How you structure sales commissions determines who you attract, how hard they work, and how long they stay. Get it right and your top reps out-earn most W2 jobs in your market — which means they don't leave. Get it wrong and you either can't attract talent, or you're paying people who aren't producing.
This guide covers the commission structures used in roofing — what's standard, how to structure plans for different roles, and how to set up a tiered system that rewards top performance without destroying margin.
The Three Core Commission Models
1. Straight Commission (% of Job Revenue)
The most common structure in roofing. The rep earns a percentage of the total job value when the job is sold and — in most plans — when it's collected.
Typical ranges:
- Entry-level or canvassing-only reps: 3–6% of job revenue
- Full-cycle sales reps (lead → close): 6–10% of job revenue
- High-performing reps in competitive markets: 10–15%
On a $15,000 job at 8%, the rep earns $1,200. A rep closing 8 jobs per month generates $9,600 in commission — a strong income that rewards the reps who produce.
Pros: Simple to calculate and explain. Strong performance incentive. Zero fixed labor cost — you only pay when revenue comes in.
Cons: No floor, so reps have no income during slow stretches. Can attract reps who oversell or misrepresent to close. No income stability means harder to attract reps who have families and bills.
2. Draw Against Commission
The rep receives a guaranteed draw — typically $2,000–$4,000/month — that is repaid from earned commissions. If their commissions exceed the draw, they keep everything above it. If commissions fall short, the deficit rolls over (or is forgiven depending on your policy).
Example: Rep earns a $3,000/month draw. They close $45,000 in jobs at 8% commission = $3,600 earned. They receive: $3,600 – $3,000 draw = $600 additional payment (plus they've repaid the draw). If they close $25,000, they earn $2,000 in commission — $1,000 short of the draw. That $1,000 may roll over as a deficit or be forgiven, depending on your structure.
Pros: Attracts reps who need income stability. Lets new reps ramp up without starving in their first 60 days.
Cons: Creates draw deficits that can become large and difficult to recover. Reps carrying a large deficit often leave — taking their pipeline with them.
3. Base Salary + Commission
A lower guaranteed salary (often $30,000–$50,000/year) plus a commission rate that's lower than straight commission plans (4–7%). Used by larger roofing companies trying to build a more stable sales team with less turnover.
Pros: Easiest to recruit for. More predictable rep behavior — less desperation selling. Better for companies where reps handle account management, referral relationships, or repeat commercial customers.
Cons: Higher fixed cost. Lower upside incentive. Top straight-commission performers often won't take base + commission if the total comp ceiling is lower.
What's Standard in Roofing by Role
Storm Canvasser (Lead Generator Only)
Canvassers who knock doors and hand off qualified leads to closers typically earn:
- $100–$300 per inspection set (regardless of whether the job closes)
- Or 1–3% of the job revenue if the lead closes (paid when job closes)
- Some companies use both: a smaller per-inspection bonus plus a smaller close bonus
The key: canvassers need to feel the payout is worth the hustle. Too low and they don't prospect aggressively. Too high and your cost per acquired job gets out of hand.
Full-Cycle Sales Rep
Handles their own lead generation (or receives company-supplied leads) through close. Standard in storm restoration:
- Straight commission: 7–10% of job revenue collected
- On self-generated leads: 8–12% (higher because they're doing both the canvassing and closing)
- On company-supplied leads: 5–8% (lower because the lead cost is absorbed by the company)
Sales Manager
Player-coach who manages a team while often still closing their own deals:
- Override on team production: 1–3% of team revenue
- Their own closed deals: 6–9% (slightly lower than individual rep because of the override income)
- Some companies pay a base salary of $60,000–$90,000 + a smaller override percentage
Team Lead / Branch Manager
Responsible for a geographic territory or branch P&L:
- Base salary: $70,000–$120,000 depending on market and company size
- Profit-sharing bonus: 5–15% of branch net profit above a threshold
- Or: override percentage on all branch revenue (1–2%)
Tiered Commission: Rewarding Top Performers
A tiered commission structure pays higher rates as reps hit higher revenue thresholds. This creates a meaningful earnings ceiling for top producers — which keeps them from leaving for competitors.
Example tiered structure:
- $0–$50,000 closed revenue/month: 7% commission
- $50,001–$100,000: 8% on all revenue above $50,000
- $100,001–$150,000: 9% on all revenue above $100,000
- $150,000+: 10% on all revenue above $150,000
A rep closing $120,000 in a month earns: $3,500 (on first $50K at 7%) + $4,000 (on next $50K at 8%) + $1,800 (on next $20K at 9%) = $9,300 total. That's an effective rate of 7.75% — well above what they'd earn at flat 7%, and strongly motivating for the final push in a good month.
When Commission Gets Paid: Sold vs. Collected
This is one of the most important and often-overlooked elements of a commission plan. Two common approaches:
- Paid on sold: Commission is earned and paid when the job is signed. Simpler for the rep, but creates cash flow misalignment — you're paying commission before you've collected the revenue.
- Paid on collected: Commission is paid when the customer pays. Aligns rep incentives with actual collection. Means reps have a reason to help resolve payment issues. Industry standard for cash-heavy businesses.
Most established roofing companies pay on collected or split: 50% when job starts, 50% when final payment is collected. This keeps rep and company interests aligned through project completion.
Clawbacks: What Happens When a Job Falls Through
Define your clawback policy clearly in writing before you hire anyone. Key scenarios to address:
- Customer cancels before material delivery: Commission not paid or fully returned
- Insurance claim denied: Commission not earned on the cancelled job
- Rep leaves before job completes: Commission on their open jobs may be prorated or held until collection
- Job goes significantly over budget: Some companies reduce commission if job margin falls below a threshold — this incentivizes reps not to oversell add-ons they can't deliver
Whatever you decide, document it clearly and have every rep sign it before they sell their first job. Commission disputes are among the most common and most costly employment conflicts in roofing.
Tracking and Paying Commissions Accurately
The fastest way to destroy rep morale is to pay them wrong. Short-paying commissions — even accidentally — damages trust faster than almost anything else. Reps who don't trust their commission statements don't focus on selling; they focus on auditing their pay.
Commission tracking needs to be:
- Transparent: Reps should be able to see their pipeline, their closed jobs, and their pending commissions in real time — not just at payday
- Accurate: Commission calculations driven by actual job data, not manual entry
- Timely: Paid on a defined schedule (weekly or biweekly) so reps can plan their lives
Ketterly's commission engine calculates rep pay automatically based on closed and collected jobs, team structure, and your configured commission rules — so reps can see their earnings as jobs close, and managers don't spend 4 hours on a spreadsheet every payday.
The Retention Problem: Why Good Reps Leave
Top-producing reps leave for three reasons, in order of frequency:
- They feel underpaid relative to their production. If they're closing $200,000/month and only taking home $14,000, they'll find a company that pays 10% instead of 7%.
- They don't trust the commission calculations. Opaque tracking, payment delays, or perceived underpayment — real or imagined — sends reps looking.
- No growth path. A rep who's maxed out at the same commission rate with no path to team lead or manager income will eventually leave to start their own company.
Build your plan to address all three: competitive upside for top producers, complete transparency in tracking, and a defined path from rep → senior rep → team lead → manager.
Key Takeaways
- Standard full-cycle rep commission in storm roofing is 7–10% of collected revenue — adjust based on whether leads are self-generated or company-supplied
- Tiered commission rates reward top producers and keep them from leaving for competitors
- Pay on collected, not on signed — aligns rep incentives with actual revenue collection
- Define clawback terms in writing before your first hire — commission disputes are expensive and common
- Transparent, accurate, timely commission tracking is a retention tool — reps who trust their pay focus on selling, not auditing
- Build a career path from rep to management — top performers need growth options or they'll go start their own company
Further Reading
- Roofing Sales Pipeline: From First Knock to Closed Job — The pipeline that commission tracking is built on — every stage should connect to rep earnings
- How to Track Roofing Sales Rep Performance — The activity and output metrics that explain the commission outcomes you're tracking
- Ketterly for Roofing Sales Reps — Commission tracking, pipeline visibility, and mobile tools built for reps who are paid on performance
- Ketterly Commission Tracking — See how Ketterly automatically calculates rep, manager, and team lead commissions the moment a job closes