Definition
A profit-sharing ratio is the configured share that channel parties such as agents and distributors should receive. In a multi-level channel, each level can have its own ratio. Payment splitting allocates automatically by that ratio. Settlement and profit sharing uses the ratio to calculate the settlement statement amount. The ratio can be fixed or tiered.
Configuration Methods
- Fixed ratio: Profit is shared as a fixed percentage of the order amount or the gross margin (for example, 10% or 15%). This is simple and clear.
- Tiered ratio: The ratio steps with purchase volume or sales. For example, monthly purchases below 1,000 cards take 10%, and purchases above 1,000 cards take 12%, which encourages agents to sell more.
- By plan type: Different data plans can use different profit-sharing ratios. A high-margin plan can be given a higher ratio.
Multi-level profit sharing
When multi-level agents are supported, primary agents, secondary agents, etc., can be configured with separate profit-sharing ratios, and the total profit-sharing amount does not exceed the order's gross profit. For example, if the order's gross profit is 100 yuan, the first level at 10% and the second level at 5%, then the first level receives 10 yuan and the second level receives 5 yuan. Payment splitting must set the ratio for each split receiver on the payment-channel side. Settlement and profit sharing is calculated by the platform according to the rules and written into the settlement statement.
Ratio configuration and adjustment
Profit-sharing ratios can be flexibly configured for different agents, distributors, different traffic data plans, and different levels. When adjusting ratios, historical orders and generated but unsettled settlement statements must be considered to avoid disputes. Tiered ratios (based on purchase quantity or sales volume) can incentivize channel growth. The platform should provide a ratio configuration interface, supporting flexible configuration by channel, data plan, and level. Profit-sharing ratios directly affect channel profitability and motivation and need to be reasonably designed.
Profit-sharing ratios and sales allocation
The profit-sharing ratio is used together with sales attribution. Once an order’s sales attribution is set, the profit-sharing amount is calculated from the ratio of the attributed channel. For payment splitting, the split receiver must be bound to the distributor, and the ratio must match the profit-sharing ratio. For settlement and profit sharing, the platform groups orders by sales attribution and applies the ratio to produce a settlement statement. The profit-sharing ratio is a core parameter of channel incentives. It has to be considered together with the agent price list and the cost of agent-price procurement, so channel profit stays reasonable and enterprise gross margin stays under control.
Ratio Configuration Recommendations
Profit-sharing ratios can be configured differently for different agents , distributors , different traffic data plans , and different levels. Tiered ratios (based on purchase volume or sales amount) can incentivize channel growth. When adjusting ratios, historical orders and already generated but unsettled settlement statements should be taken into consideration to avoid disputes. Profit-sharing ratios are one of the core settings in IoT Cloud Platform channel management.
Does the ratio multiply the selling price or the margin
A profit-sharing ratio is the rule for how much a channel takes from one IoT card sale. It is not itself a payment instruction, and it is not a settlement cycle. Before any calculation, the base has to be fixed: the amount the user actually paid, the list price, or the margin after the settlement cost of the card and the plan is subtracted from the amount paid. Ten percent of the amount paid and ten percent of the margin can differ by more than a factor of two. The base also has to say who bears coupons, channel fees, and refunds. If those are not written into the rule, finance can only make up the arithmetic in a spreadsheet outside the settlement statement, and that result cannot be executed automatically by a payment split.
Multi-level ratios have to be checked to see whether the total exceeds the base. Ten percent at the first level and five percent at the second can mean each is relative to the base, or that the second level takes a further cut from what the first level received. The two chains produce different money. When a fixed amount and a ratio are mixed, deduct the fixed amount first and then apply the ratio, so a small plan does not produce a negative amount retained by the platform. Whether a tier’s crossing point uses calendar-month sales or the number of cards opened must match the statistics definition. Otherwise the tier the channel sees and the tier the system applies are not the same.
Which version applies to old orders when the ratio changes
A ratio change should apply only to orders created after the effective time. Orders already paid, already split, or already sitting on an unsettled settlement statement keep the ratio snapshot from when the order was placed. If settlement reads the “current ratio” again, raising the ratio lifts the share for historical months as a whole, and lowering it shrinks a figure after the channel has already reconciled it. A snapshot includes at least the base type, the ratio at each level, the currency, and the rule version number.
Another decision is whether a plan change and a renewal keep the ratio of the first order. If a renewal uses the channel policy in force at renewal time, the rule has to say so. It cannot be inherited by default. Whether a refund is returned on the original ratio, or only the user is refunded and the share is not, is a separate policy. SimtoLink uses this set of ratios to produce the amount payable in settlement and revenue sharing. If a split at payment time is enabled, the ratio sent to the channel must match the snapshot on that order, so the amount the channel actually receives and the settlement statement are not calculated apart from each other.
Which tier bears the discount and the fee
After a user applies a discount, the amount paid is smaller, and the channel fee is also deducted from what was received. If the share is still calculated on the list price, the amount the platform retains may not cover the fee. The rule has to say whether the discount is borne by the platform, by the channel that acquired the customer, or reduced across the levels in proportion. When the fee is deducted from the platform’s retained amount by default, the ratios taken together must leave room for that retention. If the agreement says the fee is also shared in proportion, the divisible amount of a payment split uses the net after the fee, not the amount the user paid. SimtoLink settlement calculates from the bearing method stored in the order snapshot. It does not reallocate discounts that have already happened under a new policy at month end.