Permanent lighting sales commission: how to pay reps
Profit share, percent of sale, per foot or flat. Who gets what when a setter books it and a closer signs it. When it is earned, when it comes back, and worked examples you can check line by line.
Every dollar figure on this page is an example, not a market rate. Set your own and put it in writing.
The five common pay structures
Lighting jobs vary a lot in size, from a front-only ranch to a two-storey with peaks and three zones. The pay plan decides whether reps chase big rooflines, protect your margin, or just chase volume.
| Structure | How it works | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Share of gross profit | A percent of the sale price minus parts and labour. | Holding price, selling controllers, zones and extras. A discount costs the rep too. | Reps must trust the job cost, so show it to them. |
| Percent of sale | A percent of the signed price. | Simple to explain and to check at the door. | Pays the same on a deep discount as on a full-price job. |
| Per foot | A rate for every linear foot sold. | Matches how lighting is measured and priced. Rewards big rooflines. | Ignores extras and discounts entirely. |
| Flat per job | One amount per signed job. | Easy payroll when most jobs look alike. | No reason to sell the bigger package. |
| Base plus commission | An hourly or weekly base with a smaller commission on top. | New reps, slow months, and anyone you need on the team all year. | Costs you on nights with no sales. Track doors, not just hours. |
Setter and closer splits
Some teams split the work: a setter knocks and books, a closer shows the picture, measures and signs. Others have one rep do the whole door. If you split, agree on the percentages in advance and decide what counts as a set (a booked time, or a visit that actually happens). Paying on visits that happen keeps setters from booking people who never meant to meet.
When commission is earned
When the deposit is paid. Fast, clear and easy to check: the card went through. It keeps reps motivated in the fall rush. The risk is paying on a job that later cancels, so pair it with a clawback rule.
When the install is finished. Safer for the company, but a fall sale can sit in the queue for weeks before it goes up. Reps wait longer and may lose interest in the follow-up.
Many companies pay at deposit and claw back if the job cancels before install. Whatever you choose, the rep should be able to see which of their jobs are earned and which are waiting.
Clawbacks, minimums and caps
- Clawbacks. If a job is cancelled or refunded, the commission comes back. Say how long after the sale this can happen and what a partial refund does.
- Minimums. A floor per job so a small front-only sale is still worth the rep's evening.
- Caps. A ceiling so one unusual job does not blow up payroll. Set it high enough that nobody avoids big jobs.
- Self-generated bonus. A multiplier when the rep knocked the lead themselves, so working the doors pays more than waiting for company leads.
- Per-rep overrides. A higher rate for a new rep's first few weeks, or a different plan for a senior closer, with an end date so it does not quietly become permanent.
Worked examples
All numbers are made up to show the math. They are not market rates.
Example job: 180 ft at $25 a foot = $4,500 sale. Parts and labour $1,800, so gross profit is $2,700.
| Example plan | The math | Rep earns |
|---|---|---|
| 30% of gross profit | 30% × $2,700 | $810 |
| 12% of sale | 12% × $4,500 | $540 |
| $3 per foot | $3 × 180 ft | $540 |
| Flat per job | One job | $500 |
| Base plus 5% of sale | 5% × $4,500, plus the base pay for the hours | $225 + base |
| Same job discounted to $4,000, 30% of profit | Profit falls to $2,200. 30% × $2,200 | $660 |
| Same discount, 12% of sale | 12% × $4,000 | $480 |
| Setter 30% / closer 70% of $810 | $810 × 30% and $810 × 70% | $243 / $567 |
| Self-generated, 1.25× multiplier | $810 × 1.25 | $1,012.50 |
| Small job with a $250 minimum | 60 ft at $25 = $1,500, costs $800, profit $700. 30% = $210, raised to the minimum | $250 |
| Large job with a $1,500 cap | 400 ft at $25 = $10,000, costs $3,500, profit $6,500. 30% = $1,950, held at the cap | $1,500 |
| The $4,500 job cancels, deposit refunded | Commission earned at deposit is clawed back | −$810 |
Notice the discount rows. On the profit plan, a $500 discount cost the rep $150. On the per-foot and flat plans it cost the rep nothing, which is exactly why reps on those plans discount more easily. How you set the price per foot in the first place is in how to price permanent lighting.
The pay plan runs itself once it is set
Set the lighting pay plan once, per company or per rep, and each job's commission follows its rules and lands in payroll.
- Share of gross profit (30% to start), percent of sale, per foot, or flat
- A minimum and a cap
- Earned when the deposit is paid, or another trigger you choose
- Setter and closer splits, and a self-generated multiplier
- Per-rep overrides with end dates
- Clawbacks on cancelled or refunded jobs
- Shows in payroll, with a CSV export
Gross profit you can actually see
A profit-share plan only works if the profit is real. Each lighting job has an install sheet with the measurements, a bill of materials from your own rules, labour per foot or by crew hours, and job costing for parts, labour and profit. That is the number the rep's share comes from.
Questions to answer before a rep starts
- Which structure, and what rate?
- Earned at deposit or at install?
- What triggers a clawback, and for how long?
- Setter and closer split, if any?
- Minimum, cap and self-generated bonus?
Lighting commission questions, answered straight
How are permanent lighting sales reps usually paid?
Most plans are commission only or a small base plus commission. The commission is commonly one of four shapes: a share of the gross profit on the job, a percent of the sale price, a rate per foot installed, or a flat amount per job. Many companies add a setter and closer split, a bonus for self-generated leads, and clawbacks on cancelled jobs.
Is a share of gross profit better than a percent of sale?
For the company, usually yes, because a rep who discounts shares the cost of the discount and a rep who sells extras shares the gain. It is harder for reps to check, so it only works if they can see the job cost behind the number. A percent of sale is simpler to explain but pays the same whether the job made money or not.
When should a lighting rep's commission be earned?
The two common triggers are when the deposit is paid and when the install is finished. Paying at deposit is faster and keeps reps motivated through a busy fall; paying at install protects the company from cancellations. Many companies pay at deposit and claw back if the job cancels before it goes up.
What is a clawback on a lighting job?
If a job cancels or the deposit is refunded after the rep has earned commission on it, the commission is taken back, usually from the next pay. Put the rule in writing before the rep starts: which events trigger it, how long after the sale it can happen, and whether a partial refund claws back part or all of it.
How do setter and closer splits work?
When one rep sets the appointment and another closes it, the commission on that job is divided by an agreed split, for example 30% to the setter and 70% to the closer. The percentages are a company choice. What matters is that both reps know the split before the knock, not after the sale.
Should self-generated leads pay more?
Most companies think so. A lead the rep knocked themselves cost the company nothing in marketing, so a multiplier, for example 1.25 times the normal commission, rewards reps for working the doors instead of waiting for company leads.
Can FieldStacker run a lighting pay plan?
Yes. Pick a share of gross profit (30% to start), a percent of sale, a rate per foot or a flat amount. Add a minimum and a cap, choose when it is earned (when the deposit is paid, or another trigger), set setter and closer splits, a self-generated multiplier and per-rep overrides with end dates. Clawbacks on cancelled or refunded jobs are built in, and it shows in payroll with a CSV export.
Pay your lighting reps without a spreadsheet
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