A door-to-door fiber sales dealer should be paid one fee per activated subscriber, triggered when the account starts billing, with an agreed chargeback window for customers who cancel early. Signed order, completed install, activation, and a cleared chargeback window are four separate events that can sit anywhere from days to 180 days apart, so an agreement that names the wrong one moves risk to the wrong side of the table.
Two layers: the ISP pays the dealer, the dealer pays the rep
"Commission per install" names two payments. The ISP pays the dealer a per-activation fee under a dealer agreement; the dealer pays its reps out of that fee and keeps the spread. Every range we found is the rep layer: Sequifi, a commission software vendor, puts residential per-install commissions at "$100 to $300" (Sequifi), and D2DHQ, a second vendor, lists $80 to $320 per install by plan speed (D2DHQ). No dealer or master agent in our research publishes the ISP-to-dealer fee; Vomtel, a master agent: "pay details are shared with approved dealers" (Vomtel).
Where commission can trigger, and who carries the risk at each
| Trigger | What proves it | If commission pays here | Gap to next event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signed order | Order ID issued; agreement or third-party verification (TPV) on file | ISP carries every fallout: not serviceable, cancelled, no-show, never activates | Days to weeks [field experience] |
| Install completed | Work order closed; drop and optical network terminal (ONT) in place | ISP carries accounts that never bill because setup was never confirmed | Days to weeks (Sequifi) |
| Activation | Account billing; ONT online on an active subscriber record | Balanced: dealer delivered a billing customer; in-window churn returns via the chargeback clause | The chargeback window, 30 to 180 days (next table) |
| Cleared of chargeback | Window expired, account active | Dealer carries churn and funds rep pay for the whole window, and prices the wait into the fee | None; the fee is final |
Some rep comp plans pay the main tranche at install confirmation and add activation as a third trigger after 30 to 90 days of billing (Sequifi). Between an ISP and a dealer, activation is the first event both sides can verify from one record, the billing system; D2DHQ: "the install confirms billable, and the commission unlocks on activation."
Chargebacks: causes and windows
A chargeback reverses the fee for an activated customer who leaves inside the window. Causes, in order of recurrence [field experience]: voluntary cancellation, non-payment disconnect, a duplicate order under a different account number, and downgrades where the fee is tiered by plan. It runs two layers deep; D2DHQ, from the dealer's side: "the carrier reverses the commission and the operator must reclaim it from the rep." Published windows disagree because each source describes a different layer or carrier [inference]; the table's layer column shows that reading.
| Source | Published window | Layer |
|---|---|---|
| D2DHQ, fiber commission software | "30, 60, or 90-day clawback window" | ISP window, passed through to the rep (D2DHQ: "Most ISPs enforce") |
| Sequifi, install tracking post | 30 to 90 day cancellation window | ISP to rep (in-house framing) |
| Sequifi, rep commission post | "Most ISPs use 60 to 180 days, typically set to match how long it takes the company to recover the commission cost from subscriber revenue" | ISP program design |
| Vomtel, master agent (referral, digital, and retail programs) | Referral tier: "no chargeback window." Digital and retail: "90 to 180 days depending on the carrier" | Carrier to dealer |
Pay-then-clawback pays after activation and deducts in-window losses from a later statement. Hold-then-release keeps the fee back until the window closes; D2DHQ sells "configurable escrow holdbacks that release on time." Between an ISP and a dealer, pay-then-clawback is the usual choice [field experience]: a dealer funding rep pay for 90 to 180 days cannot hold a crew, and 67% of 693 salespeople surveyed by Everee in 2021 rated commissions paid within 24 hours a 7 or higher out of 10 as a factor in staying with an employer long term (Everee).
Residuals, where they exist
A residual pays a monthly amount per subscriber still active, on top of or instead of an upfront fee. Sequifi puts rep-level residuals at "$5 to $15 per active subscriber per month" where offered (Sequifi). No dealer in our research publishes dealer-level residual terms. A residual also means matching the whole active base every month.
The reconciliation chain, and where it breaks
Reconciliation confirms that every line on the dealer's invoice is an account that activated, once, at the plan stated. Four records carry it:
- Order record at the door. Captured by the dealer at the point of sale: the account number your system assigns, the service address written one way, plan, rep ID, timestamp.
- Activation statement. The ISP's weekly or monthly export: that account number, address, activation date, plan, status.
- The match. Sold list against statement, account number first, address second. Matched lines bill; unmatched lines go on an exception list.
- Remittance. One line per matched activation; chargebacks as negative lines tied to the original account number.
Where it breaks [field experience]:
- Address formats. "Apt 4", "Unit 4", and "#4" are three strings for one door; free-text addresses fail exact matches. Write both sides to USPS Publication 28 (USPS). iQmetrix sells telecom reconciliation software to "identify mismatches and resolve them" and claims a 98% reconciliation rate for its carrier activation product (iQmetrix).
- Re-keyed orders. A customer calls to move the install, the agent cancels and re-creates the order, and the new account number carries no rep attribution.
- Plan changes. Sold at 1 Gbps, installed at 500 Mbps; the fee tier disagrees with the statement.
- Period boundaries. Install on the 30th, billing from the 2nd; the line looks unmatched for a month.
- Duplicates. Two orders for one address, one activated. An account number captured at the door settles it; address-only matching makes it a dispute.
The dispute process
A dispute is any unmatched line either side wants to keep. A working template; intervals are an [estimate]:
- Within 15 business days of a statement, either side opens an exception list: account number, service address, sale date, plan, rep ID, plus the dealer's agreement or TPV recording.
- Within 15 business days, the other side returns one status per line: activated as stated, activated under another account number, never activated, not serviceable, or cancelled in-window with the date.
- Agreed lines settle on the next remittance; open lines go to one named owner per side, and anything unresolved after 60 days follows the dispute clause.
What a clean dealer agreement states
- Activation, defined. Account billing and ONT online; install completion is a different event.
- The trigger. Commission earned at activation, invoiced from the activation statement.
- The chargeback window. Days from activation; triggering events (cancel, non-pay disconnect, downgrade); full or prorated; how it posts.
- Statement cadence and fields. How often, and every line carries account number, address, activation date, plan, status.
- Keys and standards. The account number your system assigns is the match key; addresses follow USPS Publication 28.
- Dispute clock. Exception window, response window, escalation owner.
- Residuals, payment terms, audit rights. Residual rate and its report, if any; net days after the statement; either side can pull the records behind any line.
The RFP template for outsourced door-to-door fiber sales asks bidders for the same terms.
For reps: the same events decide when your money lands
A rep's commission sits inside the dealer's fee, so the events above bound when you can be paid. California's rule for wholesale sales representatives makes a usable checklist: a written contract stating "what chargebacks will be made against the commissions, if any," how commission is computed, and when it is paid, plus an accounting with each payment listing customer name, invoice number, and any chargebacks (California Civil Code 1738.13). Apply on the fiber sales jobs page.
How do chargebacks work between an ISP and a sales dealer?
The ISP pays after activation. If the customer cancels or is disconnected inside the agreed window, the ISP reverses the fee as a negative line on a later statement tied to the original account number, and the dealer reclaims the rep's share under its own plan.
Activation-based commission or signed order: which should the agreement use?
Activation. A signed order can fall out for serviceability, cancellation, or a missed install, and an ISP paying at signature carries all of it.
How does an ISP reconcile installs with a door-to-door sales vendor?
Export activated accounts with account number, address, activation date, and plan; match the vendor's sold list on account number first and service address second; pay matched lines and send unmatched lines back as an exception list with a deadline.
How much commission per install does a fiber sales rep get?
Sequifi publishes $100 to $300 per residential install and D2DHQ lists $80 to $320 by plan speed; both describe rep comp plans, and neither is a Knoqly figure.
Sources
- D2DHQ, Fiber sales commission software Activation trigger, per-tier rep rates, 30, 60, or 90 day clawback window, escrow holdbacks. Vendor claims.
- Sequifi, How do fiber internet companies pay their sales reps? (2026-08-18) $100 to $300 per residential install, residuals of $5 to $15 per month, 60 to 180 day windows. Vendor claims.
- Sequifi, How do fiber companies track installs vs activations for pay? Install and activation definitions, days-to-weeks gap, 30 to 90 day cancellation window.
- Sequifi, What tools do fiber sales teams use to manage commissions? Two or three trigger events in rep comp plans.
- Vomtel, Become an authorized dealer Chargeback windows by tier; pay details disclosed after approval.
- iQmetrix, Reconciliation and commissions management for telecom Mismatch resolution; the 98% reconciliation rate claim is for its Carrier Activation product.
- USPS Publication 28, Postal Addressing Standards
- California Civil Code section 1738.13 Written contract and accounting requirements for wholesale sales representative commissions; scope is wholesale orders, quoted here as a checklist.
- Everee, Sales pay report 67% of 693 salespeople surveyed in Q3 2021 rated commissions paid within 24 hours a 7 or higher out of 10 as a factor in staying with an employer long term.