Separate base pay, commission, and adjustments
A clear internal pay worksheet distinguishes base pay, performance commission, and approved additions or adjustments. Each component needs a source and an effective rule. Otherwise, an employee cannot tell whether a difference came from attendance, sales, or a manual change.
The examples here adapt a China-based team's management workflow; they are not a US payroll policy. Configure pay under the employment terms and requirements that apply to your staff. Agree on changes prospectively and keep the calculation basis visible to the people affected.
Write the attendance rules before using them
Define scheduled hours, workdays, grace periods, permitted check-in locations or networks, missing-punch handling, correction requests, leave, and holidays. If any pay adjustment is applicable, its approved basis must be explicit rather than improvised at month-end.
Treat a field shoot or a sample pickup as an actual work scenario, not automatically as absence. Give employees a correction or leave process with review. Software settings record the agreed process; the presence of a setting does not establish that it is appropriate for every workforce.
Track attendance and creative output separately
Hours present and edits completed answer different questions. Track attendance for the approved timekeeping process; track output against reasonable creative goals for planning and coaching. Six quick variations and six original shoots do not represent the same workload.
Use a target and completion count as a conversation starter. If output is repeatedly below plan, investigate missing assets, review delays, or an unrealistic brief. Turning raw video count into an automatic penalty can reward rushed work instead of better content.
Define the employee commission base before the rate
Choose whether commission uses platform commission, partner commission, an agreed combination, or another approved basis. State the treatment of costs, refunds, ownership changes, dates, and currency. GMV and agency income are different amounts, so name the base precisely.
For progressive tiers, apply each rate to its own band. Illustrative example: on a ¥20,000 base, 5% on the first ¥10,000 and 8% on the next ¥10,000 produces ¥1,300. Applying 8% to the entire base would be a different rule. Explain which method is configured.
An illustrative worksheet with traceable components
Consider a sample internal worksheet with ¥3,846 of reviewed base pay, ¥900 of commission, and ¥300 of approved allowance. Before any separate adjustment, that totals ¥5,046. The source guide's additional illustrative ¥20 adjustment would produce ¥5,026 where that adjustment is applicable and approved.
These are sample figures, not a recommended wage structure. The useful practice is traceability: attendance supports the base calculation, eligible commission records support the variable amount, and each adjustment has a documented reason. Avoid presenting a software subtotal as proof that the underlying policy is valid.
Use role templates with explicit personal overrides
A role template can hold defaults for editors, operators, and managers. Personal settings handle an agreed exception. Keep the precedence clear: an explicit personal value overrides the role template, which overrides the general default.
When someone changes roles, review the effective date and the resulting pay settings. A template update should not silently overwrite an individual agreement. Show which layer supplied a value so staff and reviewers can understand a difference without reverse-engineering the calculation.
Review, confirm, and then record payment
Resolve attendance corrections and leave requests first. Reconcile the eligible commission period after its business date has ended and data is sufficiently complete. Review the worksheet before confirmation, then keep the confirmed result stable.
Treat payment as a separate record. A confirmed worksheet is not evidence that money reached the employee. Handle departing staff explicitly so their final period is neither omitted nor repeatedly generated. Employees should be able to inspect their own reviewed detail and raise a specific question.
Connect the workflow in Star Captain
Star Captain connects attendance and approvals in team management with monthly pay calculations in Profit & cost. The documented workflow supports role and personal settings, progressive commission tiers, and approved monthly confirmation.
Attendance imports from supported DingTalk or WeCom exports can supply the month; where no import exists and attendance rules are enabled, recorded check-ins can supply the calculation. Verify the selected source before confirmation. Employees see their own available confirmed detail, not everyone's pay. Check plan access on pricing.
Avoid five recurring process problems
Avoid verbal-only rules, one-size-fits-all adjustments, changing the commission base mid-period, confirming before the data is ready, and treating payroll as a complete measure of creative performance. Each creates a different kind of confusion.
Keep a written rule, an effective date, a data source, and a review step. Then use the editing workflow and daily report for production coaching. Pay administration and creative improvement need to stay connected without becoming the same metric.
Frequently asked questions
How should a team organize its pay calculation?
Separate base pay, commission, and approved adjustments, with a traceable source for each. Apply the employment terms and requirements relevant to the team rather than adopting an example formula unchanged.
How should we track editors' attendance?
Keep attendance and output separate. Use time records for the approved attendance process and creative goals for planning, workload review, and coaching.
Should employee commission use GMV or agency commission?
Name the agreed base explicitly. Agency commission is closer to the agency's income, while GMV includes the merchant's sale value. The configured basis should match the actual compensation agreement.
How do progressive commission tiers work?
Each band uses its own rate. In the sample, 5% of the first ¥10,000 plus 8% of the next ¥10,000 equals ¥1,300. Star Captain's documented workflow supports up to ten bands.
Which wins: a role template or a personal setting?
An explicit personal setting takes precedence over the role default. Review the effective values when changing roles or templates.
Can Star Captain use imported attendance?
The documented workflow supports DingTalk and WeCom attendance exports. Confirm the selected month and source, and avoid combining an import with duplicate check-in-derived attendance.
Related guides
Put it into practice: Explore Team management →
