How is commission above target worked out?
A fee on the part above target is worked out month by month. A month below its target bills nothing and nothing carries to the next month.
3 min readUpdated 7 October 2026
Some contracts charge commission only on the sales above a target. Fabrik Analytics works this out one month at a time: each month is compared with that month's own target, and nothing is carried between months.
The rule
For each calendar month:
fee = rate x (the month's actual minus the month's target), if the actual is above the target.
- A month above its target: the rate applies to the part above.
- A month below its target: the fee is nothing. No shortfall, credit or "already invoiced" amount is carried to the next month.
- A month with no target: the fee is nothing.
- A portfolio contract adds its brands together, and their targets together, then applies the same rule.
Before you start
- You need agency finance access to set contracts and see commission (by default the owner, directors and the CFO).
- The client needs a monthly target for the figure you charge on, set in the client's Trading, Targets.
- The contract needs Commission set to A rate, with On set to The part above target, and a From month. See Set up a client contract.
- Above-target fees work with a single rate, not with bands, and the contract's invoice currency must be the brand's reporting currency.
Worked example
Fellwick's contract charges 5% of Net Sales above target. These figures are made up:
| Month | Target | Actual | Above target | Fee at 5% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | 100,000 | 120,000 | 20,000 | 1,000 |
| November | 110,000 | 95,000 | 0 | 0 |
| December | 150,000 | 180,000 | 30,000 | 1,500 |
- October beat its target by 20,000, so the fee is 5% of 20,000: 1,000.
- November missed its target by 15,000. The fee is nothing, and the 15,000 shortfall is not carried forward.
- December beat its target by 30,000. The fee is 5% of 30,000: 1,500. It is not reduced by November's miss.
Over the quarter the fees total 2,500. They are never worked out on the quarter as a whole.
Step by step: check a month
- Open the client. Under Account, choose Commissions.
- The tiles show Last month, Three-month average, Year to date and Lifetime.
- In Commission by month, each row shows the month, the charged figure, Commission, Retainer, Total, change and Status.
- Open a month to see How the commission was worked out: "{figure} this month", "Target this month", "Above target" and "{rate}% of that".
What you will see in the contract
While you edit a contract, the preview shows this month's projected figure, the month's target and the part above it. It reads "{rate}% of the part above the month's target. A month below target bills nothing and is not carried." If the month has no target it says "This month has no target, so it adds nothing."
Troubleshooting
- Commission is 0 in a month you expected a fee: check the month's target in Trading, Targets and the contract's From month.
- "No contracts for this brand": create a contract first under Account, Contracts.
- "Totals leave some months out": some months could not be read or are in another currency. The table still shows each month.
- Invoice wording: commission invoices are raised the month after, from final figures. See Raise commission invoices through Zoho Books.