Commission: what it means
DefinitionCommission is pay calculated as a share of what an employee sells or completes, such as a percentage of a job's price or a fixed bonus per upsell. Service businesses use it to reward estimators, salespeople and technicians who bring in work.
How it works in a service business
Commission aligns pay with results, but it needs clear rules to avoid arguments. Define what counts, when it is earned, and what happens on refunds or unpaid invoices. The tradeoff is behavior: commissions on sales can push people to oversell, while commissions on completed work can push speed over quality. A common mistake is vague terms, such as a verbal promise, followed by a dispute over a disputed job. Write the plan down, base it on collected revenue where possible, and keep a statement each period that shows every job and amount. Software can track the numbers, but the owner must set the policy. Payroll and wage rules vary by state, so check your own requirements.
Example
A sales estimator earns a share of each approved job, paid once the customer's final invoice is collected, and sees a monthly statement listing each job and its payout.
Where Apex touches this
Rolling out
The screen and the rules are built and tested. Saving real customer data is not connected yet. Status as of 2026-10-07; the badge shows the least-built feature involved.
- MB10Commission tracking(Rolling out)
- LD28Sales rep / estimator assignment and commission(Rolling out)
- AD20Per-staff payroll and commission rules (appointments)(Rolling out)
Apex Flow Scheduler is in early access. See how we label status.