Sales And Not Paid

lowell5slide

i worked for a painting company as a sales rep (1099 worker) I sold paint jobs at 10% commission. I was recently let go and I had jobs that were being completed and beginning shortly after I stopped working there. The owner said he would pay me but I cant get anyone t o call me back. If I dont get a opportunity to get the money owed to me from my commissions do I need to file a lien on his business or maybe file a lien on one of the home owners to get his attention that I want my money. Again he paid me a sub 1099 thanks for the help

nlgutters

Let go as in Fired or layed off? Generally that stuff is decided before you start the job.

I would say anything done to date should be yours. Anything not started you should be paid 10% of the deposit.

thom

You will probably need to take legal action against the company. Filing a lien won't work because you haven't provided labor or materials that are incorporated into the job.

You could:

A) sue in small claims court
B) hire a lawyer to send a threatening letter
C) hire a lawyer to sue

Clearly document exactly what is owed to you and why. This will include amounts of contracts on which you are unpaid or partially paid etc. Get it clear and down to the penny before suing or talking to a lawyer. Unless you know exactly how much you are owed, it's hard to collect.

tinner666

What THom said. As a saleman, you are entitled to your commission on the jobs YOU SOLD.

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Frank Slate Roof Repairs, Richmond, Va.

pcplumber

We always pay the employee, for all jobs he sells, even after being terminated. Otherwise, every employer could hire sales people, and fire them, just after they close sales.

The only problems we encounter, are when the sales person does not actually close the sale, and we need to send another sales person, to cinch the deal. Now, we have to pay two sales people, and sometimes, our sales people are also responsible for managing their jobs. Since they no longer work for us, we have to pay two managers.

Forget calling on the phone. You know their routine. Drop in and have a person-to-person talk. Get yourself clear, on what is right, and speak with conviction.

To file a Mechanic's Lien, in California, you must present the customer a Preliminary Notice, notifying the customer that you are a subcontractor, and you will file a lien if not paid. There are time limitations, so check the internet for the laws in your area.

Also, file a Small Claims action in court, and file a complaint with the Labor Board, and Contractor's Board, if you have one. First, notify your old boss, of your intentions, clearly. I think he would rather pay you.

Last option and most effective. I'll give you my cousin Vinnie's number.

nlgutters

It depends. Was he just a salesman or sales/project manager?

If he was just a salesman and the jobs where sold RIGHT. Then yes he should be paid 100%

Again a lot of companies work this out when the hire.

He could of be fired for selling jobs for another company at the same time you never know.

dougchips

The original post says "as a sales rep (1099 worker) I sold paint jobs at 10% commission.............Again he paid me a sub 1099 thanks for the help".

It will be interesting to see how this turns out since I doubt that everything is spelled out in a contract.

On a side note I saw that Empire Today uses subs as their sales staff: "All sales representatives are independent contractors. All contractors are responsible for incorporating within 30 days. To take your first step toward joining our winning team, please apply today by" http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/job-JENGRQZ...ce=CP&rmpixel=

__________________
To get the best replacement windows, or sun rooms contact the replacement windows experts at FHI Vinyl Window Company.

Grumpy

I think you could file a lien because you did provide labor in theory. At least that theory is enough to file the lien. Will it stand up? Who cares! It'll be cheaper for the business owner to pay him than pay a lawyer and fight it.

The way I look at it you were let go because either you sucked (no offense) or he's about ready to go out of business. It's probably that he's ready to go out of business because any salesman worth having is the last person to be fired, unless they suck at it. If he's going out of business you'll never get your money.

This is why alot of companies do front ends and back ends. For me that's too much paper work, but it works like this... You get paid half your commission, so 5%, at the time of sale. You get paid your other 5% upon completion and collection of the job. If you terminate or are terminated of your employment before the job is finished and collected then you lose your back end.


I was inn a recent situation where I was in your bosses shoes. I didn't have anything formal in my employee manual about what to do about this. I decided that because their job description says they are responsible to collect the job then their job is not complete thus they do not deserve full compensation for said commissions. I decided that anything that was paid to the company, but not paid to them yet, they deserved full commission. In addition another thing I will probably implement is having them sign off stating they've been paid in full on all jobs.

Grumpy

Quite alot of companies pay their sales reps like subs. As you know most contractors pay their employees like subs. That's the business we are in.

My sales reps are employees. If you think about it there is ALOT of liability that goes along with having an outside sales rep. I have to carry insurance on their vehicles called "non-owned vehicle insurance", but that's good to have if you use subs too, since they are using their own vehicles. What happens if they get in an accident "on the clock", so to speak, and their insurance won't cover it for what ever reason?

What happens when a commissioned sales rep decides he sucks at his job has been working well over 40 hours and not selling squat and wants over time? Would they then legally be due over time? Food for thought. According to the IRS my interpretation is YES they would be due it legally as employees. As an employee you are responsible for tracking their hours, even if they are not paid hourly.

Having said all that I still prefer to hire on my sales reps as employees. I feel they will be more loyal to the company as an employee not an "independant".

lowell5slide

yeah thanks for the replys it was pretty simple he provided leads and a office and paperwork other than that i provided gas phone and anything else i needed. I was just thinking that since I was, just as he put it, a sub ,I was just like the painters he paid by the job, If they didnt get paid they would put a lien on the clients house. i live in georgia by the way .I didnt know if i was actually going to put a lien or just the thought of me doing it to one of his clients would make him jump to action. I was a good salesmen i sold about 50,000 last month lets just say there was a miscommunication on their part ,and instead of dealing with it it was easier for him to just to get rid of the hassle so im out a job but i was just doing my job, wasnt stealing or anything so anyway thought i would out that out there

Grumpy

Know anything about roofing? Anywhere near Chicago?

javatom

impressive sales numbers.

Grumpy

IMO $50k is average and what's I'd expect from a guy working for me. Anything less and they are either coming in the door or going out the door. $40k is the minimum I accept, any less and you're out (after a period of a few months consistantly selling below minimum).