commission Type in question, then Agent Commission Details will need to be added at least twice. I.e. if the desired configuration is to pay out commission for the first invoice and to pay out monthly commission each time a particular Service is billed then define:

        • Agent->Add Commission Detail->Configure for proper Commission Type (matches the Service Component Commission Type), enable 'Calculate Commission On First Invoice Only'

        • Agent->Add Commission Detail->Use the same Commission Type, do not enable 'Calculate Commission On First Invoice Only'

        • Result: if the Commission Type on the Service (component) matches the Agent Commission Type -> Payout once for the first invoice when billing/payment occurs & also pay commission out as the service is billed/paid going forward based on the "Occurrences" setting

    • Clawback (Introduced in EngageIP 8.5.24.2): can be used to change the rule from a commission payout rule to a Clawback commission rule

      • Clawback rules allow commission payout to reclaimed in whole or in part when services are canceled on a new account prior to meeting a minimum number of billed months

      • For example: you can configure a commission rule to pay out 10% commission for each service (Type Percent, Rate 0.10) and a separate Clawback rule to take back 5% commission (Type Percent, Rate 0.05) for each service if the Minimum Period is not met.

    • Clawback Minimum Period (Introduced in EngageIP 8.5.24.2): used when Clawback is enabled in order to specify the number of billing periods that need to be billed for clawback rules to be ignored

      • For example: if set to 3 (three months) then commission will be taken back (at the Rate specified in the Clawback rule) for commission paid out prior to reaching the third month. If the new account is canceled in the fourth month however, no commission will be reclaimed
        Note: the Clawback Minimum Period will be considered when Commission Detail Types of 'Default' or 'New Order' are used but not 'Renewal' types. A Clawback minimum period will always be calculated against the start of a contract (New Order), it will not factor in renewal periods

    • Commission Detail Type (Introduced in EngageIP 8.5.26.0): determines in what scenario the commission applies

      • Default: the stock behavior, apply commission based upon Commission Detail Type matching (User Service Component > User Agent/Agent Commission Detail rules). Detailed in the How Commission is Applied section above

      • New Order: trigger commission calculations when a new User-Contract is activated on an Account. When the User-Contract is activated the normal commission calculation rules will be executed to determine if commission is applicable (i.e. Commission Types on User-Services within the User-Contract must match Commission Types configured in User Agent settings on the Account or failing that Commission Types configured at the Agent level). New Order Commissions will continue to pay out for subsequent months (they are not one-time bonuses), if you wish commission to be paid out only once for the new User-Contract then set the Occurrences value to 1

      • Renewal: trigger commission calculations when a User-Contract is manually Renewed on an Account. Commission calculations will not occur if a User-Contract is set to 'Auto Renewable' (as in that scenario the Agent had nothing to do with getting the Contract Renewed). Renewal commission will only be calculated if a new User-Contract is created when the old User-Contract expires and the new User-Contract > 'Renewed From User Attribute Contract' field is set to the ID value of the expired User-Contract. Once the User-Contract is renewed the normal commission calculation rules still apply to determine if commission is applicable (Commission Type matching). Like the New Order functionality, Commission for a Renewed User-Contract will continue to pay out for subsequent periods if the renewed contract and applicable User-Packages remain active, to control the payout length define an Occurrences value

    • Advancement (Introduced in EngageIP 8.5.26.0): when enabled permits sales agents to earn commission for services connected to a User-Contract in advance of Services in the Contract being billed/paid. For more information see the Configuring Advancement section below

    • Retire (Introduced in EngageIP 8.5.26.0): allows you to retire the Commission Detail so that the Agent no longer earns commission for it. Used in conjunction with the 'Effective Date' field

    • Effective Date (Introduced in EngageIP 8.5.26.0): is used when the Retire option is enabled to indicate the exact date a Commission Detail will be retired. Commissions will continue to be calculated in relation to the Commission Detail rule until this retirement date is reached

  6. Click Save

  7. Repeat the process above for all the Agents you wish to setup commissions for

Note: you can review the Commissions Detail Report to see calculations for associated commissions (Reports tab -> Owner Reports)

Configuring Bonus Commission on an Agent

Bonus Commission can be paid out when a certain commission threshold is reached across all accounts that an agent receives commission for. Bonuses can be tiered and multiple bonuses can be configured so that more than one Bonus is applicable for an Agent. Bonus commission is determined when the Commission Statement for an Agent is closed. For example if an Agent is configured to receive a bonus of 10% commission when $1,000 of commission is earned for any Commission Type, then when the Agent's Commission Statement is closed a $100 bonus will be applicable if the commission payable equals or exceeds $1,000.

  1. Load the Setup tab

  2. Click Agents

  3. Click on the Name of the Agent you want to setup Bonus Commission for

  4. On the Edit Agent page under the Agent Bonus Commission Detail section click Add

  5. Fill in the Bonus detail (required fields are in red)

    • Name: enter a name (label) for the bonus commission

    • Retire: this option will disable the Bonus Commission Detail for the Agent until it is unchecked

    • CommissionType: this field will indicate what Commission Type will be shown in the Commission Type field on Reports

    • Conditions: click 'Add Condition' to define what Commission Types Bonus Commission will apply to
      Note: you must set at least one Condition for Bonus Commission to be used

      • All Commission Types: set this if you wish to total up the commission for all Commission Types that the Agent receives commission for

      • Other Commission Types: if you wish to calculate the bonus (tier threshold) against the total commission for specific Commission Types specify them here

      • Add Condition: use this option to total up the commissions for multiple types (one-time commission + hardware commission for instance)

      • Tiers:

        • Threshold: set this to pay out on the total commission earned for the Commission Types defined in Conditions above (e.g. if Conditions = Commission Type hardware and you want to pay out a bonus once $2,000 of commission has been earned for hardware sales in a period enter 2000 in the threshold field)

        • Calculation Type: set either a percentage bonus payout or a flat bonus amount to payout

        • Rate: works in conjunction with the Calculation Type. If set to 100 and Flat, a $100 payout will occur when the commission threshold is reached, if set to 0.10 and Percent, a 10% bonus will be paid out on the commission earned

  6. Click Save

Adding the Commission Type Component to a Service

  1. Load the Setup tab

  2. Click Services

  3. Click on the name of the service you wish to add the commission component to

  4. Under the Components heading click Add

  5. Select the Commission Type component

  6. In the CommissionType field select the appropriate type
    Note: if this field is empty then Commission Types are not setup, ensure you have followed the instructions under 'Adding Commission Types' above first

  7. Click Save and the Component will be listed on the Service edit page

8. Click Save on the Service Edit page

Adding the Commission Type Component to a UDR Class

Introduced in EngageIP 8.5.26.0

To add a Commission Type Component to a UDR Class so that commission can be applied to usage do the following:

  1. Access the MSSQL Server Management Studio and enable the following option on the 'EngageIP' database
    insert into EngageIPOption (Name, Value) values ('CreateUDRBillerUDRClassSummary', 'True'

    insert into EngageIPOption (Name, Value) values ('CreateUDRBillerUDRClassSummary', 'True')

  2. Restart IIS on the EngageIP Server

  3. Load the EngageIP AdminPortal and access the Setup tab

  4. Click on UDR Classes

  5. Click on the Name of the UDR Class you wish to allow commission to be earned on

  6. Under the Components section click Add

  7. Click Commission Type

  8. Select the Commission Type you wish to use (if you have not setup Commission Types for usage see the Setting up Commission Types section above)

  9. Click Save

Ensure an Agent is setup to receive commission for the Usage Commission Type and they will earn commission for it.

Sharing Agents With Branded Owners

The Commission Owners tool allows Top Owners to share Agents and Commission Details to Branded Owners just like Top Owners/Branded Owners can with Unbranded Owners.

Note: Agents must exist and have their Commission Details defined prior to sharing the Agent with Branded Owners


Process:

Note: ensure that you are doing these following steps on the TOP OWNER

  1. Go to the Setup tab

  2. Scroll Down to Commissions

  3. Select Commission Owners

  4. A list of branded owners will be presented, select which owners you want to share the Top Owner's Agents with

     

  5. Once you have made your selection you will be able to use the Agents from the Top Owner in the branded owners that you selected

Configuring Commission at the Account and User-Service Levels

Adding a User Agent to an Account

  1. Load the Account that the User Agent should be added to

  2. Click on the Tools tab and select User Agent

  3. Click on the Add button

  4. Select the appropriate Account as the UserAgent

  5. Click Save when finished

  6. Click on the name of the Agent you just added

  7. The UserAgent Commission Detail page will load, click Add on this page

  8. Enter the Agent Commission Details (required fields are in red):

  9. Click Save

  10. Repeat the steps above (from step 7) to add additional Commission Types for the agent if desired

Adding a User-Service Agent to an Existing User-Service

  1. Load the appropriate customer account

  2. Click on the Packages tab

  3. Select the Package which contains the service which you want commission applied to

  4. Under the Services section click on the name of the appropriate service

  5. Under the Components section click the Add button

  6. Click the option Agent

  7. On the page that loads select the Agent that will receive the commission and click Save

  8. Under the Components section click on the Name of the Agent you just added (not the Agent component link)

  9. The UserService Agent Commission Detail page will load, click Add

  10. Enter the Agent Commission Details:

  11. Click Save

Configuring Advancement

Introduced in EngageIP 8.5.26.0

Advancement allows Agents to earn commission on User-Services that are associated with User-Contracts before the User-Services are billed/paid for. When a User-Contract is switched from 'Prospect' status to 'Active' status commission details configured (on User-Agents/User-Service Agents) will be evaluated, if the commission details are configured with the 'Advancement' option enabled then commission advancement will be calculated for the relevant Agent(s).

When the time comes for User-Services to be billed/paid for then commission details which are not configured with the 'Advancement' setting will be evaluated. This calculation will indicate what the actual commission applicable to the Agent is. If changes have occurred (additional Packages have been connected to the User-Contract, Rates in commission details have changed, etc.) then adjustments will need to be made. I.e. if the actual commission applicable exceeds the advancement previously paid out then the sales agent will need to be paid the difference, if the difference of the actual commission is less than the advancement already paid then collection from the agent or reduction in future commission payout will be required.

Advancement calculation:
'Commission Detail Rate' * 'User-Service MRC' * 'Contract length (in months)'

For example: 'Recurring Commission Detail at 10%' * 'User-Service under Contract with a monthly recurring charge of $50.00' * 'an annual contract (12 months) = $60.00 advancement commission.

To ensure that commission is paid out accurately two commission details need to be setup, one with 'Advancement' enabled and another detail used to calculate the commission applicable at time of billing/payment. These details can be setup to calculate the same commission amount (if you desire the advancement to match be the full future commission payable) or the advancement commission detail can be setup to calculate a portion of the actual commission to be earned.

Example Commission Details:

The first detail in the list above is the standard commission applicable when the service is billed/paid for. The Advancement setting is not set on this detail. The first detail will trigger commission to be earned at $5.00 per month for each User-Service connected to the User-Contract which have the 'Recurring' commission type configured.

The second commission detail is setup for Advancement and will be applicable to each 'Recurring' commissionable User-Service connected to the User-Contract. When the User-Contract is changed to an active state the advancement amount will be calculated at $60.00 ($5.00 flat rate * 12 months) for each applicable User-Service (assuming the contract is annual).

Note: the 'Occurrences' field is not evaluated when a Commission Detail has the 'Advancement' setting enabled. Advancement Commission Details use the Contract Period in months to determine the advancement amount

Base Configuration

  1. Load the Setup tab

  2. Click the Custom Code link

  3. Click Add

  4. Enter a Name, e.g. Commission Advancement

  5. In the Code section paste in the following:

    using System; using Logisense.Boss.Logic; using Logisense.Boss.Logic.DomainModel;namespace Logisense.Boss.CustomScripts._SharedCode { public class CommissionAdvancementOnUserAttributeContractAction : IAction { public string Name { get { return "CommissionAdvancementOnUserAttributeContractAction"; } }public string Description { get { return "Triggered when UserContract Status is changed from Prospect to Active State"; } }public string EventCode { get { return "UserAttributeContract.Update"; } }public int OwnerID { get; set; }public void Run(Logic.ScriptContext context) { var uac = UserAttributeContract.GetByID(Convert.ToInt32(context["UserAttributeContractID"])); var oldUserAttributeContract = UserAttributeContract.Deserialize((string)context["OldRow"]); var newStatusType = uac.GetUserContractStatus().GetStatusType().Name; var oldStatusType = oldUserAttributeContract.GetUserContractStatus().GetStatusType().Name;if (newStatusType == Logic.Core.StatusType.ActiveName && oldStatusType == Logic.Core.StatusType.ProspectName) { ((Logic.Core.UserAttributeContract)uac).ApplyCommissionAdvancement(); } } } }

  6. Click Save

Enabling Advancement on Commission Details

Advancement can be enabled at the User-Service level (User-Service Agent), Account level (User Agent) and at the Agent level. The normal commission logic will apply when determining if Advancement should be provided when Advancement is set on a Commission Detail (for example if the UserAgent Commission Detail is not defined then the Agent Commission Detail configuration will be referenced to look for a Commission Type match and also the Advancement setting enabled).

Example Advancement Configuration

A User-Contract Component is added on an Account with a User Contract Status of 'Prospect'.

A User Agent is configured on the Account (Tools > User Agent) and the Agent has a UserAgent Commission Detail added with the Advancement option set.

 

A Package that is connected to the User-Contract has a User-Service with the appropriate Commission Type (in this case Recurring) configured. (Commission Type Components are added via Setup > Service > Configuration)

Example Outcome: when the User-Contract > User Contract Status is switched to an Active status the following will occur:

  1. A check will be performed to see if the User-Packages that are connected to the User-Contract contain User-Services with Commission Type Components on them (true)

  2. A check will be performed to see if a User Agent is configured on the Account (true)

  3. Next the User-Contract > associated User-Packages will be checked to see if any of the User-Service Commission Type components have a Type that matches the Commission Type set on the User Agent (true: the User Contract > User Package > User-Service has one Commission Type Component with a Type of 'Recurring' setup which matches the configuration of the User Agent on the Account with a Commission Detail of Type 'Recurring')

  4. Next validate if Advancement is enabled on the Account > User Agent > UserAgent Commission Detail (true)

  5. Result: Commission Type Match Found with Advancement set therefore Advancement is applicable at the Rate defined in the UserAgent Commission Detail (5% on Commission Type 'Recurring' multiplied by the User-Contract length)

The Advancement will appear in Commission Reports / Commission Statements showing the Advancement Amount to be paid (5% of the Service charge in this case multiplied by 12 months) and the Commission Detail that was the source of the Advancement (UserAgentCommissionDetail in this example)

Commissions Reporting and Statements

Commission Statements (EngageIP 8.5.26.x and Newer Releases)

Required Role Permissions for Commission Statements

In order to Create, Delete & Modify Statement Templates the appropriate Roles in EngageIP will need the following permissions:

  • CommissionStatementTemplate (Add, Delete, Edit, List)

  • CommissionStatement (List, View)

If you are unfamiliar with Role Permissions see the Roles – Adding Roles, Setting Role Permissions and Importing guide for instructions on adding permissions.

Commission Statement Functionality

Commission Statements are similar to invoices and they can be sent (via email or exported to a file) to the appropriate User (Agent) to provide commission details for Commission tracking purposes. Commission Statements can be re-rendered, closed and emailed out on Bill Runs.

Column Definitions:

  • ID - Similar to invoiceID, the ID of the statement in the database

  • Name - Name of the statement if different than the ID

  • Owner - Owner to which the Agent is associated

  • Agent - Name of the Agent receiving the commissions

  • Date - Date on which the statement was created initially

  • Amount Billed - Total amount billed on the customers invoice which had commission calculated on it

  • Amount - Total commissions calculated on the amount billed

  • Status - Current status of the statement, if CLOSED, no more commissions can be added to it.

  • Sent Date - Date the statement was delivered to the Agent

  • Closed Date - Date the statement was closed - by billing or manually

  • Payable Date - Date set on statement open and calculated by the 'Hold Period' if it exists in the definition of the commission

  • Paid - Flag indicating that the commission was paid out to the agent

  • Paid On Date - the date on which the commission was paid which goes along with the Paid flag

  • XML - Data file you can download of the statement itself - similar to the Invoice xml

  • Void - Flag indicating if the statement was voided or not

 

In the event commission is not applied or should not have been applied a 'Reprocess' option is also available for Commission Statements. These Commission Statement features and how to configure them will be detailed below.

Commission Statement Configuration

Like Invoices, Commission Statements use templates which can be modified as desired to control the Statement appearance and content. A sample Template will be provided in the configuration instructions below.

Commission Statement Template Configuration

  1. Load the Setup tab

  2. Click on Commission Statement Templates

  3. Click Add

  4. Enter a Name for the template (for instance 'Commission Statement Template')

  5. Enter a Subject (this will be populated in the email Subject line if the Statement is configured to be delivered via email, so 'Commission Statement' would suffice)

  6. In the Template field enter the XSLT which will define the statement (sample xslt statement provided below)

  7. Click Save

 

Next the Commission Statement needs to be connected to an Invoice Configuration so that delivery options can be configured

Commission Statement Delivery Configuration

  1. Load the Setup tab

  2. Click on Invoice Configuration

  3. Add or Edit an existing Invoice

  4. Set the Default Invoice Delivery Type to Email if you wish the Commission Statement to be emailed (Hardcopy is not support for Commission Statements)

  5. If you wish the Statement to be exported as a file then enable Export, the Export file type (HMTL/PDF) and the Export Path

  6. At the bottom of the Invoice Configuration in the Commission Statement Template field select the template you created

  7. Click Save

Generating, Rendering & Closing Commission Statements

Commission Statements will be created any time commission is applied (i.e. on Billing or Payment depending on your Configuration setting).

Statements can be closed manually by loading the Agent account > Invoice tab and under the 'Agent Commission by Commission Statement' section selecting the Statement and clicking the Close button. Statements can also be closed automatically by enabling the 'Run Render Commission Statement' on a Bill Run (instructions below).

To render and close Commission Statements on Bill Runs, follow the steps below:

  1. Load the Setup tab

  2. Click on Bill Runs

  3. Edit the appropriate Bill Run

  4. Enable the option Run Render Commission Statement

  5. Click Save

Once the Bill Run is executed the Accounts tied to the associated Bill Groups will have Commission Statements rendered and closed.

Viewing Commission Statements

Commission Statements are viewable in multiple locations. To see a Statement related to a particular sales agent

  1. Load the Agent account

  2. Click on the Invoices tab

  3. Under the heading Agent Commission by Commission Statement you will see Statements related to that agent and Statement details

Sample:

The sample above shows summary and status details regarding the Commission Statement for one particular Agent, clicking on the Commission Statement number (in the Name field) will load the Statement.

To view Commission Statements for all Agents and pay commission the Commission Statement Report will need to be referenced. See the Commissions Reports section below for details.

Delivering Commission Statements

To configure how a Statement is generated/delivered see 'Commission Statement Delivery Configuration' above. If EngageIP is not setup to send email see the Email Settings Configuration article.

Once the email configuration is in order (Email Settings, Statement Delivery Configuration and Agent accounts setup with a valid Contact > Billing Contact > Email Address) Statements can be emailed either manually or automatically when Bill Runs are triggered.

Emailing a Commission Statement Manually:

  1. Load the Agent account

  2. Click on the Invoices tab

  3. Under the Agent Commission by Commission Statement section select the Statement you want to email

  4. Click the Email button

Emailing Commission Statements Automatically:

  1. Load the Setup tab

  2. Click on Bill Runs

  3. Click on the appropriate Bill Run to edit it

  4. Select the option Run Delivery Commission Statement to enable automated emailing of Statements to Agents

  5. Click Save

Commissions Reports (EngageIP 8.5.26.x and Newer Releases)

Required Role Permissions for Reports

In order to view Commission Reports the appropriate Roles in EngageIP will need the following permissions:

  • CommissionDetailReport (List)

  • CommissionStatementReport (List, View)

If you are unfamiliar with Role Permissions see the Roles – Adding Roles, Setting Role Permissions and Importing guide for instructions on adding permissions.

Commission Detail Report

The Commission Detail Report replaces the Commission Payable report (found in EngageIP 8.5.25.x and earlier). Commissions are now paid out based on the Commission Statement and not paid out on this report.

Commission Detail can be accessed on the Reports tab if you have the CommissionDetailReport > List Role permission enabled.

The report contains information on Commission Events, including:

  • The Owner, User, Agent and Parent Account

  • User-Service details the Commission relates to

  • The Commission Type and the payout (e.g. fixed $20 Commission Payable for 'Hardware' Commission Type)

  • The Advancement Amount which indicates what an agent was paid for prior to a User-Contract being billed/paid for. See the Configuring Advancement section for more information on how Advancement is configured and applied

  • The Commission Source which indicates which Commission Detail was used (i.e. a UserServiceCommissionDetail, UserAgentCommissionDetail or AgentCommissionDetail)

Commission Statement Report, Commission Payment and Reprocessing

The Commission Statement Report found on the Reports tab provides a list of Commission Statements (which relate to a particular Agent) and the Statement status (Open, Paid, Voided, etc.). From this report statements can be viewed, paid or reprocessed.

Setting Commission Statements as Paid

If a Statement is accurate, reached its Payable Date and should be paid out simply check the box in the Select column next to it and click the Paid button. You will be notified that the commission statement has been set as paid and it will no longer be listed in the Commission Statement Report (the report by default filters on Paid=False).

You can select multiple statements to be paid, or pay out for all Statements by clicking the PayAll button.

Paying out a Statement will simply indicate that Commission has been paid in EngageIP, the mechanism by which the sales agent actually receives the payment needs to be done outside of EngageIP.

Viewing Paid Commission Statements

If you wish to view Statements that have already been set as Paid, on the Commission Statement report click the Paid column and select 'True'.

Reprocessing Commission Statements

Reprocessing a Statement is used when the commission payable needs to be adjusted. For example if commission was not setup for a particular service before the Statement was generated but should be applied.

Note: Commission Statements that have been Paid, Voided or those that contain only Advancement commissions cannot be reprocessed

To reprocess a Statement load the Commission Statement report, select the Statement that needs to be reprocessed and click the Reprocess button. A new Statement will be created and the previous statement will be voided.

Commissions Report (EngageIP 8.5.25.x and Earlier Releases)

Required Role Permissions to View the Commissions Report

In order to view the results of any report, you must ensure that users have the correct permissions selected within the Role.

To give permissions to a specific Role, you follow these steps:

  1. Load the Setup tab

  2. Select Roles

  3. Once you select Roles, you will see a list of all of the Roles that you have configured in EngageIP.  In this example, we have 2 roles: Admin and Customer

     

  4. Click on the name of the Role that you would like to add or alter the permissions for

  5. Scroll down to where you can locate the Commission entries in the permissions list

     

  6. Once the permissions are selected click Save

Viewing the Commissions Report / Setting Commissions as Paid

For a commissions report to function there needs to be initial configuration related to what type of commission is available on each service.  In addition to that there is the need to identify the dealer and inside sales representative on the customer account and User Packages sold.

  1. Click on the Reports tab

  2. Under Owner Reports click on Commission Payable

    3. The Report will show (among other things) the Invoice Date and Number and what credits have been applied to a customer

    • In the report above you will see a simple example of Commission Payable which indicates what commission should be paid to an agent and negative amounts ( ) which indicate commission that should be clawed back

    • A 'Paid' button and 'PayAll' button (useful when filtering the report and marking multiple entries as paid) are also present on this report.  These can be used to track that commission has been paid out / taken back from an Agent

Agent Management

Introduced in EngageIP 8.5.26.0

Retiring Agents

Agents can be retired as of EngageIP 8.5.26.0 at all levels in which they can be added. This provides complete control to suspend commission payments at a User-Service, User (Account) or Agent level (all accounts under an Owner). This is configurable per Commission Detail configured, meaning:

  • A specific Commission Detail at a User-Service level can be retired (for instance stop paying an Agent recurring commission on a particular service on a particular account)

  • A specific Commission Detail at a User level can be retired (for instance stop paying an Agent one-time commissions on a particular account)
    Note: this will not disable User-Service Agent components on User-Services on the account

  • All Commission Details at a User level can be retired (for instance stop paying an Agent for all commissions on a particular account). As above, this doesn't apply for User-Services with User-Service Agent components

  • A Commission Detail at the Agent level can be retired (for instance stop paying commission for all hardware sales the Agent makes).

  • All Commission Details at the Agent level (stop paying the Agent for commissions entirely). This will disable commission payments for the Agent entirely, including Agent configurations implicitly set at the User and User-Service level.

Retirement also allows you to see which Agents have historically been paid commission and for what commission types.

If you wish to both Retire an Agent from receiving commissions and have another Agent take over earning commission for the same User-Services and Accounts, see the Reassigning Agents section below.

Retiring Agents at the User-Service level

  1. Load the Account which contains the User-Service that the Agent is earning commission on

  2. On the Overview tab or Packages tab click the name of the package that contains the User-Service

  3. On the Edit User-Package page under the Services heading click on the name of the service

  4. On the Edit User-Service page under the Components heading click on the account name of the sales agent (not the 'Agent' link)

  5. In the UserService Agent Commission Detail list click on the Commission Detail you wish to retire (link under the 'Commission Calculation Type' heading)

  6. Select the Retire option and set the date when commissions for the User-Service should stop in the Effective Date field

  7. Click Save

Retiring an Agent Commission Detail at the User/Account level

  1. Load the Account which the Agent is earning commission on

  2. Click on the Tools tab

  3. Click User Agent

  4. Click the Agent name that you wish to retire commission for

  5. Under the UserAgent Commission Detail section click the Commission Type you wish to retire

  6. Select the Retire option and set the date when commissions for the Commission Type should stop in the Effective Date field

  7. Click Save

Retiring all Agent Commissions on a User/Account

  1. Load the Account which the Agent is earning commission on

  2. Click on the Tools tab

  3. Click User Agent

  4. Click the Agent name that you wish to retire commission for

  5. Select the Retire option

  6. Click Save

Retiring Agents at the Agent level

  1. Load the Setup tab

  2. Under the Commissions heading click Agents

  3. Click the Name of the Agent you wish to retire

  4. Select the Retire option

  5. Click Save

Reassigning Agents

As of EngageIP 8.5.26.0 you can reassign an existing Agent so that at new Agent can assume earning commission on their accounts and services. The Agent being reassigned will be set as retired once reassignment is complete.

Reassignment Process:

  1. Load the Setup tab

  2. Under the Commissions heading click Agents

  3. Click check box in the Select column next to the Agent you wish to reassign

  4. Click the Reassign button on the left below the list of Agents

  5. On the page that loads select the new agent in the ReassignAgent field

  6. Click Save

The previous Agent will now be retired, if you load an Account the previous Agent was configured to receive commission on (i.e. setup as a User Agent) you will see the new Agent has been added and is active (to check this load the Account click the Tools tab and then click User Agent).