The Xactly Renewal Checklist
Before you sign, run the numbers.
Most Xactly renewal decisions start with last year's number and not much else. These are the nine questions your ops team should be able to answer before the renewal call. If three or more don't have a clean answer, the renewal needs a conversation before it needs a signature.
Each question has a benchmark. Read it, then mark whether you're clear or it's a red flag for your team.
Tally your red flags as you go. The scorecard at the end tells you what to do with the number.
01
Cost
What you're actually paying, once you include everything that isn't on the license line.
What did you pay Xactly in professional services last year, separate from the license fee?
Why ask — The PS line is where the actual spend lives. Pull invoices, not contract summaries.
This needs attention
PS spend is more than 40% of your license fee.
We're clear on this
This needs attention
Now add consultants, contractors, and internal headcount allocated to maintaining Xactly. What's the all-in annual number?
Why ask — Most teams under-count the people cost by 30–40%. It sits in headcount and consulting, not the platform line.
This needs attention
All-in cost is 30% or more above what's on the Xactly invoice.
We're clear on this
This needs attention
Pull the last three renewals. What's the year-over-year increase on license? On services?
Why ask — Year 1 looks manageable. Year 5 is the number that changes the conversation.
This needs attention
Either line is up more than 10% year-over-year.
We're clear on this
This needs attention
02
Speed & Maintenance
What that spend is actually buying you in cycle time and team output.
How long did your last mid-year plan change take, from decision to live?
Why ask — Two weeks is the median. Five months happens more often than teams expect.
This needs attention
It took more than 30 days. Bigger flag: you can't recall the exact number.
We're clear on this
This needs attention
How many plan changes did your team defer in the last 12 months because of cost, lead time, or PS dependency?
Why ask — The changes you don't make are a strategy tax. They don't show up on any invoice.
This needs attention
Three or more deferred changes in the last 12 months.
We're clear on this
This needs attention
What share of commission work happens outside Xactly (Excel, offline reconciliation, manual workarounds)?
Why ask — If the answer is over half, you're paying license fees for a calculator your team works around.
This needs attention
More than 50% of commission work happens in Excel.
We're clear on this
This needs attention
03
Risk & Ownership
What happens when the people, plans, or contracts change.
Who maintains your Xactly instance day-to-day, and what happens to your comp cycle if they leave?
Why ask — Long-tenure admins carry institutional knowledge that doesn't transfer. When they leave, your comp cycle goes with them.
This needs attention
One person owns it, and there's no documented succession plan.
We're clear on this
This needs attention
If sales leadership signed off on a new comp plan today, could your team build it in-house, or does it need a PS scope?
Why ask — Every meaningful change going through a third-party SOW means your renewal is closer to a services subscription than a software one.
This needs attention
Most non-trivial changes still go through a PS scope.
We're clear on this
This needs attention
What would it cost to migrate off Xactly, and how does that number compare to a single year of professional services fees?
Why ask — Most teams find the numbers are closer than expected. Useful to know before the renewal call, not after.
This needs attention
You've never modeled the comparison.
We're clear on this
This needs attention
The Scorecard
Three positions. One conversation to have before signing.
Tally your red flags, then read across. Each position comes with a different move before the renewal.
Your position is locked.
Answer all nine questions above and your position appears here — no email, no gate.
8 / 9 answered
0
Counting Red Flags!
0
of 9
Red flags
0–2 red flags
Owner
You own your comp platform.
The renewal is straightforward. Push for clean PS terms, sign, and move on.
0–2 red flags
Owner
You own your comp platform.
The renewal is straightforward. Push for clean PS terms, sign, and move on.
3–5 red flags
Tenant
You're renting access.
The renewal needs negotiation before a signature. Cap PS spend, push for fixed-fee implementation, and document succession.
6+ red flags
Captive
The platform owns you.
The cost of staying is now bigger than the cost of switching. Time to evaluate alternatives.
Start over
The teams that left Xactly answered Q9 first.
Dozens of teams ran this checklist before switching to Everstage. Want to compare notes on how they answered the migration-cost question?
How we built this
The most common pre-renewal questions from our conversations with sales and ops leaders evaluating Xactly — the questions buyers wish they had asked one renewal earlier.