How to solve algebra problems about sales commission

 
 
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What’s the formula for calculating commission?

In this lesson we’ll learn how to calculate the commission earned.

What is commission? Commission is the amount of money a salesperson earns on the sale of an item.

The formula for commission:

???\text{Commission} =\text{Sale Price} \cdot \text{Commission Percentage}???

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How to solve algebra problems about sales commission


 
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More step-by-step commission examples

Example

A wax warmer business advertises that you can make ???25\%??? commission on sales of their product. If you make ???\$2,500.00??? in sales how much money did you earn?


To find your commission, we multiply the sale price by the percentage.

???\$2,500.00 \cdot 25\%???

???\$2,500.00 \cdot 0.25???

???\$625???

You earned ???\$625??? for selling ???\$2,500.00??? worth of product.


People who sell clothes often work on commission plus an hourly salary.


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Commission is the amount of money a salesperson earns on the sale of an item.

Example

An employee at a clothing store earned ???\$450.25??? in hourly pay for the month. He also sold ???\$3,500.00??? worth of merchandise and plans to earn a commission of ???8\%??? on those sales. What is the employee’s expected paycheck before tax deductions?

First find the amount he earned in commission.

???\$3,500.00 \cdot 8\%???

???\$3,500.00 \cdot 0.08???

???\$280.00???

Now calculate the total amount.

???\$450.25 + \$280.00???

???\$730.25???

The employee should expect ???\$730.25??? on his paycheck.


People who sell cars often earn a yearly salary and commission on sales.


Example

Stephanie earns ???\$42,000.00??? per year plus a commission of ???15\%??? on all the cars she sells. If she wants a yearly salary of ???\$67,200.00???, how much money in car sales does she need to make?

We know she wants to earn 

???\$67,200.00-\$42,000.00???

???\$25,200.00???

This is the amount she needs to earn in commission. That means

???\$25,200.00 = 15\%x???

where ???x??? is the amount of money from car sales.

???\$25,200.00 = 0.15x???

???\frac{25,200.00}{0.15}=x???

???\$168,000 = x???

This means to earn a salary of ???\$67,200.00??? Stephanie needs to sell ???\$168,000.00??? worth of cars.

 
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