ORBIT, your AI partnerIn short
- Record the sale price, rate and status on every closed deal.
- Track pending, invoiced and paid separately.
- Check your records against each brokerage statement every month.
- Forecast from open deals, but plan spending only on firm ones.
Why real estate commission tracking matters
Commission is how you get paid, yet it is easy to rely on the bank balance alone to know what came in. That makes planning hard and small errors easy to miss.
Good real estate commission tracking answers three questions at any moment: what have I earned this year, what is owed to me and not yet paid, and what is likely to close in the next few months?
It also gives you confidence. When a payment is short or late, a clean record lets you raise it with your brokerage quickly and calmly.
What to record on every deal
Record the same fields on every deal, even the small ones. Consistent records are what make totals and forecasts trustworthy.
Commission in Ontario is agreed between the client and the brokerage and written into the agreement. Record what the agreement says for each deal rather than what you expect it to be.
Fill in the fields when the deal goes firm, not after closing. By then you will be busy with the next client, and small details like a referral fee are easy to forget.
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Client and property | Matches the payment to the deal |
| Closing date | Tells you when payment is expected |
| Sale price | The base the commission is worked out from |
| Commission rate or amount | As set out in the agreement |
| Your split and fees | What your brokerage keeps before paying you |
| Referral fees | Any amount owed to another agent |
| Status | Pending, invoiced or paid |
| Date paid | Closes the loop when the money arrives |
Pending, invoiced and paid
A simple status on each deal keeps the picture clear. Pending means the deal has closed but nothing has been billed yet. Invoiced means the brokerage has billed or processed the trade. Paid means the money is in your account.
Look at anything still pending a few weeks after closing. Most delays have simple causes, such as a missing document, and are faster to fix early.
Keep the status honest for rentals and leases too. Smaller deals add up over a year, and they are the easiest to lose track of.
Never mark a commission paid until the money has actually arrived. It is tempting when a cheque is promised, but it hides the gaps your tracking exists to show.
- When the deal goes firmNote the expected commission and closing date on the deal.
- At closingMark the deal closed with the final sale price and set the commission to Pending.
- When billedMove it to Invoiced once the brokerage confirms the trade is processed.
- When paidMark it Paid and note the amount that actually arrived.
Check your brokerage statement every month
Once a month, compare your records with your brokerage statement line by line. Check the gross commission, the split, fees, any referral fees and the net amount paid.
Differences are usually honest mistakes: a wrong rate, a missed referral, a fee charged twice. Raise them quickly with the details from your records.
Keep each statement with the deal it belongs to. If your accountant asks about a payment months later, you will find it in seconds.
Set a fixed time for this check, such as the first Monday of each month. A ten-minute habit on a set day is far easier to keep than a big clean-up at the end of the year.
Forecast from your pipeline
Your open deals are your forecast. Deals that are firm with a closing date are close to certain. Conditional deals are likely but not guaranteed. Deals still in showings are work to do, not money to count.
Weight each stage when you forecast. Count firm deals at full value, conditional ones with caution, and leave earlier stages out of anything you plan to spend.
Update the forecast every week during your pipeline review. It takes a minute once the deals are current.
Look three to six months ahead. Gaps in the forecast are an early warning to step up prospecting now, while there is still time for it to turn into closings.
Owen has two firm deals closing next month, one conditional deal waiting on an inspection and four buyers still viewing homes. He plans his spending on the two firm deals only, notes the conditional one as possible, and blocks extra prospecting time because month three looks empty.
Set money aside before you spend it
Commission arrives before tax is paid. Move a share of every payment into a separate account the day it lands, so tax time never becomes a crisis.
Ask an accountant who works with real estate agents to help you set the right share for your situation. It is one of the most useful hours you will spend each year.
Track business expenses alongside commissions. Seeing income and costs together shows what each deal really earned you.
TipOpen a separate savings account for tax and move the set-aside amount the same day each commission arrives.
Referral fees and shared deals
Deals that involve another agent need extra care. A referral fee owed to an agent in another city, or a deal shared with a teammate, changes what you take home.
Write the agreed split on the deal the day it is agreed, along with the other agent's name and brokerage. Memories fade; notes do not.
Track referral fees you are owed as well. When you send a client to an agent in Calgary or Halifax, note the expected fee and follow up when that deal closes.
Team deals deserve the same care. If a teammate hosted the open house that found the buyer, write down the agreed share the same day so nobody has to remember it at closing.
A year-end look at your commissions
At the end of each year, pull every closed deal into one list. Total the gross commission, your net after splits and fees, and your average per deal.
Group the deals by lead source. You may find that past-client referrals paid far more per hour than any paid channel, which is exactly the insight your next business plan needs.
Compare the year's net income with your goal. The gap, either way, tells you how to set next year's number honestly.
Look at timing too. If most of your income landed in three months, plan next year's cash buffer around those gaps before they surprise you again.
Questions
What is real estate commission tracking?
Recording the expected and actual commission on each deal, its status from pending to paid, and the split and fees, so you always know what you have earned and what is still owed.
How do I track my brokerage split?
Write the split and fees from your brokerage agreement on each deal, then check them against every statement. In Tanero, the commission on a deal is the sale price times the rate, so keep your split in a note beside it.
Should I count conditional deals in my income forecast?
Show them separately as possible income. Plan your spending only on firm deals that have a closing date.
What if a closed deal is reopened?
Update the record right away. In Tanero, reopening a won deal clears its sale price and any unpaid commission, keeps the old price in a note, and leaves a paid commission in place.
How often should I check my commissions?
Monthly works well. Compare your records with each brokerage statement and raise any difference while the details are fresh.