Employee washouts in retail automotive ensure there's no missed pay and accurate calculations, across all period transactions. These documents can be like insurance for commissioned employees, but often a pain for accounting.
The term “wash-out sheet” was first used to determine how much money a dealer made on the sale of a unit. This principle leaked from sales across different departments. Not everyone uses it. But, we've adopted it.
You might be thinking- "I don't have a washout."
You need one, but we'll get to that. For each pay period, you might be used to sending (or receiving) index cards, print outs, emails, screenshots- or maybe even nothing other than a pay stub.
In retail automotive, there's often a slew of pay categories, transactions, and their own complex percentages that get paid out. Sometimes that all hits within a pay period, but often, transactions pay out pieces over pay periods. Without a washout, you're left in the dark, wondering: “Is something missing? Was this calculated right?”
Now, there's all sorts of commissioned folks tracking things "in there own way" (spreadsheet, sticky note notes, email chains, or in your head). Well consider that personal tracking, rather than the issued washouts sheets we're talking about here. Fires arise when the people paying and the people tracking arrive with different information. A single source of truth is what we're after in this sheet. Ideally, an automated, digital washout sheet.
Overall, your washout should handle your payout questions- the what, how, and why behind your paycheck. You don’t need to dig through your DMS or track down a manager. Your washout has your answers.
What’s on an Employee Washout?
Washouts get dicey, quickly. Departments have their different pay plans, data sources, calculations rules and other bad habits (opened or closed?!).
What you see on this receipt depends on your role.—but the goal is the same: transparency into what you earned and how it was calculated.
Our washouts are configureable by department needs. We default to groupings by pay categories and rule type, with rolling payout.
Here’s what's common to see on dealer washouts:
- Deal-by-deal breakdowns – Each deal closed during the pay period with unit type, deal number, gross profit, and commission source.
- Front-end and back-end details – Including vehicle gross, F&I products sold (VSC, GAP, maintenance), reserve, and participation.
- Spiffs, bonuses, and performance incentives – Showing what was earned from pushes, contests or OEM promos.
- Chargebacks and clawbacks – When a product cancels or funding falls through, it shows up here.
- Minimum guarantees or draws – If you’re on a pay plan with a base, this reflects your draw balance.
- Rolling totals – Summary of gross profit generated and total commissions paid for the cycle.
Who Uses Washout Sheets?
- Salespeople use washouts to track earnings, spiffs, and ensure commissions are accurate.
- Managers depend on them to see gross numbers, product penetration and how their department transactions roll up to their pay.
- GMs use them to compare department performance and enforce accountability.
- Controllers & Payroll Teams rely on them to validate payroll and settle disputes before checks are cut.
What's five real-life washouts, by role?
You know dealers don't share that ( :
But you can use your imagination.
It’s the end of the period. Commissions are calculated. You open your email and click into your digital washout—a P&L-style summary of your pay.
Here’s a peek at what it might look like by role:
Sales - Monthly Pay Plan
Base Payouts (Hourly):
- Minimum Wage: If Not Minimum Hours This Month, Total Hours x Minimum Wage
- PTO: PTO Rate x Hours
Sales Payouts (Deal Count):
- Per Deal:
- New Mini (Flat): Qualified Deal, Flat
- Returning Customer Bonus (Flat):
- Back Gross (Volume Tier): Back-End Gross % per Tier
- Front Gross Commission (Percentage): Front-End Gross % (+ Adjustments)
Bonus Payouts:
- Fast Start Bonus (Flat): If Volume hit by Date, Flat Bonus
- Unit (Flat): If Monthly Volume hit, Flat Bonus
Service Advisors - Monthly Pay Plan
Sales Payouts (Total Sales/Hours):
- Total Month Sales (Percentage): Total Labor + Parts Sales × Advisor Commission Rate
- Total Customer Hours: Total Labor + Parts Sales × Advisor Commission Rate
Bonus Payouts (Advisor Performance):
- Customer Pay Hours Bonus:
- Productivity Bonus: Hit CVI or Hours per RO targets = Tiered bonus
Technicians - Semi-Monthly Pay Plan
Base Payouts (Hourly):
- Break Pay: Break Rate x Rest Time
- Training Pay: Training Rate x Hours
- Travel Pay: Travel Rate x Hours
Sales Payouts (RO Count):
- Per RO (Booked Date):
- Amount Earned: Flag Hours: x Employee Rate
Bonus Payouts (CVI):
- CVI Completion % x Hours Worked
F&I Manager - Monthly Plan
Base Payouts:
- (-) Draw
Sales Payouts (F&I Pool):
- F&I Commission Pool x Base Percentage of Pool
Bonus Payouts (PVR):
- If PVR hits, F&I Commission Pool x Bonus PVR Percentage of Pool
Parts Manager - Monthly Plan
Sales Payouts (Parts Profit):
- Profit Share: Parts Gross x Service Rate
Bonus Payouts (Performance):
- Performance Bonus on Gross Profit (Flat)
You get it.
Now, how do washouts go from good to great?!
✔︎ They're digital.
✔︎ There's an approval process baked in.
✔︎ They're standard format across all departments.
✔︎ The layout models your pay plan (because that's how you're evaluating accuracy).
✔︎ You can manage the dispute conversation within the washout.
✔︎ You can see history.
✔︎ They're automated.
Washout Sheets, Commissions, Who Cares?
A solid washout sheet isn’t just a document—it’s peace of mind. It takes guesswork and gut feelings out of your compensation and gives you proof. When everyone sees the same numbers, it builds trust between employees and leadership.
And when the data is standardized, automated and real-time (like it is with Nimble Compensation), month-end can actually run on-time. Smoothly.
And that's the part we're all trying to wash out each period.
