Xactly : What is Draw Against Commission?

'Welcome to the company. While you are getting ramped up on the products and services, we will pay you a draw against your commission.' Why? Because research shows that it takes an average of 9.1 months for a sales rep to become fully productive.

During a sales rep's training time, the draw against commission (also called a guarantee) is often offered to offset the lack of incentive payments in the rep's earnings. This draw is paid with every check, and when the commissionable event occurs, those payments are then subtracted from the commission check.

This is done in place of having a rep earn a salary and the periodic huge payout, smoothing out the sales rep's earnings when revenue spikes due to seasonality, corporate fiscal cycles, government buying periods, etc.

Types of Draws

New Hire Draw
These are designed to provide the sales rep with sustainable earnings during their training and ramp-up period. The New Hire Draw also shows the sales rep that the company has confidence in both the sales rep's abilities and the value of the opportunities in the territory that the sales rep will own. The company would not be paying a draw if they did not think that they would get a return on their investment.

Recoverable Draw
A Recoverable Draw is one that is paid, but the company will recover the draw payments from earned commissions over time. In cases where the sales rep leaves before all draw payments have been recovered, it can be difficult to collect the funds depending on national or local laws. Most companies choose to forgive the 'loan' in these situations.

Non-Recoverable Draw
Most New Hire Draws are non-recoverable. The draw payment is made to the sales rep and is not treated as a loan requiring re-payment. This is the most common for new hires, and being on a non-recoverable draw typically impacts any commissions that can be earned. It can also be combined with the Draw Against Commissions in a given period, with the stipulation that if the commissions are less than the draw, there is no payment made - but there also is not any debt to pay back or accrue.

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