Configure and understand cumulative quotas
Cumulative quotas allow quota and attainment to build across multiple smaller periods within a larger measurement window.
For example, a plan may assign a monthly quota while measuring cumulative performance across a quarter. January is measured against January’s quota. In February, January and February performance are measured against the combined January and February quotas. In March, performance for all three months is measured against the full quarterly quota. The calculation resets when the next cumulative window begins.[1]
This article explains:
Cumulative quotas compared with standard quotas
Standard quota
A standard quota treats each quota period independently.
With a monthly quota:
January attainment uses January results and January quota.
February attainment uses February results and February quota.
March attainment uses March results and March quota.
Both the target and attainment reset at the beginning of each month.
Cumulative quota
A cumulative quota retains performance and quota from earlier periods inside a larger cumulative window.
For a monthly quota that accumulates quarterly:
January uses January results and January quota.
February uses January plus February results and quotas.
March uses January through March results and quotas.
April begins a new quarterly window, so the cumulative totals reset.
This structure lets a member make up for a slow period later in the cumulative window. However, it can also cause attainment to decrease when the quota grows faster than actual performance.
How cumulative attainment is calculated
At any point in the cumulative window, QuotaPath uses:
Cumulative attainment % = Total qualifying attainment in elapsed periods ÷ Total assigned quota in elapsed periods
For a quota with equal amounts each period:
Period | Period quota | Period attainment | Cumulative quota | Cumulative attainment value | Cumulative attainment % |
January | $50,000 | $40,000 | $50,000 | $40,000 | 80% |
February | $50,000 | $70,000 | $100,000 | $110,000 | 110% |
March | $50,000 | $10,000 | $150,000 | $120,000 | 80% |
In this example:
January: $40,000 ÷ $50,000 = 80%
February: ($40,000 + $70,000) ÷ ($50,000 + $50,000) = 110%
March: ($40,000 + $70,000 + $10,000) ÷ ($50,000 + $50,000 + $50,000) = 80%
Cumulative attainment does not always increase. In March, the quota increased by $50,000 while attainment increased by only $10,000, causing cumulative attainment to fall from 110% to 80%.
Configure a cumulative quota
Only workspace admins can create or edit plans.
Go to the Plans page.
Create a plan or open the plan you want to edit.
In Plan Structure, click Edit Plan Components
Once you're viewing the plan editing screen, select Add Quota or Component.
Select Quota. Or, click + on the Quota component card in the left side Component library. (You can also select Monthly Quota, Quarterly Quota etc)
Click Edit on your new Quota component.
Enter a descriptive name, such as Monthly ARR Quota.
Select whether the quota is measured as Currency or Quantity (#) amount.
Choose whether the quota is Recurring or Temporary.
Choose whether the quota Stays the same or Changes over time.
Set the quota Timeframe to the smaller, recurring quota period.
Enter the quota amount for that period.
Expand Advanced Quota Rules at the very bottom.
For the cumulative quota setting, select Yes, it is.
Select a cumulative timeframe option larger than the quota timeframe.
Save the quota.
For example, to create a $50,000 monthly quota that accumulates through each quarter:
Timeframe: Monthly
Amount: $50,000
Is this quota cumulative?: Yes
Cumulative timeframe: Quarterly
The $50,000 entered is the monthly amount—not the full quarterly amount. QuotaPath builds the cumulative denominator by adding each elapsed month’s quota.
Understand the quota settings
Currency or Number
This controls the type of value used to measure quota.
Use Currency for targets such as:
ARR
Bookings
Revenue
Pipeline value
Use Number for count-based targets such as:
Deals closed
Meetings completed
Opportunities created
New logos acquired
The earnings component nested under the quota determines which mapped records and values contribute to attainment. The quota itself defines the target and measurement type; it does not select a source field.
Recurring or Temporary
Use Recurring when the quota repeats throughout the plan, such as a monthly ARR quota that continues for the full plan year.
Use Temporary for a target that applies only during a limited date range, such as a short-term contest or SPIF.
Cumulative quotas are most commonly recurring because they combine multiple recurring quota periods into a larger window.
Stays the same
Select Stays the same when the quota amount is identical in every base period.
Example:
January: $50,000
February: $50,000
March: $50,000
For a quarterly cumulative window, the full accumulated quota becomes $150,000 by the end of March.
Changes over time
Select Changes over time when the quota varies by period because of ramping, seasonality, territory changes, or another planned adjustment.
Example:
Period | Assigned quota | Cumulative quota |
January | $25,000 | $25,000 |
February | $40,000 | $65,000 |
March | $50,000 | $115,000 |
QuotaPath adds the actual assigned amount for each elapsed period. It does not assume that every period has the same value.
After selecting Changes over time, verify the quota’s starting period and click Manage Quotas to enter the applicable amount for each period. The starting period should align with the beginning of the plan so quota assignments are not shifted into the wrong month or quarter.
Timeframe
The quota Timeframe is the smallest period for which a target is assigned. It controls how often a new piece of quota is added.
Examples include:
Monthly
Quarterly
Half-yearly
Yearly
For a monthly quota cumulative to a quarter, choose Monthly here—not Quarterly.
Is this quota cumulative?
This setting determines whether each quota period stands alone.
No, it is not: Quota and attainment reset every base period.
Yes, it is: Quota and attainment carry forward inside the selected cumulative timeframe.
The default is No, it is not, which is appropriate for most standard quotas.[3]
Cumulative timeframe
The cumulative timeframe is the larger window in which quota and attainment accumulate before resetting. The drop-down will only give you options larger than the quota’s base timeframe. Common configurations include:
Base quota timeframe | Cumulative timeframe | Functional result |
Monthly | Quarterly | Three monthly quotas build through each quarter |
Monthly | Half-yearly | Six monthly quotas build through each half-year |
Monthly | Yearly | Twelve monthly quotas build through the year |
Quarterly | Yearly | Four quarterly quotas build through the year |
When the cumulative window ends, the next window starts with a new cumulative quota and attainment total.
Default and individual quota amounts
The amount configured on the quota is the default amount for plan assignees. After assigning members, admins can use Manage Quotas to give individuals different quota amounts.
Each member’s cumulative denominator is based on that member’s assigned quotas. If one member has a $50,000 monthly quota and another has a $75,000 monthly quota, their cumulative quota and attainment percentages will differ even if they produce the same attainment value.
Connect attainment to the quota
A quota is a target. The earnings components nested beneath it determine which records contribute toward that target.
After saving the quota:
Add or move the appropriate earnings component beneath the quota in Plan Structure.
Open the earnings component.
Select its Attainment field (that will retire your cumulative quota)
Select its Earnings field.
Configure the component’s mapping so the fields receive values from the correct data source fields.
Configure rates, tiers, or bonus thresholds as required.
The Attainment field controls how much each qualifying record contributes toward quota. The Earnings field controls the value used to calculate commission. They may be the same field, but they do not have to be.
For example:
Quota: 10 closed-won opportunities per month
Attainment field: Opportunity count (#)
Earnings field: ARR ($)
Result: Each opportunity contributes one unit toward the cumulative count quota, while commission is calculated from that opportunity’s ARR.
Selecting a field name does not connect it to source data by itself. The component’s mapping determines the actual values used for attainment and earnings.
Rate calculation: Sum of All Deals or Each Individual Deal
Multi-rate components (not the Quota component iteself) include a Rate Calculation setting under Component Modifiers. Use Sum of All Deals when the rate should be determined by running quota attainment. Each Individual Deal when every record’s rate should be determined independently, and is not correct for a cumulative quota setup.
Cumulative Quota attainment logic
QuotaPath places qualifying records into quota periods according to their mapped deal date. Within a cumulative window, qualifying attainment from previous elapsed periods continues to contribute to the running total.
For a monthly quota cumulative quarterly:
A January deal contributes to January’s cumulative attainment.
That January attainment remains part of the running total in February and March.
A February deal contributes to the January–February total.
A March deal contributes to the January–March total.
January records do not carry into the new cumulative window beginning in April.
The records must still meet the earnings component’s mapping criteria. Enabling cumulative quota rules does not cause otherwise ineligible records to contribute.
Important: Prior-period earnings are not recalculated by later cumulative periods
Under QuotaPath’s current cumulative-quota behavior, later cumulative attainment does not retroactively reprice earnings that were calculated in an earlier quota period.
For example:
January attainment is calculated using January performance and January quota.
January earnings are calculated using that January result.
In February, cumulative attainment uses January plus February performance divided by January plus February quota.
February earnings use the cumulative context applicable in February.
January earnings remain unchanged.
This means cumulative quotas carry prior performance into the attainment calculation, but they do not perform a full earnings-to-date true-up across prior periods.
Example
Assume:
Monthly quota: $50,000
Cumulative timeframe: Quarterly
Below 100% rate: 5%
At or above 100% rate: 10%, applied to previous tiers
The member closes $65,000 in January:
January attainment: $65,000 ÷ $50,000 = 130%
January earnings: $65,000 × 10% = $6,500
The member then closes $20,000 in February:
Cumulative attainment: $85,000 ÷ $100,000 = 85%
January remains at its previously calculated $6,500.
February activity is evaluated using the cumulative position applicable to February.
QuotaPath does not reduce January’s earnings to 5% simply because cumulative attainment later falls below 100%.
Similarly, if January ends below a threshold and cumulative performance crosses it in February, QuotaPath does not automatically return to January and reprice January’s deals under the new cumulative tier.
Retroactive tiers - “If achieved, apply rate to all previous tiers” setting
Cumulative quotas and retroactive rates are different settings. This setting appears on multi-rate earnings components and controls how a reached tier applies within an earnings calculation period.
Off: The higher rate applies only to the value above the tier threshold.
On: Once the higher tier is reached, that rate applies to prior value in the applicable calculation period.
Turning on cumulative quota rules does not automatically make an accelerator retroactive. Likewise, turning on apply rate to all previous tiers does not make a quota cumulative.
Viewing cumulative attainment
Go to Attainment to review progress toward a quota.
The page includes:
Component cards showing attainment against quota
A graph comparing actual or forecasted attainment with quota
A Deals table listing records contributing to attainment
Individual and Team views, depending on role and permissions
The selected date range controls which qualifying deals are displayed as attainment. The quota shown represents the full quota period—or periods—covered by that selection.
When reviewing a cumulative quota, select a date range that matches the cumulative window or the elapsed portion you want to investigate. If the date selection crosses multiple quota periods, confirm which periods are included in both the attainment total and quota denominator.
Common configuration mistakes
Entering the full cumulative quota as the base amount
For a $50,000 monthly quota cumulative quarterly, enter $50,000, not $150,000. QuotaPath adds the three monthly quotas to reach $150,000 by the end of the quarter.
Setting the base timeframe to the cumulative timeframe
For monthly quotas that accumulate quarterly:
Base timeframe should be Monthly.
Cumulative timeframe should be Quarterly.
If the base timeframe is set to Quarterly, QuotaPath treats the entered amount as one quarterly quota rather than three monthly quota periods.
Expecting attainment to always increase
The cumulative attainment value can increase while the percentage decreases. Each new period adds both attainment and quota.
Assuming cumulative means retroactive true-up
Cumulative quota rules carry attainment and quota forward. They do not automatically recalculate prior-period earnings when later cumulative attainment changes.
Using Each Individual Deal for a cumulative tier structure
If the rate should depend on total cumulative attainment, use Sum of All Deals. Each Individual Deal evaluates records independently.
Changing only the field name
The attainment and earnings field selectors name the values used by the component. To change the underlying source data, update the component’s source mapping as well.
Forgetting individual quota assignments
After assigning a new member to an existing plan, review Manage Quotas and Manage Rates. Otherwise, the new member will receive the configured defaults rather than any individualized targets or rates.
Summary
A cumulative quota combines several smaller quota periods into a larger window:
Configure the smaller period as the quota Timeframe.
Enter the quota amount for that smaller period.
Enable cumulative quota rules under Advanced Quota Rules.
Select the larger cumulative timeframe.
Nest and map the appropriate earnings components beneath the quota.
Use Sum of All Deals when rates should respond to cumulative attainment.
Remember that cumulative attainment resets at the end of the larger window.
Remember that current cumulative behavior does not retroactively recalculate earnings from earlier quota periods.