Employer tool
Sales compensation planner
Split a package into base and variable, see what it actually pays when quota is missed, and work through the plan design questions candidates will ask. Your figures, your arithmetic — no market ranges we cannot attribute.
How this behaves
- Works on figures you type, in this browser only.
- No estimated market rates, ever.
- Out-of-date data is withheld, not left standing.
- Examples are labelled as examples.
Splitter
What does this package really pay?
Two packages with the same OTE can be very different jobs. The split describes how much risk the person carries, and attainment decides what they take home.
Nothing calculated yet
Type two of the three figures and this panel shows the split, what the package pays at 50%, 70%, 100%, 120% of quota, and what is worth checking before you advertise it.
Market data
Where the numbers would go
This is the part most salary pages get wrong. Here is the standard a figure has to meet before it appears, and what we currently hold.
When we publish a pay figure
We would rather show you nothing than show you a number we cannot attribute. A market range only appears on this site when all of the following are true.
- A named publisher and a working URL for every range.
- The date the figure was read, shown beside the figure rather than in a footnote.
- Base and OTE stated separately, never blended into one number.
- A sample description: how many roles the range covers, and over what period.
- Coverage split by region, company stage and segment rather than one national figure.
- A re-check inside the six-month refresh window, or the figure is removed rather than left standing.
Base and OTE ranges by role and region
Gated by source, review date, confidence and refresh window. Anything that fails the gate is shown as withheld with the reason, rather than published as a market figure.
We do not currently publish market pay ranges, because we do not hold data we can attribute per role, region and segment.
The structure of this section is fixed, so sourced ranges can be added later without the page being rewritten. Until then, use the splitter and the plan questions on this page, or ask us — we will tell you plainly where our evidence is thin.
Plan design
Twelve questions behind a plan you can defend
Most compensation disputes are not about the headline number. They are about a rule nobody agreed in writing.
Quota
Has anyone in the business ever produced the number this quota assumes?
If nobody has, the OTE is a forecast no one has met, and the package will be renegotiated in month six.
Attainment
What share of the team reached 100% of quota last year, and what did the rest earn?
Attainment distribution is the only honest test of whether an OTE is real.
Risk
How much of the pipeline does this seat create itself?
The more of the outcome the person controls, the more variable pay can defensibly carry.
Payment trigger
Is commission earned on signature, on invoice, or on cash collection?
With long payment terms the same plan produces very different earnings in the same year.
Ramp
What is paid during ramp, for how long, and is any guarantee repayable?
Long cycles mean a good hire can earn almost nothing in a good first two quarters.
Caps and accelerators
Where does the accelerator start, and is anything capped?
Thresholds create timing behaviour at both ends of the year, so deal-timing rules need stating.
Clawback
Which events trigger clawback, and over what window?
Clawback terms discovered after offer are one of the most common reasons a good candidate walks.
Leavers
What happens to deals that close after notice is given?
Paid, pro-rated or forfeited is a material term, and silence reads as forfeited.
Change rights
Can the plan be rewritten mid-year, and with what notice?
An unlimited change right undermines every other number in the plan.
Affordability
What share of gross margin does this package consume at target, and at strong over-performance?
A plan that is unaffordable at over-performance will be cut exactly when it is working.
Fairness
Would you be comfortable if every member of the team saw this plan side by side?
Plans that only work while they are private tend to leak, then cost more to fix than to have done properly.
The advert
Are you publishing base and OTE, with the split?
Withholding the base does not widen the pool, it moves the rejection to the end of the process.
Common questions
What this tool will and will not do
Does this tool tell me the market rate for a sales role?
No. It splits figures you enter and shows what your own package pays at different quota attainment. We publish a market range only when it carries a named publisher, a URL, the date it was read, an internal review date and a confidence state we can defend — and we currently hold no such dataset per role, region and segment.
Why do you show empty sections instead of estimated salary ranges?
An unsourced pay figure is worse than no figure, because it gets quoted back in offers and negotiations. The structure of the data sections is fixed so sourced ranges can be added later, and until then the page says plainly what is outstanding.
What happens to a figure that goes out of date?
Every figure carries a refresh window. Once the source read or the internal review passes that window, the figure is withheld with the reason shown rather than left standing as if it were current.
How is the split calculated?
Enter any two of OTE, base and variable and the third is derived. Payout is modelled as a straight line against quota, which is deliberately simple: real plans add thresholds, accelerators, caps and payment triggers, and the plan questions on this page cover those.
Do my figures reach Adroit?
No. The calculator runs in your browser and nothing is stored or sent. If you want a second opinion on a package, tell us in a conversation instead.
Next
Read the structure, then design the plan
The explanatory pages cover OTE, base versus variable and the common commission structures in full.
Not sure the package will land?
Tell us the role, the location and the plan you are considering. We will tell you what we are seeing in live searches, and where we are unsure.