10 Best Sales Compensation Software for Small Businesses

Effectively motivating and rewarding your sales team needs to be the top priority in the rapidly evolving sales field. A study by IRF has shown that 90% of top-performing companies use incentive programs to reward their sales representatives, effectively driving professional and organizational growth. However, manual commission management may result in mistakes and demotivated teams.

Especially for small businesses, not having an automated solution for sales compensation can make this problem worse as they have limited resources. Accurate and timely commission calculations are essential for improving team morale and reducing turnover. Another study by IRF has showcased the placement of a well-structured incentive program. Apparently, a properly structured compensation plan can increase employee performance by 44%.

This is where sales compensation software comes into play. Sales compensation software can:

• Automate the calculation, management, and distribution of sales commissions and incentives for sales teams.
• Replaces manual processes with automated calculations based on predefined rules and sales data, ensuring accurate and timely compensation.
• Gives insights into sales performance, enabling businesses to optimize compensation strategies and enhance sales team motivation.

To corroborate the abilities with statistical prowess, a study revealed that a company using incentive compensation reported a 79% increase in achieving their goals, mainly when the correct reward was provided.

As a small business, it automates sales commission, saves your time and effort, minimizes errors, provides data-driven analytics for more competent compensation strategies, and a transparent system that builds trust and drives sales teams to excel.

This article lists the 10 best sales compensation software solutions for small businesses that make their sales compensation management efficient.

Factors to consider while choosing sales compensation software

For efficient commission management, choosing the appropriate sales software is essential. These are important things to keep in mind:

• Scalability and flexibility: Make sure the software can adapt to your company and changing compensation requirements without losing its efficiency.
• User-Friendly interface: An easy-to-use interface speeds up sales team adoption by making navigation simple and reducing training time.
• Data Security and compliance: Prioritize software with solid security features to secure essential sales data and follow industry rules.
• Integration capabilities: To ensure real-time data synchronization, pick software that easily integrates with your current CRM and finance systems.
• Reporting and analytics: Go for software that has comprehensive reporting features that show information about all patterns in sales performance and remuneration.
• Mobile accessibility: Choose software that allows your sales team to access and monitor their compensation on the go through mobile devices.

Top 10 sales compensation software for small businesses

Here are 10 sales compensation software for small businesses:

1. Compass

The commission automation platform, Compass not only automates your sales commission process but also facilitates communication in real-time, offers actionable insights, and makes accurate, on-time payouts to keep your sales staff engaged.

They offer solutions to manage sales, finance, revenue operations and human resources across varied industries like IT, banking, finance, retail and FMCG.

For the holistic view of the commission programs, it can be seamlessly integrated with commonly used tools like Hubspot, Salesforce, Zoho CRM and more.

For engaging your sales team and driving more sales, the software also offers a sales gamification module.

Key features:

• Custom plan designer
• Rep lifecycle management
• Data-led insights
• Gamification and groups & communities for internal communication
• Global currency conversion
• Extensive audit trails

Pros:

• Simplified UI & UX design
• Continuous enhancements in the software
• Real-time monitoring and ease in redeeming points

Cons:

• Few additions for the notifications can be done
• Understanding advance functionalities may need support

Case studies:

• A German luxury car manufacturer increases top-line sales
• A lending fintech platform improves commission payouts to sales agents

Ratings:

• G2: 4.7 out of 5
• Capterra: Overall 4.5

2. Spiff

Spiff, merges the familiarity and use of a spreadsheet with the power of automation that allows sales operations teams to easily self-manage complicated incentive payments.

It integrates with a variety of third-party systems, including ERP, CRM, and payroll. The platform's offerings are divided into two parts, one is ‘By Goal’, which is further categorized into design, motivate, manage and scale.

Another is ‘By Role’, which is divided into finance, operations, sales and HR/sales compensation. The software aims at motivating sales teams, facilitating trust between organizations, and enhancing visibility into performance and earnings.

Key features:

• Flexible set-up
• Advanced reporting & analytics
• Dispute management & commenting
• Commission predictor
• Real-time feedback

Pros:

• Easy to navigate and effortless to use
• Greater insight into commission with the functionality to compare pay stubs
• Provides good customer support

Cons:

• Has fewer filters
• Sometimes displays the wrong information

Case studies:

• 42 hours per month were saved by RadNet sales directors
• Clari created a more agile commissioning procedure

Ratings:

• G2: 4.7 out of 5
• Capterra: 4.7 Overall

Everstage

Everstage the cutting-edge software is designed to streamline and optimize your sales incentive strategies. Organizations can smoothly integrate it with your existing CRM and sales tools to tailor your compensation plans and simplify complex commission calculations.

They also offer advanced data visualization that enables companies to predict future trends, optimize commission structures, and align their sales compensation strategy with their business goals. Also, to foster healthy competition and motivate sales representatives, they have advanced gamification and AI functionalities.

Key features:

• Robust plan modeling
• Workflow management
• Effortless report generation
• Transparent query resolution

Pros:

• Better for the sales team to track revenues and set goals
• Also works well for managing compensation structure such as split up
• Assistance from the support team is excellent

Cons:

• Too much data and metrics can be confusing in the initial stage
• Integration syncing is sometimes delayed

Case studies:

• Nitro manages 100+ payees with just one administrator
• Chargebee improves the sales commissions experience for 300+ sales reps

Ratings:

• G2: 4.9 out of 5
• Capterra: Overall 4.9

Xactly Incent

Compensation management software Xactly Incent, lets an organization to simply design and automate any kind of incentive compensation management programme.

It improves efficiency on every level, enabling teams to finish accrual payments and payrolls more quickly while having a complete audit trail to support their work. The software offers seamless integration of compensation data with CRM, ERP, HCM, and other crucial business systems in existing stacks.

Additionally, they offer Intelligent Revenue Platform to merge planning, performance, and prediction tasks into a single, cohesive platform.

Key features:

• Flexible compensation plan configuration
• Document and workflow management
• Incentive estimator
• Payee profiles
• Prior period processing

Pros:

• Accuracy in commission and draw calculations and roll-ups
• Easy configuration with variation in compensation plans
• Smooth data integration with the HR data repository

Cons:

• Reporting is bit difficult to understand
• Repetitive tasks in bulk can not be performed

Case studies:

• MetaCompliance increases revenue accuracy and predictability
• Workiva updates its compensation procedures and makes life easier for salespeople

Ratings:

• G2: 4.2 out of 5
• Capterra: Overall 4.2

Desempenho

Performio is built to manage complicated incentive compensation plans, methods, and approaches.

Organizations can focus on their core function and evaluate sales rep performances through the automated workflows, powerful crediting rules and pre-built plan components.

It can generate custom reports on any sales compensation data to make a data-driven decision. They also offer integration with Salesforce, NetSuite, REST API and many more.

Key features:

• Performance management
• Data management and integration
• Reporting and analytics
• Auditing and compliance

Pros:

• Ease in navigation with good user interface
• Simple tracking of commission earned
• Great customer support

Cons:

• Layouts of the reports can be improved
• Sometimes delays in displaying data

Case studies:

• Service Express outgrows in-house system
• Jillamy keeps moving forward with performio for incentive comp management

Ratings:

• G2: 4.3 out of 5
• Capterra: Overall 4.3

QCommission

QCommission is a strong and adaptable sales commission software that accurately determines the pay for your sales team while minimizing errors caused by spreadsheets and manual processes.

It can clearly and precisely communicate estimated commissions. The capabilities are such that the processing, crediting, and calculating performance transactions can take place as frequently as necessary.

Additionally, the user can report on all the computations in a detailed form thanks to robust and complete reporting capabilities.

Key features:

• Calendar-specific commission processing
• Commission and bonus calculations
• Reporting and commission statements
• Modeling and forecasting
• Case management

Pros:

• Easily handles complicated multi-tier commission program
• Excellent staff Support
• Totally flexible for the compensation plan configurations

Cons:

• Initially it tricky to use
• Sometimes there are glitches

Case studies:

• Early growth financial services simplifies sales commissions
• QCommission is chosen by the Sterling Group for their sales commission customer profile

Ratings:

• G2: 4.6 out of 5
• Capterra: Overall 4.4

Sales Cookie

Another sales commission automation software, Sales Cookie reduces administrative hassles and motivates your salespeople. Admins can set up incentive programmes, perform computations, and handle commissions with ease.

While the sales rep has their personal online dashboard with payments and goals. Whether your organization wants to build commission payments on sales, profits, or performance metrics, the software supports every aspect of the commission.

Furthermore, it also easily integrates with the existing sales or accounting systems.

Key features:

• Incentive design and calculations
• Incentive dashboards
• Enterprise reporting
• Multi-currency support

Pros:

• Incredible support on troubleshoots
• Seamless integration with popular tools
• Gives real-time trending analysis.

Cons:

• Sometimes small errors occur
• Limitations in dashboard customization

Ratings:

• G2: 4.9 out of 5
• Capterra: Overall 4.7

QuotaPath

QuotaPath's sales compensation management software fosters ownership and accountability for teams by accurately calculating, keeping track of, and disbursing commissions.

It allows you to execute your month-end process more effectively by offering scalable processes that connect the entire team.

QuotaPath integrates with your sales stack to enable real-time automated commission calculations and also facilitate versatile payment calculations.

The holistic view of all the required data eliminates the uncertainties for both sales reps and leaders.

Key features:

• Automated commission tracking
• Incentive strategies and payouts
• Powerful integrations
• Commision expenses amortization
• Multi-step approval

Pros:

• Simple and easy in setting up plans
• Works great for sales reps to hit their goals
• Excellent UI for both admins and reps

Cons:

• Provides no connection to HR tools
• Creates confusion with too many commission-earning events

Case studies:

• Blackthorn achieves record-breaking sales in the months'
• runZero gets rid of commission tracking mistakes and queries.

Ratings:

• G2 : 4.7 out of 5
• Capterra: Overall 4.5

ElevateHQ

ElevateHQ promises accurate and on-time commission payouts with its fool-proof workflows and automated reconciliations.

By automating manual techniques, it helps organizations streamline their operations by reducing functional inefficiencies and providing real-time end-to-end process visibility.

The software also has a dashboard that gives a real-time view of earnings and forecasts for sales reps.

They also offer commission plans and performance support tools for better tracking, identifying challenges and taking informed decisions.

Key features:

• Sales incentive designer
• Compensation management
• Commission plan performance
• Sales team motivation

Pros:

• Works excellent when it comes to performance analyses
• Clear-cut explanations on how to use it
• Interface de fácil utilização

Cons:

• Sometimes updated data is not displayed
• Downloading reports takes high time

Ratings:

• G2: 4.7 out of 5
• Capterra: Overall 4.9

Commissionly

Commissionly is a cloud-based software that only focuses on small to medium businesses.

With it, businesses can compute commission based on revenue or profit as it will compute the profit-generated commission payment from the difference between cost and sales quantities.

No matter how complex your commission needs are, the feature-rich product can meet them. To meet the needs of the business, custom reports can be made.

Payees can also see all of their past and upcoming commission payment details on their dashboard.

Key features:

• Varied commissions
• Commission clawbacks and adjustment
• Commission criteria filtering
• Matix commission
• Future commission

Pros:

• Customization available with different parameters
• Great reporting and tracking features
• Unique way to collect and display data

Cons:

• Lacks connection to the CRM
• Also lacks gamification

Case studies:

Jud Whidden Consulting Inc reduce time spent on processing commission from 80% to 10%

Hayes Software Systems simplify commission payment process

Ratings:

• G2: 4.8 out of 5
• Capterra: Overall 4.9

In a Nutshell

Selecting the right sales compensation software is vital for small businesses to streamline compensations and drive performance.

Make use of these top tools mentioned above to empower your sales team and enhance profitability.

Don't wait to invest in sales compensation software and miss out on the opportunity to boost your sales strategy with these cutting-edge solutions.