What is the SPIFF Module and How Does It Work?

What is the SPIFF Module? 

The SPIFF Module allows you to easily manage incentive programs designed to drive engagement and sales performance. When enabled, you create Campaigns that define eligible activities, payout amounts, and program timeframes. Partners/Distributors can then submit SPIFF Claims directly through the portal, upload supporting documentation (such as invoices, screenshots, or proof of performance), and track the status of their submissions, all in one centralized location.

This article provides a complete overview of the SPIFF Module, including: 

• Key benefits of using the SPIFF module to manage submissions 
• How the module works, covering: 
  • Campaign Setup, Claim Submission, and Approval
  • SPIFF Email Notifications
  • Claim History & Notes for collaboration and audit tracking
  • SPIFF Reporting, including Campaign Performance Dashboards 
• FAQs, including permissions, integrations, and more

For more information about the SPIFF module and/or to have it enabled in your portal, please contact Channeltivity Support.

What are the Benefits? 

The SPIFF Module streamlines the entire incentive management process by centralizing Claim submission, tracking, and approval in one place, eliminating the need for scattered emails and spreadsheets and giving your team a more efficient way to manage and track submissions from start to finish.

It enables:

• Faster Claim review and approval cycles
• Increased Partner/Distributor participation through clear visibility and ease of use
• Improved insight into overall incentive program performance
• Reduced administrative overhead for both your team and your Partners/Distributors

By streamlining SPIFF management, your team can focus on optimizing Partner/Distributor performance and ROI, not chasing down forms or managing spreadsheets.

How Does it Work?

SPIFF Campaigns: You'll create Campaigns (SPIFF > Campaigns)  that define the SPIFF-eligible activities, specify Claim amounts, and set timeframes. You can also control access through permissions, ensuring that only Users with the appropriate permissions can view or submit Claims for specific Campaigns.

Campaigns (Internal User View)

SPIFF Claims: Once your SPIFF Campaigns are created, Partners can then head to the SPIFF module in the portal and click the New button to submit a Claim. 

From there, they'll choose a Campaign from the Claim submission form and upload proof of performance, such as receipts, screenshots, and any other supporting documentation. Partners/Distributors can also upload additional documentation after submission from the Claim's Overview page.

Claim Submission Form - Campaigns & Proof of Performance

It's important to note that the form can also be customized to include additional fields specific to your SPIFF program, helping you to collect exactly the information you need.

Claim Submission Form - Custom Fields

SPIFF Email Notifications: Once submitted, your SPIFF Email Notifications will determine the Internal Team members who are notified about the new Claim. 

SPIFF Email Notification - Internal User

SPIFF Approval Workflow: The SPIFF module includes a built-in Approval Workflow that lets you review and move Claims through Statuses such as Submitted, In Review, and Closed (Approved or Declined). The Claim Status Workflow can be customized to include the Approval Statuses relevant to your program, and you can control whether Partners/Distributors are allowed to edit their Claims while they’re in a specific Status.  

Partners/Distributors can also track the Status of their submissions through the portal and automatically receive notifications whenever the Claim Status changes, ensuring full transparency throughout the process.

To edit a Claim's Status, simply click the "Edit" button in the top right. 

SPIFF Claim Overview Page 

You'll then scroll down the page to set the Claim's Status, and you can also adjust the Claim Amount if the payout differs from the original Campaign value. This gives you full flexibility to correct or tailor rewards as needed without changing the Campaign setup.

SPIFF Claim Approval Status and Claim Amount 

SPIFF History & Notes: The History & Notes tab of a submitted Claim includes a timestamped log of all changes made to the Claim. Partner/Distributor and Internal Users can also collaborate on Claims by adding comments and uploading files to the History section, which triggers a notification to the Users associated with the Claim.

Claim History & Notes

SPIFF Claims Reporting: 

SPIFF reporting includes detailed, line-item visibility for both Claims and Campaigns, along with filters and sortable tables to help you drill into the data. It also provides high-level Campaign summaries with a breakdown of Claims by Campaign, giving you an at-a-glance view of overall program performance.

Claims and Campaigns Lister Pages: You can access the SPIFF Claims and Campaigns lister pages by hovering over the  SPIFF module in the left navigation menu and selecting Claims or Campaigns from the sub-navigation menu.

The Claims and Campaigns lister pages display Claims and Campaigns in filterable, sortable table layouts. Amount-related columns include totals at the top, giving you a quick snapshot of overall spend and payout activity. You can also customize your view by adding, removing, or rearranging columns using the ellipsis icon (three dots) in the top right > Manage Columns. This flexibility allows you to slice the data however you need for audits, payout cycles, or leadership reporting.

For more information on creating custom reports or views in Channeltivity, check out this article: How do I use Dynamic Reporting to create custom reports and Views?

Claims Lister Page

Campaigns Lister Page

Campaign Performance Dashboards: When you click into a Campaign, you’ll land on the Campaign’s overview page, which includes a performance dashboard showing:

• Open Amounts: Claims that are still in progress
• Approved Amounts: Total payout approved for that Campaign
• Declined Amounts: Sum of Claims marked as Declined, giving visibility into rejected payouts
• Claims List: All Claims tied to that Campaign

Campaign Overview Page

This provides a clear snapshot of:

• Overall program spend
• Claims still pending
• Amounts already approved or paid out
• Where activity is occurring across the program

Perfect for quarterly or end-of-year reconciliations.

How Do I Enable the SPIFF Module in My Portal? 

Contact Channeltivity Support to request that the SPIFF Module be enabled in your portal. At this time, there is no additional cost for enabling the module.

Once enabled, you can grant Users access to the module by adding SPIFF access to your Internal, Partner, and Distributor Groups.

FAQs:

Do Distributors have access to the SPIFF Module?

Yes, both Distributors and Partners can be granted access to the SPIFF module via Groups.

What Permissions Are Available for the SPIFF Module?

For Partners and Distributors, there's only one permission available, which is the ability to submit and view their SIFF Claims. 

Partner and Distributor SPIFF Permission

For Internal Users, there are two levels of access: 

• SPIFF Administration: Allows you full administrative access to the module and all Claims 
• SPIFF Manager: Includes the ability to view and manage only the Claims of the Partners and Distributors you're assigned to as Managers. 

Internal SPIFF Permissions 

Is the SPIFF module connected to any type of payment system?

Not at this time, but an integration with a payment system is on our product roadmap. If you’d like to have this feature added to our request list or share feedback on how you currently manage SPIFF payments, please reach out to our Support Team. We’d love to hear your input! 

Can Partners/Distributors submit Claims on behalf of other Users at their Organization? 

At this time, the system doesn’t allow Users to submit Claims on behalf of others within their Organization. This ensures clean ownership tracking and helps make sure each person is properly credited for what they’re owed.

Can Users see each other's SPIFF Claims? 

No. Access is restricted so that Users can only view and manage their own Claims. 

Does the SPIFF module integrate with any other modules within the platform or external applications such as Salesforce or HubSpot? 

The SPIFF module doesn’t currently integrate with other modules in the platform or with external applications like Salesforce or HubSpot. However, this functionality is on our roadmap. If you’d like to be notified once it’s implemented, please contact our Support Team.