A sub-agent hierarchy is a saved tree that mirrors how your sub-agents report to each other. Each tier holds one sub-agent and the split they earn. When you assign the hierarchy to a case, NextAgency adds a commission split for every tier from the sub-agent you pick up to the top of their chain, so you don't have to enter each upline's split by hand.
Prefer to watch? See the Building a Sub-Agent Hierarchy video.
Build a hierarchy
- Go to Sub-Agents and open the Hierarchies tab. The list shows each hierarchy's name, how many levels it has, and its agents.
- Click New Hierarchy.
- In Hierarchy Name, give it a name your team will recognize, such as the name of the agent at the top of the chain.
- The builder starts you with one tier. Fill in the top of the chain:
- Select Sub-agent: the person at this tier. The list includes your sub-agents and your internal users. An internal user must be set up as an Agent/Broker before a hierarchy that includes them can be assigned.
- Product Type: the products this tier is paid on. Use select all to choose every product.
- Commission Rate Type and Commission Split: how this tier is paid, and how much. See Commission rate types below.
These fields are optional:
| Field | Use it to |
|---|---|
| Compensation Type | Choose what the split applies to: Commission, Override, Bonus or Fees. Commission is selected to start. |
| Carrier | Limit the split to certain carriers. Leave it blank to cover all carriers. |
| Effective Date and End Date | Set when this tier's split starts and stops. With no Effective Date, the split starts from the case's earliest commission, so commissions you've already imported are split too. |
| Comment | Add a note for your team. |
Add the tiers below
- On a tier, click Sub-agent below to add a tier that reports to it.
- Fill in the new tier the same way. Each tier needs a sub-agent, at least one Product Type and a Commission Split.
- Repeat for each level of the chain. To start a separate branch at the top, click Add Top-Level Sub-Agent. To remove a tier, click its red trash button.
- When the tree looks right, click Save Hierarchy.
If you pick a sub-agent who already appears higher in the same chain, the builder warns you and offers Add again or Undo. A sub-agent can hold more than one tier in a single chain, but not in two different branches of the same hierarchy.
Commission rate types
| Rate type | The tier is paid |
|---|---|
| Percentage | A percentage of the commission |
| Flat Amount | A fixed dollar amount |
| Per Employee Per Month | A dollar amount for each employee, each month |
| Percentage Of Premium | A percentage of the premium. Enter each agent's contract rate; the override each upline earns is the difference between its rate and the rate of the tier below it. A tier's rate can't be higher than its upline's. New tiers start with this rate type. |
Assign a hierarchy to a case
- Open the case and go to its Commissions tab.
- Click Split, then Manage Split Settings.
- Check Assign based on Hierarchy.
- In Select Sub-agents, choose the sub-agent whose split you're assigning. This is the bottom of the chain that gets applied: every tier above them in the hierarchy comes along automatically.
- In Hierarchy, choose the hierarchy. The list only shows hierarchies that include the sub-agent you picked.
- Click Save.
The assignment runs in the background, and you'll get a notification when it's done. Each tier in the chain then appears on the case's Split list.
Assign a hierarchy to several cases at once
- On the Cases/Policies page, select the cases.
- Click Bulk Actions, then Assign Sub-Agent.
- Check Assign based on Hierarchy, choose the sub-agent and the hierarchy, and click Save.
You'll get a notification when it finishes, including any cases the hierarchy couldn't be assigned to.
Edit or delete a hierarchy
On the Hierarchies tab, click Actions next to a hierarchy and choose View, Edit or Delete.
Changes to a hierarchy reach a case the next time you assign the hierarchy to it. Assigning a hierarchy again replaces the splits it added to that case before. Splits you entered by hand, and splits from other hierarchies, stay as they are.
Common questions
Why is the Hierarchy list empty when I assign a hierarchy to a case?
The list only shows hierarchies that include the sub-agent you selected. Check that the sub-agent is part of the hierarchy, or choose a sub-agent who is.
Why won't my hierarchy save?
Every tier needs a sub-agent, a Product Type and a Commission Split. With Percentage Of Premium, a tier's rate can't be higher than its upline's. A sub-agent also can't appear in two different branches of the same hierarchy.
Who can build hierarchies?
Hierarchies are part of the Sub-Agents permission. Anyone who can manage sub-agents can create, edit and assign them.
What do external users see?
An external user linked to a sub-agent sees their own commissions and the commissions of the sub-agents below them in a hierarchy.
Related articles:
- NextCommission: Assigning Split Commission Schedules to Multiple Cases
- NextCommission: Advanced Split Configuration (Rate Types, Filters, and Caps)
Need additional assistance? Email us at support@nextagency.com.