A referral comes off the top of the gross commission, and where you enter it decides whether everything else on the form calculates correctly. Answers to the common questions about entering a referral, splitting it, and finding it in your reports.
Where do I enter a referral commission?
In the Referral Commission field in the Sale Info section of Manage Commissions. It's the one place that makes Pipeline treat the money as a referral. Entering it as an off-the-top deduction or an agent deduction instead is the single most common cause of a CDA that doesn't add up.
Does the referral come out before or after the agent's split?
Before. Pipeline subtracts the referral from the gross commission first, and the brokerage and agent split what's left. An agent on a 70% split gets 70% of the reduced amount, not 70% of the original gross.
Can I enter the referral as a percentage or a dollar amount?
Either. Pipeline calculates exact figures and doesn't round, so a percentage can land a cent or two away from the number in your own spreadsheet. When the amount has to match to the penny, enter it as a dollar amount.
Can I pay an in-house referral and an outside referral on the same transaction?
Not in the Referral Commission field — it holds one referral per transaction. The usual approach is to enter the one that matters most for reporting in the Referral Commission field and record the other as a deduction: an off-the-top deduction when the brokerage pays it, or an agent deduction when it comes out of an agent's share. Off-the-top deductions have to be turned on in your location's commission settings first.
Why doesn't my referral show up as referral commission in reports?
It was almost certainly entered as a deduction rather than in the Referral Commission field. Reports read the field, not the intent — a referral entered as an agent deduction is reported as a deduction. Update commissions on the transaction, move the amount into the Referral Commission field in Sale Info, and save again.
Which reports show referral commission?
Aggregate Performance, Commission & Closings, Pending Commissions, and Agent Income. Each carries a Referral Commission column. Agent Income is the one to reach for when you want a single agent's whole picture — it breaks their earnings out by type, so referral commission sits on its own line next to their listing and buying commission.
Can we track a referral we sent out and got paid for?
Not as a built-in flow. The Commission Module was designed around deals your office worked, so commission you earn from referring a client elsewhere doesn't have a dedicated place to live. Offices that need it recorded create a transaction for the referral and enter the referral commission there so it reaches the financial reports. If this is a regular part of your business, email help@paperlesspipeline.com — we'll walk through the setup with you, and it's the kind of thing we want to hear about.
Will a referral transaction count as a closing or a unit?
Only if you leave a number in the Unit field. Clear that field completely rather than typing 0 — an empty Unit field keeps the commission in your reports without adding a closing to your production numbers.
Can agents see their own referral commission?
Yes, once it's been allocated to them. An in-house referring agent sees their share in the transaction's Financial Info section and can download their own commission statement from there. If an agent sees only the sale price, it usually means no commission has been allocated to them on that transaction yet.
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.
Still Have Questions?
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