# On-target earnings if quota is hit

OTE meaning is on-target earnings if the quota is hit. Knockdesk is field sales software that holds the confirmed sale and the commission amount that has to add up to that on-target number.

## OTE meaning collapses when the offer letter and Friday disagree

Reps take a job for the OTE. Managers hire against it. If confirmed commission never shows, the on-target number is a poster. If a draw is treated as extra pay, the real year is smaller than the letter. Name OTE as a target, then recover the week from confirmed sales.

**On-target, not guaranteed.** Miss quota and OTE is not the check. Hit quota and the commission line should be able to get there.

**Draws sit under it.** A draw against commission is cash this week. It is not a second OTE.

**Confirmation is the truth.** A handshake is not on-target earnings. The vendor file is.

## Eighty-four thousand OTE, seventy-five percent of quota

Labeled example, not a customer offer. Base $36,000. On-target commission $48,000. OTE is $36,000 + $48,000 = $84,000 at 100 percent of quota. They finish at 75 percent of quota, and commission is linear in this example, so commission is 0.75 times $48,000 = $36,000. Year cash is $36,000 base + $36,000 commission = $72,000. That is not OTE. OTE was the $84,000 target.

| Line | At 100% quota | At 75% quota |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Base | $36,000 | $36,000 |
| Commission | $48,000 | 0.75 x $48,000 = $36,000 |
| Total | OTE = $84,000 | $72,000. Below OTE. |

## OTE is the year. A draw is the week.

A draw against commission is pay now, earned commission later. Quota is the target that makes OTE true. A SPIFF is a short extra on a SKU or a window. None of those replace the on-target number in the offer.

**Draw against commission.** An advance against this week's sales. It can sit inside the year that OTE describes. It is not OTE.

**Quota.** The count or revenue that unlocks the on-target commission line.

**Confirmed sale.** The row that actually pays. OTE is a plan. This is the ledger.

## How Knockdesk tracks it

Knockdesk does not store OTE as a field. It pays the vendor rate effective at confirmation, or the default organization rate, and it leaves the amount empty when neither exists. You still name OTE on the offer. The desk holds the confirmed commission that has to reach it. Full desk is on the pricing page.

## Keep going from this term

- [Pay terms in the glossary](/glossary): OTE, draw against commission, and the rest of the payout language.

- [Draw against commission](/glossary/draw-against-commission): The weekly advance that sits under the OTE number, not in place of it.

- [Sales commission](/guides/sales-commission): How confirmation picks the rate, and how a void reverses it.

## FAQ

### What is the OTE meaning?

OTE meaning is on-target earnings if the quota is hit. It is base plus the commission line at 100 percent of quota, not a guaranteed check.

### Does OTE include a draw?

A draw is cash you pay now. Recoverable draws come out of earned commission. Do not add the draw on top of OTE or you double-count the year.

### What if they miss quota?

Then they miss OTE. In the example, 75 percent of a $48,000 commission line is $36,000, and the year is $72,000, not $84,000.

### Does Knockdesk calculate OTE?

No. Knockdesk tracks confirmed commission. OTE stays the hiring number you named. The ledger has to be able to reach it.

### Is OTE the same as a SPIFF?

No. A SPIFF is a short extra payout. OTE is the on-target year if quota is hit.

### What number should I put on an offer letter?

Write base, on-target commission, quota, and whether a draw is recoverable. Call the sum OTE only at 100 percent of quota.