Commission Settings is where you set up the rules Rex uses to calculate commission, so that the figures are worked out for you at sale time instead of being entered by hand on every worksheet. Setting these up once means faster commission entry, more consistent reporting, and fewer manual corrections.
This article explains what sits in Commission Settings, what each area does, and a sensible order to set them up in.
Who Can Change Commission Settings? 🔒
Commission Settings is an administrator area. You need access to Rex settings to view or change anything covered in this article. Agents do not need any additional access, they simply see the correct figures on their commission worksheets.
What Is in Commission Settings?
You will find all of the following under Settings > Finance & Commissions.
- Commission Structures - the agency-side structures that work out the gross commission on a sale, using a fixed amount, a fixed percentage, or tiers based on the sale price. See Financials & Commissions: Commission Structures.
- Agent Sliding Scale - tiered structures that change the percentage an agent earns as their running total grows across a commission period. Available in Australia and New Zealand only. See Financials & Commissions: Introduction to Agent Sliding Scales.
- Agent Deductions - deductions attached to a specific agent, which are added automatically whenever that agent appears on a commission worksheet. See Financials & Commissions: Deductions/Agent Deductions.
- Agent Defaults - where you assign a sliding scale to an individual agent, along with a starting amount if they are part way through a commission period.
- Account Defaults - the accounts that pre-populate for Agency Share Commission, Agent's Payable Commission, and VPA Invoices and Advertising Products. See Financials & Commissions: Account Defaults.
- Chart of Accounts - maps invoice line items to specific income and expense accounts and records the tax treatment for each. See Financials & Commissions: Chart of Accounts.
What Order Should I Set These Up In?
Nothing here is strictly dependent on anything else, but this order means you are not doubling back:
- Chart of Accounts first, because Account Defaults asks you to choose accounts from it.
- Account Defaults next, so commission and advertising line items land in the right accounts from the start.
- Commission Structures, so your gross commission calculates automatically on new worksheets.
- Agent Sliding Scale and Agent Defaults, if you pay any agents on a tiered scale.
- Agent Deductions last, once you know which agents are set up.
⚠️ Please Note: Changing a setting here does not rewrite commission worksheets that already exist. Existing worksheets keep the figures they were calculated with, so a mid-year change applies to new worksheets from that point forward.
Do I Have to Set All of This Up?
No. Commission worksheets can be completed with figures entered manually, so none of these settings is mandatory. They exist to save you that work. If you only set up one thing, make it Commission Structures, because that is what removes the most repeated data entry.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a Commission Structure and an Agent Sliding Scale?
A Commission Structure works out the commission the agency earns on a sale, based on the sale price. An Agent Sliding Scale works out the share an individual agent earns, based on how much commission they have accumulated over a commission period. They do different jobs and most agencies use both.
I cannot see Agent Sliding Scale in my settings. Why not?
Either the feature has not been switched on for your account yet, or you do not have administrator access to Rex settings. Agent Sliding Scales are also not available in the United Kingdom. Contact Rex Support and we can check.
Can I have different commission settings for different offices?
Commission Structures and Agent Sliding Scales are created at account level, but you choose which structure applies on each worksheet, and sliding scales are assigned per agent. So different offices can work differently in practice.
Will changing a Commission Structure change commission that has already been calculated?
Not on worksheets that already exist. Editing a structure does prompt a recalculation warning for sliding scales, which is covered in Financials & Commissions: Setting Up an Agent Sliding Scale.
Where do I actually use these settings?
On a commission worksheet, created from a listing in Finance Mode once a contract or offer has been accepted. See Financials & Commissions: Introduction to Commissions (Commission Worksheets).