leaving company - commission question

put in my notice today after closing the biggest deal of the q in my segment on wednesday. first thing out of my managers mouth when i tell her is "well hey at least you get some more money in your pocket on the way out" ,, after she says that i bring up that she'll see an ask for written confirmation that i'll be paid out on the deal when their first invoice processes in my resignation letter and she gets shaky.


pings me an hour later that she talked to finance, turns out she didn't know what was in our fucking commission plans and tells me "employee needs to be employed / in good standing at the time of invoice payment for commission to be owed" (yes i was aware of the clause hence my strategy here) and i point out a different clause that counteracts that by saying clawbacks are only enacted if the customer cancels for x reason or if the employee is terminated. the executed contract also says "subscription start: on signature" which would run counter this imo since they've already received request for invoice.


when i told her "ya, but you said x" she had her foot in her mouth.


let's keep in mind i led my team this year and there's already been an exodus (series c startup balooning on major ent implementations and not getting any mm product deadlines hit, they really shouldn't be treating sellers like this on the way out).


anyway - i have time monday with my finance head to plead the case.


2?s off this :


is what i've described industry standard for anyone? in my six years of saas experience it's ALWAYS been that payment processes for everything you CLOSED while employed by the company, when the customer pays invoice, regardless of if you're still there.


what should my strategy be going into monday? do i play the "you shouldn't treat sellers like this on the way out card" or something else?


happy EOY folks

๐Ÿฐ War Stories
๐Ÿ‘‘ Sales Strategy
15
CuriousFox
WR Officer
12
๐ŸฆŠ
This is not going to turn out in your favor. Probably should have waited if the commish is that nice.
southernfriedsales
Opinionated
1
Senior AE & Business Owner
Hard lesson to learn but @CuriousFox is right. Hopefully you saved your initial job offer/commission plan. But you deff signed something forfeiting any rights to payouts if leavingโ€ฆ.
stevetidal
Personal Narrative
0
CEO
agreed.ย  Sucks, but it's true.ย  Always wait for the check.ย  I've left over $200,000 over my career on the table.ย 
southernfriedsales
Opinionated
0
Senior AE & Business Owner
This.
paddy
WR Officer
9
Director of Business Development
Idk the legality here as it probably varies by state...but bruh don't ever leave somewhere until you get your money and you could've avoided this entire mess
avocadobegood
Valued Contributor
0
MM Account Executive
When itโ€™s time to go itโ€™s time to go.
southernfriedsales
Opinionated
0
Senior AE & Business Owner
@avocadobegood I agree. Iโ€™ve left thousands on the table. Gotta do whatโ€™s best for you
braintank
Politicker
6
Enterprise Account Executive
"employee needs to be employed / in good standing at the time of invoice payment for commission to be owed"

You'll be gone by the time they pay the invoice.ย 

This isn't a clawback since you haven't been paid.
avocadobegood
Valued Contributor
1
MM Account Executive
Ya thanks I understand that what I was asking was if anyones heard of a clause like that before / what grounds they have to actually do it since the signed contract says subscription starts upon signing.
braintank
Politicker
2
Enterprise Account Executive
The customers subscription starts on signature, but that's separate from when you get paid.ย 

Some firms pay on signature, but it sounds like your former one pays you upon payment by client. Not uncommon (see this war room poll:ย  https://bravado.co/war-room/posts/when-are-you-paid-commission).

Don't want to be a downer but you're asking the company to change comp plan to accommodate you leaving. If I'm their CFO it's gonna be a no from me.
avocadobegood
Valued Contributor
1
MM Account Executive
Yes again understanding that sub start and invoice payment are different things.
My ask is on what planet is it common place for a rep who sells a deal while employed by the company to void the comp payment if they leave prior to the invoice either processing or the selling firm doing the monthly books, as all three SaaS firms Iโ€™ve sold for previously honored the payment when the invoice processed so long as the rep closed the deal while still at the company.
Please re paste the poll of you can the link is broken Iโ€™d be curious to see where fuck any of the above is industry standard.
Yes, I was aware of the clause and have heard different/inconsistent stories about when itโ€™s enacted.
Sunbunny31
Arsonist
2
Sr Sales Executive ๐Ÿฐ
https://bravado.co/war-room/posts/when-are-you-paid-commission

The link picked up the ) and the . in the original posting by braintank.ย ย 
sketchysales
Politicker
2
Sales Manager
It kind of reads that you would like the commish but your life doesnt depend on it (i.e. its not a huge amount) otherwise surely you would have waited until you had it paid out?ย  Then again i guess you could have other factors in play such as needing to start at a new job by a certain date etc.ย  Eitherway i think you are stuffed as to this commission, any business is going to squeeze out of paying money they are not legally obliged to pay.ย  The right thing of course would be for them to pay but it dont always work like that unfortunately.ย 
papaganoush
Opinionated
1
Onboarding Coach
On Monday, walk in - and if her name is Faith, say this in Mike Tyson voice:
**Gimme my money, or Iโ€™ll drag my balls across your faith (red. face)**
In all seriousness: They need to suck it - and pay up.
1nbatopshotfan
Politicker
1
Sales
In my opinion the industry standard is whatever is written in the plan. Make sure you 100000% know your plan by Monday. Talk to a lawyer if you can before hand to prep.ย 
avocadobegood
Valued Contributor
0
MM Account Executive
Interesting. Agreed on lawyer.
Ya i know the plan back to front and did going into the initial conversation mentioned in OP (I didnโ€™t highlight that well enough so my b).
Just feels fucked up man. Date of departure language runs counter as does the subscription starting on sig.
RZA
Good Citizen
1
Strategic Account Director
Usually itโ€™s in the seller contract that you have to be employed still on the date of the final commission cheque. If you leave anytime before that commission run, you likely wonโ€™t get paid.
Salesup
Valued Contributor
1
Sales Executive
I have definitely been here before.ย  I would recommend writing a respectful email requesting the commission if it's PIF by a certain date and emphasizing you're able to influence when the payment is received.ย 
avocadobegood
Valued Contributor
0
MM Account Executive
Thanks. This is what I was looking for / the route I ultimately took. Went into my meeting with finance Monday and was basically immediately told that โ€œyour reading of the commission plan is correct and youโ€™ve earned the full payout / accelerators / kicker, will be paid out EOMโ€
Couldnโ€™t get it in my separation letter but have multiple screenshots of that promise in writing on slack. Now we wait.
goose
Politicker
1
Sales Executive
Very few companies pay commission to sales people that are no longer employed by the company.ย  I've seen it once.ย  I worked for a small company (less than 10 employees) and my CEO cut me a check for $3,000 more than 6 months after I left.ย  I believe he did it to be kind since I closed a nice deal for him.ย  I didn't expect a penny.

I'm pretty sure you are out of luck since you resigned too early.ย  But, I am also pretty sure you knew that.
RevenueArchitect
Executive
0
EVP Revenue
Your commission agreement should explain clearly when commission earned - is it when the deal is booked (crm), when client is invoiced, when invoice is paid or other?ย 

When you leave, you are entitled to be paid out on commissions earned (based on official definition) prior to the end of your employment.
thebuckhunter
Politicker
0
AE
Tell them you will choose to remain employed until the commission is paid out - full paychecks and all. Don't show up for work, don't dial the phones, nothing. Then they fire you and you are still entitled to your commission.ย 
braintank
Politicker
0
Enterprise Account Executive
LoL i don't think you've thought this through ;)
thebuckhunter
Politicker
0
AE
Look, giving notice is something that only benefits the employer
Upper_Class_SaaS
Politicker
0
Account Executive
Yea I would have waited it out... don't like leaving money on the table