This admin guide outlines the new commission management functionality in the platform. The goal of this feature is to enhance the platform's capability to manage sensitive commission information while ensuring appropriate access controls.

Rationale for Enhanced Security and Visibility Controls
Previously, commission details were visible to all brokers, which raised concerns about the protection of sensitive financial information. There was a need to:

• Ensure Broker Privacy and Trust: Brokers often have private agreements with the brokerage house (the "House") regarding their commission splits. Exposing these private arrangements could erode trust and lead to conflicts between brokers.
• Comply with Regulatory Requirements: Many real estate markets have regulations around the handling of sensitive financial data. The new commission management functionality helps the platform comply with these requirements by restricting access to confidential information.
• Maintain Competitive Advantage: Detailed commission data could provide insights into the brokerage's internal operations and give competitors an unfair advantage. Limiting visibility helps the brokerage protect its business model and strategies.
• Reduce Risks of Misuse: Unrestricted access to commission details increases the risk of the information being misused, such as for unethical price negotiations or exploiting power imbalances between brokers.

Broker Commission Visibility

Brokers can see the Gross Commission amount attributed to them on a deal, but cannot view the Net Commission or House split details.
Each broker can only see their own commission information or what's explicitly shared with them on a deal.

Configuration Settings

To Enable Commission Privacy functionality

1. Navigate to the Setup, in Quick Find Box start typing Permission Sets.
2. Select the  AscendixRE Commission Privacy and click Manage Assignement button.
3. Select all users and click the Remove Assignements button. 
4. Click Ok.

4. Navigate to the AscendixRE Admin Console.
5. A new section called "Accounting" has been added to the AscendixRE Console, with a "Commission Privacy" tab containing the following settings:

6. Enable Commission Privacy: A toggle switch to manually activate the new commission management functionality. 
7.  Click the Save button to apply the configuration changes. Please note: Once the Commission Privacy setting is enabled - it cannot be disabled.
8. If you have previously created validation rules, that might affect the commission calculation records, you will notice the following banner:

9. You can use Ascendix Search or Reports to look for the records missing the Commission Privacy records. Update the Commission records to match your custom validation rules. 
10. Go back to the Accounting section => Commission Privacy tab and click here to create the records again.
11. If records are updated, you will see the confirmation toast.

11. Otherwise, the banner will remain and toast will be different:

12. Navigate to the Commission object,  and select Page Layout Name Inside Broker to replace the old public fields with new private fields:

13. Click Save to apply changes. 
14. Perform similar steps for the Page Layouts Analyst and Co - Broker; however, replace only the old public field with a new private field: Net Commission.
15. Click Save to apply changes.
16. Navigate to the Deal object and select any deal page layout, where there is a Related List Commissions:
17. Click the Configure icon: 

12. Add Net Commission and House fields from the Available Fields column:

13. Remove the old fields to the Available Fields column.
14. Apply column information to other page layouts.

15. Click Ok and Save to apply changes.
16. We have also created a field named Status, which can be placed on the Commission layout. This field is optional, however, it gives you a heads-up if the record was created correctly.

Admin/Manager Commission Visibility

Admins can view all commission details across brokers, including Gross Commission, Net Commission, and House split. If you want to expand the visibility for higher-level roles within the organization (e.g., managers), create the custom permission set and add the Commission Privacy Admin custom permission:

1. Navigate to Permission Set and click the New button.
2. Add the appropriate name (e.i., “Commission Privacy Visibility”)
3. Navigate to the Custom Permissions section and click Edit.
4. Check the ascendix.Commission Privacy Admin and save your changes.

This expanded access is controlled through the "Commission Privacy Admin" custom permission.
The new commission management functionality provides a way for brokers to manage commission information while ensuring that sensitive data remains protected according to the roles and agreements within the platform. As an admin, you can configure the settings and manage access to the Commission Privacy object to meet the needs of your organization.

Let's dive into situations where brokers leave and rejoin the company, that might create challenges in maintaining accurate and accessible commission records. Here are the outlines of specific solutions to ensure that active brokers have visibility into their commissions and that records are reassigned appropriately when users go inactive.

Scenario 1: Broker Leaves Company and Later Returns

Initial Problem: When a broker leaves the company, their Salesforce user becomes inactive. During their inactive period, any new Commission Privacy records are automatically assigned to the deal owner. If the broker returns and becomes active again, they are unable to view some of their commission records since those were assigned to the deal owner during their absence.

Solution:
To address this issue, a solution has been implemented to ensure that brokers who become active again can see their commission information:

• When a broker returns to the company and their Salesforce user is reactivated, a check is performed.
  The system will reassign the Commission Privacy records that were created during the broker's inactive period back to the broker.

Benefits: Brokers will have complete visibility into their commission history, ensuring transparency and accuracy. The system maintains a seamless transition of data handling when brokers leave and return to the company.

Scenario 2: Inactive User Check

Initial Problem: There are instances where both the Commission Owner and Deal Owner of a record might become inactive in Salesforce. Without an active owner, commission records could become inaccessible, leading to administrative complications.

Solution:

• A reassignment protocol has been established to automatically reassign these records to a specified user to maintain accessibility and proper record management.

When both the Commission Owner and Deal Owner of a record are marked as inactive:

• The system identifies the admin user who ran the commission privacy calculation.
• The system automatically reassigns the record to this admin user.

Benefits: Ensures no commission record remains without an active owner, maintaining data integrity. Simplifies administrative tasks by automating the reassignment process.

These measures not only enhance data integrity but also streamline administrative processes, enabling brokers to focus on their primary tasks without data accessibility concerns.