// Free tool
Sales commission calculator
Model a rep's pay from base, quota, and attainment - with accelerators for overperformance. Built for founders and sales leaders putting their first reps on a plan: enter the package, drag attainment up and down, and see what the year actually costs before you sign it.
Commission at exactly 100% of quota. Base + variable = OTE.
Commission rate
10.0%
variable ÷ quota
Commission earned
$51,000
at 85% attainment
Total pay
$111,000
$9,250 / month
pay = base + closed × rate, accelerated past quota
Assumes a single flat rate to quota with an accelerator beyond it - the most common first-plan structure. Tiered plans, draws, and clawbacks are covered below.
The formula
Three steps, no spreadsheet required:
1. Commission rate = on-target variable pay ÷ annual quota. A rep with $60,000 variable on a $600,000 quota earns 10% of what they close.
2. Commission to quota = revenue closed × rate, up to 100% of quota.
3. Commission beyond quota = excess revenue × rate × accelerator. At a 1.5x accelerator, the same rep earns 15% on every dollar past $600,000.
The benchmarks behind the defaults
The calculator's starting numbers are not arbitrary - they are the conventions most B2B SaaS plans are built from, useful as a sanity check even when you deviate deliberately:
| Convention | Common value | Why it exists |
|---|---|---|
| Base : variable split | 50 / 50 | Enough base to hire well, enough variable to matter |
| Quota : OTE ratio | 4-6x | The revenue a rep must produce to be worth the package |
| Effective rate | ~10% of quota | Falls out of the two ratios above |
| Accelerator | 1.5-2x | Keeps top reps selling after they hit plan |
Deviate with intent: earlier-stage companies often run richer variable and lower quota-to-OTE ratios because the rep is helping find the motion, not just running it.
Beyond the flat rate: structures you will meet
Tiered rates. The rate steps up at attainment bands (say 8% to 60% of quota, 10% to 100%, 15% beyond). Smooths the incentive curve; costs you a more complicated plan document.
Draws. A guaranteed advance against future commission while a rep ramps - recoverable (paid back from later earnings) or non-recoverable (a ramp subsidy). Standard for the first two or three months of a new hire.
Clawbacks. Commission returned if a customer churns or fails to pay inside a window, usually 90 days to a year. Worth having in writing before the first churned deal, not after.
What to avoid early: plans with more than three moving parts. A rep who needs the plan explained twice will optimize for the part they understood.
The part the calculator cannot do
A comp plan is only as good as the attainment number feeding it, and attainment tracking is where plans quietly rot: the CRM says 60% because half the closed deals were never logged, or the pipeline review runs on numbers a week stale. This is the boring half of sales compensation - and it is the half Ahoy automates. Every email, call, and meeting is captured automatically, deals move stages with the actual conversation, and quota math runs on records that are current without anyone typing. When the plan pays out, nobody argues about the data.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate sales commission?
The standard method: divide the rep's on-target variable pay by their annual quota to get the base commission rate, then multiply the rate by revenue closed. Example: $60,000 variable on a $600,000 quota is a 10% rate; closing $500,000 pays $50,000 in commission. Deals closed beyond 100% of quota usually pay at an accelerated rate.
What is a typical commission rate for SaaS sales?
The widely used starting point is roughly 10% of quota - it falls out of two conventions: a 50/50 split between base and variable pay, and a quota of about 5x the on-target variable. Rates run higher for pure-commission roles and lower where the base salary carries more of the package.
What is OTE in a sales compensation plan?
On-target earnings: base salary plus the variable pay a rep earns at exactly 100% of quota. A "$120k OTE, 50/50 split" package means $60k base and $60k variable at plan. OTE is the number recruits compare, so pair it with an honest picture of what fraction of the team actually reaches quota.
What is a commission accelerator?
A higher rate applied to revenue closed beyond 100% of quota - commonly 1.5x to 2x the base rate. Accelerators keep your best reps selling in Q4 instead of sandbagging deals into January, and they are cheap: every accelerated dollar is quota-beating revenue you did not plan on.
When should a startup put its first rep on a commission plan?
When the founder has closed enough deals to know the motion works: a repeatable path from lead to close, a rough sales cycle, and a defensible quota. Comp plans built before that are guesses that get renegotiated. Set the first quota from the founder's own attainment, discounted for the rep's missing context.
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