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What does a commissions analyst do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read

A commission analyst is responsible for reviewing financial information and reviewing account statements to post accurate updates on the company's database. Commission analysts assess financial and business transactions, write cost analysis reports, and perform account reconciliation procedures. They also resolve billing discrepancies and identify opportunities to minimize financial loss and increase revenues. A commission analyst must have excellent communication and analytical skills, as well as extensive knowledge of the financial industry, verifying the accuracy of account information, and validating commission reports.

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Commissions analyst responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real commissions analyst resumes:

  • Manage analysis and settlement of treasury activity for all markets.
  • Utilize the Salesforce tool in order to research commission data that has been provide by the sales team.
  • Coordinate, prepare, and analyze documents for SOX requirements and audits.
  • Review CRM database for out of date sales opportunities, missing part information or client updates.
  • Run analysis (SQL reports, excel) to compare variance at the time of termination.
  • Researched/Compare billing system (CSG) to sales software (SalesForce) and contracts for confirmation of commission earn.
  • Retrieve, gather data from SQL reports, billings, invoices, contracts and manipulate the data into excel spreadsheets.
  • Calculate and book monthly commission accruals.
  • Perform general ledger account analysis and reconciliations.
  • Account reconciliations from billing to calculate salesperson commissions.
  • Reconcile payroll check distribution and permanent employee advance accounts monthly.
  • Prepare adjustments before commissions are finalize and transmit to the payroll department.
  • Investigate and resolve commission appeals by sale persons using Microsoft excel and proprietary software.
  • Help meet SOX compliance by auditing bi-weekly commission statements and completing documentation for external auditors.
  • Analyze annual/quarterly/monthly budget, expense and quota to ensure proper allocation/usage, booking accruals and releases.

Commissions analyst skills and personality traits

We calculated that 10% of Commissions Analysts are proficient in Calculation, Payroll, and Salesforce. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Interpersonal skills.

We break down the percentage of Commissions Analysts that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Calculation, 10%

    Developed matrix type calculation process while establishing complete audit trail for specialized commission calculations where no process previously existed.

  • Payroll, 9%

    Prepared adjustments before commissions are finalized and transmitted to the payroll department.

  • Salesforce, 9%

    Pull commission reports from SalesForce and Wizard System's weekly or as needed for the CRC and ARM Team's.

  • HR, 6%

    Partnered with HR Compensation, Operations Center, Sales Finance and Sales to ensure the proper application of policies and procedures.

  • Pivot Tables, 5%

    Collected sales trends, record, and evaluated performance calculated against sales quotas using pivot tables within excel (quarterly).

  • Reconciliations, 4%

    Process policy year reconciliations sent over from Underwriting.

"calculation," "payroll," and "salesforce" are among the most common skills that commissions analysts use at work. You can find even more commissions analyst responsibilities below, including:

Analytical skills. The most essential soft skill for a commissions analyst to carry out their responsibilities is analytical skills. This skill is important for the role because "management analysts must be able to interpret information and use their findings to make proposals." Additionally, a commissions analyst resume shows how their duties depend on analytical skills: "reconcile and analyze monthly statements in preparation for monthly financial reports. "

Communication skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling commissions analyst duties is communication skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "management analysts must be able to convey information clearly in both writing and speaking." According to a commissions analyst resume, here's how commissions analysts can utilize communication skills in their job responsibilities: "coordinate communication to relevant stakeholders (sales, finance, hr, bus ops) regarding policy changes. "

Interpersonal skills. This is an important skill for commissions analysts to perform their duties. For an example of how commissions analyst responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "management analysts work with managers and other employees of the organizations for which they provide consulting services." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a commissions analyst: "utilized excellent interpersonal skills and diplomacy communicating with foreign and u.s. military and government officials resulting in flawless international communications boards. ".

Problem-solving skills. A big part of what commissions analysts do relies on "problem-solving skills." You can see how essential it is to commissions analyst responsibilities because "management analysts must be able to think creatively to solve clients’ problems." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical commissions analyst tasks: "resolved accounting outages after month end reconciliations for 7 companies. "

Time-management skills. Another crucial skill for a commissions analyst to carry out their responsibilities is "time-management skills." A big part of what commissions analysts relies on this skill, since "management analysts often work under tight deadlines and must use their time efficiently to complete projects on schedule." How this skill relates to commissions analyst duties can be seen in an example from a commissions analyst resume snippet: "processed monthly commissions for domestic and international sales reps and managers within strict deadlines. "

Most common commissions analyst skills

The three companies that hire the most commissions analysts are:

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Compare different commissions analysts

Commissions analyst vs. Analyst sales

Analyst sales, or a sales analyst, is an individual who is responsible for increasing sales and revenue of a company by running competitive analysis and making recommendations on how the marketing and sales team should move forward. Sales analysts must assist in the review of monthly financial statements and prepare complex financial statements for retail and service businesses. They develop and provide market intelligence data solutions for the sales team to maximize territory sales efforts. Sales analysts must also maintain a business relationship with key account top management to deliver outstanding customer service and assistance.

If we compare the average commissions analyst annual salary with that of an analyst sales, we find that analyst sales typically earn a $11,720 higher salary than commissions analysts make annually.Even though commissions analysts and analyst sales are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require salesforce, pivot tables, and reconciliations in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a commissions analyst are more likely to require skills like "calculation," "payroll," "hr," and "accruals." On the other hand, a job as an analyst sales requires skills like "customer service," "strong analytical," "financial analysis," and "sales performance." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

Analyst sales tend to make the most money working in the finance industry, where they earn an average salary of $80,458. In contrast, commissions analysts make the biggest average salary, $63,827, in the technology industry.The education levels that analyst sales earn slightly differ from commissions analysts. In particular, analyst sales are 0.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a commissions analyst. Additionally, they're 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Commissions analyst vs. Staff analyst

Staff Analysts are employees who oversee the activities related to the employees. They monitor the performance of the employees and assess whether particular employees suit the role they have. They also assess the current roles in the company to see if those roles are really needed. Staff Analysts ensure that the manpower allocation in the company is efficient. They analyze staff-related data to check whether there are more areas for improvement. Staff Analysts may also be assigned to come up with projects related to improving productivity.

Staff analyst positions earn higher pay than commissions analyst roles. They earn a $41,785 higher salary than commissions analysts per year.A few skills overlap for commissions analysts and staff analysts. Resumes from both professions show that the duties of each career rely on skills like "hr," "process improvement," and "sql. "

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, commissions analyst responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "calculation," "payroll," "salesforce," and "pivot tables." Meanwhile, a staff analyst has duties that require skills in areas such as "project management," "technical support," "windows," and "logistics." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

Staff analysts may earn a higher salary than commissions analysts, but staff analysts earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $107,444. On the other hand, commissions analysts receive higher pay in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $63,827.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Staff analysts tend to reach higher levels of education than commissions analysts. In fact, they're 5.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Commissions analyst vs. Data analyst

Data analysts are responsible for interpreting the company's statistics and providing sound recommendations to the organization. They manage the organization's data sets, usually related to market performance, finance, or human resources. They are in charge of studying the available data, spotting trends, interpreting what the data and the trends mean, and recommending suggestions that will help the organization perform better. Their recommendations should also be relevant and backed up with strong analyses. Data analysts are expected to have a good grasp of the current market trends in the industry.

On average scale, data analysts bring in higher salaries than commissions analysts. In fact, they earn a $16,969 higher salary per year.By looking over several commissions analysts and data analysts resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "salesforce," "hr," and "pivot tables." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a commissions analyst is likely to be skilled in "calculation," "payroll," "reconciliations," and "crm," while a typical data analyst is skilled in "python," "power bi," "data management," and "visualization."

Data analysts earn the highest salary when working in the finance industry, where they receive an average salary of $86,172. Comparatively, commissions analysts have the highest earning potential in the technology industry, with an average salary of $63,827.data analysts typically earn higher educational levels compared to commissions analysts. Specifically, they're 5.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.9% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Commissions analyst vs. Business analyst internship

A Business Analyst Intern provides support to the business analysis team in preparing business plans and strategies. They make suggestions for improvements, write reports, perform research, and analyze data.

Business analyst interns typically earn lower pay than commissions analysts. On average, business analyst interns earn a $11,813 lower salary per year.According to resumes from commissions analysts and business analyst interns, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "salesforce," "hr," and "pivot tables. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap between commissions analysts and business analyst interns, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a commissions analyst might have more use for skills like "calculation," "payroll," "reconciliations," and "crm." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of business analyst interns require skills like "business analysts," "user stories," "project management," and "strong analytical. "

Business analyst interns enjoy the best pay in the professional industry, with an average salary of $55,443. For comparison, commissions analysts earn the highest salary in the technology industry.In general, business analyst interns hold higher degree levels compared to commissions analysts. Business analyst interns are 12.1% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of commissions analyst

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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