Channel incentives without the quarter-end mystery.
Distributor and dealer programmes — tiers, MDF, sell-through incentives — with partner-facing transparency and clean settlement.
- Programme capture
- Mappings and validation
- Parallel run
- Portal launch
- Operated
Channel programmes run on claims and quarter-end surprises.
Channel programmes run on claimed sell-through, emailed claims and end-of-quarter surprises. A distributor sends a spreadsheet of what it says it sold. Someone checks some of it. Rebates are paid on the parts nobody had time to check. MDF is committed in a meeting, drawn down by email and reconciled, if at all, much later. Partners game what they can see and distrust what they cannot.
The quarter-end mystery is the symptom: nobody — not the vendor, not the partner — knows the number until the argument is over. Tier qualification becomes an annual negotiation. Fund balances live in several places and agree in none.
The partner and channel module of Sales Performance fixes this with shared, structured visibility: one platform both sides can read. Claims are validated against evidence before they are paid, tiers qualify live against targets, funds have balances, and the partner sees the same standing the vendor sees.
The channel machine, in five parts.
Every part writes to the shared settlement ledger, so a validated sell-through record earns a rebate, counts toward a tier and appears in the partner portal as one fact rather than three reconciliations.
Partner tiers & benefits
Tier qualification is tracked live against revenue, certification and coverage targets, with the benefits of each tier — rebate rates, MDF entitlement, dispute SLAs — attached as configuration. Partners watch themselves qualify.
Sell-through validation
POS and claim files are ingested per partner, normalised into one model and checked against validation rules: serial uniqueness, price bands, end-customer eligibility, duplicate claims. Rebates are paid on evidence, not assertion, and every rejection carries a reason the partner can act on.
MDF & co-op funds
Budgets are allocated per partner and period, claims are submitted with proof of execution, approvals follow a governed flow and balances update on approval. Every draw-down has a trail.
Partner portal
Partners log in to see tier standing, the pipeline of rebates their validated sell-through has earned, fund balances and open disputes. Trust scales when the partner can see the calculation.
Multi-level crediting
Distributor-to-dealer hierarchies with crediting at each level are standard. A sale by a dealer credits the dealer’s programme and the distributor’s sell-through target under separate rules, from the same validated record.
What it does, in detail.
Tiers that qualify in the open.
Tier rules — revenue thresholds, certifications, coverage, growth — are configuration with an effective period. Validated sell-through updates qualification after every run, and the partner sees the same standing the channel manager sees. The conversation at quarter end is about the next tier, not about whether this one was earned.
- Multiple criteria per tier, weighted or gated, with soft-landing rules if you want them
- Benefits attached to tiers, so a change in standing changes rebate rates and MDF entitlement on the next run
- Forecast of who is close to a threshold, for channel managers to act on before the period closes
Funds with a balance, not a folder.
MDF and co-op budgets are allocated per partner and period, with rules for what they can be spent on. A partner submits a claim with proof of execution; it routes to the channel manager and, above a threshold, to finance; the balance updates on approval and the payout posts to the ledger. There is one balance, and everyone with access sees the same one. The rates and thresholds shown here are examples.
- Allocation rules by tier, region or plan, with carry-over and expiry policies
- Claim approvals as a governed workflow, with the option to route through Workflow & Procurement
- Every draw-down has an approver and a document
Example rules. Yours are configured with you.
Quarter end as a release, not a reconstruction.
Because claims are validated as they arrive and tiers qualify continuously, settlement at period end is a release rather than a reconstruction. Rebate payables are already in the ledger with their evidence; MDF payouts are already approved. Finance reviews the run, releases the files and posts the accruals.
- Rebate and MDF payables per partner, per entity and per currency, from the same run
- Accruals per period with the run that produced them, reversals on true-up
- Partner statements generated from the ledger and published to the portal
Both sides of the programme, one record.
Know the number before quarter end.
A distributor or dealer opens the portal and sees tier standing against targets, the rebates their validated sell-through has earned so far, the lines that were returned and why, and their MDF balance with every draw-down. Disputes are raised on a line, with an SLA, and answered with the calculation.
- Live tier standing and distance to next threshold
- Rebate pipeline built from validated lines
- Structured disputes instead of email
Manage the programme, not the inbox.
Channel managers see every partner’s standing, claim status and fund balance in one view, approve MDF claims in a queue, and get a forecast of partners near a tier threshold. Programme changes — a new tier, a regional rebate — are versioned configuration with approval.
- Portfolio view across partners and regions
- MDF approval queue with SLAs
- Threshold forecasts for end-of-period coaching
Settle from evidence.
Finance reviews the settlement run, the adjustment log and the evidence behind every payable, then releases rebate and MDF files per entity and currency. Accruals post from the same ledger. If a partner or an auditor questions a payment, the claim, the validation result and the approval are one click away.
- Rebate and MDF payout files per entity and currency
- Accruals and true-ups per period
- Evidence attached to every payable
From partner claim to settled rebate.
What ships, what is configured.
What a channel programme plugs into.
Distributor POS & claim files
CSV, Excel or API — normalised per partner into the sell-through model
ERP
Shipments and invoices for sell-in; rebate and MDF postings and accruals out
Salesforce PRM
Partner accounts and hierarchies in; tier standing written back
Workflow & Procurement
Optional routing of MDF claim approvals
The path to a programme both sides can read.
Programme capture
Tiers, rebate schedules, MDF policy and the partner hierarchy are rebuilt as configuration. Every partner’s reporting format is catalogued.
Mappings and validation
Per-partner mappings are built and tested on last quarter’s files. Validation rules are agreed with finance and channel management.
Parallel run
The module validates, credits and settles alongside the current process until the numbers agree. Differences are explained.
Portal launch
Partners get portal access with their standing and statements. Disputes move into the queue; claims are submitted in the platform.
Operated
New partners, tier changes and programme-year updates are configuration on the record, with the Odeontech team running the platform to SLOs agreed with you.
Frequently asked questions
The rest of the family.
See it on your own data.
A guided demo with an engineer who operates the platform — configured toward your programme, not a canned deck.