If your job involves paying out commissions—whether you’re in RevOps, finance, or sales ops—you know that commission adjustments can be a nightmare. Changes come in last minute. Reps question their payouts. Everyone wants transparency, but nobody has time to dig through messy spreadsheets. If you’re using Captivateiq to manage commissions, you’ve already got some tools to make tracking and auditing adjustments easier. The trick is knowing how to use them without getting lost in the weeds.
Below, I’ll walk through how to actually track and audit commission adjustments in Captivateiq. I’ll skip the marketing fluff and give you the blunt truth about what works, what’s annoying, and what to watch out for.
Step 1: Understand What Counts as a Commission Adjustment
Before you start, get clear on what an “adjustment” means in your world. In Captivateiq, a commission adjustment generally means any manual change to a rep’s calculated commission—positive or negative. This could be:
- Corrections (fixing errors or missing data)
- Clawbacks (reversing commissions for churned deals)
- Bonuses or spiffs added after the fact
- Overrides for special cases (like manager overrides)
- Exceptions due to policy or contract changes
Pro Tip: Write down your adjustment types and who is allowed to make them. This helps later when you need to explain why something happened.
Step 2: Set Up a Consistent Adjustment Process in Captivateiq
Don’t just let anyone make changes willy-nilly. Captivateiq gives you a few ways to handle adjustments, but it’s only as organized as you are.
Use the Adjustments Feature
Captivateiq has a built-in “Adjustments” feature. The basics:
- Where: Usually found in the plan designer or when reviewing individual payee statements.
- How: You add a new adjustment, pick the type, enter an amount, and (here’s the important part) add a reason or note.
What Works:
- All adjustments are logged in one place.
- Notes let you track the “why” behind a change.
- You can pull reports on adjustments later.
What Doesn’t:
- If your team skips the notes or uses vague reasons (“correction”), you’ll still be lost during audits.
- No approval workflow built into adjustments by default—you’ll need to manage that separately.
Build an Approval Workflow (Even if It’s Manual)
Unless you’re a tiny team, let’s be honest: someone will make a mistake. You need a check before changes go live.
- Option 1: Use Captivateiq’s native approval steps within calculation plans, if your plan supports them.
- Option 2: If not, keep a shared doc or Slack channel where all adjustment requests get posted and approved before they’re made.
- Option 3: For big teams, consider using Captivateiq’s “Request” features for more formal change requests.
Ignore: “We’ll just remember to double-check later.” You won’t.
Step 3: Document Every Adjustment—Every Time
This step sounds obvious, but it’s where most teams fall down.
- Always fill out the notes field. Be specific: “Clawback for ACME Corp churn, deal originally paid March 2024,” not just “correction.”
- Attach support if possible. Captivateiq lets you upload files or link to relevant docs (contracts, emails, etc.). Use it.
- Set a naming convention. If you’re tracking adjustments by type (Clawback, Bonus, Error Correction), make sure everyone uses the same language.
Pro Tip: Make adjustment documentation part of your payout checklist. No note = no adjustment.
Step 4: Use Reports to Track Adjustments Over Time
Captivateiq’s reporting is decent, but it’s not magic. Here’s how to get the most out of it:
Run Adjustment Reports Regularly
- Navigate to Reports: Look for reports or dashboards related to “Adjustments” or “Manual Changes.”
- Filter by Date, Rep, or Type: This helps you see if a particular manager is making lots of last-minute changes, or if there’s a recurring error in a specific plan.
- Export to CSV: For any real audit, you’ll want to pull this data out and slice it your way (Excel, Google Sheets, whatever you like).
What to Watch Out For
- Bulk Adjustments: If you see a bunch of adjustments at once, dig in. It could be a sign of a broken process upstream.
- Repeat Offenders: Some reps or teams may always need corrections. Why?
- Adjustment Volume: If adjustments are more than a few percent of your total payouts, something’s off.
Ignore: The urge to only look at numbers. Read the notes, too. They’ll tell you what’s really going on.
Step 5: Audit the Adjustment History Before Each Payout
Don’t wait for someone to scream before you review changes. Build a quick audit into your monthly payout process:
- Pull the latest adjustment report.
- Spot-check a few entries for each manager or team.
- Check that every adjustment has a detailed note and supporting evidence.
- Flag anything that’s unclear or seems fishy.
- Confirm that approvals (however you track them) match up with the changes made.
Honest Take: This step is nobody’s favorite, but it will save you headaches (and angry reps) later.
Step 6: Close the Loop—Communicate Adjustments to Reps
This is where a lot of teams drop the ball. Reps hate surprises, especially when it comes to money. Captivateiq lets you show adjustment details on payee statements, but only if you set it up right.
- Enable Adjustment Visibility: Make sure reps can see what changed, why, and who made the change.
- Include Notes: The more detail, the fewer angry emails you’ll get.
- Be Consistent: Always notify reps of any negative adjustments before the payout lands.
Pro Tip: A quick, honest message (“We had to claw back $X for Deal Y which churned—see your statement for details”) goes a long way.
Step 7: Learn from Your Data—Don’t Just File It Away
Once you’ve gone through a few cycles, look back at your adjustment history. What’s the pattern?
- Frequent error corrections? Time to fix your upstream data.
- Lots of one-off bonuses? Maybe your comp plan is too rigid.
- Regular clawbacks? Sales is probably over-forecasting, or you’re paying out too early.
Don’t just track adjustments to cover yourself—use the info to make your process better.
What Captivateiq Does Well (and Where It’s Lacking)
The Good:
- Centralizes all adjustments and documentation.
- Lets you export everything for audits.
- Makes it easy to show reps what changed (if you set it up).
The Not-So-Good:
- No built-in approval workflow for adjustments—requires extra manual steps.
- If you skip notes, audit trails get pretty useless.
- Reporting is solid, but don’t expect analytics magic. You’ll still need Excel for deep dives.
Keep It Simple, Stay Sane
Tracking and auditing commission adjustments isn’t glamorous, but it’s a lifesaver when questions come up. Use Captivateiq’s tools, but don’t expect them to replace common sense or a good checklist. Make sure every adjustment is documented, approved, and communicated. Review your process every few months—tweak what’s not working, and don’t be afraid to keep things low-tech if that’s what keeps you organized.
Most importantly: Don’t let the “audit” part scare you. Done right, it’s just a habit—and it keeps everyone honest.