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182 hours a month. That is the estimated time a mid-sized energy retailer spends manually managing commissions for its sales channels. With 1,000 new contracts per month and an average commission of €150 per acquired customer, the volume of data flowing through spreadsheets is significant. And so is the margin for error.
QUIXOTIC, a cloud-based platform for the integrated management of energy retailers, has developed a CRM module that embeds automatic commission calculations within the same environment where contracts, opportunities and channels are managed. The solution eliminates the need for parallel manual processes and provides full visibility to both the retailer and the channels themselves.
A widespread problem across the sector
According to Omar Sequera, CEO and co-founder of QUIXOTIC, manual commission management is one of the most common friction points for energy retailers working with channel networks.
"Most retailers that come to us calculate commissions in Excel. They cross-reference contract data, verify conditions per channel, calculate amounts and generate reports by hand. When we are talking about hundreds or thousands of contracts a month, the cost in time and errors is enormous," Sequera explains.
The breakdown includes five cost blocks: contract-by-contract calculation, queries from channels about what they are owed, error correction (estimated at between 3 and 5 per cent of contracts), clawbacks when a customer leaves before the end of their contract term, and monthly reporting for commercial management. Combined, they represent an annual cost exceeding €43,000 for a retailer processing 1,000 contracts per month.
Commissions embedded in operations, not in a separate spreadsheet
QUIXOTIC's approach is to integrate commission calculations into the platform's natural workflow. When a contract enters the system, the corresponding commission is calculated automatically based on rules configured by product, channel and type of operation: new supply, supplier switch, renewal, energy or capacity.
"What we have done is link commission calculations to the same team hierarchy that defines channel permissions. There is no data duplication or parallel processes. The commercial structure you configure once governs everything: who sees what, who can do what, and how much each party gets paid," Sequera notes.
When a contract is cancelled or a customer leaves, the clawback is executed automatically, without manual intervention.
Visibility for the channel and for management
One of the aspects most valued by retailers migrating to QUIXOTIC is the transparency it brings to channel relationships. From their own portal, each channel can view its commissions in real time: amount, concept, status (paid, pending or cancelled). Without needing to request reports or wait for the monthly close.
"The question 'how much do you owe sales this month?' disappears. The channel logs into its portal and sees it. That changes the commercial relationship entirely," says the CEO of QUIXOTIC.
For commercial management, the platform offers analytics dashboards with filters by date, status, type, channel and combinations. Revenue from the portfolio generated by each channel versus commissions paid. Profitability by channel, by product, by period.
A verticalised platform for energy retailers
QUIXOTIC is a modular cloud ERP designed specifically for electricity and gas retailers. It currently operates with over 30 clients and manages more than one million supply points in Spain, with active integrations with over 340 distribution network operators.
The platform covers the full energy retailer lifecycle: CRM with opportunity, channel and commission management, contracting, switching with automated messaging, meter data management and billing. The company also operates in Germany and is actively prospecting in France, Italy and Portugal.
Scalability as a premise
"With 1,000 contracts a month the problem of manual commissions is visible. With 3,000 or 5,000, it simply breaks. Our system processes the same volume without increasing the team dedicated to it. What changes is the quality of the decisions you can make with that information," Sequera concludes.
About QUIXOTIC CRM
QUIXOTIC is a verticalised cloud ERP for energy retailers. Its CRM module integrates the complete management of sales channels, opportunities and commissions in a single environment.
For more information about CRM features, write to info@quixotic.energy to schedule a demo.
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Ernesto Puente: Chief Technology Officer in SaaS for Energy Markets
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