An incentive period runs in four movements: targets are set for each member, performance accrues as KPI records, the engine evaluates achievement into compensation lines, and the results are reviewed and marked paid. This page walks the cycle on a plan that is already built — see Incentive plans for the plan structure itself.
Prerequisites
- An incentive plan with status Approved — draft plans are never evaluated.
- Members enrolled (incentive resources) matching the plan's member type.
- At least one incentive line with targets and compensation slabs.
Procedure
Step 1 — Set targets for the period
Give every member a target value for the period. The incentive plan page offers two routes:
- The target grids. The plan page's Targets by Resources tab is an editable grid — members as rows, periods as columns, a KPI dropdown to switch measures. Type the values into the cells and Save; edits batch into one update. The Targets by KPI tab shows the same assignments pivoted by measure.
- The plan page actions. Create Incentive Target defines a new measure, Create Incentive Line adds a qualification line, and Create Compensation Slab adds a payout band — the plan page's slab builder walks the same three pieces together as a form. Individual member assignments are incentive resource target records: one member, one target, one period, one value.
A member without an assignment — or with a value of zero — cannot qualify, so a complete grid is the checkpoint before the period starts.
Step 2 — Performance accrues
During the period, performance builds up as Performance KPI records tied to the plan, the period and the target — each row carrying who performed (account, partner, branch or resource, per the plan's member type), optionally which item, and the counts, amounts and quantities the target types read. These records arrive from your transaction flows or are loaded in bulk — see Import data — and the engine evaluates whatever is present at evaluation time, so KPI completeness is what makes results trustworthy.
Step 3 — Evaluate into compensation lines
Evaluation is triggered by saving a compensation line. Create a compensation record for the plan and period, add a line per member (naming the member, plan and period), and save. On save the engine:
- Confirms the plan is Approved and loads its lines, the member's target assignments and the period's KPI records.
- Sums the matching KPI records per target and stamps the achieved figures onto the line.
- Computes achievement percentages, qualifies slabs, and writes the reward — amount, gifts, discount group or scheme.
To re-evaluate — after late KPI data or a slab correction — save the line again; the engine recomputes from current data and replaces the previous result.
Step 4 — Review and close out
Review the compensation record: the header carries the total incentive amount across its lines. Per line, check the achieved figures against expectations (they show exactly what the engine counted), record an override incentive amount where a reviewed figure should stand next to the computed one, set the line's status per your process, and mark is compensation received once the payout reaches the member. The Rewards reports give the period-wise and per-member views for sign-off.
Expected result
Every eligible member has a non-zero target for the intended period, the KPI population is complete through the cutoff, and saving each compensation line produces achieved values that can be traced to those records. The compensation header equals the reviewed line totals, overrides remain explicit rather than replacing the computed evidence, and is compensation received is set only after payout. If a result is unexpected, compare member eligibility, period boundaries, target assignment and KPI completeness in that order before re-saving the line.
Common questions
When exactly does evaluation run?
When a compensation line is saved — creation and updates both trigger it. There is no waiting on a schedule: the moment the line for a member, plan and period is saved, the result is on it. That also means nothing is evaluated until compensation lines exist for the period.
Targets changed mid-period — what happens?
Nothing retroactive on its own. Evaluation always reads the current target values and KPI data, so the next save of each affected compensation line recomputes against the new targets. Re-save the period's lines after any target correction.
Can I run the same plan for the next period without rebuilding it?
Yes — periods were generated for the plan's whole date range when it was created. Set the members' target values for the next period (a new column in the target grid), let KPI records accrue, and create that period's compensation lines when it closes.