For years, standard business practice dictated the use of spreadsheets for everything from tracking expenses to billing clients, to payroll and even sales commissions. But the use of spreadsheets, especially for sales commissions, can come at the expense of increased time and reduced accuracy.
If you are still using spreadsheets to calculate your sales commissions, there are several current technologies and software products that you can use to help automate the process instead. We’ve outlined several compelling reasons to automate your sales commissions with a dedicated software tool.
Reduce Errors
Handling commissions manually through spreadsheets is a process that is prone to error. A structured commissions system provides a concrete and highly accurate alternative. It is configured upon onboarding and can reduce the number of errors in commissions – saving the processor and the company time and money.
Tools like SalesChain, which already include deal pricing data in the platform, allow businesses to process commissions quickly, easily, and automatically. SalesChain customers enjoy the consistent accuracy of pricing for both hardware and IT services provided by our catalogs made easy service and integrations to major IT distributors. This contributes greatly to the accuracy of commission figures.
Reduce Time to Process Commissions
No matter the complexity or intricacy of your documents, preparing sales commissions in Excel is a time-consuming process.
Generally, spreadsheets are created to track one task, and as it expands more formulas are added, which can complicate the process. All new data must be entered manually, and all-new formulas must be configured by your team. This takes valuable time and effort away from the other tasks of the normal workday. If you add in the complex multi-tier commissions structures found in most modern companies, spreadsheet maintenance becomes a major commitment. We often find that, within larger organizations, the resources of a full-time staff member must be dedicated to implementing this outmoded method.
Instead of emailing out spreadsheets or commission statements, accounting and sales teams can access their personal data at any time on the platform. By eliminating tedious manual tasks and streamlining communication between different departments, you can quickly and accurately forecast new sales commission structures.
Due to the reduction in errors, the automated nature of calculations, data integration, and clear reporting, commission administrators can expect to significantly reduce the time required to calculate and pay commissions. Their efforts can be re-deployed to complete tasks that add more value to the company as well, helping businesses grow without adding more resources.
Increase Consistency
Sales reps, like all employees, want a clear picture of what they stand to make at any time. By automating the calculation process, you can build trust with your sales team by providing a transparent and timely process.
SalesChain can give sales reps information on their overall performance, how much money they are making, where their revenue is coming from, and their expected commission outcome.
As a bonus, with the software automation of sales commissions calculations, accounting personnel can focus on scenario modeling for the future. Automation reduces or altogether eliminates calculation errors and ensures businesses are paying correctly.
SalesChain Case Study
Pricing Proposals and Paying Commissions Faster with John Kerling of United Business Systems
Build Trust in Your Financial Data
Having been burned by inaccurate calculations, salespeople often distrust the commission calculation process. The automation of the calculation process. access to all the data related to the forecasting and order pricing process, and clear reporting, allows salespeople to develop trust in the process.
The hiring and retention of employees can be enhanced with a clear, reliable process as well. Commission administrators have a hard job because of the frustrations of calculating commissions. This contributes to a high turnover. With the drudgery removed from their jobs, there is less turnover in this role.
Use Data to Plan Ahead
Your finance department needs to know what the commission cost forecast is for the year. Therefore, you need a reliable way to generate forecasting data.
This is another area where a good commission product pays for itself. It should contain the data model, the calculation engine, and the reporting power to support detailed forecasting. If you try to build this solution on your Salesforce cloud, you are doing it all from scratch.
With a platform such as SalesChain, all transactions and calculations are stored in the system, allowing the commission module to report comprehensively on sales commission information. Analytical and dashboard functions allow the user to slice and dice the information available in various ways. Additional reports can be easily created from the basic system.
SalesChain Commissions
SalesChain is the only provider in the industry whose business automation system contains a built-in commissions module. This integrated accounting approach allows for greater understanding through transparency. When the commission system is calculated within the same system that is used to price deals, that information is the most up-to-date and remains untainted by human or machine error. Because of the wealth of information that automatically syncs to update within the system, users of the software can immediately know who is selling what, when, and with the greatest success. Read more here.