Selling and closing a large multi-site technology deal is a huge win. But once the contract is signed, a new challenge begins.
The operations, commissions, and revenue assurance teams all face the same critical question: How do we track, manage, and forecast revenue when one deal spans dozens, or even hundreds, of locations, each with different install dates?

At RPM, we work closely with Technology Advisors and Technology Services Distributors (TSDs) to solve this exact problem. Here’s what we’ve learned about effectively managing multi-site orders to protect revenue and improve workflows.

The Challenge: One Big Deal, Many Moving Parts

Consider this scenario: A Technology Advisor closes a 100-site, $100K MRR, 3-year term deal. On paper, the Total Contract Value (TCV) is $3.6M. Great work, sales team!

Most sales teams track this as a single order for simplicity. Unfortunately, this approach causes headaches for operations, commissions, and revenue assurance teams because install dates vary by location, some sites may never get installed, and revenue and commissions only flow when each site goes live.

If you care about revenue assurance, you need a better structure.

Why Install Dates Matter

Install dates aren’t just calendar entries; they drive business-critical decisions across multiple teams:

• Commissions Team – Needs install dates to know when to expect revenue and when to pay commissions.
• Revenue Forecasting – Revenue ramps up gradually as locations go live. Without accurate install dates, your TCV forecasts will be wrong.
• Operations/Order Management – Must track which sites are installed, stalled, or cancelled to ensure data accuracy and manage rollout progress.
• Sales Team – Install dates eventually become renewal dates, so knowing these timelines is crucial for renewals and upsells.

Simply put, tracking install dates accurately is essential for managing multi-site orders and revenue assurance.

The Reality of Supplier Data

Supplier data is inconsistent.

Some suppliers:

• Provide detailed install dates in spreadsheets or via portals.
• Share location-level commission data.
• Give you access to real-time updates.

Others:

• Offer limited or incomplete data.
• May only share high-level commission data, leaving you blind to location-level details.
• Might not be able, or allowed, to share certain information at all.

This inconsistency makes it extremely difficult to reliably track installs and accurately forecast revenue without additional effort.

Best Practice: Parent–Child Order Structure

The most effective way to manage multi-site deals is by breaking them down into a Parent–Child order structure within your CRM or in RPM. Here’s how it works:

• Parent Order – Represents the overall deal, including head office information and high-level contract details.
• Child Orders – Each location is tracked individually, with its own install date, status, renewal date, and MRR.

Why This Approach Works

• Independent Tracking – Each site can be tracked separately.
• Commission Management – Potentially match commission data to specific locations.
• Reliable Forecasting – Forecasts roll up from the child orders to the parent, reflecting true TCV.
• Seamless Renewals – Renewal dates are tied to the actual install dates, not contract signing.

This structure provides clarity and control across the entire order lifecycle.

Order Data Management: Proactive vs. Reactive

Accurate install tracking begins with timely access to order data. Companies can take a proactive approach by regularly gathering data from suppliers, project management teams, or directly from customers. Alternatively, a reactive approach relies on waiting for commission data to arrive after the fact.

Being proactive offers clear advantages: it enables better forecasting of expected revenue and improves data reliability by pulling from multiple sources. However, it requires discipline, coordination, and consistent effort across teams.

Being reactive is less resource-intensive, but comes with trade-offs. It depends entirely on upstream data sources as the sole source of truth, and the information may arrive too late to influence operational decisions or the timeframe for supplier commission disputes.

The RPM Advantage

RPM simplifies multi-site order management by:

• Order Structuring – Build Parent–Child relationships directly in RPM.
• Commission Tracking – Automatically update statuses and trigger notifications based on install changes.
• Revenue Forecasting (in development) – Gain insight into ramp-up progress, TCV projections, and renewal timelines.

By setting up your orders correctly from the start, RPM helps you improve accuracy and revenue assurance. For in-depth information on how you can use RPM to manage your orders, review this webinar.

Key Takeaways

Closing a big multi-site deal is exciting, and managing the order effectively is important for revenue assurance and expansion. 

Best practice:

• Break the order into location-level child records.
• Track and align install dates, status changes, and renewals.
• Mirror commission data structure wherever possible.

Whether you manage this in your CRM or with RPM, this approach ensures accurate forecasting, clean reporting, and timely commission payouts.

Because at the end of the day, it’s your revenue, it’s your responsibility.