Create Payout Rules in Salesforce Spiff

Learning Objectives

After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:

• Identify components of compensation plans.
  
• Create payout rules.
  
• Use worksheets and datasheets.
  
• Explore additional rule options.
  

Introduction to Salesforce Spiff

Salesforce Spiff is a leading sales compensation software that automates and simplifies the process of calculating and managing sales commissions. Using Salesforce Spiff, your organization can ensure accurate, timely, and transparent commission payments, motivating sales teams and driving performance.

As a Salesforce Spiff admin, once you have the components of your compensation plan identified, you spend the bulk of your time in Spiff creating payout rules. Get familiar with each of the areas where you can create payout rules. Think of the Payout Rules area as the engine room of Spiff Designer. It’s where you create formulas, calculations, and tables that make your plans run. It’s one of the more complex parts of Designer, so let’s take a closer look at the key features.

Create a Payout Rule in Designer

When you select a plan on the left sidebar, you see an overview of its corresponding payout rules—including the Payout Rule Name, Payout Amount, and the Effective As Of and Until dates. The Payout Rule Total displays a sum of all the payout rules that are not What-If? or Ghost Rules listed for the rep in the period.

What-If? Rules display potential payouts, and Ghost Rules are only visible to certain roles. You learn about them in more detail in the next unit.

To add a new payout rule to this page:

1. Click + New Payout Rule.
   
2. Provide a name for the rule, and specify the field that contains the commission calculation.
   
3. Optionally, set the Effective As Of or Until dates. These dates determine when a rule is visible and pay commission to reps on the assigned plan.
   

Then, continue on to assign a payout amount to the rule.

Assign a Payout Amount to a Payout Rule

Depending on the requirements of the payout rule, you need to create a datasheet or worksheet to perform the calculations. In the Payout Amount field, select a commission calculation from any datasheet or worksheet. For the payout amount to show, you may need to refresh your screen. After clicking the Payout Amount, you are directed to the corresponding datasheet or worksheet with the calculations used to determine the payout amount. This is where you can review all of the calculations involved in the final payout amount calculation.

Datasheets

A datasheet allows you to select a data filter and facilitates line-by-line calculations. You can create a datasheet at the top-level, or within a plan or folder.

To create a datasheet within a specific location:

1. Click the three dots next to the desired location and select New Datasheet from the menu.
   
2. Then select an object and data filter on the right sidebar.
   
3. Once you select the object and data filter, you can add fields and calculations for your payout rule.
   

Worksheets

A worksheet is a spreadsheet that allows you to create lump-sum calculations. You can create a worksheet at the top-level, or within a plan or folder.

To create a worksheet within a specific location:

1. Click on the three dots next to the desired location and select New Worksheet from the menu.
   
2. Open a blank spreadsheet where you can create lump-sum calculations for your payout rule.
   

Create a Rule and Assign a Payout Amount Field Simultaneously

For convenience, you can also create a payout rule from a datasheet or worksheet field, which automatically assigns that field as the payout amount.

To create a payout rule from a datasheet:

1. Highlight the field you want to use as the payout amount in your new payout rule.
   
2. In the right panel, go to PAYOUT RULE | Create Payout Rule.
   
3. Set the Payout Rule Name and which plan it belongs to.
   
4. Select the effective dates.
   
5. Select the What-If? or Ghost Rule status.
   
6. Click Create.
   

The new rule appears in the payout rules of the assigned plan. The same steps apply to creating a payout rule from a worksheet calculation. Highlight the calculation and use the right sidebar menu to create your payout rule, assigning the highlighted calculation.

Delete Payout Rules

You can delete payout rules, but keep in mind that deleting a payout rule only removes it from the plan itself. To delete a payout rule, select the one that you want to delete and click Delete. The elements associated with the payout rule, such as worksheets, datasheets, and other calculations, aren’t deleted from the left sidebar. Make sure you delete variables associated with the payout rule separately, if necessary. Typically, individual variables created for payout rules can be used again in a new rule. However, if you determine that the variable has been created incorrectly, you may wish to start over by deleting it instead of editing to achieve the desired result.

You can also delete the payout rule from the field used as the payout amount on the associated datasheet or worksheet.

1. Highlight the appropriate field, and open the menu next to the field name under PAYOUT RULE.
   
2. Select the option for Delete Payout Rule.
   
3. If a rule is used on multiple plans, right-click the rule number from the plan screen to get the option to Remove From Plan. This removes the rule from your current plan without affecting any other plans that use this rule.
   

Use caution when deleting a rule used on multiple plans, since deleting a rule on one plan deletes it from all plans it’s been assigned to.

You can also remove a rule from a plan from the payout amount field’s location in the associated datasheet or worksheet. Access these options in the right panel under PAYOUT RULE.

Now that you built a payout rule, in the next unit you learn about some other rule options that you may need to use.