Commission, written down.
Field-tested guides on UK sales commission, tax compliance and RevOps — the playbook we wish every revenue team had before their first blowout quarter.
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63 guides6 Steps to the Calculation of Commission on Sales (UK)
The sum is the easy part. A UK employer's six-step sequence for the calculation of commission on sales — choosing the base, ordering the mechanics, and costing the 15% employer NIC.
HubSpot Commission Tracking: Skip the CSV Export
How to run commission straight off your HubSpot deal pipeline instead of exporting to a spreadsheet — the errors that hide in the export, and where PAYE, clawbacks and Xero fit in.
CaptivateIQ Alternatives UK: What US-First Tools Miss
A UK buyer's guide to CaptivateIQ, Salesforce Spiff and QuotaPath alternatives — the payroll, employer NIC, holiday pay and Xero questions that decide the fit.
How to Calculate Commission on Sales: UK Worked Examples
The full UK commission calculation path — gross invoice, VAT, commissionable value, rate, employer NIC at 15%, PAYE and employee NIC — with two worked examples.
The £16,000 Error: A UK Commission Audit Checklist
A practical commission audit checklist for UK sales teams: the ten checks that catch silent overpayments, the maths on what unreported errors cost, and what the law lets you recover.
£16,000 Instead of £1,600: Recovering Overpaid Commission
How UK employers can lawfully recover overpaid commission under s.14 Employment Rights Act 1996, what it costs to unwind through payroll, and why most overpayments go unnoticed.
Commission Paid on Sales: Pay on Booking, Invoice or Cash?
A decision tree for when commission paid on sales should trigger — booking, invoice or cash collected — plus a £50k deal worked through all three rules when the rep leaves mid-cycle.
How to Set Up a Sales Commission Scheme: 5 UK Structures
How to set up a UK sales commission scheme — the 5 structures teams actually use, how to choose by team size, sales cycle and deal size, with £70k OTE worked examples.
Commission for Sales: 3 Fixes for Failing UK Schemes
Most UK sales commission schemes don't fail on structure — they fail on verification, payroll timing and clawback ambiguity. Here's how each breaks, and the three fixes.
Commission Paid on Sales: Invoice, Net or Margin?
Gross invoice value, net revenue or gross margin — the base you pay commission on moves the payout more than the rate does. Three UK models, worked examples, and how to switch without cutting OTE.
Sales Commission Agreement Template UK: 9 Key Clauses
What a UK sales commission agreement must contain, clause by clause — earned vs payable, clawback authority under the Employment Rights Act, holiday pay and leaver terms.
3 Free Sales Commission Excel Templates (UK) + When to Switch
Three free UK sales commission Excel templates — flat-rate, tiered, OTE-split — plus exactly when each breaks and when to switch to software.
Sales Commission Calculator: Why Every One Breaks
A working UK sales commission calculator for quota, rate and accelerators — plus why a single-cell calculator can't cope with real deals, clawbacks and per-month PAYE.
How IR35 Reshapes Contract Recruitment Commission Margins
Off-payroll (IR35) rules don't change your commission mechanics — they change the margin you're paying commission on. Here's how UK recruitment agencies should adjust.
Recruiter Draw and Ramp Commission: A UK Guide for Agency Owners
How to use a guaranteed minimum or draw against commission to bridge a new recruiter's ramp — without breaching NMW, the Employment Rights Act, or your own desk economics.
Recruitment Commission Software UK: What to Look For When You Replace the Billings Spreadsheet
A buyer's checklist for UK recruitment agencies choosing commission software — perm and contract, threshold tiers, desk splits, rebate clawbacks and Xero export.
Recruitment Manager Commission Overrides: Designing the Pay Without Distorting the Desk
How UK recruitment agencies design manager and team-lead overrides on team billings — without double-paying, taxing margin twice, or quietly killing the senior biller.
Commission Software Implementation: A UK Timeline
A realistic commission software implementation timeline for UK teams — what each phase involves, how long it takes, and what drives the schedule.
Commission Software Migration: Off the Spreadsheet
A UK playbook for a commission software migration: move off the spreadsheet without breaking pay or rep trust — and what to test first.
Commission Software Pricing Models, Compared (UK)
Commission software pricing for UK buyers — per-rep vs per-payee vs flat, the hidden implementation fees, and the model that punishes you as you grow.
Recruitment Desk Splits and Shared Commission: Paying BD and Resourcing Fairly
How 360, 180, BD and resourcing desks should share commission in UK recruitment agencies — split models, attribution rules, and how to stop end-of-month disputes.
Sales Commission Automation: What to Automate
A practical guide to sales commission automation — what to automate, what to keep human, and where automation actually saves time and money.
Xero Commission Integration: How It Actually Works
What a Xero commission integration actually does — journals vs bills, tracking categories, and how commission reaches payroll without finance re-keying.
Commission Software UK: 5 Options and How to Choose
The five real options for commission management software in the UK, the five questions that decide the fit, and a scoring table to copy.
Contract Recruitment Commission: Paying on Margin
How contract recruitment commission works in the UK — paying consultants on gross margin, charge-rate vs pay-rate, on-costs, IR35 and a worked margin example.
Recruitment Commission Plans: A UK Agency Setup Guide
How UK recruitment commission plans actually work — perm placement fees, contract margin, billing thresholds and rebate clawbacks, and what to automate.
Recruitment Commission Clawback & Rebate Periods (UK)
How recruitment commission clawback works in the UK — rebate periods, sliding-scale fee refunds, drafting the clawback clause, and avoiding disputes.
Recruitment Commission Thresholds: Designing Billing Tiers
How to set recruitment commission thresholds and billing tiers in the UK — cost-of-sale multiples, reset cadence, accelerating bands and the mistakes to avoid.
Recruitment Consultant Commission Structure (UK Perm Desks)
How UK agencies structure recruitment consultant commission on permanent placements — placement fees, cost-of-sale thresholds, banded rates and worked examples.
Commission Software vs Spreadsheet: Which Really Costs More?
A direct cost and risk comparison of running UK sales commission on Excel vs purpose-built software — covering hidden labour, error rates, HMRC audit trail and break-even maths.
Commission Plan Mechanics: Accelerators, Decelerators, Clawbacks, Draws and Spiffs
A complete guide to the five core UK commission plan mechanics — what each does, when to use it, when to avoid it, and how PAYE and NIC actually treat the money.
Sales Commission Management in the UK: The Operations Playbook
A complete guide to sales commission management in the UK — reconciliation, disputes, errors, tax, audit and the tooling choices that decide whether reps trust their numbers.
SDR Commission Structure UK: Meetings, SQLs, or Revenue?
Most UK SDR plans pay on meetings booked, which quietly rewards calendar-stuffing. Here's a hybrid SQL + pipeline model with worked numbers on a £32k base + £12k OTE rep.
Should You Cap Sales Commission? The UK Operator's Case Against (and For) a Ceiling
Most UK sales orgs default to uncapped commission as a recruiting hook, then finance panics after the first blowout quarter. Here's when a cap is defensible — and when it's just a tax on your best reps.
Accounting for Sales Commission Under FRS 102: What the 2026 Periodic Review Changes
FRS 102's revamped revenue rules take effect for periods beginning on or after 1 January 2026. Here's what UK finance teams need to do about commission costs.
Commission Decelerators: Cut Below-Quota Rates the Right Way
A contrarian UK guide to commission decelerators — when a below-quota rate protects margin without harming retention, and how to model it.
Commission and Pension Auto-Enrolment: How Qualifying Earnings Actually Work
How commission is counted in UK pension auto-enrolment, with a worked example showing £630 annual contribution swing for a £45k base + £20k OTE rep.
Maternity Leave and Sales Commission in the UK: What Employers Owe
What employers owe on commission during UK maternity leave: SMP calculation, pro-rating, KIT days, the Alabaster ruling, and common failure modes.
Holiday Pay on Commission in the UK: What Lock v British Gas Actually Means for Your Comp Plan
Most UK sales orgs still pay holiday at base salary only — and have done since Lock v British Gas made that unlawful. Here is the actual mechanic, with worked examples.
Sales SPIFFs vs Commission in the UK: Tax, Use Cases and Pitfalls
How UK sales SPIFFs differ from commission, how HMRC taxes cash and non-cash awards, and when a SPIFF is the right tool rather than a plan change.
UK Sales Commission Guide: Tax, Plans and Employment Law
What UK employers need to know about sales commission: PAYE and NIC, how to design a plan, and how commission affects holiday pay, maternity pay and notice.
Rolling Out a New Commission Plan: A Change Management Playbook for UK Sales Teams
Plan design gets the airtime, but rollout is where comp changes die. A six-week playbook for UK sales orgs — pre-briefs, 1:1s, written plans, Q&A logs, and parallel runs.
Draw Against Commission in the UK: Recoverable vs Non-Recoverable, and How HMRC Treats Each
A UK-specific guide to draw against commission. We separate recoverable from non-recoverable draws, walk through the PAYE/NIC mechanics, and argue for the ramp-draw default.
Commission Accelerators UK: How to Design Them Right
Three accelerator structures compared with full UK maths on a £60k OTE rep, plus the case for a decelerator above 200%. Push back on uncapped-commission dogma.
What the 15% Employer NIC Rate Means for Your Commission Budget in 2026/27
Most comp models price commission at face value. Under the 15%/£5,000 employer NIC regime, the loaded cost of a £20k commission payout is £23,000 — here's how to budget for it.
P11D and Commission: What Actually Needs Reporting, and What Doesn't
Cash commission goes through PAYE, never P11D. But non-cash sales incentives, vouchers, and third-party awards routinely should — and finance teams miss them.
End-of-Year Commission Reconciliation: UK Tax Year Checklist
The UK tax year ends 5 April. Here's a step-by-step commission audit checklist to close out the year cleanly and start fresh.
VP Sales Commission Oversight: What to Track and When to Worry
As VP Sales, you can't review every deal. Here's what to track in your commission data to spot problems before they become crises.
Flat Rate vs Tiered Commission: Structures Explained
Flat rate, tiered, accelerator or decelerator? How each commission structure pays, where each one breaks, and when UK sales teams should use it.
Quarterly Commission Review: Checklist and Template
How to run a quarterly commission review: check quota realism, attainment spread and plan drift, and fix problems before they reach year-end. Template included.
Commission Reconciliation: 5-Step Process for Finance
How finance teams reconcile sales commission against CRM data and payroll: a five-step workflow, where the numbers diverge, and how to make month-end faster.
How to Onboard New Reps onto Your Commission Plan
The first 90 days shape whether a rep trusts your commission process. Here's how to onboard new hires onto your plan without confusion or early disputes.
Commission During Notice Periods: What UK Employers Need to Know
What happens to commission when a rep hands in their notice? The legal position, garden leave implications, and how to avoid disputes on the way out.
Commission Clawback Policies: A UK Sales Leader's Guide
Clawback clauses protect your business but can destroy morale if done wrong. Here's how to build a fair clawback policy your reps will actually accept.
What Does OTE Mean? On-Target Earnings in UK Sales
OTE (on-target earnings) is base salary plus the commission a rep earns at 100% of quota. Typical UK ranges from SDR to enterprise AE, and how to set it.
Shadow Accounting: Why Reps Track Their Own Commission (Fix It)
If your reps keep their own commission spreadsheet, trust is broken. Here's why shadow accounting happens and the 3 changes that make it unnecessary.
Commission Spreadsheets: The Hidden Cost (We Did the Maths)
UK sales teams spend 10+ hours/month on commission spreadsheets. Add error rates, disputes, and trust damage — the true cost will surprise you.
Sales Commission Plan UK: How to Set Up a Scheme That Motivates
How to set up a UK sales commission plan that changes behaviour — step-by-step process, worked examples for SDR/AE/CS roles, and a downloadable template.
Commission Calculation Errors in the UK: How to Catch & Fix Them
A practical guide for UK SalesOps and finance leaders on commission calculation errors — causes, legal fixes for overpayments, and prevention.
Commission Disputes: How to Resolve and Prevent Them
A five-step process for resolving sales commission disputes fairly, what UK guidance says about correcting overpayments, and how to stop disputes recurring.
Silent Commission Errors Cost More Than You Think — Here's Why
Loud commission disputes get fixed. Silent errors — overpayments and underpayments no one notices — quietly drain P&L and trust. Here's how to find them.
Managing Commission for Small Sales Teams (5-20 Reps)
Commission management for 5-20 reps: what actually works when you don't have enterprise tools or dedicated sales ops. UK-focused, practical advice.
Do You Get Taxed on Commission in the UK? PAYE and NIC (2026/27)
Yes. UK commission is taxable pay, taxed like salary through PAYE: 20%, 40% or 45% income tax plus 8% or 2% employee NICs, and employers pay 15%. Worked example.