Pay components

How a period is paid

1. Quota for the period = annual quota ÷ 12 × months in the period, prorated for partial months of employment and reduced by any ramp.
2. Target commission = annual commission ÷ 12 × months employed in the period (commission = OTE − base − MBO).
3. Earned = target variable × payout curve(attainment). Without an accelerator the curve is 1:1, uncapped.
4. Clawbacks from deals lost inside the clawback window come off.
5. Draw: if the result is below the draw, the draw is paid instead. A recoverable draw adds the difference to a balance that is paid back from later earnings above the draw.
6. MBO, if the plan has one, for each MBO period that ends in the pay period (see MBO below).
7. Base pay = annual base ÷ 12 × months employed in the period.

Reusable components

Accelerator (accelerator): payout rate multipliers above attainment thresholds. Example: 1.5x above 100%, 2x above 150%, capped at 250% of target. The rate applies only to the attainment inside each band, so the curve never jumps. Tiers below 100% with a rate under 1 work as decelerators.

Draw (draw): a monthly minimum variable payout for new starters, for N months from their start date. Recoverable (paid back from later earnings) or non-recoverable (a guarantee).

Ramp (ramp): reduced quota for new starters, one percentage per month from the start date, then 100%. A 3-month ramp of 25/50/75 means 25% of monthly quota in month one.

Clawback (clawback): when a deal is marked lost (update_deal with a clawback date) within the window, the commission paid on it (at the base commission rate: target ÷ quota for the period it closed) is taken back in the period it was lost. If the clawback exceeds what was earned, the rest is a balance recovered from later pay.

MBO (mbo): a share of OTE (or a fixed amount) paid on objectives. See below.

A plan can hold one component of each type. Changing a component changes every plan that uses it.

MBO (management by objectives)

An MBO pays part of OTE on objectives instead of bookings: meetings booked for an SDR, units sold, a product launch, or a company revenue target that everyone shares. It turns the pay mix into three pieces: base / commission / MBO, e.g. 60/30/10.

Each objective has a weight (weights are scaled to add up to 100%), a target per MBO period, and a kind: count (meetings, units), amount (money), percent (NPS, retention) or yes/no (a milestone). It is individual (each person's own result) or company (one shared result). Results are recorded with record_results, or counted automatically from recorded deals (source deals or bookings).

How an MBO period is paid

1. MBO at 100% = annual MBO ÷ 12 × months on the MBO in the MBO period, prorated by day like base.
2. For each objective, achievement = result ÷ target. Counts and amounts add up over the period; for percent and yes/no the latest reading counts.
3. The objective pays its achievement, from 0 up to its cap (100% unless set higher), and nothing below its threshold (if it has one).
4. MBO payout = the weighted average of what each objective pays. MBO pay = MBO at 100% × MBO payout.
5. It is paid in the pay period in which the MBO period ends (a quarterly MBO on a monthly plan pays in the quarter's last month).

Assumptions CompSlate makes unless you say otherwise

• The MBO comes out of variable pay, not base. Adding a 10% MBO to a 60/40 plan makes it 60/30/10, and OTE stays the same.
• Draws cover commission only. The draw is a minimum on commission; MBO is paid on top and never pays back a draw. Set includes_mbo on the draw to count MBO toward the minimum (and recover from it).
• Accelerators and clawbacks apply to commission only. MBO pays on its own curve (linear to the cap); a churned deal doesn't take back MBO.
• Ramps lower quota, not MBO targets. Set personal targets for new starters with save_person mbo_targets.
• Individual count and amount targets are prorated for part periods (joining halfway through a quarter halves the meetings target). Company targets, percentages and yes/no objectives are never prorated.
• The MBO period is the plan's pay period unless the MBO sets its own (monthly, quarterly, semiannual or annual).
• Late results are corrections. A result dated in a period already paid is settled in the next open period, like a late deal.
• Projections price the rest of the year's MBO at the year's MBO payout so far (100% before any MBO period has closed).
• Leavers get their prorated MBO for the time they were on it, paid when the MBO period ends.

Every assumption can be changed: tell your assistant what your policy says.

Outside the plan

SPIFs and bonuses (record_payments): one-off amounts paid in the period that contains their date, shown separately on the card, the statement and in exports. Negative amounts take money back.

Split credit (record_deals or update_deal with split): a deal can credit several people, e.g. 60% to the AE and 40% to the SE. Each person's bookings, attainment and clawbacks use their share. Splits usually add up to 100%; overlays up to 200% are allowed and flagged.

Fine print

• Clawbacks take back the base rate (target ÷ quota for the period the deal closed), not an accelerated rate.
• Ramps and draws count calendar months from the start month: someone starting on January 31 gets a prorated January, then February and March.
• Accelerators and draws use the terms in effect on a period's last day for the whole period; OTE, base, MBO and quota are prorated by day.
• MBO objectives are those in effect on the MBO period's last day, so an objective changed mid-quarter applies to the whole quarter.
• Deals count in the period they close. Deals closed while someone wasn't employed count as bookings but earn no pay.
• One-off payments can be negative; a large negative payment can make a period's total negative.
• Fiscal years are named after the calendar year they start in (FY2026 = July 2026 to June 2027 if your year starts in July).
• Money is added up at full precision and rounded to the cent once, so many small deals and one big deal give the same result.