Tecan Group is a Swiss company that provides laboratory instruments and solutions to customers across a number of different industries. Tecan empowers customers to scale their healthcare innovation globally, from life science to the clinic.

The Heroes

Leading Tecan’s commission program are Ashleigh Dobbins, Accounting and Finance Manager, and Joe Fisher, CFO/Head of Finance and Accounting Americas. Their expertise and dedication are instrumental to streamline compensation operations and increase transparency for the teams.

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The Challenge: A Manual, Error-Prone Commissions Process

For over six years, Tecan relied on spreadsheets to manage its commissions payouts. With a complex commission structure based on multiple revenue streams—such as instrument sales, after-market contract renewals, and consumables—the process was time-consuming, prone to errors, and difficult to scale.

[QUOTE
| quote: We were managing commissions using Excel, and it was incredibly painful. The number of sales reps grew significantly during that time, and Excel just couldn’t keep up anymore. We had to update individual files for each rep, and if there were any exceptions, like crediting a rep for a sale in a different territory, it was really hard to track all of that in Excel.
| name: Ashleigh D.
| title: Accounting and Finance Manager
| image: https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e20acf46e0215232a00fa2f/67925ce166bb3a427f6ee8d6_Ashleigh%20D..png
|]

Like many medical device providers, Tecan’s manual commissions process was not only inefficient but also prone to inaccuracies. The team frequently faced challenges related to commission splits, error-prone data entries, and slow updates to sales commission plans. For a growing company, these inefficiencies began to take a toll.

The Turning Point: A Need to Focus on Strategic Activities 

With commissions becoming an increasing burden on their team, Tecan knew they needed a more efficient solution.

[QUOTE
| quote: We were spending too much time on commissions when we should have been focusing on other critical business areas like reporting, forecasting, and tax.
| name: Joe F.
| title: CFO/Head of Finance and Accounting Americas
| image: https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e20acf46e0215232a00fa2f/67925d5dfbe5c86910a0a4c5_Joe%20F..webp
|]

The need for an automated, transparent, and scalable solution became clear.

The Solution: CaptivateIQ’s Automated Commission Solution

While Tecan started evaluating a number of commission management tools like Spiff and Xactly, they quickly took a liking to CaptivateIQ. CaptivateIQ offered an intuitive experience for creating and modifying compensation plans, empowering Ashleigh and team to fully own the experience without relying on services teams. 

[QUOTE
| quote: We were really impressed with the support through the sales process. CaptivateIQ showed us how the system would work, even allowing us to model our commission plans live within the platform. The reporting capabilities were exactly what we needed, and the structure of the plans was very similar to Excel, which made it easier for us to adapt.
| name: Ashleigh D.
| title: Accounting and Finance Manager
| image: https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e20acf46e0215232a00fa2f/67925ce166bb3a427f6ee8d6_Ashleigh%20D..png
|]

Tecan also appreciated how intuitive CaptivateIQ was. 

“It just makes sense,” Ashleigh notes.

The ability to move away from spreadsheets to a system that automatically calculated commissions, provided transparent reports, and allowed quick updates was a game-changer. The simplicity and flexibility of CaptivateIQ won Tecan over, and they decided to implement it across their commission processes.

It wasn’t long before Tecan was live on CaptivateIQ, getting implemented in less than a month. The onboarding and implementation process was smooth, with Tecan’s internal teams quickly getting up to speed.

The Impact: Time Saved, Accuracy Improved, and Better Business Insights

The impact of CaptivateIQ was felt immediately across the business. CaptivateIQ delivered significant time and resource savings for Tecan, particularly for the finance and commissions teams. With commissions now paid out in a fraction of the time, the team is able to focus on other critical functions during the first week of the month, such as reporting and forecasting.

[QUOTE
| quote: CaptivateIQ has definitely been an upgrade from the system we had before. It gives us the transparency we need, both internally and with our sales team. It’s reliable, and we can count on it to handle complex commission structures with ease.
| name: Ashleigh D.
| title: Accounting and Finance Manager
| image: https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e20acf46e0215232a00fa2f/67925ce166bb3a427f6ee8d6_Ashleigh%20D..png
|]

75% Reduction in Commission Calculation Time

Before CaptivateIQ, Tecan’s finance team spent a considerable amount of time manually calculating commissions, especially during the first week of each month when multiple processes converged. With CaptivateIQ, the time spent on executing commission payouts has been reduced by 75%, freeing up critical resources to focus on other important financial tasks.

25% Reduction in Data Rework

Manual processes and Excel’s limitations led to frequent reworks and corrections. With CaptivateIQ, errors are minimized, and the need for rework has decreased by 25%. This has significantly improved data integrity and saved time in reconciling commission data.

Greater Transparency with Real-Time Data for Sales Teams

Sales teams now have real-time visibility into their commission progress. 

[QUOTE
| quote: Our sales team loves the visual charts on their commission statements. They can see their actual attainment versus their quota and get a clear view of what they’re being paid on each order. It’s much more transparent and eliminates the uncertainty around commission payouts.
| name: Joe F.
| title: CFO/Head of Finance and Accounting Americas
| image: https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e20acf46e0215232a00fa2f/67925d5dfbe5c86910a0a4c5_Joe%20F..webp
|]

Faster Annual Plan Refreshes

With CaptivateIQ, Tecan can now easily update commission plans and distribute them to the sales team quickly—often in December, instead of waiting until April as was the case with Excel. This ability to adjust plans quickly has increased operational efficiency and ensured that reps are always on the same page.

Ability to Adapt with Insights

The company has also been able to derive valuable insights from the data in CaptivateIQ, helping to optimize commission plans and ensure that they are aligned with company goals. The flexibility of the platform allows Tecan to continuously refine their commission strategies, ensuring they stay competitive and incentivize their sales teams effectively.

Increased Efficiency Across Teams

Tecan’s finance and compensation teams no longer have to manually reconcile commission data. The streamlined process allows them to process commission payouts faster and focus on other areas of their financial operations. Tecan also uses CaptivateIQ to extract commission data for payroll, making the process much more reliable and reducing room for manual errors.

Looking Ahead

The Future with CaptivateIQ

Tecan’s use of CaptivateIQ has only scratched the surface of what the platform can do. The company plans to leverage CaptivateIQ even more to drive further optimization and efficiency in its commission management process.

Why CaptivateIQ for Medical Device providers?

Tecan’s transition from spreadsheets to CaptivateIQ has been a game-changer. By automating the commission calculation process, Tecan has saved significant time, reduced errors, and improved transparency across the organization. The result is not only a more efficient finance team but also a more empowered and informed sales force.

[QUOTE
| quote: CaptivateIQ is a highly referenced tool by finance, HR, and sales teams. It’s helped us save time, improve accuracy, and provide the level of transparency we need to keep our teams aligned and motivated. If you're looking for a reliable, efficient, and scalable commission management solution, CaptivateIQ is the answer.
| name: Ashleigh D.
| title: Accounting and Finance Manager
| image: https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e20acf46e0215232a00fa2f/67925ce166bb3a427f6ee8d6_Ashleigh%20D..png
|]