Bonuses and SPIFFs

Bonuses and SPIFFs pay fixed amounts for reaching a goal or selling a promoted product. Discretionary earnings and scorecards let managers award controlled amounts with approval. This page explains how to set up each of these incentives and how they are calculated at period close.

Before you start

• Switch on Advanced commission models in Commission Feature Management. Bonus, SPIFF, Discretionary and Scorecard are advanced models.
• A bonus on attainment needs period targets, which need the Quotas and targets module. See Quotas, targets, and attainment.
• You need the Bitta Commission Plan Designer permission set (BAA Comm Plan Dsgnr) to add components, and a published plan version before incentives are calculated.

The setup wizard creates a bonus plan with the style Bonus for reaching a target and a SPIFF plan with SPIFF on selected items. See Guided setup wizard.

How period-close models are calculated

Bonus, SPIFF, Discretionary and Scorecard are period-close models. They never price a single sale. During a normal calculation run, sales are recorded for them with a zero amount. The entitlement for the whole period is calculated when you close the period for the plan:

1. Open Commission Period Closes and choose Close Period, or open Close Commission Period from the role center.
2. Choose the Plan, the published or active Plan Version and the Calculation Period.
3. Choose the Close Type:
   • Period Close for the first close of the period.
   • True-Up to recalculate a closed period after late sales or returns.
   • Discretionary to apply approved discretionary earnings only.
4. Optionally choose one Component. Leave it blank to close every period-close component of the version.

Each close compares the period entitlement with what was already recognized and appends only the difference. Running a close again does not pay twice. Commission Period Closes lists every close with the number of earnings it appended, their total and a hash.

Bonus

A Bonus pays a fixed amount once per participant and period when a condition is met.

1. Add a component with the model Bonus on the Draft plan version.
2. In Model Settings, choose the Bonus Condition and, where needed, a Condition Value:

Bonus Condition	Pays when
Always	The participant has any activity in the period.
Attainment Percent	The attainment percent reaches the condition value, for example 100. Needs a target.
Base Amount	The period base reaches the condition value.
New Customer	The number of new customers reaches the condition value (at least one).
Product In Window	The number of qualifying product sales in the window reaches the condition value (at least one).

1. Choose Rates and enter the bonus amount in Amount (Company Currency).

Optional settings:

• Timed Window with Window From and Window To: only sales inside the window count, so the condition must be met by the window end.
• First N: only the first N participants to meet an Always, Base Amount or Attainment Percent condition are paid.
• Item Filter and Item Category Filter: the sales that qualify for a product condition.
• Mix Multiplier with mix requirement lines: the bonus is multiplied when every required item category holds its minimum share of the base. Maintain the lines with Rank Shares and Mix Lines.

Example

A Bonus of 500.00 with the condition Attainment Percent at 100 and a period target of 10,000.00. A participant with sales of 11,000.00 earns 500.00 at period close. A participant with 9,000.00 earns nothing. If a return later brings the first participant below 10,000.00, a True-Up close appends -500.00.

SPIFF

A SPIFF pays a fixed amount for every qualifying sale inside a window.

1. Add a component with the model SPIFF.
2. In Model Settings, enter Window From, Window To and an Item Filter (for example 1000..1999) or Item Category Filter.
3. Choose Rates and enter the amount per qualifying sale.

Optionally enter First N so that only the first N qualifying sales pay, whoever makes them.

The whole-period count is recomputed at each close, so each sale pays exactly once and a linked return of a qualifying sale takes its amount back. A return is judged on the date and item of its original sale.

Example

A SPIFF of 25.00 per sale of items 1896-S|1900-S from 1 March to 31 March. Three qualifying sales pay 75.00. If one of those sales is returned, the next close appends -25.00.

Discretionary earnings

A Discretionary component lets an authorized user award a controlled amount, or a percent of a base, with a reason and a second person's approval.

1. Add a component with the model Discretionary and publish the plan version. Optionally define discretionary types with a per-participant period budget in the component's model lines.
2. Open Discretionary Commission Earnings and create an entry: participant, component, period, type, reason, description, and either an Amount or a base and Percent. Add a supporting document reference if you have one.
3. Choose Submit.
4. A different user chooses Approve. The approver cannot be the requester, and the component budget must not be exceeded. Reject needs a rejection reason on the line.
5. Choose Apply to Earnings to append every approved entry of the same component and period to the earning ledger through a governed close run.

Entry statuses are Draft, Submitted, Approved, Rejected and Applied. Supersede replaces an entry that is not applied yet with a new draft copy; the old entry is closed with a link to its successor and no longer counts against the budget. Each applied entry becomes its own earning with its reason and approver as evidence, and its description appears in the trace and on statements.

Scorecards

A Scorecard component pays a target incentive times a weighted score of objectives.

1. Add a component with the model Scorecard and publish the version.
2. Open Commission Scorecard Entry, choose the component, participant and period, and enter each objective with its weight and a score between 0 and 150 percent. Weights must total 100.
3. Submit the scorecard. A different user approves it.
4. The next period close pays the target incentive (the participant's period target when set, otherwise the component amount) times the weighted score. Until every objective is approved, the amount already recognized is kept.

Additive credits

Some incentives pay on extra credit rather than a separate amount. Additive credits give roll-up, team, overlay or manager credit from each primary credit without reducing it. See Crediting rules, splits, and overrides and Manager overrides and team credit.

What to check if it goes wrong

Symptom	What to do
Bonus or SPIFF earnings are zero after a calculation run	Expected. These models are paid by Close Commission Period.
A bonus on attainment pays nothing	Check that the participant has a positive target on the calculation period row.
Approve is refused on a discretionary entry	The approver must be a different user, and the entry must fit the component budget.
BAA-FEATURE-OFF	Switch on Advanced commission models.

Related pages

• Advanced models
• Quotas, targets, and attainment
• Period close and reopen
• Explain any earning

Period-close models are calculated with Close Commission Period.