Employees and salesmen
An employee is a party with a balance that receives cashier shift differences. A salesman is a party who earns a commission on invoices, paid through a payment voucher.
On this page
The employee: a party with a balance
The Employee role gives a person their own balance on account 1420 Employee receivables. Its main use today is the cashier difference account: when a cashier closes a shift and the counted cash differs from the expected cash, the difference is posted to this employee's balance instead of the general "Cash differences" account.
Linking a cashier to their balance
- Define the cashier as a party from Accounts, then New party with the Employee role.
- Open Users from the main menu, then the cashier's profile, POS tab.
- In the field Cashier difference account (employee) choose the party you defined. The system refuses any party without the employee role.
From then on a shortage in the drawer becomes a debt owed by the employee, and a surplus reduces that debt. The accounting is explained in Where shift differences are posted, and the rest of the cashier settings in Setting up the cashier user.
What happens in the books
A shortage of 10 at shift close: debit 1420 Employee receivables under the employee's name 10, credit the shift cashbox 10. A surplus of 5: debit the cashbox 5, credit Employee receivables under their name 5. Without a cashier difference account the counterpart goes to 5220 Cash differences as an anonymous general expense.
Tracking the employee's balance
Open Reports, then Statement, choose Employee and the name. Every shift difference appears with its date and shift number, and the running balance is what the employee owes. It is settled with a receipt voucher from them or a manual entry in advanced accounting, depending on your policy.
Watch out
An employee party with a balance cannot be deactivated. And if you remove the employee role from a party that is set on a cashier, that cashier's differences fall back to the general cash differences account automatically, because the role is checked at the moment of closing.
The salesman: a party with a commission
A salesman is a party with the Salesman role. It can be created in two ways that lead to the same result:
- From Accounts, then New party, choosing the salesman role; the Salesman tab then appears on the form.
- From Accounts, then Salesmen with the New salesman button. This screen appears only when the "Salesmen" feature is enabled under Settings, then Features; see Features and simple mode.
Either way creates a party with the salesman role. Removing the role later disables the salesman instead of deleting them, so old invoices keep their name.
The commission rule
On the Salesman tab you choose the Commission type and the Rate %:
| Type | When it accrues | On what amount |
|---|---|---|
| % of sales | The moment a sales invoice carrying the salesman in its header is posted | The invoice net before tax, in the base currency |
| % of collections | When payments are collected from the customer | The collected amount |
Leave the rate empty if the salesman is linked to invoices for reporting only, with no commission.
How the salesman is linked to an invoice
When you set a salesman on a customer in the Salesman field, every invoice for that customer picks them up automatically, and you can change it on the invoice itself. If the field on the invoice has no options, the hint under it names one of two reasons: no salesmen are defined yet, or you lack permission to view salesmen.
Tracking and paying commissions
- Open Sales, then Salesmen commissions (shown with the salesmen feature). The table lists every commission with its source, rate, amount and status: Due, Paid, or Cancelled. Above the table is the Total due.
- To pay, create a payment voucher from Documents, then Payment vouchers, choose the purpose Salesman commission, the salesman and the amount. See Receipt and payment vouchers.
- When the voucher is posted, the salesman's due commissions are marked Paid from oldest to newest until the amount is used up. A commission the remainder cannot cover stays due.
What happens in the books
Accruing the commission when the invoice is posted writes no entry; it is a tracking record only. The entry is written when it is paid: debit 5240 Salesmen commissions under the salesman's name, credit the cashbox or bank. If the invoice is cancelled before payment its commission becomes "Cancelled", and if the payment voucher is cancelled its commissions return to "Due".
Tip
A "% of sales" commission is calculated on the net after all discounts and before tax. If you want to motivate the salesman to collect rather than only sell, choose "% of collections".
Frequently asked questions
Must the cashier be an employee party to work on the POS?
No. A user works on the POS as soon as POS is enabled on their profile. The employee party is optional and is used only when you want shift differences posted to a named balance.
I cancelled an invoice that had a commission. What happens?
The due commission for that invoice becomes "Cancelled" automatically. If it had already been paid it stays paid, and you handle the difference on the next voucher.
Why does the Salesman tab not appear on the party form?
Because the party does not carry the salesman role. Add the role and save, and the tab appears.