Cloud app helps small companies manage sales compensation

Wondering how much your small business should be paying that great new sales person you want to hire? More important, wondering how to make sure everything is managed and paid out properly? That's a question that sales management software provider Xactly aims to help your team answer.

The developer has created a version of its Xactly sales compensation software -- an application that integrates with the Salesforce.com CRM platform -- that is specifically targeted at the operational concerns of companies with fewer than 100 employees. The Xactly Express Plan Store contains templates that offer pre-built sales plans that help automate the management of commission payouts. The image below offers examples of some of those plans.

The Xactly Plan Express Store is part of the company's Xactly Express 2.4 release. The company said other additions include features for sales draw setups and credit adjustments, as well as fields for customizing payment rules.

In the release describing the new application, Xactly CEO Christopher Cabrera said:

"Xactly Express makes it easy and affordable for emerging businesses, with little or no in-house compensation administration experience, to automate the sales compensation processes and start improving sales and operational efficiencies. The Xactly Express Plan Store takes this one step further by providing SMBs years of best-practice compensation plan expertise and know-how packaged in customizable templates."

There are five plans included in the initial version of the Express Plan store that cover roles from sales specialists to managers. The application (which Xactly estimates will take eight to 10 hours to integrate for a small company) can be accessed via mobile devices including the Apple iPad, and it is integrated with the Salesforce Chatter social media capability.