How Commission Is Triggered in Pulse
What payment events create a commission record, how Pulse attributes a payment to a rep, what retainer commission means and how the cap works, and what a clawback is.
Pulse · 16 Jun 2026
Commission in Pulse fires automatically when a qualifying payment is recorded and a rep can be attributed to it. Understanding what triggers commission — and what does not — helps reps and admins avoid surprises at the end of the month.
What triggers a commission record
Three payment events create a commission entry:
- Online payment confirmed — when a client pays online and the payment is confirmed, Pulse records commission immediately for the attributed rep.
- Manual payment recorded — when an admin records an EFT, cash, or other offline payment against an invoice, commission fires at the time of recording.
- Manual attribution by admin — when an admin assigns a rep to an unattributed payment in the Unattributed tab, commission fires immediately using the original payment date, so it lands in the correct historical period.
How attribution works
For commission to record, the payment must be linked to a rep. Pulse finds the rep in this priority order:
- Direct assignment — the client has a rep directly assigned to their account.
- Lead chain — the client came from a lead that was assigned to a rep. The lead-to-client conversion stamps the rep's identity onto the client account.
- Invoice creator — if neither of the above applies and the person who created the invoice has commission access, they are used as the fallback.
- No match — if none of the above applies, the payment is unattributed. No commission is recorded until an admin manually assigns a rep.
This is why it matters to assign reps to leads before converting them to clients. The commission attribution trail flows from the lead assignment through the conversion to every future payment from that client.
One-off and retainer commission
Commission applies to both one-off and retainer payments. These appear as separate line items on the dashboard so admins and reps can see both streams clearly.
Retainer commission has a configurable cap. By default it applies for the first 6 months of payments from a given client — but an admin can change this number in Commission Settings (any value from 1 upward, or 0 for unlimited). After the cap period, additional retainer payments from that client no longer generate commission for the rep. The dashboard shows a month counter on each active retainer client — for example, "Month 3 of 6" — so reps can see where they stand. If the cap is set to unlimited, the counter shows "Month 3/∞".
Clawbacks
If a payment that already generated commission is refunded or reversed, Pulse creates a clawback entry — a negative commission record added to the rep's current open period. This reduces their commission total for the month and appears as a clearly labelled line item in the period breakdown.
Clawbacks are automatic. The rep and admin will both see the negative entry on the dashboard.
What does not generate commission
- Payments with no attributed rep — these sit in the Unattributed tab until assigned.
- Cancelled payment requests.
- Payments against a period that is already locked or paid — new events after locking do not retroactively affect the closed period.
Frequently asked questions
If I record a payment for a client but forget to assign a rep first, is commission lost?
Not permanently. The payment will appear in the Unattributed tab. An admin can assign the rep there, and commission will be recorded at that point using the original payment date.
Does commission apply to all invoice types?
Yes. Both one-off and retainer invoices generate commission when attributed and paid. Retainer commission is capped at the number of months configured in Commission Settings (default 6; set to 0 for unlimited).