Apply / Commission Structures / Acceleration & Caps
Capped Commission
A maximum on commissionable earnings - controversial but sometimes necessary.
Acceleration & Caps
Intermediate
How it works
A hard ceiling on commission earnings, attainment, or per-deal payouts. Common in finance/insurance, rare in modern SaaS. Caps reduce variable expense but consistently demotivate top performers - once a rep hits cap, productivity drops sharply for the remainder of the period. Most modern plans use windfall language for genuinely outsized deals rather than blanket caps.
Formula
Commission = min(cap, computed_commission)
Worked example
Example. Plan caps at 200% attainment. A rep at 250% attainment earns the same as a rep at 200%.
Pros & cons
Pros
- Predictable maximum cost
- Useful in regulated/insurance contexts
- Protects against windfall payouts
Cons
- Demotivating to top performers
- Drives rep churn at the top of the team
- Rep behavior shifts to deal-pacing rather than production
Best for
- Regulated insurance plans
- Legacy plans being phased out
- Specific deal-size carve-outs only