Document toolboxDocument toolbox

How to Edit Commissions

Owned by Olanike Dairo (Unlicensed)
Sept 17, 2021
5 min read

You may want to edit commissions when: 

  • the commission amount is wrong and needs to be fixed 
  • the date/time for the commission is wrong 
  • there should be a deduction for example:  
    • NGU gave smartphones to the agents and the repayment method is by deducting the commission 
    • There was a mistake in product configuration and the system generated 10 times amount of the commission that should have been paid. 

There are two ways to edit commissions: one-by-one, or in bulk via CSV upload 

Editing Commissions One by One 

In ERP, you: 

  • Go to Sales Agents module 
  • Click on Commission Invoices 
  • Filter:
    • invoices that are waiting for validation 
    • by Agent Code 
  • Open the invoice that you want to edit 
  • Click on Edit, then 
    • you add/delete row(s) 
    • you change the commission amount or commission type or the description 
  • Save 

Editing Commissions in bulk via CSV export/upload 

[See instructions here]

Correcting wrongly entered Commissions 

If you enter the wrong data in this file it could lead to errors (for example, entering a wrong date, amount, or commission ID). This guide explains what to do if you upload the wrong data to correct the mistakes, both before and after commissions have been paid.

BEFORE commission has been paid  

Good news, if you catch your mistake before paying the commissions, no harm has been done – no invoices have been created. You can correct the mistakes one by one or upload another file to make the corrections in bulk

To perform bulk corrections: 

  1. Make the corrections in the CSV file 
  2. (Optional) delete the rows for the items you do not need to correct 
  3. Re-upload the file. This will overwrite the existing commissions, so they now reflect the correct amount or date. 

AFTER commission has been paid 

If you only catch the mistake after you’ve already paid the commissions, you may have some work to do, to ensure the agents receive the correct amount, and/or making corrections in Accounting. 

Scenario #1: The wrong Date Was Entered 

Error

Impact

Solution

The date is in a previous or future month, for a commission that is supposed to be paid. For example, the commission is supposed to be paid in June, but Admin accidentally entered dates in April

  • The Admin may miss the commission if they search only for commissions in the current month, leading to the agent not receiving the commission.
  • The Agent App will not display this commission. The App only displays draft commission for the current months and paid commissions for the previous months, so a commission in draft status from a previous or future month will not be seen.
  •   There is no impact on accounting – invoices reflect the date commission is paid, not the date it was earned, so it does not matter if a commission from a sale in a previous month is recorded in the current month.
  • When paying commission, filter for commissions in “draft” status with a date set, but the date is not in the current month.
  • If you find a commission in draft status in a previous month, and confirm it should be paid, change the date to the correct date so that it will reflect correctly in the App, and pay the commission as normal.

The date is earlier than the commission is NOT supposed to be paid. For example, commission for stage 2 and 3 will appear as “draft” with a blank date until the customer has paid enough to reach that stage. If you accidentally enter a date into that stage, you might pay the commission before the agent has earned it.

Retail:

  •  If you pay a commission before it has been earned, in most cases this is not a major issue – when the agent does in fact earn the commission (i.e. the customer reaches that stage), the agent will simply not receive the commission, because it was already paid.
  • This is only an issue if the customer churns without ever reaching that stage AND the agent has left Bboxx, meaning it is no longer possible to deduct the unearned commission.

Accounting:

  • No impact on accounting – invoices reflect the date commission is paid, not the date it was earned, so it does not matter if a commission from a sale in a previous month is recorded in the current month
  •  If the customer churns before the commission is earned, and the agent is still with Bboxx, you can deduct the commission 
  • If the agent has already left Bboxx, there is nothing you can do – it is now a loss. Check with your accounting department on the appropriate treatment.

Scenario #2: Wrong Commission Amount Was Entered

Error

Impact

Solution

The amount is wrong. For example, Agent A was supposed to be paid $50, and the agent admin mistakenly put $5 or $500 in the commission amount field.

Retail:

  • The agent will be paid too much or too little.

Accounting:

  • Invoices will be correct in representing the amounts paid, but those amounts reflect mistakes – they will accurately record the mistake.
  • When the error is corrected, there will be a timing difference between when the commission expense should be incurred on the accounting side, but the overall expense will be correct.

Retail:

  • If you have paid a HIGHER amount: deduct that amount on the next month’s commission.
  • If you have paid a LOWER amount: fix it by adding that amount (as commission correction) to the next month’s commission.

Scenario #3: Wrong Commission ID Was Entered

Error

Impact

Solution

Blank commission ID

No impact – the file cannot be uploaded with a blank commission ID

 

Wrong Commission ID. For example, the commission ID from the exported CSV file is 123456 and the agent admin mistakenly changes one or more digits to 123458

Retail:

  • If the mistaken commission ID does not exist or is the same as a commission that has already been paid or duplicates an existing commission ID from the exported file, the file will not upload, and you will get an error, “this commission ID either does not exist or is not in draft status.”
  • If the mistaken commission ID is in “draft” state, the wrong commission will be updated while the intended commission will not.
  • This is why you should NEVER edit or delete the commission ID.

Accounting:

  • Admin calculates incorrectly and so the invoice amounts generated are not correct.

Retail:

  • DO NOT CHANGE THE ID. This can cause serious errors.
  • Correct both commissions (the mistaken and intended commission).

Accounting:

  • When the error is corrected, there will be a timing difference between when the commission expense should be incurred on the accounting side, but the overall expense will be correct.

Mitigation for mentioned errors:

  • Avoid making any of both mistakes during the commission's reviews and approvals (Retail and Accounting).
  • Have a well prepared excel file for the commissions that NGU want to pay before starting to edit the exported commissions file. (This excel file will help in the error checking).
    • Here dates and amounts should be defined before.
  • Save the original exported file and edit the copy of the original (for future reference).
  • The Sales Agent Admin can delete date/time if NGU is not sure yet when that commission stage will be paid. S/he can come back add the date/time when the payment date is defined.
  • The commission IDs should not be changed.

What’s not an issue?

  • Mismatching Sales agent information. For example; the correct Sales Agent names but the wrong Sales Agent code and vice versa.
    • Why? Because changing the agent code in the exported excel file will not affect what will be in the system after you upload the file.
  • Typo mistakes in the commission type that could create many commission types that the NGU doesn’t have. And Errors in the commission type field. For example: labeling the commission as “New Sale” while it is “Sale Upgrade”.
    • Why? Because the commission type is not among the columns that will be exported.
  • Mistakenly change the commission state. For example: labeling the commission state as “paid” while it was in “draft”.
    • Why? Because only “draft” commissions will be exported and there won’t be a column for the commission state in the exported file.