Sales Commission Clawback Calculator
Sales commission clawbacks reduce paid commission when customers churn or reps leave within a vesting window. Most SaaS contracts require 6-12 month tenure and 90-day customer retention. This tool computes clawback exposure under realistic scenarios.
Typical SaaS Clawback Terms
Most SaaS sales comp plans include: (1) 12-month vesting for full commission. (2) Customer must remain 90-180 days for commission to vest. (3) Voluntary resignation before vesting triggers full or pro-rata clawback. (4) Layoff for cause: usually triggers clawback. (5) Layoff without cause: usually NO clawback. Read the comp plan addenda carefully.
Customer Churn Clawback Rules
Most plans: (1) Customer churns within 30 days — 100% commission clawed back. (2) Churn 31-90 days — 75% clawback. (3) Churn 91-180 days — 50% clawback. (4) Churn after 180 days — 0% clawback. Some plans extend retention requirement to 12 months for high-ARR deals to align rep behavior with long-term retention.
How To Reduce Clawback Risk
Three plays: (1) Time job changes after major commission vest dates — don't leave 1 week before $50K vests. (2) Negotiate accelerated vesting in offer letter if you have leverage. (3) Pre-screen deals — declining a high-risk-of-churn deal protects future comp better than booking it for the spiff. Top reps build long-tenured customer base specifically to avoid clawback exposure.
Source: RepVue 2025 Sales Comp Survey, Pavilion CRO Compensation Index 2025. Last updated: May 2026.