Paying your team based on what each person actually delivered is the most transparent way to align incentives: the barber who does more cuts takes home more, the seller who closes the right product gets paid for the effort. BookHero lets you configure commission rules per employee and per service (or product), as a percentage or a fixed amount, and then it computes each person's share automatically at the end of the period.
This guide walks you from the first click in the 'Commissions' tab all the way to seeing the estimated total appear in the employees report. You will learn the difference between a global rule and a specific rule, how the value is computed against what the customer actually paid, and which permissions control who sees the numbers.
Where the matrix lives and how it is organised
Commissions live in Employees, Commissions, the third tab inside the Employees module. To open it you need the manage-commissions permission (Owner or Manager). Employees and basic accounts have read-only access to their own row, with no editing.
The matrix is a table where each column is one employee (or pending invite) and each row is a target: the 'Default' row applies when no specific rule exists, and below it you get one row per active service, add-on and product. Each cell shows the current commission (for example '40%' or '€5.00') or a '+' to mean no rule yet.
Step by step: create your first rule
Open Employees, Commissions
Side menu, Employees, then the 'Commissions' tab. The matrix loads with every employee in columns and every service and product in rows.
Pick the cell
Click the cell at the intersection of the employee and the target (default, service, add-on or product) where you want the rule to apply. The 'Edit commission' modal opens, pre-filled for that intersection.
Choose the type: percentage or fixed
Two toggles at the top of the modal. 'Percentage' applies a % over the amount charged. 'Fixed amount' pays the same regardless of the final price. Each rule is one or the other, never both at once.
Type the value
For percentage, type the number directly (40 = 40%). For fixed, type the amount in euros with cents (5 = €5.00; 12.50 = €12.50). The field accepts dot or comma as the decimal separator.
Save
Green 'Save' button at the bottom of the modal. The cell immediately shows the new value. Later, if you want to remove the rule, click the cell again and use the 'Clear commission' button.
Percentage or fixed: which one to choose
This is the first decision and it has real consequences at month-end. The practical difference is simple: a percentage follows the price (goes up if you raise the price, goes down if there's a discount), while a fixed amount is independent of what the customer paid.
| Percentage | Fixed amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Tracks the actual price charged | Yes, computed on the amount paid. | No, pays the same every time. |
| Good for variable-priced services | Yes, the standard case (haircut, colouring). | Bad, gets diluted on expensive services. |
| Good for selling products | Works, but the value is small if margin is low. | Yes, perfect to reward per-unit sales. |
| Predictable for the employee | Varies with the average ticket. | Yes, the employee knows exactly what they get. |
| Easy to explain to the team | '40% on everything you bill'. | '€5 per product sold'. |
When to use the 'Default' row
The 'Default' row kicks in when there's no specific rule for that service or product. It's the fallback: BookHero looks for a specific rule first (service X with employee Y); if none exists, it falls back to that employee's default; if there's no default either, the commission is zero.
In practice, the 'Default' row is the shortcut to set a global percentage per employee, only overriding special cases. Example: Sophie works at 35% on everything (default row), except on colouring where she takes 45% (service row). Two rules instead of one per service.
Common use cases
How the calculation actually works
Commission is applied only to completed bookings, that is bookings where you've already closed the checkout. Future bookings, cancelled bookings and unbilled bookings don't count towards the report.
For each service or product line in a sale, BookHero looks at the assigned employee, finds the applicable commission rule (specific first, default after) and computes against the amount actually charged. This means that if you applied a discount, the percentage falls on the discounted value, not on the list price.
Where you see the numbers: the employees report
The calculated commission doesn't live inside the matrix: it shows up in the employees report, in Reports, Employees. There, for the period you filtered, you get the revenue each person generated, the minutes worked, the occupancy, and next to it the estimated commission (the sum of commissions across every completed booking in the period).
Who sees what: permissions
Commissions are sensitive information, and BookHero separates who can edit from who can see. There are two independent rules:
- Owner and Manager: see the whole matrix (every employee, every target) and can edit any cell. These roles are set up to manage commissions on behalf of the business.
- Employee and Basic: see only their own column in the matrix, read-only. There's no '+' affordance, and clicking a cell doesn't open the modal. Useful for transparency: the employee knows their rate, but doesn't see what others take.
- If you want to fully block employees from the commissions section, turn off the 'View own commissions' permission on their role. The page then redirects them to the dashboard.
FAQ: common questions
Can I apply percentage AND fixed amount at the same time on the same service?
No. Each rule is either percentage or fixed amount. To combine (for example, €2 fixed plus 30%), you'd have to set the rule as an adjusted percentage or as an equivalent fixed amount. Alternatively, split the service into two (base service + add-on), with different rules for each.
If I don't set any rule for an employee, what happens?
Commission is zero. BookHero never assumes a default at the business level; each employee starts with no rules and you set them on purpose. The 'Default' row in the matrix is per person, not global for the business.
Is the commission calculated on the list price or on the amount paid?
On the amount paid, as recorded at checkout. If there was a discount, the percentage applies to the discounted value. If you adjusted the price at sale time, the percentage follows. It's the behaviour stated at the top of the matrix itself: 'For variable-priced services, percentage uses the final charged price'.
Can I have different rules for add-ons and physical products?
Yes. The matrix has three sections: Services, Add-ons and Products. Each one has its own rows and you can set independent rules in each. Handy when an add-on has a higher margin and you want to reward the sale more.
How do I remove a commission I no longer need?
Click the cell with the rule to open the 'Edit commission' modal and use the 'Clear commission' button at the bottom. The cell goes back to showing the '+', and that person's commission on that target falls back to the 'Default' rule (if any) or to zero.
Best practices for day-to-day
- Start simple: set the 'Default' per person before creating any exceptions. The matrix stays readable, and you only override services where the rule really differs.
- Review commissions at the start of each quarter, alongside your price list. The two go hand in hand.
- In small teams, share the employees report at month-end: transparency about the calculation saves harder conversations later.
- If you'll change a rule mid-month, consider closing out the checkout of everything that's ready before you touch it. Avoids confusion about what counts at the new rate.
- Configure each employee's services matrix (in Employees, Services) before commissions: that way you only see in the list what that person actually performs.
Up next in the help centre
- Add employees and individual schedules: invite the team and define what each one does before configuring commissions.
- Create and manage services: structure your price list, which is the base on which the percentage is calculated.
- How to checkout in BookHero: understand the moment when the commission is recorded (on the amount actually charged).
- Read reports in BookHero: where you see the estimated commission per employee at the end of the period.