Adding Commissions to an Existing Policy via Endorsement

Note: This article covers a specific scenario: recording an additional commission on a policy that has already been created — for example, a commission tied to a payment received at a later date. If you're setting up commissions during policy creation, see Commissions Management Overview.

Why Use an Endorsement for This?

When a policy is first created, commissions are added directly to the initial transaction (New Business, Renewal, etc.) and posted at that time. But some commission scenarios don't happen at policy creation — for example, a carrier might pay your agency an additional commission after the insured makes their third monthly payment, or a performance bonus might arrive mid-term.

Since the policy already exists and has no open transaction to attach a commission to, the way to handle this is by adding a $0 Endorsement to the policy. The endorsement acts as a container for the new commission record — it doesn't change the policy terms or the premium, it simply provides a transaction that the commission can be attached to.

Key Concept: The endorsement itself stays at $0 — its only purpose is to hold the commission record. Give it a meaningful description like "Commission Received – Q1 Payment" or "Installment Commission" so it's clear in the policy history why it exists.

Step 1: Open the Policy and Add an Endorsement

Navigate to the policy page for which you need to record the additional commission. In the top action menu of the policy page, click the gear (⚙) icon and select Add Endorsement. This will take you to the policy edition screen with a new Endorsement transaction already added to the transactions list.

Policy page gear menu open with Add Endorsement highlighted

Step 2: Configure the Endorsement Transaction

In the transactions section, locate the new Endorsement transaction. Set the following:

Premium amount: $0 — this endorsement does not change the policy premium.
Description: enter something meaningful, such as "Commission Received", "Installment Commission – Payment 3", or whatever describes the reason for this commission. This description will appear in reports and the policy history.

Step 3: Add the Commission Record(s) Under the Endorsement

Under the Endorsement transaction, click Add Commission to add one or more commission records. For each commission:

Select the commission type: Agency or Agent
Enter the dollar amount or percentage of the commission
If splitting between multiple agents or the agency, add additional commission records as needed

The $0 endorsement can hold as many commission records as needed — one for the agency, one or more for individual agents, etc.

Endorsement transaction set to $0 with description 'Commission Received – Q1 Payment' and two commission records: Agency $120 and Agent $25

Step 4: Save the Policy Changes

Once the endorsement and its commission record(s) are set up, save the policy. After saving, return to the policy page. You will notice the Post Commissions green button is now visible in the top action menu — the system has detected that there are pending commissions attached to the new endorsement transaction.

Heads Up: The Post Commissions button will appear even if you are not ready to post yet. You can leave the commissions in pending status and post them at a later time — for example, once you've confirmed the payment from the carrier has cleared.

Step 5: Post the Commissions When Ready

When you're ready to post, click the Post Commissions button on the policy page. A summary pop-up will appear listing all pending commission records — including the ones from the new endorsement. Review the amounts and confirm to post.

Pending Commissions modal showing Commissioned Agents ($25 - Andrew Krunt) and Agency Commission ($120) with Post Commission button

Once posted, the commissions are finalized and will appear in commission reports as Posted. If you haven't posted yet, they will appear as Pending in reports.

How This Appears in Reports

The commission records added via this endorsement follow the same reporting rules as any other commission:

Before posting: they appear as Pending in both agency and agent commission reports
After posting: they appear as Posted and are included in total earnings
The associated transaction description you set on the endorsement (e.g., "Commission Received") will be visible in the report details, making it easy to identify the source

For more on commission reporting, see Tracking Agency and Agent Commissions.

Frequently Asked Questions

No. Because the endorsement is set to $0, it has no impact on the policy premium, the customer's payment schedule, or any existing invoices. It only adds a transaction record that holds the commission — nothing visible to the customer changes.

Yes. You can add multiple commission records under the same $0 endorsement — for example, one for the agency and one or more for individual agents. Each record is tracked separately and will appear individually in reports.

Yes. Each additional commission event (e.g., payment 3, payment 6, a bonus, etc.) can have its own $0 endorsement with its own commission records. Each endorsement will have a distinct description so the policy history remains clear and auditable.

No. The commissions will remain in Pending status until you explicitly post them. You can save and return later. The Post Commissions button on the policy page will continue to be visible as a reminder that there are pending commissions waiting to be posted. You can also view all pending commissions across policies from Policies → Pending Commissions in the left menu.