Settings, notifications and your data
Who this is for: admins who want the full detail on organization settings, emails and data handling. Reps will find the personal email settings in the "Personal notification emails" section. Read the Basics first: Set up your organization, Signing in and your account and Billing and plans.
Where settings live
There are two settings pages.
| Page | Who | How to get there | What it holds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Settings (organization) | Admins | Settings in the admin menu | Four tabs: Features, Email, Billing, Data |
| Settings (personal) | Everyone | Reps and managers: Settings in the menu. Admins: Profile at the top right. | Your name and email (read-only), your notification emails, your password |
Organization settings apply to everyone in your organization. Personal settings apply only to you.
Features tab
The tab is headed "Organization & Features". From top to bottom it has the base currency, six switches, the dispute window (when Disputes is on) and the setup checklist control.
Base Currency
The currency your organization-wide totals are reported in. Reps can still have their own quota and payout currencies, which are converted into this one for company reporting. The choices are USD, EUR, GBP, SGD, JPY, CHF, AUD, CAD, INR and CNY.
To change it, pick a currency and click Save. Before you save, the page explains the effect:
- Future payout runs use the new currency.
- Analytics shows every period, including past months, in the new currency.
- Published payouts don't change. They keep the currency they were paid in.
- Draft payouts keep the currency they were generated in and are held from publishing until you regenerate them.
If you have drafts, a warning names how many: "3 draft payouts were generated under a different base currency. Regenerate drafts before publishing so they're calculated in EUR." Regenerate them from Payouts before you publish. See Multi-currency for how conversion works.
Feature switches
Each switch saves as soon as you flip it. Disabled features are hidden from the navigation, and you can turn them back on at any time.
| Switch | What it does | Default | Who can change it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disputes | Lets reps flag a published payout they think is wrong. Admins review, comment and resolve, optionally with a correction. Adds the Disputes tab under Review and the Dispute window setting. | Off | Any admin |
| Audit Log | Records every admin change with before and after values. Adds Insights → Audit Log and change-history panels on plans and payouts. | Off | Earnest support only |
| Payout Email Notifications | Emails each person their PDF statement when their payout is published. | On | Any admin |
| Adjustment Email Notifications | Emails the rep, and the manager who submitted it, when an adjustment is approved or rejected. | Off | Any admin |
| Plan Assignment Emails | Emails a person when their own plan, quota, OTE or team changes. | Off | Any admin |
| Setup Emails for New People | Sets the default for whether people you add get a setup email. Applies to Invite User, people Bulk Upload and data imports. | On | Any admin |
Notes on specific switches:
- Disputes off hides every dispute screen and button but keeps existing disputes. Turning it back on brings them back.
- Audit Log shows "Only super admins can change this setting." to regular admins. This is deliberate: an admin can't switch off the record of their own changes. Ask Earnest support to turn it on.
- Setup Emails for New People off adds people without emailing them. They still count for payouts, reports and seats. You can still tick Email a setup link now for one person, or use Send invite from their row menu on the People page later. Anyone who knows they have an account can also set a password with Forgot password?. Quick setup never sends setup emails, whatever this switch says.
Dispute window
Appears under Disputes when it's on. It sets how many days reps have to dispute a published payout, from 1 to 365. The default is 60.
The window is counted from the start of the payout's period. For a quarterly payout it's counted from the start of the quarter's last month. After that, the payout is closed and its dispute button no longer appears.
Type a number and click Save. You see a confirmation such as "Reps can now dispute a payout for 30 days after its period starts (a quarterly payout: after its last month starts)." Shortening the window closes any payout that falls outside it straight away.
Setup Checklist
Reshow Checklist brings back the setup checklist, banners and Admin Home card if you dismissed them. You see "Setup checklist restored!". See Set up your organization for how the checklist works.
Email tab
Suppressed addresses
When an email to an address hard-bounces, or its owner marks an Earnest email as spam, Earnest suppresses that address and stops sending statements and notifications to it. This protects delivery for the rest of your organization. The person still sees everything in the app.
The tab lists each suppressed address with its Reason (Hard bounce or Spam complaint) and the date (Since). When there are none, it says "All clear".
Once the mailbox is fixed, or the person confirms they want the emails, click Reinstate. You see "address can receive email again", and sending resumes.
Billing tab
Billing and plans explains plans, upgrades, payment methods, failed payments and cancelling. This section lists what's on the tab.
| Part | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Current Plan | Plan name and status badge. Upgrade (reads Change plan on Enterprise; hidden while a bank transfer clears) and Manage Billing (not shown for plans set up by Earnest). |
| Status banners | Bank transfer in progress; a checkout or bank payment that didn't go through; the 7-day countdown after a failed renewal; editing paused. Only the ones that apply are shown. |
| Usage | "Reps & managers" against your limit (∞ on Enterprise), your free admin count, and how many counted people haven't started yet. |
| Pricing Tiers | Starter 1 to 5, $0. Teams 6 to 19, $149/mo. Growth 20 to 50, $299/mo. Enterprise 51+, $799/mo. |
| Danger Zone | Delete Organization. |
Status badges
| Badge | Meaning | Can you edit? |
|---|---|---|
| Free Tier | Starter, no subscription | Yes |
| Active | Paid and current | Yes |
| Past Due | A renewal payment failed | Yes for 7 days from the first failure, then paused |
| Canceled | The subscription ended while you had more than 5 reps and managers | No, until you're down to 5 or you subscribe again |
While editing is paused, adjustments waiting for review don't expire. Normally a pending adjustment expires after 14 days.
When a subscription ends
The organization moves to the free plan (up to 5 reps and managers; admins stay free). With 5 or fewer, the badge reads Free Tier and nothing else changes. With more, the badge reads Canceled and editing is paused until an admin deactivates people under People down to 5 (editing comes back on by itself) or subscribes again. A blocked change shows "Editing is paused because the subscription has ended. An admin can remove reps or managers under People until the team fits the free plan, or subscribe again under Settings → Billing."
Moving to a lower paid plan is self-serve when your reps and managers fit it; see Billing and plans.
Seat and user limits
A seat is an active person with a current Rep or Manager position, counted from the day you add them even if their start date is later. Admins never use a seat. Total users of every role are capped at the greater of 4 times the seat limit or 50.
| Refusal | Cause |
|---|---|
| "Your current plan supports up to N reps and managers. Admins are free. This change would bring you to M. … Please upgrade your subscription." | Adding or reactivating a rep or manager on a paid plan would pass the seat limit. |
| "Your plan supports up to 5 reps and managers. … Please upgrade to a paid plan." | The same, on Starter. |
| "This account has reached its maximum number of user records. Contact support if you need more." | The total-user cap. |
Nobody is ever deactivated automatically because of a limit.
Delete your organization
The Danger Zone at the bottom of the Billing tab permanently deletes your organization and all of its data. This can't be undone, so download your data first from the Data tab.
- Click Delete Organization.
- In the dialog, type your organization's name where it says "Type name to confirm:". Capital letters don't matter.
- Click Delete Everything.
Deleting also cancels your subscription and removes your billing details from Stripe. You're then signed out. Deletion still works while editing is paused. If the name doesn't match, you see "Organization name does not match. Deletion cancelled."
Data tab
Export all data
Download ZIP downloads your whole organization as one CSV file per table, in a file named like
earnest-export-yourcompany-2026-10-11.zip. You see "Export downloaded successfully".
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Tables | Users, User Positions, Per-Plan Targets, Teams, Team Seasonality, Team Titles, Title Quota Versions, Team Plan Assignments, Team Plan Mixes, Comp Plans, Plan Versions, Commission Tiers, Ramp Steps, Activities, Activity Credits, Payouts, Adjustments, Disputes, Audit Events |
| Who | Admins only |
| How often | Once per hour for each admin. Another admin can export in the same hour. A failed export doesn't use up your hour. |
| Row limit | 50,000 rows per table. If a table is cut short, the ZIP includes a _TRUNCATION_WARNING.txt file saying which. |
| Left out | Passwords, API keys, sign-in tokens and payment-provider IDs |
| Logged | Every export is recorded |
Too soon after your last export, you see "Export rate limited. Try again in about N minutes."
Export one person's data
Use this for a subject access request. Go to Organization → People, open the person's row menu (⋯) and click Export data. You see "Exported name's data".
The ZIP holds their profile, positions, payouts, adjustments, disputes, deals, notifications and audit trail. Each admin can run 5 of these an hour.
Deactivate, reactivate and erase
Earnest has no "delete user". Instead:
| Action | Where | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Deactivate | People row menu | Ends their position and stops them signing in. If they've been paid before, the dialog says their pay history "is finalized through" a month "and stays intact", and the button reads End position & deactivate. No pay accrues after the end date. They stop using a seat. |
| Reactivate | People row menu, on a deactivated person | Lets them sign in again. The position that ended doesn't come back. Use Edit Position to give them one if they should be paid again. Uses a seat again if they get a Rep or Manager position. |
| Erase personal data | People row menu, on a deactivated person | Permanently scrubs their name, email and login. Payout and deal records are kept, anonymized, so your totals stay correct. Can't be undone. You can't erase your own account. |
To handle a deletion request: export the person's data if you need a copy, Deactivate them, then Erase personal data. See People and teams reference for more on positions.
Notification emails: who gets what
Three things decide whether an email is sent:
- The organization switch on the Features tab, where the email has one.
- The person's own preference under Notification emails, where the email has one.
- Suppression. Earnest never sends statements, notifications or billing notices to a suppressed address.
An organization switch that's off wins: a personal preference can't turn back on an email the organization has turned off.
Pay and plan emails
| Subject | Who gets it | When | Controlled by |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Your period commission statement is ready", with the statement PDF (rarely "Your period payout is ready" with a link, when the statement can't be built) | The person paid | Their payout is published | Payout Email Notifications + Payout statements |
| "Adjustment Approved — period" or "Adjustment Rejected — period" | The rep, and the manager who submitted it | An admin approves or rejects an adjustment | Adjustment Email Notifications + Adjustments |
| "Your compensation plan has been updated" | The person affected | Their own plan, quota, OTE or team changes | Plan Assignment Emails + Plan changes |
| "Your dispute for period has been resolved" or "…has been reviewed" | The rep | An admin resolves or rejects their dispute | Always sent |
| "Dispute filed by rep — period" | All admins | A rep, or a manager on their behalf, files a dispute | Always sent |
| "Adjustment pending review — rep (type)" | All admins | A manager submits an adjustment. It expires after 14 days if nobody reviews it. | Always sent |
| "⚠️ N import errors — organization" | All admins | Once a day, when imports have recorded errors since the last digest | Always sent |
Statement emails go out only after the publish has fully saved, so nobody is told about a payout that didn't land.
When a whole team moves to a different plan, or a team plan mix starts or ends, the people affected get an in-app notice only, not an email.
Billing emails
All go to every admin and ignore the switches and preferences.
| Subject | When |
|---|---|
| "Your Earnest plan plan is active" | A paid subscription starts, or a bank transfer clears |
| "Your bank transfer is on its way" | You pay by bank and the transfer is clearing |
| "We couldn't complete your bank transfer" | A bank transfer fails. Explains why and what to do. |
| "Your Earnest plan is now plan" | An upgrade goes through |
| "Action needed: your Earnest payment didn't go through" | A renewal payment fails, inside the 7-day window |
| "Editing is paused: your Earnest payment is still failing" | A retry fails after the 7 days are up |
| "Your Earnest subscription has ended" | The subscription ends. It says whether you are on the free plan or editing is paused, and how to get it back |
Account emails
These are always sent and can't be turned off: the verification code at sign-up ("is your Earnest verification code"), the invite ("Welcome to Earnest — your account is ready", link valid 24 hours) and the password reset ("Reset your password for Earnest", link valid 1 hour).
In-app notifications
The bell in the dashboard shows in-app notices for a published statement, a resolved dispute, an applied adjustment and a plan change. In-app notices are always on. No switch or preference turns them off.
Personal notification emails
Everyone has three switches on their personal settings page, under "Notification emails":
| Switch | Description in the app |
|---|---|
| Payout statements | "Email me my commission statement when a payout is published." |
| Adjustments | "Email me when an adjustment to my pay is approved or rejected." |
| Plan changes | "Email me when my compensation plan, quota, or team changes." |
They're opt-outs for email only, and save as soon as they're flipped. The same page has the Change Password form. Changing a password signs the person out everywhere. Name and email are read-only; only Earnest support can change them.
API key
Your API key isn't in Settings. It's under Data → Imports & API. See Imports and API reference.
FAQ
I turned off payout emails. Will reps still see their statements? Yes. Statements are always on the rep's Payouts page, and the in-app notice still appears. Only the email stops.
A rep says they never got their statement. What do I check? In order: Payout Email Notifications on the Features tab, the rep's own Payout statements switch, the Email tab's suppressed addresses, and the rep's spam folder.
Why can't I turn on the audit log? Only Earnest support can change it, so nobody inside an organization can switch off the record of their own changes. Email support@earnestcomp.com.
Does deactivating someone delete their payout history? No. Their published payouts stay exactly as they were. Even Erase personal data keeps payout and deal records, with the name and email removed.
What counts as a seat? An active person with a current Rep or Manager position, including people whose start date is still ahead. Admins never count.
Can I rename my organization? Not from the app. Email support@earnestcomp.com.
Can someone change their own name or email? No. Ask Earnest support. When support changes an email, the person gets a new setup link at the new address and their old password and Google sign-in stop working.
Who gets billing emails? Every current admin in your organization.
If I shorten the dispute window, what happens to open payouts? Payouts that now fall outside the window close straight away, and their dispute button no longer appears. Reps can no longer open a new dispute on them.
Can I export while editing is paused? Yes. Exports, billing and deleting the organization all work while editing is paused.