Pay Check
What does this plan actually pay?
Put in your base, your variable and how the plan pays above 100%. See what you make at 50% to 200% of quota.
Put in your base, your variable and how the plan pays above 100%. See what you make at 50% to 200% of quota.
OTE is what you make if you hit 100%. The rows above and below it are what you make in a real year.
Below 100%, most plans pay your variable in a straight line: 75% of quota pays 75% of your variable. Some plans pay nothing below a threshold, often 50%, so a bad year can take the whole variable.
Above 100%, an accelerator raises your rate. A 1.5× accelerator pays 150% of your normal rate on everything past the point where it starts. That's where good years make real money.
A cap stops it. If variable is capped at 150% of target, nothing past that pays, however big the year. A plan that sounds exciting can pay very little above quota once the cap and the starting point are in.
Plan your budget on the 75% and 100% rows. Bridge Group's 2026 study found 48% of AEs hit quota, so the accelerator rows are the good years, not the average one.
The math above is what the plan pays. Most comp plan problems aren't in the rate, though. They're in the parts nobody explains until a big deal closes. Ask your manager these now, while nothing is riding on the answer.
If the crediting rules aren't written down, you find out what they are after the fact. Ask: "Who gets credit when a partner, the marketplace or another rep is on the deal, and where is that written?"
Some plans pay the next month, some quarterly, and some hold part of it until the customer pays. Ask: "When does commission on a deal I close this month actually hit my paycheck?"
An accelerator is only worth something if the plan lets you keep it. The rows above at 125% and 150% show what yours does. Ask: "What happens to my rate above 100%, and is there a cap anywhere in the plan?"
A customer who cancels in the first 90 days is a common trigger. An open-ended clawback is a red flag. Ask: "What can be clawed back, for how long, and why?"
You want changes to apply going forward, and a territory change to come with a quota change. Ask: "If my territory or quota changes mid-year, what happens to deals I already worked?"
None of this is legal advice. For your rights under the plan or employment law, talk to HR or an employment attorney. How to read a comp plan, in Field Notes →
This used to be Comp Plan Check. Old links land here.
I spent six years leading federal partner sales teams at Amazon, after plenty of years carrying a number myself. QuotaBird is mostly stuff I wish we'd had back then. Most of it's free. If the problem's messier than a little tool can handle, we can talk it through.