Kicker (Bonus Kicker)

A kicker (or bonus kicker) is a one-time lump-sum bonus paid to a salesperson for crossing a defined milestone — most commonly reaching 100% of quota, but also things like closing a multi-year contract, landing a new logo in a target segment, or finishing a quarter in the top tier. Unlike commission, which accrues on every dollar sold, a kicker is binary: cross the line and the full bonus pays; fall short and it pays nothing.

How It Works

Kickers bolt onto a base compensation plan as discrete milestone payments:

Total pay = base salary + commission + sum of kickers earned

Common kicker designs:

The key contrast is with an accelerator: an accelerator changes the commission rate above a threshold, so its value scales with how far past quota you go; a kicker pays a fixed amount for touching the milestone at all. Plans often use both — the kicker celebrates crossing the line, the accelerator rewards how far you run past it. A kicker also differs from a SPIFF: SPIFFs are temporary promotional incentives paid per action, while kickers are standing plan features tied to milestones.

Example

An account executive's annual plan: $600,000 quota, 10% commission, plus two kickers — $4,000 for reaching 100% of annual quota and $1,000 per multi-year contract (to push contract length).

Her year: $640,000 closed (106.7% quota attainment), including three multi-year deals.

• Commission: $640,000 × 10% = $64,000
• Attainment kicker: $4,000 (crossed 100%)
• Multi-year kickers: 3 × $1,000 = $3,000
• Total variable: $71,000

Notice the cliff dynamics: at $598,000 (99.7%) she would have earned $59,800 in commission and no attainment kicker — so the last $2,000 deal of the year was effectively worth $4,200 to her. That is precisely the pressure a kicker is designed to create in the final week of a period. Model your own plan's cliffs with the sales commission calculator.

Best Practices

• Use kickers for lines you badly want crossed. Quota attainment, multi-year terms, strategic products, logo wins in a new market. If the behavior is a matter of degree rather than a threshold, an accelerator fits better.
• Mind the cliff. A large all-or-nothing kicker invites end-of-period gaming — pulling deals forward or begging for splits. Keep individual kickers modest relative to commission, or step them (partial kicker at 90%, full at 100%).
• Keep the count small. Two or three kickers focus behavior; seven turn the comp plan into a tax code nobody optimizes correctly.
• Pay quickly and celebrate publicly. A kicker is a milestone moment — announce it, don't bury it in a payroll line. Pairing kicker milestones with recognition on the team leaderboard doubles the motivational value at zero cost.
• Re-evaluate annually. Strategic kickers should track strategy: once multi-year deals become the norm, retire that kicker and point the money at the next behavior. See the sales commission structures guide for how kickers fit alongside base, commission, and accelerators.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a kicker and an accelerator?

A kicker is a fixed lump sum for reaching a milestone — the same $4,000 whether you finish at 100% or 140%. An accelerator is a higher commission rate on every dollar above a threshold, so it pays more the further you overperform. Kickers reward crossing lines; accelerators reward distance beyond them.

What is the difference between a kicker and a SPIFF?

A SPIFF is a temporary promotion — a short-window incentive paid per qualifying action, then retired. A kicker is a standing feature of the annual comp plan tied to a milestone. A "$100 per demo this month" program is a SPIFF; a "$5,000 at 100% of annual quota" bonus is a kicker.

Are kickers included in OTE?

Usually yes, when they are attainment-based — a kicker paid at 100% of quota is part of what a rep earns "on target," so it belongs in the OTE figure. Strategic or situational kickers that not every rep can earn are often quoted separately as upside.

What is a typical kicker amount?

Common attainment kickers run roughly 3–10% of a rep's annual variable pay — meaningful enough to fight for in the final week, small enough not to dominate the plan or create extreme cliff-gaming incentives. Strategic per-deal kickers are usually a few hundred to a few thousand dollars depending on deal economics.