Worked example
Three reps with a $100,000 quota finish at 50%, 100% and 150%. Plan A pays a flat 10%. Plan B pays 8% up to quota and 15% above it.
| Rep | Attainment | Plan A | Plan B | B − A |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| rep-1 | 50% | $5,000.00 | $4,000.00 | -$1,000.00 |
| rep-2 | 100% | $10,000.00 | $8,000.00 | -$2,000.00 |
| rep-3 | 150% | $15,000.00 | $15,500.00 | $500.00 |
| Total | $30,000.00 | $27,500.00 |
Plan B costs less overall (cost of sales 9.17% vs 10%) but pays the top performer more: 1 rep gains, 2 lose. Whether that is the right trade-off depends on who you need to retain — which is exactly what the simulator is for.
How the simulation works
- Draw a team. Attainment is sampled from a bell curve (average and spread), an even spread, or your own list. A seed makes the draw repeatable; “Draw a new team” changes it.
- Revenue per rep = quota × attainment, rounded to cents.
- Pay every rep under both plans with the same calculation engine as the commission calculator.
- Compare: totals, cost of sales (total payout ÷ total revenue), median and range, and the per-rep difference B − A.
- Sensitivity: the same team with average attainment shifted by ±10 and ±20 points, to show how each plan's cost reacts to a strong or weak year.
Limitations
- Synthetic data: one revenue figure per rep per period. Deal timing, splits and clawbacks are not simulated.
- A bell curve is a modelling assumption, not a benchmark. If you know your team's real attainment, enter it as a list.
- Attainment does not react to the plan here. In reality, incentives change behaviour — treat results as a cost model, not a forecast.
- Nothing you type is uploaded: the simulation runs in your browser.