Sales commission table Excel template 2026: ready-to-use formulas

If you are designing the 2026 commission plan and don't want to start with a blank sheet, this template will save you several nights. It is built for sales teams at SMBs and mid-sized companies in LATAM, with the columns you'll need and the formulas already in place for the three most-used commission models: flat, tiered, and accelerator.

Instead of starting from scratch (and copying formulas from some forum, risking they don't add up), you download the template, change your team's amounts, and in 15 minutes you have the monthly calculation. Then, as the plan starts to grow, you decide whether to stay on Excel or move to software that handles it on its own.

What the template includes

The template has a single sheet with the columns you will actually use when closing the month. Nothing decorative, no "space for notes nobody fills in":

• Salesperson — Rep's name. Unique identification per row.
• Month — Calculation period. Separates monthly closings.
• Target — Period goal (in $ or units). Baseline for the calculation.
• Achieved — Actual sales for the period. Input from payroll or CRM.
• % achievement — Achieved / Target × 100. Automatic formula.
• Commission base — Amount the % is calculated on. Usually equals Achieved.
• Commission % — Applicable percentage. Depends on the chosen model.
• Gross commission — Base × %. Automatic formula.
• Target hit bonus — Fixed amount if 100% is met. Optional.
• Accelerator (if applicable) — Extra % on the excess. Optional.
• Total to pay — Final period sum. Automatic formula.

Each column comes with data validation (positive numbers, currency formats, locked formula cells) so the sales team does not break the file when they send it back to you.

The template also includes a team totals row —how much is being paid in commissions that month— which is useful when leadership asks "how much does the sales bonus cost us?".

3 commission models you'll find inside

Pick the sheet based on the model you are designing. The three cover 95% of the sales plans we see at LATAM SMBs.

1. Flat commission (%)

The simplest model and the most common on small teams. A single percentage on everything sold, regardless of whether the target was met or not.

Excel formula: ``` Commission = Achieved × Commission % ```

Example: a rep with a 2% commission sells $500,000 in the month → earns $10,000 in commission.

When to use it: new teams, short-cycle products, when you want the rep to earn from the first dollar. When not: if you have clear targets and want to reward those who hit them over those who don't.

2. Tiered commission (by brackets)

There are several percentage tiers depending on the achievement level. Sell more, earn a higher % on everything sold (not just on the excess).

Typical example:

• Up to 70% of target → 1% commission
• Between 70% and 100% → 2% commission
• Above 100% → 3% commission

Formula in Excel (with nested `IF` or `VLOOKUP` against a bracket table): ``` =IF(achievement<0.7, achieved0.01, IF(achievement<1, achieved0.02, achieved*0.03)) ```

When to use it: teams with high variability between reps. Rewards those who hit target without punishing those who are learning. When to be careful: if the brackets are badly calibrated, the rep may "slow down" when they see they won't make the next tier.

3. Commission with accelerator

A base percentage up to target, and a higher percentage only on the excess (what was sold above 100%).

Example:

• Up to target → 2% on sales
• On the excess → 4% additional

Formula: ``` Commission = MIN(achieved, target) × 2% + MAX(0, achieved - target) × 4% ```

When to use it: when you want ambition. The rep earns well at 100% and "goes crazy" overachieving because the accelerator doubles their marginal gain. It is the preferred model on high-performance teams. When to be careful: when the pipeline doesn't really support overachievement, it becomes smoke in a motivational plan.

The three models coexist in the template with a selector: you choose in one cell which one applies to each rep and the formulas activate automatically.

How to adapt it to your business: 3 questions before using it

Before filling the template with names and targets, stop and answer these three. If you don't have them clear, the plan will fail by design, not by execution.

1. What are you commissioning: invoiced, collected, or closed?

They are three different things and they change the team's behavior:

• Invoiced: the rep earns as soon as the invoice is issued. Risk: incentivizes selling to customers who later don't pay.
• Collected: earns when the money comes in. Aligned with cash flow, but delays commission payment by several months.
• Closed (contract signed): intermediate, used in B2B with long cycles.

The right choice depends on your business. In LATAM SaaS the most common is collected, with the commission paid the month after the collection month.

2. Is the target individual, team, or mixed?

100% individual targets foster competition. 100% team targets foster collaboration but can make top performers frustrated if they "carry the team". The mixed model —70% individual, 30% collective— is the most balanced for most mid-sized companies.

3. Does the commission replace or complement the base salary?

On serious sales teams, commission is usually 30-50% of the total package, not 100%. If you go for a commission-only model, be ready for high turnover: it works in short-cycle transactional sales, not in consultative B2B.

Errors this template helps you avoid

The templates on the internet usually have issues that only surface after the plan is signed. This one dodges them:

• Broken formulas when the structure changes. Formula cells are locked; you only edit inputs.
• Double counting in tiered vs accelerator. Formulas are tested so they don't overlap.
• Not distinguishing target from base. There are separate cells for "what the % is calculated on" and "what the goal is" (many templates mix them up).
• Not summing correctly by team. Totals row with validation.
• Forgetting tax withholding. The template leaves a "gross commission" and "net commission" column so you apply withholding by country.

Still, no template replaces the plan design. If you still haven't properly defined the targets per rep, first review our guide on how to design the sales commission table and come back with the plan already thought through.

Beyond Excel: when to move to software

Excel is excellent for starting out and for small teams. Between 5 and 15 reps, with a reasonably stable plan, there is no serious reason to leave it.

The point where it starts to hurt is when at least three of these signals appear:

• More than 20 reps and the template already takes several tabs by region/product.
• Targets that change month to month: each adjustment means reissuing the file and recommunicating.
• Several product lines with different %: nested `IF` becomes unmaintainable.
• Non-monetary targets (I want to reward visits, demos, qualified pipeline) that Excel doesn't manage well.
• Lack of real-time visibility: the rep doesn't know how they are doing until HR closes the month.
• Non-monetary recognition and bonuses you want to add to the package.

When several of these appear, an incentives and recognition platform or a trade marketing module for point-of-sale sales teams stops being a luxury: the ROI is in the time of the sales manager who stops "updating the spreadsheet" and goes back to "closing deals".

Maslow works with sales teams in LATAM that combine monetary commissions with recognition and gift cards managed on a single platform —the rep sees in real time how they are doing against target, what they can redeem, and how much they have left for the next tier—. Not every company needs it from day one, but when the friction appears it is worth evaluating.

Frequently asked questions

What is a sales commission table?

It is the document (spreadsheet or system) where the target, what was sold, and the commission to pay each rep in a period are recorded. It is the single source of truth for the monthly payout and the basis for auditing the plan.

Which commission model makes sense in 2026?

It depends on the type of sale. For short-cycle, transactional, flat commission works well. For teams with clear targets and high variability, tiered is the standard. For high-performance teams where you want to reward overachievement, accelerator. Most modern plans combine the three based on the rep's seniority level.

How many rows and reps does the template support?

It is built for teams of up to 50 reps with good performance. Past that point Excel starts to lag and it is worth migrating to a dedicated system.

How do I adapt the template to my country (taxation)?

The template leaves a "gross commission" column and a "net commission" column so you apply the corresponding withholding (ISR in MX, income tax in AR, retefuente in CO, etc.). Check with your accountant the applicable percentage in your case.

Can I share the template with the sales team?

Yes, but share a copy filtered per rep (only their row) and lock the formulas. If every rep has access to the full template, you will end up with 10 different versions and salary confidentiality issues.

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Download Excel 2026 template. It is free, brings the 3 models ready to go and the totals row. In less than 15 minutes you have your plan ready to pay out the next closing.

Want to go beyond Excel and combine commissions with non-monetary incentives? Schedule a demo with a Maslow specialist at maslow.hr/en/contact.