Custom software for agency administration and commission
Appfront builds software for sales agents and agencies that sell on behalf of several principals: the agreements per principal covering territory, customers and commission rates, the orders you pass on, the principal's invoices and payments to the customer, and from these the commission you are owed, reconciled against the statement the principal sends. So you no longer have to recalculate yourself or wonder whether every order was counted and every missing amount comes to light.
What is agency administration and commission software?
A sales agent does not sell for themselves but on behalf of their principals, and is paid by commission. Each principal has its own arrangements: a territory, a customer base, a percentage that varies by product group or by sales tier, and a point at which the commission becomes due, on order, on delivery or on payment. Agency administration software records those arrangements and calculates what you are owed for each order.
Without such software, the principal sends a commission statement and the agent has to trust that it is correct. Whether that one order that came in directly to the principal from your territory was counted, whether that credit note was rightly deducted from the commission, and whether the customer has since paid, you only know if you check it yourself against your orders. With five principals and hundreds of orders, that does not happen, and commission slips away.
We build custom solutions because the administration must match your principals: which portals and exports they offer, what their statements look like, which arrangements you have per principal, and whether you work with sub-agents. A CRM knows customers and orders; the commission agreement per principal and the reconciliation with its statement are not part of it.
Arrangements per principal
For each principal, the territory, the customers, the commission tiers per product group and the point at which commission becomes due, as recorded in the agency agreement.
From order to commission
Every order you pass on, together with the principal's invoices and payments to the customer, and for each line the commission that follows from it.
Reconciliation with the principal
The principal's commission statement alongside your calculation. Missing orders, deviating percentages and incorrect deductions are highlighted at the top.
How we build your agency administration and commission software
We start with the latest commission statement: how many principals, how many orders, how long it took to check, and how often something turned out to be missing.
Your principals, their agency agreements and commission arrangements, the portals and exports they offer, and how you currently track orders and commission.
Customers per principal and territory, orders from your own input or from the portals, and the invoices and payments the principals supply.
The calculation of commission per order according to the arrangements, the reconciliation with the principals' statements, and the invoicing of your commission.
Reporting by principal, customer and region, the division across sub-agents, the integration with accounting, and ongoing management.
What agency administration and commission software actually does
The components below come up at almost every agency. Which ones you need depends on the number of principals and on what they supply.
Agency agreements
For each principal, the territory, the customers, the commission tiers, exceptions per customer or product group, and the point at which commission becomes due.
Order registration
Orders entered with the customer or taken over from the principal's portal, with status up to delivery and invoice.
Import of invoices and payments
Invoices, credit notes and payments from the principal to the customer, taken from exports or statements and linked to the orders.
Commission calculation
Commission per order line according to the agreement, including tiered rates, exceptions, credit notes and the point at which commission becomes due.
Reconciliation
The principal's commission statement set against your own calculation, with the differences per order and a list to discuss with the principal.
Reporting and sub-agents
Turnover and commission by principal, customer and territory, and the split of commission across sub-agents according to their agreements.
Who we build agency administration and commission software for
The software is intended for agents who work for several principals and currently check their commission using spreadsheets, or not at all.
Agents in fashion and footwear
Seasonal orders across many retailers for multiple brands. Order registration and reconciliation after delivery are the core.
Agents in furniture and homeware
Orders with long lead times and payment in instalments. The point at which commission becomes due and the payments matter most.
Technical agencies
Projects and industrial customers with principals from abroad. Agreements per customer and reconciliation are what matter.
Agencies with sub-agents
A team of agents per territory. The split of commission and reporting per agent are the core.
Test your idea first: a working prototype in 1 day
With OneDayBuild, we turn your idea into something tangible in one day for €1,150, so you can see whether further development is worth the investment. Decide to go ahead with the full build? Then we credit the full cost.
Explore OneDayBuild →Technology and integrations
This page is about the sales agent who sells on behalf of principals. For commissions and bonuses for your own sales staff, see our page on commission software, for managing customers see our page on custom CRM software, and for the wholesale side see our page on wholesale software. You can read about our approach at custom software development.
For the principal who pays commission to their commercial agents, there is our app for commission settlement with commercial agents.
Why Appfront for your agency administration and commission software?
An agent who doesn't check their own commission relies on someone else's administration. That is what we build on: your own calculation per order, set alongside the principal's statement.
No more commission going missing
Every order from your territory sits in your own administration. An order missing from the principal's statement stands out.
Reconciling in an hour
The principal's statement is imported and placed alongside your calculation. The conversation focuses on the differences, not the whole list.
One view across all principals
Turnover and commission by principal and by customer in one place. You see which principal is growing and which customers you serve for whom.
Security and privacy for agency administration and commission software
The software holds customer data, turnover per principal and commission agreements. Access is set by role: the agent sees their territory, administration sees reconciliation, management sees the whole. Every change to an agreement or calculation is logged with name and time.
The software runs in a European data centre, with encrypted storage and daily backups. Data from one principal is not visible in reports for another.
Frequently asked questions about agency administration and commission software
Questions commercial agents ask before they start with this.
It records the agreements per principal covering territory, customers and commission, registers the orders you pass on, reads in the principal's invoices and payments, calculates the commission you are owed per order line, and sets this against the principal's commission statement so that differences stand out.
The Dutch Civil Code governs the agency agreement, including the agent's right to a statement of the commission due and to the information needed to verify it. The software helps you check that statement. What exactly applies depends on your agreement, so take advice on it.
Commission software calculates bonuses and commissions for your own sales staff from your own revenue. A commercial agent sells on behalf of others: the revenue sits with the principal, and the agent has to reconcile their commission against what the principal reports. That reconciliation is what this software does.
If a principal offers an export or an integration, yes. For other principals, the commission statement is imported as a file. For each principal, we first look at what is possible.
If your agreement gives you commission on all orders from your territory or from your customers, including direct ones, the software includes them as soon as they appear on the principal's invoices. If they are missing, you will see that during reconciliation.
Yes. For each subagent you record the territory and their share, and the software divides the commission received according to those terms, with an overview per subagent.
Check that first. A CRM knows orders and customers, and accounting software knows the commission received. For one or two principals with simple agreements, that may be enough. Custom software makes sense if you work for many principals, if agreements differ per customer or product group, or if reconciliation now takes days.
Want to be sure every order is in your commission?
Tell us how many principals you work for, what terms you have, and how you currently keep track of orders and commission. We will show you what the terms, the calculation and the reconciliation look like.