How often should you audit your sales compensation program?

Conduct a comprehensive audit annually, typically 60-90 days before the new plan year begins. In addition, run spot audits quarterly on a random sample of 10-15% of commission payments to catch calculation errors and crediting issues before they accumulate.

Do private SaaS companies need to worry about SOX compliance for comp plans?

Technically, SOX applies only to publicly traded companies. However, if you are planning an IPO within 18-24 months, your auditors will review your commission processes during due diligence. Building SOX-ready controls early saves significant rework later and signals operational maturity to potential investors.

The Sales Compensation Audit Checklist for RevOps Teams

Sales compensation is one of the largest line items in your operating budget - often 15-25% of revenue for SaaS companies. Yet most RevOps teams go an entire year without auditing whether commissions are being calculated correctly, paid on time, or aligned with the plan document. An annual comp audit catches errors before they compound, ensures compliance, and builds trust with your sales team. Here is the checklist.

Plan Document Compliance
Calculation Accuracy
Payout Timing and Accuracy
Crediting and Exception Review
SOX and Internal Controls
Building Your Audit Report
Key Takeaways

Plan Document Compliance¶

Start by confirming that what you are paying matches what you promised.

[ ] Signed plan documents on file for every plan participant. No exceptions - if a rep does not have a signed plan, they technically are not on the plan.
[ ] Plan effective dates match the actual start of commission calculations.
[ ] OTE, base salary, and variable pay targets in the system match the signed plan documents.
[ ] Performance measures and weights are configured correctly in your commission tool (CaptivateIQ, Spiff, Xactly, or spreadsheet).
[ ] Accelerator and decelerator rates are applied at the correct attainment thresholds.
[ ] Quota assignments for every rep match the approved quota sheet from sales leadership.

Common finding: 8-12% of reps have a mismatch between their signed plan document and what is configured in the commission system. This usually happens when mid-year adjustments are made verbally but never documented.

Calculation Accuracy¶

Pull a sample of 15-20 commission statements from the past year and recalculate them manually.

[ ] Verify deal-level data - closed-won amounts, close dates, and product types match the CRM source of truth.
[ ] Recalculate commissions from scratch using the plan formulas. Compare to the system output.
[ ] Check attainment accumulation - does cumulative attainment roll correctly from month to month (or quarter to quarter)?
[ ] Validate accelerator triggers - did reps who crossed 100% actually receive accelerated rates starting at the correct dollar?
[ ] Test edge cases - deals closed on the last day of the period, zero-dollar amendments, multi-year contracts, ramped quotas for new hires.

Acceptable error tolerance: Commission calculations should be accurate within 1% of the correct amount. Errors exceeding $500 per rep per quarter require immediate correction and root cause analysis.

Payout Timing and Accuracy¶

[ ] Payroll dates - were commissions paid within the SLA stated in the plan document (typically 30-45 days after period close)?
[ ] Late payments - identify any instances where commissions were paid more than 15 days past the stated SLA. Document the cause.
[ ] Overpayments and underpayments - compile a list of all corrections made during the year. Calculate the net overpayment and underpayment totals.
[ ] Clawback execution - were clawbacks applied within the timeline specified in the plan? Were reps notified in advance?

Crediting and Exception Review¶

[ ] Split credit deals - sample 10 split-credit deals and verify that credit allocations match the pre-registered agreements.
[ ] Territory changes - review all mid-year territory reassignments. Were crediting cutoffs applied consistently per the stage-based rule?
[ ] Exception approvals - compile all crediting exceptions granted during the year. Each should have written approval from an authorized manager.
[ ] Channel/partner deals - verify that partner-sourced deals received the correct reduced credit rate.

SOX and Internal Controls¶

For public companies or pre-IPO companies preparing for audit readiness:

[ ] Segregation of duties - the person who calculates commissions should not be the same person who approves payments. Document the approval chain.
[ ] Change management log - every change to commission rates, quotas, or plan terms should have a dated, signed record.
[ ] System access controls - audit who has edit access to your commission tool. Limit write access to the RevOps team; provide read-only access to managers and finance.
[ ] Reconciliation to GL - commission expense recorded in the general ledger should match the total payouts from your commission system within 0.5%.

Building Your Audit Report¶

Compile your findings into a one-page summary for leadership:

Area	Findings	Severity	Remediation
Plan compliance	6 reps missing signed documents	High	Collect signatures by Feb 28
Calculation accuracy	2 errors found in 20 samples (10% error rate)	Medium	Fix formula in commission tool
Payout timing	3 late payments in Q3	Low	Process improvement documented
Crediting	1 unapproved exception	Medium	Add approval workflow

Present this report to your VP of Sales and CFO. Use findings to drive improvements in the next plan year.

Key Takeaways¶

Audit plan documents first - unsigned or mismatched plans are the most common compliance gap
Manually recalculate 15-20 commission statements to catch systemic calculation errors
Track every overpayment, underpayment, and exception as input for next year’s plan design
Build SOX-ready controls early even if you are private - auditors will ask for them during IPO prep