Success Story

Kognity streamlines their sales commission process and reduces operational dependencies with Everstage’s white-glove professional services

Customer Logo
Kognity is an online teaching and learning platform with interactive content for IB DP, Cambridge IGCSE and High School Science students.
Headquarters
Stockholm, Sweden
Employees
51–200 employees
Industry
TechStack

The Challenge

During its growth phase, Kognity encountered significant challenges with its commission management system that relied heavily on spreadsheets. Although initially flexible and straightforward, using spreadsheets soon became cumbersome as the company scaled.

Manual and vulnerable with spreadsheets

The reliance on spreadsheets increased the likelihood of human errors—a misplaced or deleted cell could disrupt entire calculations. This vulnerability posed a risk of financial discrepancies and might affect the integrity of commission tracking.

Configuring new commission plans every time also monopolized up to two weeks of dedicated work, which was unsustainable demand on resources as Kognity grew. Due to his familiarity with the complex spreadsheet setup, this task largely fell on Nicholas Johansson, the co-founder of Kognity. 

Roman Nowara Profile Image
“Even though we locked everything back and forth, there could be a mistake… the standard Excel risk. Every time that we had to redo commissions, we had to reinvent the process which was rather time consuming.”
Nicholas Johansson
Co-Founder

Scalability issues

As Kognity’s business expanded, its commission plans grew more complex and demanding. The existing spreadsheet system which was built for simpler times led to a lot of inefficiencies and there was a need for a scalable solution.

The Solution

In response to these challenges, Kognity turned to Everstage, seeking a scalable and robust commission management solution that promised to alleviate their growing pains through enhanced features and support.

Flexible and customizable platform

Everstage provided a platform that struck an optimal balance between customization and ease of use. This flexibility allowed for easier transition and better alignment with Kognity’s operational needs without being overly complex or rigid.

Roman Nowara Profile Image
“What made us decide to go with Everstage is that it offered a blend of both being off the shelf but also being able to customize should it be needed. It’s very important!”
Nicholas Johansson
Co-Founder

Multi-currency management

Operating internationally, Kognity required a system capable of handling multiple currencies seamlessly. Everstage’s robust multi-currency capabilities ensured accurate and efficient transaction processing across different geographies. This was crucial for maintaining accuracy in payouts and financial records.

Roman Nowara Profile Image
“The way currencies are handled is very good… Everstage is much stronger in handling multi-currency, compared to other systems that are more US-focused.”
Nicholas Johansson
Co-Founder

White-glove support and domain expertise

The transition to a new system can be fraught with challenges, particularly with complex commission models. Everstage’s professional services team played a pivotal role in ensuring a smooth implementation. 

Roman Nowara Profile Image
The job done by the solutions team was 11 out of 10 points. They were knowledgeable and amazing! They did a tremendous job in helping us build complex plans and dashboards.”
Nicholas Johansson
Co-Founder

The Results

By partnering with Everstage, Kognity not only resolved its immediate commission management issues but also positioned itself for future scalability and efficiency, ensuring that its commission processes are robust, transparent, and aligned with its strategic business objectives.

Reduced dependency on key individuals

Switching to Everstage facilitated smoother operations and also enhanced business continuity planning by transferring institutional knowledge into the product. This reduced the dependency on a few key individuals, mitigating significant business risks.

Roman Nowara Profile Image
“Before, it was more or less only me who understood how the spreadsheets were built… now, we have a support team, which takes away quite a lot of risk.
Nicholas Johansson
Co-Founder

Strategic commission planning

Everstage’s strategic support transformed how Kognity approached commission planning. The Everstage team provided insights that were instrumental in optimizing Kognity’s commission strategies, leading to simpler and more effective plans. 

Roman Nowara Profile Image
“I set out to purchase a system to calculate commissions, but I got a team of Revenue Operations experts coming with ideas and helping us with our commission plans. It's actually been a real value add for us, having someone to discuss our overall commission strategy.”
Nicholas Johansson
Co-Founder

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