RunBeat Bonus User Guide

Sales target, quota, and bonus management — complex compensation plans made simple.

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Overview

RunBeat Bonus is a comprehensive target, quota, and bonus management platform for sales teams. It enables radio stations and media organisations to define complex compensation plans, track individual salesperson progress against targets, calculate bonus payouts with accelerators and decelerators, and manage phased target periods — including mid-year onboarding and part-period adjustments.

Bonus is hosted at runbeatbonus.com and is multi-tenant, with each station operating in its own isolated environment. Sensitive compensation data is strictly access-controlled — salespeople can only see their own data.

Getting Started

Visit runbeatbonus.com and sign up. Once logged in as a station admin, the typical setup flow is:

  1. Create a quota framework — Define how targets are structured for your team.
  2. Configure bonus tiers — Set the achievement thresholds and bonus rates.
  3. Create target periods — Define the time ranges over which targets are measured.
  4. Assign targets — Assign specific target amounts to each salesperson.
  5. Record progress — Enter sales achievements as they happen.
  6. Review payouts — Approve calculated bonus payouts.

Guided Wizards — "Show Me How"

Every Bonus page includes a "🎓 Show me how" button in the navigation bar. Click it to open a library of step-by-step guided walkthroughs that walk you through common tasks without leaving the app.

Each wizard guides you through the process one step at a time, with tips and explanations along the way. You can dismiss a wizard at any point by pressing Escape or clicking the ✕ button.

Available wizards

WizardWhat it covers
🏗️ Create a Bonus FrameworkDefine bonus calculation rules — types, tiers, thresholds, and gate requirements.
🎯 Assign Sales TargetsCreate target periods and assign individual/team targets to your sales team.
📈 Enter Progress DataLog actual sales achievements against targets for automatic bonus calculation.
💳 Review & Approve PayoutsReview calculated bonuses, check gate compliance, approve, and export for payroll.
🧮 Model Your EarningsUse the earnings calculator to model bonus scenarios at different performance levels.

Wizards are a great way to learn the platform — especially for new users or when exploring features you haven't used before.

Quota Frameworks

A quota framework is a named configuration that defines how targets are structured for a group of salespeople. A station can have multiple frameworks (e.g. one for senior sales, one for junior sales). Each framework defines:

  • Period type — Annual, quarterly, monthly, or custom.
  • Phasing model — How the annual target is distributed across phases (equal, weighted, or custom).
  • Target metrics — What is being measured (revenue, units, etc.).
  • Bonus tiers — The achievement thresholds and corresponding bonus rates.
  • Calculation model — Stacked tiers (marginal) or flat rate tiers.
  • Payout policy — How interim over-achievement bonuses are handled.

Bonus Tiers

Bonus tiers define the relationship between achievement and payout. Each tier specifies an achievement threshold and a bonus rate or fixed amount. Bonus supports several tier mechanisms:

  • Accelerators — Higher bonus rates applied when achievement exceeds 100% of target. Can be marginal (higher rate applies only to the amount above the threshold) or flat (higher rate applies to the entire achieved amount).
  • Decelerators — Reduced bonus rates below a certain achievement threshold (e.g. 50–80% achievement pays at half the standard rate).
  • Multipliers — Scaling factors applied to the base bonus based on achievement level (e.g. 1.0× at 100%, 1.5× at 120%).
  • Kickers — One-off fixed bonus amounts awarded when specific milestones are reached (e.g. £500 bonus for hitting 100% of target, in addition to percentage-based bonus).

Calculation models

ModelHow it works
Stacked tiersEach achievement band is calculated independently at its own rate and the results are summed. Similar to income tax brackets — only the amount within each band is calculated at that band's rate.
Flat rate tiersCrossing into a higher tier applies that tier's rate to the entire achieved amount, not just the marginal amount above the threshold.

Target Periods & Phases

A target period is a defined time range over which targets are measured. Target periods belong to a quota framework and can be annual, quarterly, monthly, or custom.

Phases are subdivisions of a target period, each with its own target amount. Phases allow non-uniform distribution of annual targets — for example, heavier Q4 targets to reflect seasonal sales patterns. Phases within a target period must be contiguous and non-overlapping.

Target Assignment

Assign specific target amounts to individual salespeople for each target period. The target assignment grid provides a spreadsheet-like interface for bulk assignment. Each assignment can include optional per-phase breakdowns.

Pro-Ration

When a salesperson starts mid-period, their target is automatically pro-rated based on the remaining days in the period. For example, if a salesperson joins halfway through Q2, their Q2 target is halved. Pro-ration is calculated proportionally and applied automatically.

Progress Tracking

Record sales achievements as progress entries. Each entry includes a date, amount, description, and optional reference. Progress can be entered:

  • Manually — Enter individual sales through the interface.
  • Bulk import — Upload CSV or Excel files for batch progress entry.
  • CRM integration — Automatically pull closed deal data from RunBeat CRM.

Bonus Calculation

Bonus calculates payouts automatically based on progress against target, using the framework's bonus tiers and calculation model. The calculation considers:

  • Total progress vs. target for the period.
  • Achievement percentage.
  • Applicable bonus tier(s) based on achievement level.
  • Accelerators, decelerators, multipliers, and kickers.
  • Pro-ration adjustments for mid-period starts.

Gate Payouts

Gates are phase boundaries (e.g. end of Q1, Q2, Q3) where interim bonus calculations are evaluated. At each gate, the system assesses cumulative year-to-date achievement and calculates any interim bonus due.

The payout policy determines how interim over-achievement bonuses are handled:

PolicyBehaviour
Pay at gatePay accelerator earnings immediately at each gate.
Defer to annualCalculate at gates but hold all accelerator payments until year-end true-up.
Pay with holdbackPay a percentage at each gate, hold the remainder for year-end reconciliation.
Highest watermarkOnly pay if current gate achievement exceeds all previous gates — prevents paying on temporary spikes.

Year-End True-Up

The true-up is the year-end reconciliation process. It compares total annual achievement against the full annual target, calculates the correct total bonus, and adjusts for any interim payments already made. The result is either an additional payment or a clawback.

Clawback

Clawback recovers previously paid bonuses in two scenarios:

  • Sales reversal — If sales are reversed or cancelled within a defined period, the associated bonus is clawed back.
  • True-up adjustment — If interim accelerator payments exceed the final year-end entitlement, the excess is recovered.

Earnings Modeller

The earnings modeller is a what-if tool available to salespeople and managers. Enter hypothetical achievement levels and see the projected bonus payout in real time. This helps salespeople understand their compensation plan and visualise the impact of hitting different targets.

Deal Validation

When deals are synced from RunBeat CRM (or entered manually), the Deal Validation page lets managers review and approve which deals count towards bonus targets. Each deal shows the account name, value, close date, and salesperson. Managers can:

  • Approve — Confirm the deal counts towards the salesperson's target.
  • Reject — Exclude the deal from bonus calculations (e.g. internal transfers, non-qualifying revenue).
  • Adjust — Modify the qualifying amount (e.g. if only part of a deal counts towards target).

Approved deals automatically create progress entries against the relevant target assignment.

Shareable Statements

Generate a shareable bonus statement for any salesperson. The statement is a read-only summary showing targets, progress, achievement percentage, bonus calculation breakdown, and payout status — accessible via a unique URL without requiring a login.

Use cases:

  • Share with HR or payroll teams who don't have Bonus access.
  • Provide salespeople with a printable/PDF-friendly summary.
  • Attach to employment records or performance reviews.

Statements can be set to expire after a configurable period (default 30 days) and can be revoked at any time.

Amendments

Amendments allow mid-period changes to targets, frameworks, or assignments with a full audit trail. Common amendment scenarios:

  • Target adjustment — Increase or decrease a salesperson's target mid-period (e.g. territory change, role change).
  • Framework change — Modify tier thresholds or rates for the current period.
  • Backdated corrections — Apply corrections to historical progress entries with automatic recalculation.

Every amendment records the reason, effective date, who made the change, and the before/after values. The audit trail ensures full transparency for compliance and dispute resolution.

AI Pay Plan Analysis

Upload a pay plan document and the AI analysis tool will parse it, identify the key components (tiers, accelerators, thresholds), and map them to a Bonus framework configuration. This accelerates the setup of complex compensation plans.

Reporting & Exports

Built-in reports include:

  • Management dashboard — Overview of all salespeople's progress, achievement percentages, and projected payouts.
  • Individual progress — Detailed view of a salesperson's targets, progress entries, and bonus calculations.
  • Payout review — Approval workflow for calculated bonus payouts with full audit trail.
  • CSV/Excel exports — Export any report for offline analysis or payroll processing.

User Roles

RoleAccess
Station AdminFull access — framework setup, target assignment, progress entry, payout approval, user management, all reports.
Sales ManagerView all salespeople's targets and progress, enter progress data, run reports. Cannot modify frameworks or approve payouts.
SalespersonView own targets, progress, and bonus calculations only. Cannot see any other salesperson's data.

Data Isolation

Bonus handles sensitive personal compensation data. Access controls are strict:

  • Multi-tenancy ensures complete data isolation between stations.
  • Within a station, salesperson access is further scoped by user — a salesperson can only see their own data.
  • All data is encrypted in transit and at rest.
  • Export files are stored with server-side encryption.
Privacy

A salesperson can never see another salesperson's targets, progress, or bonus calculations. This isolation is enforced at the API level on every request.