A sales bonus is a monetary reward given to a salesperson over and above their base pay. Bonuses are often treated differently from commissions, although they both come under variable pay. While commissions are usually earned on a per deal basis, bonuses are given to reps when they achieve a certain target (such as a sales quota).

Sales bonus structure example: John works at a department store and earns a 5% commission for every smart television he sells. But if John wants that extra $1000 quarterly bonus, he will have to sell 30 televisions in 3 months.

In some cases, the bonus is not a fixed amount but a percentage of the employee's salary. Were that the case in the example above, the bonus might have been 10-15% of John's quarterly salary instead of the fixed $1000 amount.