Worked example
A $120,000 deal paid at 10%, split 50% to the account executive, 30% to a solutions engineer and 20% to a partner manager.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Deal amount | $120,000.00 |
| Commission rate | 10% |
| Participant 1 share | 50% |
| Participant 2 share | 30% |
| Participant 3 share | 20% |
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Total commission on the deal | $12,000.00 |
| Participant 1 payout | $6,000.00 |
| Participant 2 payout | $3,600.00 |
| Participant 3 payout | $2,400.00 |
| Participant 4 payout | $0.00 |
| Share allocated | 100% |
| Unallocated commission | $0.00 |
- Deal amount × commission rate: $12,000.00
- Participant 1: pool × 50%: $6,000.00
- Participant 2: pool × 30%: $3,600.00
- Participant 3: pool × 20%: $2,400.00
- Shares allocated: 100%
- Unallocated commission: $0.00
How a commission split is calculated
Commission pool = deal amount × commission rate
Participant payout = commission pool × participant share
Unallocated = commission pool × (100% − sum of shares)
This calculator splits the commission dollars. Many plans split the credit instead: each rep gets a share of the deal amount credited toward their own quota and paid at their own rate, possibly with their own accelerators. If your participants have different rates, run each one through the commission calculator with their credited share.
Rules worth writing down before a deal closes
- Who decides the split, and when — before the opportunity is worked, not after the check arrives.
- Whether shares must add up to exactly 100% or may exceed it (“double crediting”, where each participant is credited in full and the company pays more than one commission).
- What happens to an unallocated remainder: kept by the company, given to the owner, or pooled.
- Whether a later clawback is split in the same proportions as the original payout.
This calculator rejects shares above 100% because double crediting is a different mechanism: it is several full commissions, not a split. Model it by running each rep separately.
Limitations
- One flat rate for everyone. Different rates per role require separate calculations.
- No rounding to cents is applied; your payroll system decides how fractions of a cent are handled.
- We do not publish “standard” split percentages: we have no sourced data, and the right split depends on who did the work.
Frequently asked questions
How do you split commission between two salespeople?
Compute the commission on the full deal, then multiply it by each person’s agreed share. With $12,000 of commission and a 60/40 split, one rep receives $7,200 and the other $4,800.
What if the shares add up to less than 100%?
The calculator shows the remainder as unallocated rather than guessing who should receive it. Your plan document should say where it goes.
Is a split the same as a manager override?
No. A split divides one commission between contributors; an override is an extra payment to a manager on top of the rep’s full commission.
Do splits apply to clawbacks too?
Usually the same proportions are reversed, but that is a plan rule, not a law of arithmetic. The [commission clawback calculator](route:commissionClawbackCalculator) shows the amount at stake for one payout.