HVAC
HVAC Commission Calculator
Work out what a commission structure pays out and what it leaves once the job's own costs are counted.
Result
Paying on revenue rewards volume and quietly rewards discounting; paying on gross profit rewards the jobs that actually earn. The choice changes behaviour more than the rate does.
Get a Free Business AuditWhat moves the number
- Whether commission is on revenue or on gross profit, which changes behaviour completely.
- The rate, and whether it tiers with performance.
- Whether discounts given reduce the commission, which decides who carries the cost of discounting.
Where this one goes wrong
Paying commission on revenue. It rewards volume regardless of margin and makes discounting free for the salesperson while costing the business, which is exactly the wrong incentive.
Questions
About this calculator
Should commission be on revenue or profit?
Gross profit aligns the salesperson with the business. Revenue commission pays the same on a discounted job as on a full price one, so the discount costs the company alone.
Should technicians be commissioned?
It raises sales and it raises the risk of unnecessary work being recommended, which is a reputational exposure. If used, it needs oversight on what is being sold and why.
How do discounts interact with commission?
If commission is on gross profit, a discount automatically reduces it and the incentive self-corrects. On revenue it does not, which is the main argument for profit-based structures.
The formula
commission = (revenue or gross profit) x rate
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How to use this calculator
- Sales in the period ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $42,000.
- Cost of that work ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $24,000.
- Commission is paid on. Enter your own figure; the page starts at Gross profit.
- Commission rate (%). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 10%.
- Base pay for the period ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $2,600.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to commission earned, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Sales in the period | $42,000 |
| Cost of that work | $24,000 |
| Commission is paid on | Gross profit |
| Commission rate | 10% |
| Base pay for the period | $2,600 |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Commission earned main result | $1,800 |
| Total pay | $4,400 |
| Gross profit on the work | $18,000 |
| Left to the business | $13,600 |
| Pay as a share of sales | 10.5% |
Commission of $1,800 plus base pay makes $4,400, leaving $13,600 of the gross profit for the business.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only sales in the period, this is what happens to commission earned. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Sales in the period ($) | Commission earned |
|---|---|
| $21,000 | -$300 |
| $31,500 | $750 |
| $42,000 example above | $1,800 |
| $63,000 | $3,900 |
| $84,000 | $6,000 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Sales in the period ($)
- A money amount, starting at $42,000.
- Cost of that work ($)
- A money amount, starting at $24,000.
- Commission is paid on
- Choose from Revenue, Gross profit.
- Commission rate (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 60, starting at 10%.
- Base pay for the period ($)
- A money amount, starting at $2,600.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Commission earned | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Total pay | A money figure. |
| Gross profit on the work | A money figure. |
| Left to the business | A money figure. |
| Pay as a share of sales | A percentage. |
Before you rely on this number
Sizing, capacity and load figures here are planning estimates. A real installation depends on the manufacturer's data for the specific equipment, the duct system it is going into, and a proper load calculation for the building. Use this to sanity-check a number or price a job, not to select equipment.
Estimating is the easy part
The jobs you never hear about cost more than the ones you mis-measure. BDEVY builds the marketing, systems and automation that bring them in.