Quota Attainment: How It Is Calculated, Level by Level
Online version: https://funneleconomics.ai/resources/glossary/quota-attainment
Quota attainment is the ratio of revenue won to the target of the same level: organisation, region or sales rep. Each level is planned in its own right. Quota attainment therefore exists only where a target is on record for that level.
How is quota attainment calculated?
Quota attainment divides revenue won by the target of the same level. For a sales rep the formula is:
Quota attainment = revenue won in the finished quarters ÷ annual quota
- revenue won – the rep's closed won in the finished quarters of the current fiscal year
- annual quota – the rep's target for that fiscal year
Only the finished quarters count. The running quarter does not count. Another report that counts the running quarter shows more. In that case the definitions differ; the difference alone makes neither figure wrong.
The quota attainment of a sales rep applies to the rep as a whole. All of the rep's won opportunities stand against the annual quota, including those from regions in which the rep has no target.
The rep figure has a full year in its denominator, so it is not comparable with the attainment of a region or the organisation for the same quarter.
Why do the targets of the levels not add up?
Organisation, regions and sales reps are each planned in their own right. No level is the sum of another. Many organisations deliberately distribute more quota downwards than the level above carries. The opposite direction occurs as well.
A target is therefore never summed across levels. The target of the organisation is its own target, not the sum of the regions. Where the levels deviate from one another, that is a finding about the plan, not an error in the data.
Regions can be nested. For a region, the revenue won then covers the region and all regions beneath it; its target remains its own.
Where a target is missing, there is no quota attainment. The missing target is named and not replaced: not by zero, not by the previous year, not by an estimate. No target for a person is derived from the target of the region or the organisation either.
How quota attainment differs from the EFV Ratio and HACR
Quota attainment looks back and measures against the plan. The EFV Ratio looks back as well. But the EFV Ratio measures against the rEFV: the risk-adjusted expected value calculated from the pipeline at the start of the period. EFV Ratio says how well the forecast was calibrated, nothing about quota attainment, and can stand next to a missed plan.
HACR looks ahead. There, the rEFV of the open pipeline stands against the gap that remains to the target.
| Quota attainment | EFV Ratio | HACR | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compares | revenue won with the target of the level | revenue won with the rEFV at the start of the period | rEFV of the open pipeline with the gap to target |
| Direction | back | back | ahead |
| Yardstick | a set target | a calculated expected value; a statement on calibration, not on quota attainment | the target less what has been won |
More on comparing plan and actuals in sales is in the article Forecast Integrity.
Related terms
FAQ
How do you calculate quota attainment?
Quota attainment divides revenue won by the target of the same level. For a sales rep that means: revenue won in the finished quarters of the current fiscal year, divided by the rep's annual quota. All of the rep's won opportunities count. Without a target on record there is no quota attainment.
Does the current quarter count towards quota attainment?
No. For a sales rep's quota attainment, the revenue won in the finished quarters of the fiscal year counts. The running quarter does not count. Another report that counts the running quarter shows more. In that case the definitions differ; the difference alone makes neither figure wrong.
Why do the regional targets not add up to the company target?
Organisation, regions and sales reps are each planned in their own right. Many organisations deliberately distribute more quota downwards than the level above carries; the opposite direction occurs as well. A deviation between the levels is therefore a finding about the plan, not an error. For quota attainment, a target is never summed across levels.
What is the difference between quota attainment and the EFV Ratio?
Quota attainment compares actuals with the plan: revenue won, divided by the target the organisation has set. The EFV Ratio compares revenue won with the rEFV at the start of the period, the risk-adjusted expected value of the pipeline. EFV Ratio says how well the forecast was calibrated, nothing about quota attainment, and can stand next to a missed plan. Quota attainment shows whether a set target was reached.
What happens if someone has no target on record?
Then there is no quota attainment for that person. The missing target is named and not replaced: not by zero, not by the previous year and not by an estimate. No target for a person is derived from the target of the region or the organisation either.