Collecting commission invoice + W9, Updating Commission Sheet

When a property is leased, agents are responsible for sending their commission invoice and W-9 forms. Additionally, a compensation agreement between brokers is completed and signed by both parties for payment purposes. The lease commission is paid 30 days after the lease commencement date.

For example, if the lease commencement date is Dec 15 then the commission check will be cut between Jan 15-20th.

Occasionally, agents may forget or overlook submitting the invoice and W-9 form. In such cases, we follow up with them to request the required documents.

Email template for the agent

Use the below email template for the agent to submit the invoice and W9 form.

Subject: Commission Invoice and W-9 Form Submission

Hello {{Agent's Name}},

I’m reaching out regarding the commission invoice and W-9 form for the recently leased property at [Property Address].

Could you kindly submit the invoice and W-9 form at your earliest convenience to ensure prompt processing of the payment?

If you need a signed 'Compensation Agreement Between Brokers', please go ahead & send it to info@treatyoakproperties.com and we will sign promptly. Please be sure to note 30% of one month's rent as the lease commission, and leave the 'Sale' section blank. Alicia Rios will be signing for TOPM, so please place her name on the signatures section, as well as on the invoice.

We pay all lease commissions 30 days after the lease commencement date.

Thank you for your attention to this matter, and I look forward to receiving the documents soon.

If you need any assistance or have questions, feel free to let me know.

Best regards,

Wait for the next business day, or else send a follow-up email to the agent to submit the documents.

Follow-up email

Subject: Reminder: Commission Invoice and W-9 Form

Hi {{Agent's Name}},

I’m following up on the commission invoice and W-9 form for {{Property Address}}. We haven’t received them yet and would appreciate it if you could send them over as soon as possible.

Thanks for your attention to this!

Keep following up with the agent until they submit the documents. When we receive the documents. Check the commission amount on the invoice and then email them to the PM

Other Follow-up emails

To maintain effective follow-up, you can send a series of reminder emails that gradually increase in urgency while remaining polite. Here’s a suggested sequence

First Reminder (Gentle) Subject: Reminder: Commission Invoice and W-9 Form Submission

Hi [Agent's Name],

I hope you're doing well. I wanted to follow up on the commission invoice and W-9 form for [Property Address], which we have not yet received. Could you please send them over at your earliest convenience?

Thank you in advance!

Second Reminder (Polite) Subject: Second Reminder: Commission Invoice and W-9 Form

Hi [Agent's Name],

Just checking in again regarding the commission invoice and W-9 form for [Property Address]. We still haven’t received the documents, and I’d appreciate it if you could submit them as soon as possible.

Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to assist.

Third Reminder (Urgent) Subject: Urgent: Commission Invoice and W-9 Form Needed

Hi [Agent's Name],

I wanted to send a final reminder that the commission invoice and W-9 form for [Property Address] are still pending. Please submit them by [insert specific deadline] so we can process your payment without further delay.

If there’s any issue or reason for the delay, please let me know right away.

Misc Notes:

Because our fiduciary duty is to our clients/landlords, TOPM employees are not allowed to represent tenants, and TOPM employees are not be paid lease commissions. We may only pay lease commissions to outside agents.

Updating the Lease Commission Sheet

Open this sheet and select the Lease Commission tab. (Complete Controller uses this sheet to process payments.)
Enter the lease start date, property address, monthly rent, commission percentage, and leasing agent details.
Notes on the color system:
- Enter all the Lease Commission information onto the Lease Commission spreadsheet with the property address starting off as blue. When the Comptroller receives the invoices and W-9's, they will change the color from blue to green. The way they know they have the information needed and you can know if it is in the queue to be paid. It is just a quick way for them and us all to see if the Comptroller has entered the invoice for payment.
Leasing commissions paid to the tenants' agent are typically 30% of one month’s rent.
Ensure that we have the correct owner commission rates. This is different from the 30% rate we pay to the other agent. It's crucial that we verify the correct commission rates, as we have owners at 80%, 90%, and 100%. See below walkthrough on how to check these rates (lease fees—in the property page) in AppFolio and to ensure that this is done for every property moving forward. Please pay close attention to the adjustments we need to make to avoid overcharging owners or overpaying ourselves.