An incentive target (an Incentive Target record) says what an incentive plan measures, such as sale amount, the number of sale orders or a KPI configuration, and optionally narrows it to an item, an item group or an account. Each target belongs to an incentive line. It is the "measured on what" part of a plan: members get a quota for each target in each period, performance accrues against it, and the line's compensation slabs turn the achieved percentage into pay. This page covers adding and changing targets, what every field does, how quotas are generated and how a target is scored.
Overview
A target answers three questions:
- What is counted. The Incentive Target Type picks the measure, such as Sale Amount or No Of Sale Orders. When a KPI Configuration is set instead, the target is scored from that configuration's KPI data, and the target type no longer decides the figure.
- Which documents count. The Item, Item Group, Account and Account Group fields narrow the measure, so that only sales of one brand or to one dealer count.
- Against what number. Each member's quota for the target in a period is an Incentive Resource Target. The Target Value Type and Value can generate those quotas for every member, or you enter them yourself.
A line can carry several targets. The line's Definition Filter Criteria decides whether all of them, any of them or a custom combination must qualify (see Incentive plans).
When to use it
Add a target to every incentive line that should pay on measured performance. Use one target per measure. A line that pays when a rep sells 500,000 and books 40 orders has two targets. If a measure is not one of the built-in target types, such as visits completed or collections on a particular field, build a KPI configuration and link the target to it.
How xMatix handles it
- Saving a target can generate quotas. When the Target Value Type is Fixed Value, Value Across Periods or Value Across Resources, saving the target queues the Generate incentive target quotas job. The job writes one quota per member per open period.
- Performance accrues per target. When a sale order, invoice, purchase order or other document goes through its KPI calculation, xMatix records Performance KPI rows for each target of each Approved plan that the document can move. A target with a KPI configuration is fed by that configuration's KPI data instead. See Running an incentive cycle.
- Scoring happens on the compensation line. When a member's compensation line is scored, each target compares the member's achieved value with their quota for that period. The first slab whose band contains the percentage qualifies the target.
Prerequisites
- An incentive plan with at least one incentive line. Targets are added inside a line.
- For generated quotas, the plan needs its periods and members first. Both are normally created when the plan is saved.
- For a KPI-based target, the KPI configuration must exist.
- Permission to create and edit Incentive Target records (see Permissions).
Procedure
Step 1 — Add a target to an incentive line
- Open the incentive plan and go to the Related tab. The top of the tab is the line builder, with one panel per incentive line.
- In the line's panel, click Condition (the button with a plus sign). A new target row appears.
- Choose the Incentive Target Type. It is required. If you save without it, the box is marked and nothing is saved.
- Optionally pick a KPI Configuration, and an Operation if the target should pass only when the achieved value compares with the quota in a particular way.
- Choose the Target Value Type. A Value box appears only for Fixed Value, Value Across Periods, or when no type is chosen. For Value Across Resources and the three Resource Target types, the row has no Value box. For Value Across Resources, set the Value on the target's record page afterwards (Step 3).
- Click the save icon at the end of the row. The message Target saved appears, and the row switches to read-only.
The row saves the target against the plan and the line. The target's Name is an INT number from the incentive target numbering. Targets are numbered within the line in the order the rows appear, and this order is the Sequence Number that custom logic such as {1} AND {2} refers to.
The line builder row has no item, account or Custom KPI fields. To narrow a target or name a custom field, finish the row first, then open the target's record page (Step 3).
Step 2 — Check the quotas
If the target generates quotas, open Targets by Resources on the plan after a few moments, and pick the target's KPI configuration in the drop-down. Each member has one cell per period. Quotas of a target with no KPI configuration are hidden as soon as any quota has one, so give each target its own KPI configuration. You can type over a cell and click Save (n), but the next regeneration of the target resets it. See Member quotas for the grid, imports and regeneration.
If no quotas appear, open Setup → Platform → Monitoring → Jobs and find the Generate incentive target quotas run. Its summary says how many quotas were created, updated or left unchanged, and lists every target it skipped with the reason (see Common problems).
For the Resource Target types, nothing is generated. Import the quotas as Incentive Resource Target rows with Import data. Each row names the target, the member, the period and the Value.
Step 3 — Narrow or change a target on its record page
The target's record page shows all its fields in four sections: Information, Target Parameters, Finance & Insurance and Custom KPIs. The target is not in any app's navigation. You reach its page from the Name link in a target list. For example, open a line from the Incentive Line list on the plan's Related tab, then use the line page's target list.
- Click Edit in the page header. The target form opens.
- Change the fields you need. For example, pick an Item Group under Target Parameters so that only that group's items count, or enter the Value for a Value Across Resources target.
- Save.
If you changed the Value, the Target Value Type, the KPI Configuration, the plan or the line, the quotas are regenerated, and hand-edited cells on that target are reset.
The section at the bottom of the page lists Incentive Resource Target records. In the standard layout, this list is not limited to the target you are looking at. Use Targets by Resources on the plan, with the target's KPI configuration picked, to see its quotas.
Step 4 — Change or remove a target in the line builder
- Change. Click the pencil icon on the target's row, change the values, and save the row again. Saving sends only the boxes that have a value. Emptying a box on a saved row keeps the old value, so use the record page's Edit to clear a field.
- Remove. Click the red bin icon on the row. The target is deleted straight away, without a confirmation. It stops counting towards the line from the next time a compensation line is scored. Rows that remain keep their sequence numbers until each one is saved again, so re-save the rows if the line uses custom logic.
Fields
Information
| Field | What it means | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Incentive Plan | The plan the target belongs to | Filled for you when the target is added in the line builder. Performance accrues to a target, and quotas are generated for it, only when this field is set |
| Incentive Target Type | The measure | Required in the line builder. See What each target type counts. Ignored for scoring when a KPI Configuration is set |
| Value | The figure that quotas are generated from | Used by Fixed Value, Value Across Periods and Value Across Resources, and must be greater than zero for them. For a target with a KPI configuration, it is also the quota for a member who has none |
| KPI Configuration | Scores the target from a KPI configuration's data | When set, the target type, the item and account filters and Custom KPI Field Name are not used. Generated quotas carry this configuration, which is how the Targets grids group them |
| Operation | A pass/fail check between the achieved value and the quota | Picklist: Equals, Not Equals, Greater Than, Greater or Equal, Less Than, Less or Equal. Applies only to targets with a KPI configuration. Left empty, the slab bands alone decide |
| Target Value Type | Where the members' quotas come from | Picklist: Fixed Value, Value Across Periods, Value Across Resources, Resource Target, Resource Target Last Period, Resource Target Percentage. Only the first three generate quotas |
| Value Percentage | Scales the quota before comparing | Applies only to targets with a KPI configuration. At 80%, a member with a quota of 100 is measured against 80. Not shown in the line builder |
Target Parameters
| Field | What it means | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Item | Counts only lines of this item | Not used for targets with a KPI configuration. See Business rules for the effect on counts and amounts |
| SKU | Not used | Stored only. The SKU of an item group member is checked instead (see Item Group) |
| Item Group | Counts only lines whose item is an active member of this group | Group members pinned to a SKU never match, because performance rows do not record the SKU. Not used for targets with a KPI configuration |
| Item Lot Type | Not used | Stored only |
| Account | Counts only documents for this customer account | Purchase orders and bills have no customer account, so they never count towards a target with an Account |
| Account Group | Counts only documents whose customer is an active member of this group | Only groups with Account Group Type Scheme are checked. The seeded picklist has no Scheme value, so add it before relying on this filter (see Configuration) |
Finance & Insurance and Custom KPIs
| Field | What it means | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Financer | Not used | Stored only. It does not filter what is counted |
| Financer Scheme | Not used | Stored only |
| Insurance Scheme | Not used | Stored only. See the Insurance Scheme question |
| Custom KPI Field Name | The Performance KPI field that a Custom KPI target reads | Must be the exact field name, such as TotalBillAmount. See the Custom KPI row below |
What each target type counts
For a target without a KPI configuration, the Incentive Target Type picks the figure from the member's Performance KPI rows for the plan and period:
| Incentive Target Type | Counted from | What it counts |
|---|---|---|
| No Of Sale Orders | Sale orders | One per order |
| Sale Order Amount | Sale orders | Order total including tax |
| Sale Order Quantity | Sale orders | Total line quantity |
| Sale Amount | Invoices | Invoice total including tax |
| No Of Unique Invoices | Invoices | The number of different customer accounts invoiced, not the number of invoices |
| No Of Unique Items | Sale orders and invoices | The number of different items sold. Needs an Item Group on the target, otherwise it counts nothing |
| Purchase Order Amount | Purchase orders | Order total without tax |
| Purchase Order Quantity | Purchase orders | Total line quantity |
| Custom KPI | Nothing is recorded for it automatically | Reads the Performance KPI field named in Custom KPI Field Name, but documents never record rows for a Custom KPI target. It counts only rows you import yourself. Use a KPI configuration instead |
Every other value in the picklist counts nothing. That includes Sale Invoice Quantity, No Of Purchase Orders, No Of Bills, Bill Amount, Service Amount and the finance, insurance, hours and repair types. The engine also measures No Of Invoices and Invoice Quantity, but these spellings are not in the seeded picklist. Add them as picklist values if you need them (see Configuration).
Business rules
- Quota generation.
- Fixed Value: every member gets the Value in every period.
- Value Across Periods: the Value is divided by the number of periods in the plan.
- Value Across Resources: the Value is divided by the number of members.
Divided quotas are rounded to two decimals. The division always uses all the plan's periods and members, but quotas are written only for open periods. Periods with Status Approved or Posted keep the quotas they were paid against. Simulation periods are left out.
- When quotas regenerate. On a new target, and when the target's Value, Target Value Type, KPI Configuration, plan or line changes. Quotas also regenerate when members are added to or removed from the plan. Each run updates the existing quotas in place, so any quota that differs from the generated figure is overwritten, including one you typed by hand. Duplicate quotas for the same member, target and period are removed, because the engine would add them together.
- Generated quota names. Each new quota gets a number from the Incentive Resource Target numbering (series INRT). See Member quotas.
- Scoring a target without a KPI configuration. The achieved value is the sum over the member's matching Performance KPI rows for that plan and period. Achievement is the achieved value divided by the member's quota. A member with no quota for the target and period scores nothing on it.
- Scoring a target with a KPI configuration. The quota is the member's quota when it is above zero, and otherwise the target's Value. Value Percentage then scales it. The achieved value comes from the member's KPI data row. If an Operation is set and does not hold, the target does not qualify.
- Slabs. The line's slabs are checked in sequence order, and the first slab whose band contains the achievement qualifies the target. A slab tied to a KPI configuration qualifies only through a target with that configuration. See Compensation.
- Item filters.
- With an Item or an Item Group, a target counts only the matching lines. The amount types then count the matching lines' Amount, not the document total, and the quantity types count those lines' quantity.
- The count types (No Of Sale Orders and the counts the engine adds, such as No Of Invoices) count nothing once an Item or Item Group is set.
- When both are set, a line counts if it matches either.
- Account filters. Account and Account Group are checked when the document's performance is recorded. A document whose customer does not match is not recorded against the target at all.
- Performance is recorded once per document. A document that has already been through its KPI calculation is not recorded again. A target added later, or an Approved plan approved later, does not pick up documents that were already calculated.
- Targets need a line to be scored. The engine scores the targets of each incentive line. A target with no Incentive Line, for example one imported without it, still gets quotas and accrues performance, but it never qualifies a slab. The target form has no Incentive Line field, so set it in the import.
- Partner plans. On an Approved Partner plan, the partner portal shows one target per member and period: the first target in sequence order whose type is Sale Order Amount, Sale Order Quantity, Sale Amount or Invoice Quantity and that has a goal. The goal is the member's quota for that period, or the target's Value. See Partner portals.
Example
A distributor runs a monthly plan for its field reps, with 12 periods and 8 members. The plan's line "Brand focus" uses All Conditions Are Met and has two targets:
- Target 1: Sale Amount, Value Across Resources, with no Value box in the row. After saving the row, the sales administrator opens the target from the line's target list, clicks Edit and enters a Value of 800,000. They also pick the item group "Premium range" under Target Parameters. The quota job gives each rep 100,000 per month (800,000 ÷ 8 members).
- Target 2: No Of Unique Items, Fixed Value, Value 6. On its record page, the administrator sets the same item group, because a unique-items target counts nothing without one. Each rep needs six different premium items per month.
In March, one rep invoices 120,000 of premium items, spread across seven different items. Target 1 is at 120% and target 2 at 116%. Both fall inside a slab, so the line qualifies. Sales of other items do not count towards either target, and the invoice amounts counted are the premium lines' amounts, not the invoice totals.
Training
Practice exercise
In a sandbox, on a monthly test plan with at least two members:
- On the Related tab, add a line, then add a condition with Incentive Target Type Sale Order Amount, Target Value Type Fixed Value and Value 50,000. Save the row.
- Open Targets by Resources, then check that each member shows 50,000 in each open period.
- Edit the row, change the Value to 60,000 and save it again.
Expected result: after a moment, every open-period cell shows 60,000, including any cell you had typed over. The Jobs screen shows a Generate incentive target quotas run with quotas updated.
Quick reference
- One target is one measure. A line combines its targets by the Definition Filter Criteria.
- Fixed Value, Value Across Periods and Value Across Resources generate quotas. The other types need imported quotas.
- The line builder shows a Value box only for Fixed Value, Value Across Periods and an empty type.
- Changing Value, Target Value Type or KPI Configuration regenerates quotas and resets hand edits.
- Item, Item Group, Account and Account Group filters are set on the record page, not in the line builder.
- Count targets count nothing once an item filter is set. No Of Unique Items needs an item group.
- Custom KPI targets get no automatic performance. Use a KPI configuration.
- Operation and Value Percentage apply only to targets with a KPI configuration.
Permissions
Incentive Target records follow the entity permissions on each security profile. In the seeded profiles, Sales Executive, Sales Manager, Standard User and System Admin have full access (read, create, edit and delete). For a user without create or edit access, saving a target row fails with a Save failed message.
Because reps have full access in the seeded profiles, they can change the targets they are paid on. If only administrators should define targets, reduce Incentive Target, and Incentive Resource Target for quotas, to read-only on the Sales Executive and Standard User profiles.
Configuration
- Target type values. Add values to the Incentive Target Type picklist from the field's row on the Incentive Target entity, with Manage PickList Values (see Data model). To use the engine's No Of Invoices or Invoice Quantity, add values spelt exactly like that. New values with any other spelling count nothing.
- Scheme account groups. For the Account Group filter to work, add Scheme to the Account Group Type picklist on the Account Group entity in the same way, set the group's type to Scheme, and keep its members active. See Account groups.
- Numbering. Target names come from the Incentive Target Document Name Settings (series INT, active by default). See Configure document numbering.
- Regenerate quotas on demand. The Incentive Target record has a server action named GenerateResourceTargets that regenerates one target's quotas straight away, but the seeded page has no button for it. Add it as an entity action and place it in the page header of the Incentive Target View layout (Design a form layout). Alternatively, run the Generate incentive target quotas job from Setup → Platform → Monitoring → Jobs.
- Show targets in an app. Incentive Target is in no app's navigation. To give administrators a list of all targets, add the entity to the Rewards app under Setup → Design Studio → Apps with Manage Items, as described in Create an entity (step 7).
- Scope the record-page lists. The Incentive Resource Target list on the target page, and the target lists on the incentive line and compensation line pages, have no relation in the standard layouts, so they list every record. To show only the related rows, set each list's Relation in the layout designer (Design a form layout).
- Measures beyond the built-in types. Build a KPI configuration and link it to the target.
Common problems
"Set Target Value Type to Fixed Value, Value Across Periods or Value Across Resources."
You ran the quota regeneration on a target whose Target Value Type is empty. Choose one of the three generating types, or import the quotas instead.
"Target Value Type 'Resource Target' takes quotas typed by hand; nothing to generate."
Resource Target, Resource Target Last Period and Resource Target Percentage never generate quotas. Import Incentive Resource Target rows for each member and period.
"Set the target's Value (greater than zero)."
The target generates quotas but has no Value. For Value Across Resources, the line builder shows no Value box, so open the target's record page, click Edit and enter the Value.
The quota job skipped my target
The run summary on the Jobs screen lists the reason:
- the target has no incentive plan: set the target's Incentive Plan.
- the plan has no periods or the plan has no members: check the plan's periods and enrolment (see Plan members).
- every period of the plan is Approved or Posted: closed periods are never changed, so there is nothing left to write.
My quota edits keep going back
The target generates its quotas, and something triggered a regeneration: an edit to the target, or a member joining or leaving the plan. To keep individual quotas, set the Target Value Type to Resource Target and import the quotas instead. Changing the type does not remove quotas that were already generated.
A target counts nothing
Check, in order:
- The plan is Approved, and the documents were calculated after it was approved and after the target was added.
- The target type is one in What each target type counts. Sale Invoice Quantity and Custom KPI count nothing on their own.
- A count target has no Item or Item Group.
- An Account Group filter uses a group of type Scheme whose members are active.
- Item group members are not pinned to a SKU.
- The target has an Incentive Line, and the member has a quota for the period.
The Value Percentage box is missing
The line builder never shows it. It applies only to targets with a KPI configuration. Set it on the target's record page with Edit.
Common questions
Can one target count only certain products?
Yes. On the target's record page, set an Item for a single product, or an Item Group for a range. The amount and quantity types then count only the matching lines, using each line's amount rather than the document total. Item group members must be active and must not be pinned to a SKU. Count targets such as No Of Sale Orders stop counting anything once an item filter is set, so measure order counts in a separate target without one. Filters are ignored on a target that has a KPI configuration. Use the configuration's rules there instead.
What is the difference between the target's Value and a member's quota?
The Value is one figure on the target, and the quota is each member's own figure for each period. For targets without a KPI configuration, only the quota is used. The Value matters only as the source the quotas are generated from. A member with no quota scores nothing. For a target with a KPI configuration, the Value is also the fallback quota for a member who has none, scaled by Value Percentage when that is set.
Does adding a target mid-period count earlier sales?
No. Performance is recorded against the targets that exist when each document goes through its KPI calculation, and a document is calculated only once. Sales calculated before the target was added are never recorded against it. If earlier sales must count, add the target before the period starts. Alternatively, link the target to a KPI configuration, whose data can be rebuilt (see KPI configurations).
Why does No Of Unique Invoices not match my invoice count?
Despite its name, it counts the different customer accounts invoiced in the period, not the invoices. Two invoices to the same customer count once. It suits outlet-coverage targets, such as "bill 30 different outlets this month". The engine's No Of Invoices counts invoices, but it is not in the seeded picklist, so an administrator has to add that exact value first.