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.

Introduction

A referral commission is the share of a deal that goes to whoever sent the business your way. You record it in the Sale Info section of commission entry, and everything after that works from what's left: the agent's split, the CDA, and your financial reports.

The Commission Module handles two kinds. A referral paid to one of your own agents is an in-house referral, and you name that agent right on the transaction. A referral paid to a brokerage or partner outside your company goes to an external referrer. Both start in the same field.

How It Works

Referral commission has its own field on the commission form — it's not a fee and not a deduction, and where you put the number decides what everything else calculates.

Where You Enter It

The Referral Commission field sits in the Sale Info section of Manage Commissions, alongside the sale price and the gross commission. Enter the referral as a percentage of the gross commission or as a flat dollar amount.

What It Does to the Math

Pipeline subtracts the referral from the gross commission before any split happens. The distributable commission that the brokerage and agent divide is the gross commission minus the referral commission, so an agent's split percentage applies to that reduced figure rather than to the original gross.

Pipeline calculates exact amounts and doesn't round. When a percentage produces a figure that doesn't match your own math to the cent, enter the referral as a dollar amount instead.

In-House or Outside

Check This is an in-house referral when the money is going to one of your own agents, and leave it unchecked when it's going to someone outside your company. A transaction carries one referral entry, so it's either in-house or outside — not both at once.

Fees on a Referring Agent's Share

You can charge agent fees and take deductions from an in-house referring agent's share at the same time you enter their portion. Percentage-based fees calculate on the transaction's full gross commission rather than on the referring agent's slice of it, and Pipeline doesn't divide them proportionally between an agent and a referrer. When a fee should apply only to the referral portion, work the figure out yourself and enter it as a dollar amount.

Where It Shows Up

Once you save commissions, the referral appears in the transaction's Financial Info section and in a Referral Commission column on the Aggregate Performance, Commission & Closings, Pending Commissions, and Agent Income reports. The Agent Income report breaks an agent's earnings out by type, so a referral commission shows up separately from their listing and buying commission.

Enter a Referral Commission on a Transaction

Record the referral in the Sale Info section so Pipeline takes it off the gross before the brokerage and agent split what's left.

Who Can Do This: Admins with the enter financial data permission in the transaction's location.

To enter a referral commission on a transaction:

Open the transaction, then click [Manage Commissions] or [Update Commissions] in the left menu.
Complete the Escrow / Title section, then continue to Sale Info.
In the Referral Commission field, select [%] or [$] and enter the referral amount.
Check [This is an in-house referral] if the referral is going to one of your own agents. Leave it unchecked for anyone outside your company.
Click [Calculate & Continue].

Pipeline subtracts the referral from the gross commission and carries the reduced amount into the disbursement section. You'll name the person or company being paid further along, in the Referral Commissions section.

Pay a Referral to an In-House Agent

When one of your agents refers a client to another of your agents, name the referring agent and set their share in the Referral Commissions section.

Who Can Do This: Admins with the enter financial data permission in the transaction's location.

To pay a referral commission to an in-house agent:

Enter the referral amount in the Referral Commission field in Sale Info, then check [This is an in-house referral].
Click [Calculate & Continue] through the disbursement and fee sections until you reach Referral Commissions.
Start typing the referring agent's name, then select them from the list.
Enter the agent's share of the referral commission as a percentage or a dollar amount. Whatever you don't allocate to the agent stays with the brokerage.
Charge any agent fees and enter any deductions that come out of the referring agent's share.
Click [Calculate & Continue], then [Save Commissions].

The referring agent's share appears on the CDA as referral commission, and the agent can see it in the transaction's Financial Info section once you've allocated it to them.

When the Referral Goes Outside Your Company

Leave the in-house box unchecked and the rest of the entry moves further along the form, to the section where you name the outside party. A transaction carries one referral, so it's either in-house or outside, never both.

An external referrer is a brokerage, agent, or partner outside your company that earns a piece of the deal. Name them on the transaction, split the referral between them, and tell escrow who to pay.

See External Referrers