What is Draw Versus Commission?
Many sales jobs base at least part of their pay structure on an employee making commission. Some salespeople work on straight commission, and there are others, particularly in the retail world, who simply work for an agreed upon salary. An intermediary step between the two is a pay system called draw versus commission. Draw versus commission generally works in the following way. The employee is paid a flat fee or bottom line salary for his/her work. In retail positions this salary is usually close to minimum wage. In order to boost the salary, employees are given sales goals to meet within a specific time period. If they meet or exceed these sales goals, they are either paid in straight commission, which is more than their draw salary or base salary, or are given a percentage of their sales on top of their draw salaries. When an employee fails to meet sales goals, he or she is merely paid their draw amount.
