Anticode Open builder

Build a sales commission calculator with tiers, accelerators and caps

Reps want to know what a deal is worth to them before they close it, and finance wants fewer questions at the end of the month. A sales commission calculator built around your actual plan, with its quota, tiers, accelerators and cap, answers both. Anticode can build one as a small internal tool that runs in the browser, provided you can write the plan's rules down exactly.

Updated · By the Anticode team

Get the plan rules on one page

A commission calculator is only as right as the rules it encodes. Before building, take the plan document and pull out these parts. If any are unclear, settle them with whoever owns the plan; the calculator will make every ambiguity visible to the whole team.

Base rate
The percentage paid on credited revenue, or a fixed amount per unit or deal.
Quota and period
The target, and whether attainment is measured monthly, quarterly or yearly.
Tiers
Different rates for bands of attainment, such as 8% up to quota and 12% above it. State whether each rate applies only to revenue inside its band (marginal) or retroactively to everything once a band is reached. The two give very different results.
Accelerators and decelerators
Multipliers above quota, and reduced rates below a threshold.
Cap
A maximum payout per period, if there is one.
SPIFs and bonuses
Fixed amounts for specific products or achievements, often time-limited.
Credit rules
What counts: booked, invoiced or paid revenue, splits between reps, clawbacks on cancellations.

Worked example to test against

Write one example by hand and use it to check the build. Say quota is 100,000 for the quarter, the rate is 8% to quota and 12% above, marginal, with a cap of 20,000. A rep who books 130,000 earns 8% of 100,000 (8,000) plus 12% of 30,000 (3,600), so 11,600. If the plan were retroactive, it would be 12% of 130,000, or 15,600. Give both numbers to the model with the rule you want, and check the app produces the right one.

Screens reps actually use

  • Deal what-if. Enter a deal's value and see the commission it adds, given attainment so far. This is the screen that changes behaviour.
  • Period summary. Attainment as a progress bar against quota, tier reached, earnings to date, and how much more revenue unlocks the next tier.
  • Breakdown. The calculation line by line, matching the format of the payslip or commission statement, so reps can reconcile.
  • Plan explainer. The rules in plain words, with the worked example.

Deals a rep enters can be saved in their own browser so they can track the quarter. Nothing is sent to anyone, which suits figures that are personal, but it also means a manager can't see the team's totals from this tool.

Describing it to Anticode

"An internal commission calculator for our account executives. Quarterly quota set per rep. 8% marginal up to 100% attainment, 12% from 100 to 150%, 15% above 150%, capped at 25,000 per quarter. A 1,000 SPIF per new logo. Credit on booked revenue. Screens: deal what-if, quarter summary with progress to next tier, line-by-line breakdown, plan rules. Reps enter their own deals, saved on their device. Technical, dense design with tabular numbers. Label it 'Estimate: the commission statement is final.'"

When the plan changes next year, a change request updates the rules. Related builds: ROI calculator, internal tool builder and CRM prototype.

Where this stops

  • No CRM or payroll data. The app can't pull closed deals from a CRM or attainment from a finance system; reps type their deals in.
  • No team view. There's no shared data, so managers can't see everyone's attainment or approve anything. A version with real accounts and a database is a development project; the Next.js export gives a developer a starting point with roles and Postgres.
  • Not the statement of record. The payroll or commission statement is final. Say so on screen.
  • Confidential plans. A published Anticode page can be opened by anyone with the link, and there's no sign-in. Don't put individual reps' quotas or salaries in the app itself; let each rep type their own.

Questions people ask

Can one sales commission calculator handle several roles?

Yes, with a role picker that switches the rules, for example AE, SDR and account manager. Keep each role's rules in its own clearly labelled table.

What about commission on recurring revenue?

Common variants pay on first-year contract value or on monthly recurring revenue times a multiple. Define which counts as credited revenue and the calculator applies it.

Can it show a bonus calculator for non-sales staff?

Yes, the same structure works for targets with payout bands, such as a percentage of salary at different scores.