Close-cycle discipline with the accrual to match.
The challenge
The real cost is in execution.
Short-term incentive programs rarely fail because the plan was wrong. They fail in execution: fragmented data sources, calculations that diverge between spreadsheets, payout cycles that miss the close window. The result is disputes, delayed payouts, and employees who stop trusting the numbers. Eventually, the incentive stops changing behavior.
of variable-pay programs ship at least one payout with an error per cycle. Once the first dispute lands, trust in the whole plan drops, and the incentive stops changing behavior.
2026 Incentive Operations Survey · 612 finance & sales-ops leadersThe STI engine
From plan to payout, in one flow.
STI Studio is the controlled environment where variable pay actually runs. Connect CRM, HR, and finance data into one model. Define plan logic once. Run calculations automatically across every participant. Route approvals with a clear audit trail. Execute payouts cleanly. Every number has a traceable path from source data to final payout, no spreadsheet blind spots.
A payout that holds: traceable, approved, and clean at close.
The STI brief
One view. Every cycle, trusted.
Every variable-pay cycle sits on top of a moving target: data changes mid-quarter, roles shift, exceptions pile up. The STI brief replaces the scramble with one living card: what is running, what has been paid, and where the edge cases are hiding.
- Live calc progress across every participant
- Payout composition with audit-grade lineage
- Exceptions surfaced before they become disputes
Calculation run · Q2 FY26 · commissions
€8.32M committed · 214 / 214 participants
Payout composition · cycle close
€8.32M · 214 participants
Exceptions · mid-cycle
3 flagged · 0 blocking close
Territory split 60/40 between APAC-N and APAC-S from 12 May.
Deal re-booked to Q1 after commission paid. Recoup flagged, not held.
Accelerator ceiling raised from 2.0× to 2.5× for FY26 on compliance approval.
47 opportunities re-synced overnight. Re-run scheduled before close.
Six capabilities
Inside STI Studio.
The variable-pay program, end to end: from the rules that define it, through the data it runs on, to the payout that reaches the person, with every decision traceable.
Plan · FY26 EMEA Sales STI
214 participants · €8.4M target pool
Backed by certified equity expertise
Four seats at the payout table
One cycle. Four views of the same truth.
CFOs and finance teams responsible for cost control, payout accuracy, and close-cycle discipline. Sales and revenue operations teams administering commission programs at scale. HR and reward leaders keeping incentive design aligned with how it actually runs. Participants, who finally get a clear, defensible view of their own earnings.
Commission runs that hold under auditor and rep review.
Plan design that survives first contact with execution.
A clear, defensible view of their own earnings.
Where it connects
Every program feeds the payout.
STI Studio runs completely standalone, or complements the full Studio suite. When used together, it pulls plan logic from Design Studio, nothing gets rebuilt at execution time. It runs alongside LTI Studio for consistency across short- and long-term programs. Governance Studio reports across all of it to the board. Integrates directly with the systems you already run: CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot), HR (Workday, SAP), finance tools, and external payout platforms. The incentive runs where your data already lives.
The outcome
Payouts that hold. Every cycle.
Five outcomes your finance, sales ops and HR teams can point at, measurable from the first cycle STI Studio runs.
First-time-right payouts
Calculations consistent every cycle. No reconciliation scramble, no rep disputes to chase.
Faster dispute resolution
When a question lands, the lineage is already on screen: source row to payout, in seconds.
Close on time, always
Cycle cuts stop sliding. Payroll gets the file when they're expecting it.
End-to-end traceability
Every number has an audit path back to the source: defensible to regulator, board and rep alike.
Scales without breaking
Add territories, regulations, and plan variants: the engine handles the combinatorics, not a spreadsheet.
Other studios
Each studio fuels the next
Intelligence Studio
The analytical layer behind every decision.
EnterDesign Studio
Plan structure, scenarios, strategy into logic.
EnterLTI Studio
Grants, vesting and long-term incentives.
EnterGovernance Studio
Policy, approvals and board-ready disclosure.
EnterThe STI promise
Own your payouts.
Accurate the first time. Defensible every cycle. Trusted by the people receiving them.

