Referral commission is one field, and nearly every problem with it traces back to where the number was entered or what the transaction's status is. Here's how to clear each one.
Pipeline Says the Amount Is Greater Than the Commission
Pipeline won't let a referral, or the fees taken from it, exceed the money available to pay them. Two versions of this show up:
- The referral itself is too large. A referral entered on one side of a deal can't be more than the commission on that side. If the figure is right, check that you entered it against the correct side and that the gross commission above it is complete.
- A deduction is bigger than the referring agent's share. When you charge fees or take deductions in the Referral Commissions section, they come out of that party's portion of the referral — not out of the whole gross. Add the deductions up and compare them to the share you allocated.
To clear it: reduce the deduction, raise the allocated share, or enter the referral as a dollar amount so you can see exactly what each party is working from.
A Franchise Fee or Off-the-Top Deduction Won't Apply
On a referral-heavy transaction Pipeline calculates the money available as gross commission, minus the referral commission, minus off-the-top deductions. If you entered the entire gross as referral commission, there's nothing left for the fee and Pipeline blocks it.
To get past it, enter the referral as the gross commission minus the franchise fee, so the fee amount is still distributable when Pipeline gets to it.
The Referral Is Reported as a Deduction
Reports read the Referral Commission field, not your intent. A referral entered as an agent deduction or an off-the-top deduction is reported as a deduction — accurate to the penny, filed under the wrong heading.
To fix a transaction that's already saved:
- Open the transaction and click [Update Commissions].
- Remove the referral from wherever it was entered as a deduction.
- In Sale Info, enter the amount in the Referral Commission field and check [This is an in-house referral] if it's going to one of your agents.
- Click [Calculate & Continue] and allocate the referral in the Referral Commissions section.
- Click [Save Commissions].
The transaction's numbers don't change; the referral just lands in the right column from here on.
A Referral Transaction Is Missing from Reports
Financial reports and commission summaries only include a transaction when both of these are true: it's in a Closed status with a close date in the period you're looking at, and commissions have been entered on it. A referral that was never run through Manage Commissions won't appear no matter how it's filed.
The second cause is the status itself. Many offices create a custom Referral status and file it under the Other category, which keeps those transactions out of financial reports entirely. If you want referrals counted, they need a Closed status. Our support team's usual recommendation is to put referral transactions in a Closed status and mark them with a Referral transaction label instead — you keep them separated for filtering without dropping them out of your numbers.
Percentage-Based Fees Double Up on an In-House Referral
Fees configured as a percentage default to the transaction's full gross commission. When a transaction has both an agent and an in-house referring agent, that default applies to each of them, so a fee that should have been split looks like it doubled.
Pipeline doesn't divide percentage fees proportionally between an agent and a referrer, and there's no setting that bases a fee on the referral portion alone. Work out each party's share yourself and enter it as a dollar amount for each one.
The Numbers Are Off by a Few Cents
Pipeline calculates exact amounts and doesn't round. A percentage-based referral will produce whatever the math produces, down to fractions of a cent, which may not match a spreadsheet that rounds. Enter the referral as a dollar amount when the figure has to match another system exactly.
An Agent Can't See the Commission Summary on a Referral Transaction
Agents can only view and edit the Commission Summary on transactions in the Active, Listing, or Pending status categories. A custom Referral status filed under Other puts the transaction outside all three, so the box doesn't appear for them.
Moving referrals to a Closed status and labeling them instead solves this and the reporting gap above at the same time.
Still Stuck?
If the numbers still don't look right, email help@paperlesspipeline.com with the transaction and what you expected the CDA to show. Commission math is worth getting exactly right, and we'll work through it with you.
Learn More
A referral commission comes off the top of a deal's gross commission, before the brokerage and the agent split anything — you enter it once, and Pipeline carries the reduced number through the rest of the form.