NextCommission: Auto-Applying Sub-Agent Splits

Who this is for: agencies that pay sub-agents and receive carrier statements that list the writing sub-agent on each row, and want those sub-agents' splits added to cases automatically instead of setting up each case's split by hand.

With Auto-Apply, a sub-agent's split schedule becomes a standing rule. When you import a commission statement and a row names that sub-agent, NextAgency adds their split to the row's case for you, using the split periods on the schedule.

Prefer to watch? See the Auto-Applying Sub-Agent Splits video.

Setting it up takes three steps:

Step 1: Turn on Auto-Apply on a schedule

Auto-Apply lives on a sub-agent's own split schedules, so it is set per sub-agent. You can turn it on when you add a new schedule or by editing one the sub-agent already has.

1. Open the sub-agent and go to their Schedules tab.
2. Click Add Schedule, or open the Actions menu on an existing schedule and choose Edit.

1. Check Auto-Apply Split. Two date fields appear:
2. Effective Date (required): the first date the rule applies.
3. End Date (optional): the last date the rule applies. Leave it blank to keep the rule running until you end it.
4. Check the Split Periods below. They decide what gets applied: the product type, carrier (leave it blank for any carrier), commission rate, compensation type and split cap.
5. Click Update (or Add for a new schedule).

The dates are checked against each commission row's Paid to Date. A row paid before the effective date, or after the end date, is left alone.

A sub-agent can have more than one Auto-Apply schedule, for example one that ends when their rate changes and a new one that starts the next day, as long as the date ranges don't overlap. If they do, NextAgency won't save the schedule and tells you an overlapping Auto-Apply schedule already exists.

Step 2: Add the sub-agent's NPN

1. On the same sub-agent, go to the Licenses tab.
2. Click Add NPN (it reads Edit NPN once a number is saved).
3. Enter the sub-agent's National Producer Number and click Save. If you don't have it, the Look up an NPN link opens the NIPR lookup page.

The number shows at the top of the tab as National Producer Number.

The NPN is optional, but it is the surest match. When a statement row includes an NPN, the split is only applied if it matches the number saved here, which keeps two sub-agents with the same name apart.

Step 3: Map the sub-agent columns on your commission import

Import the carrier's statement the way you normally do: from the carrier's Commission Statements page, click Import Statement and upload the file.

On the Map Headers step, map the statement's sub-agent columns:

If your file's headers are already named Sub-Agent Name and Sub-Agent NPN, they lock into place on their own.

Finish the import as usual: click Continue, give the import a name and click Import.

Checking the result

The import runs in the background. Once it finishes, open the case's Commissions tab and click Split. The sub-agent's split is listed with an Auto-Applied label.

The split also appears on the sub-agent's Assigned Splits tab like any other split, where you can terminate, update, replace or remove it. See Managing a Sub-Agent's Assigned Splits.

How a row is matched

For each imported commission row that has a Sub-Agent Name, NextAgency:

1. Looks only at sub-agents who have at least one Auto-Apply schedule.
2. Matches the name against each sub-agent's first and last name (with or without a middle name), and also against a vendor or sub-agency name. Capitalization and extra spaces don't matter, and Last, First is read as First Last.
3. If the row has a Sub-Agent NPN, keeps only the sub-agents whose saved NPN matches it.
4. Uses the sub-agent's Auto-Apply schedule that is active on the row's Paid to Date.
5. Applies the schedule's split periods that fit the row: the same product type, the same compensation type, and the row's carrier (or any carrier, if the split period has none selected).

If the sub-agent already has a split on that commission, nothing is added twice.

Common questions

Why wasn't a split applied? Check these in order: the sub-agent has a schedule with Auto-Apply Split checked; the row's Paid to Date falls between that schedule's Effective Date and End Date; one of the schedule's split periods matches the row's product type, compensation type and carrier; the name in the file matches the sub-agent's name in NextAgency; and, if the file has an NPN, it matches the NPN on the sub-agent's Licenses tab.

Two of my sub-agents have the same name. What happens? If more than one sub-agent with an Auto-Apply schedule matches the name on a row, and there's no NPN to tell them apart, NextAgency skips the split for that row rather than guess. Add each sub-agent's NPN on their Licenses tab and include the NPN column on your statement, or adjust the names so they're unique.

Does an auto-applied split pay on the case's other commissions too? No. An auto-applied split is only used for imported rows that name the sub-agent. Commission rows on the same case that don't name them aren't split to them. If a sub-agent should be paid on everything for a case, assign their split on the case directly instead.

Does the NPN have to be in my file? No. Without it, matching is by name alone. Including it is the safest way to make sure the right sub-agent is matched.

What if a sub-agent leaves? Give their Auto-Apply schedule an End Date so future imports stop adding them. If someone is taking over their cases, Replace Sub-Agent on the Assigned Splits tab can end the departing sub-agent's Auto-Apply rules and copy them to the replacement in the same step.

Please contact our support team if you have any questions.