Key concepts & glossary
Every core SplitRun term defined — Data Source, Merchant/Account, Agent, Income Type, Deduction, Commission base, Override, Payout type, Period, House.
SplitRun has a small number of core ideas. Learn these ten and the rest of the app makes sense.
Labels are customizable. Each organization can rename these entities in Settings → Labels to match its own language. This guide uses the default names and notes common alternatives. See Rename labels for your business.
The building blocks
Data Source
Where your commission data comes from — a processor, vendor, or partner that sends you a report (for example First Data Canada, Moneris, Global Payments). Some businesses call these Processors or Vendors. You add one data source per provider, then upload that provider's monthly report to it. Each data source has its own revenue flow (its deductions) and its own report layout. See Add a data source.
Report Type
A single data source can produce several kinds of report — for example a processor might send separate Visa, Mastercard, and equipment-rental files. Each of these is a report type with its own column layout. You map each report type's columns once.
Merchant (a.k.a. Account, Client)
A business you earn revenue from — the merchant whose processing generates the residual. In the app the section is often labeled Accounts. Each merchant can have one or more agents assigned to it.
Agent (a.k.a. Sales Rep)
Anyone who gets paid out of the revenue: a sales rep, a manager taking an override, or an affiliate/partner receiving a rebate. In SplitRun they are all "agents" — what makes them different is the payout type on their assignment (see below).
Income Type (a.k.a. Revenue Type)
The category of revenue within a data source — e.g. Residuals, Equipment Rental, App Revenue Share. An agent can earn a different commission % for each income type. Income types also carry a Reports nature (Profit-based or Revenue-only) that governs which commission bases are valid.
The money terms
Total Profit
The headline number that comes in on the report — for a payments ISO this is the processor's residual. Depending on your business this may be labeled Booked Revenue, Gross Commission, etc.
Vendor Share (the split)
The portion of Total Profit that the vendor/processor keeps, removed before your commissions are calculated. What's left is your Company Revenue (net revenue). If your reports already arrive as your net (a "pre-split" or 100% report), there is no vendor share and Company Revenue equals Total Profit.
Deduction
A cut taken off the revenue before agent commissions — a software fee, an affiliate cut, a partner/referral fee. A deduction can be a percentage or a fixed dollar amount, is applied against a base (Profit, Revenue, or Remaining), and can optionally be paid to an agent (an affiliate/partner) or simply be a cost (a fee paid to no one). See Add a deduction.
Remaining (Net after deductions)
What's left after all deductions are applied. This is the usual base for agent commissions.
Commission base
The number an agent's commission percentage multiplies. Most commonly Remaining (net after deductions), but it can also be Profit or Revenue depending on the agreement. Choosing the right base is essential — see Choosing the base.
Agent Commission
An agent's pay on the merchants assigned to them: their percentage × their commission base.
Override
Extra pay for a manager (or senior rep) calculated on another rep's commission — e.g. "10% on Tom's, Tina's, and Mike's commission." The override is a percentage of the rep's pay, not of the merchant's revenue.
House
What's left for the company after every payout — commissions, overrides, affiliate/partner deductions, and adjustments. Also called House Margin.
Payout types
Every agent's earning on an account carries a payout type that tells SplitRun how they earn. The same person can earn in more than one way.
| Payout type | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Commission | Standard pay on their own assigned merchants |
| Override | A cut of another rep's commission |
| Affiliate / Partner | A rebate or profit-share deduction taken before commissions, paid to this agent |
On the Agents page you can filter by payout type to see, say, everyone earning affiliate income. Reports separate the types so a person who is both a rep and an affiliate shows each stream distinctly.
Configuration terms
Commission Agreement
The record of an agent's rate on a data source or income type: the percentage, the base, and the effective dates it applies to. Changing a rate creates a new agreement effective from a chosen date; the old one is kept for history. Some businesses call these Comp Plans or Split Agreements. See Commission agreements & effective dates.
Effective date
The date a commission or deduction rate starts applying. Setting an effective date in the past lets SplitRun auto-calculate earlier months you upload. This is why a rate set "effective January 1" will correctly pay out on data from January onward.
Revenue Flow
The ordered "waterfall" of a data source: Total Profit → vendor share → deductions (in order) → Remaining → agent commission → overrides → House. You edit it on the data source's page. See Understanding the revenue flow.
Period
A single month of data (e.g. 2026-05). You upload files into a period, calculate it, and eventually lock & publish it so agents see final numbers. See Lock & publish a period.
Where these come together
- The revenue-flow waterfall shows how Total Profit becomes House, passing through deductions and commissions.
- The monthly workflow shows when you touch each of these during a normal month.