Commissions/Commissions/Commission Management

Commission Management - Who should read this article?

This article is designed for Service Providers who need to:

• configure the commissions module
• create commission plans (known as Commission Tiers in Cumulus)
• Bind Commission Tiers to Agents & Package plans so that the correct Commission plan is applied to each Agent when a package or product is sold
• Process Commissions

Configuring Commissions Plans & Business Rules

The high level steps required to complete the set up and configuration of Commissions are:

• Set up your commission tier(s).
• If products attract commissions, apply a set of rules to these products.
• If subscription-based services attract commissions, apply a set of rules to these Package plans, Service plans, Service features and Bolt-ons.
• Link the commissions tier to the Agent’s Org Unit.
• Apply the relevant permissions role to the new org unit.
  • Give the agent access to the My Commissions Page.

You can set up commissions for Package plans, Service plans, Service feature and Bolt-ons.

Create a Commissions Tier

The Commission Tier is the first thing to be created.

By default, the Commissions Tier main screen will display any Commissions Tiers that already exist in Emersion. Follow the steps below to create a commissions tier.

Navigate: Commissions > Commission Tiers

1. Click the Add Tier button.
2. Choose the Tier Type.
3. Enter a name and optional description
4. Click Submit

Apply a Set of Commission rules to Products

If products attract commissions, after setting up the commissions tier you will then need to apply a set of rules to the relevant products.

Rules for product-based commission are configured for each product.

Perform the following steps for each product or package plan that an Agent can sell in which commissions are accrued.

Navigate: Products > Product management

1. Select a product that an Agent can generate a commission from when sold by clicking on its ID.
2. This will display the Product details page. On the right of the screen, click the Commission Tier button.
3. The Commissions for a Product page for this product will be displayed. If you have any existing or past rule sets, these will be displayed in the list.
4. Click the Add Commission Rules button
5. Select the Commission Tier from the list
6. Select when the Commission is to be granted to the agent from the Grant Type list.
7. Choose when the rules apply from and to using the Effective Dates fields
8. Enter the amount ($) that will be paid to the agent AND/OR the percentage of the sale price that will be paid to the Agent.
9. If you wish for the system to auto-approve the commissions, tick the Auto Approve Cardline box. If you wish to manually approve commissions, leave this box unchecked.
10. When you are finished, click Submit.

Multiple rule sets for a product is common when different Agents get different commissions for selling a product or a service. However for a given Commission tier, rule sets cannot overlap.

If the commission plan is varied for an Agent, Emersion recommends you set the effective to date to the final date where the existing plan applies. Then create a new rule set with the start date of when the change applies.

Commissions only apply to outright purchases of products. Commissions on products purchased under an instalment plan is not currently supported by Emersion.

Note: If you do not set up commission business rules for a product, an Agent cannot be assigned a commission when they create a product purchase in Cumulus. Similarly, users entering product purchases on behalf of an Agent will not see the fields that allow the user to attribute the sale of the product to an Agent.

Apply a Set of Commission rules to Subscription-based Services

If the sale of a Package plan, Service plan, Service feature or Bolt-on attract commissions, after setting up the commissions tier you will then need to apply a set of rules to the relevant products.

Rules for subscription-based commission are configured for each Package plan, Service plan, Service feature or Bolt-on respectively.

The following steps contain the instructions for setting up the rules for a package plan. These steps need to be completed for each package plan that an Agent can sell for which commissions are accrued.

Navigate: Packages & Plans > Management

1. Select a SELL Package Plan that an Agent can generate a commission from when sold by clicking on its ID.
2. This will display the Package Plan details page. Click the Commission Tier sub tab.
3. The Manage Rule Sets page for this package plan will be displayed. If you have any existing or past rule sets, these will be displayed in the list.
4. Click the Define new rule set for Tier button
5. Select the Commission Tier from the list of available service commission tiers.
6. Choose when the rules apply from and to using the Effective Dates fields.
7. Enter an optional description
8. When you are finished, click Submit.

Note: If you do not set up commission business rules for a package plan, service plan, bolt-on or service feature, an Agent cannot be assigned a commission when they submit an order in Cumulus. Similarly, users entering orders on behalf of an Agent will not see the fields that allow the user to attribute the order to an Agent.

Setting Bounties and Trailing Commissions

Once you have saved the rules you have set in the steps above, a section underneath will appear where you can define the values and rules for the bounties and trails.

A bounty is a type of commission which applies once only when the service, package or otherwise is created. It differs from a trail which provides recurring commission each time a service, package or otherwise is billed.

A bounty can be provided as a fixed amount and it can also take a percentage of a fee that is applied. If both bounty and trail commissions are set, then both will apply. Multiple bounties can also apply if you wish.

To add a Bounty commission:

1. Click the Add Bounty button.
2. The Manage Bounty screen will be displayed
3. Choose when the bounty will be granted to the Agent.
4. Enter the amount ($) that will be paid to the agent AND/OR the percentage of the sale price that will be paid to the Agent.
5. If the bounty to be paid requires a contract to be valid at the time the commission is generated for a, tick the Requires Active Contract box.
6. Enter a number into the Contract Age in months if you wish to define how many months the customer’s contract must be Active before the bounty is paid to the Agent. Note that prior to this figure, the commission is generated but not released until the contract age has been met.
7. If you wish for the system to auto-approve the commissions, tick the Bounty Auto Approve Cardline box. If you wish to manually approve commissions, leave this box unchecked.
8. When you are finished, click Submit.

To add a Trail commission:

1. Click the Add Trail button.
2. The Manage Trails screen will be displayed.
3. Choose when the trail will be granted to the Agent. All 3 options can be used if needed.
4. If the trail amount is a fixed dollar amount ($), enter it into the Trail Amount field.
5. If a percentage of the access fee forms part of the Agents’ commission, enter the % amount into the Trail Access Fee field.
6. If a percentage of the usage charges forms part of the Agents’ commission, enter the % amount into the Trail Usage field.
7. If the trail applies for a limited duration, not the life of the service subscription and applies for a set number of billing periods, enter the number of months into the Trail Duration field.
8. If the trail to be paid requires a contract to be valid at the time the commission is generated, tick the Requires Active Contract box.
9. Enter a number into the Contract Age in months if you wish to define how many months the customer’s contract must be Active in order for the trail to be paid to the Agent. Note that prior to this figure, the commission is generated but not released until the contract age has been met.
10. If you wish for the system to auto-approve the commissions, tick the Trail Auto Approve Cardline box. If you wish to manually approve commissions, leave this box unchecked.

The trail can be:

• a fixed amount
• a percentage of an access fee
• a percentage of a usage charge.