About Us
Our History
Core Commissions is a leader in automated commission tracking software based in Vancouver, Washington. After managing complex sales commission plans for telecom companies in the Pacific Northwest for a number of years, CEO Kirt Phillips recognized immense inefficiencies in using spreadsheets for such critical functions. He founded Core in 2005 to develop the highest level of automation and efficiency available for any business performing this key function.
To this day, Core prides itself on offering the most powerful and flexible rules engine in the industry, bar none.
We believe we have achieved that with our proprietary RuleBot technology, which provides the optimal balance between specialized commission functions and rapid customization in an intuitive graphical designer interface.
What We Do
Core Commissions delivers an affordable web-based commission management software solution that fully automates the calculation and management of complex sales commission and incentive compensation plans.
Our specialized RuleBots from the graphical rules designer are configured to perform complex calculations through drop-down selections. Once built, any result can be audited from within a single view to see every calculation step performed. They also have the ability to:
Import data from any source and automate all the data relationship tasks.
Handle the most sophisticated data relationship and data massaging requirements.
Build plans of any complexity for fully automated calculations.
Economically meet complex commission requirements with Core’s efficient no-code commission software solution.
Generate and publish output to our web reporting platform, Core Portal, for salespeople to view pay statements and performance dashboards.
The Core of Core: Our Principles
Provide High Value
Strive to provide a great sales commission software at a fair price that helps make our users more successful.
Prove It
Be ready to back up any of our claims with results and let our customers decide if we delivered as expected with our commission tracking software.
Responsiveness
Do our best every time to respond rapidly to issues and requests in a way that outperforms our customers’ expectations.
Always Be Improving
Listen and keep an open mind for new and innovative ways to make our sales commission software and services better.
The Core Team
Kirt Phillips
Core’s founder and CEO, Kirt Phillips, has over 25 years experience in sales commission management and BI software development. Under Kirt’s leadership Core has grown from a small custom development shop into an industry leader in incentive compensation management.
An engineering graduate of Texas A&M, Kirt is an expert in financial management systems and has previously served in executive and advisory positions at several leading-edge technology companies including New Edge Networks and GST Telecom. When not working on new ways to automate complex rules, Kirt may be found perfecting his neopolitan pizza recipes or hiking in the Columbia River Gorge.
Jonathan Haas
Jonathan graduated with a computer science degree from Seattle Pacific University and joined Core after a position as a software developer at Faithlife, working on Logos Bible Software. Although he occasionally assists with customer implementations, Jonathan primarily works behind the scenes in a development role managing and maintaining servers, administering databases, and rolling out Core feature upgrades.
Outside of work Jonathan is very involved in his church as a Sunday school teacher, loves to sail the San Juan Islands, and is a board game enthusiast.
Shane Phillips
Overseeing the implementation team, Shane ensures that the Core toolset is being used in the most efficient and practical manner to meet the needs of our customers. ETL data mapping, report creation, troubleshooting and resolving complex technical issues are all under his domain. Shane holds a degree in Atmospheric Sciences with a minor in Applied Math from the University of Washington.
He joined Core Commissions after a summer stint as a line cook at The Bad Monkey in Ocean City, Maryland. In his spare time Shane enjoys traveling and camping.
James Johnston
As Director of Client Success, James is an integral part of managing customer relationships and ensuring their satisfaction. James works closely with clients and implementation teams to ensure a smooth onboarding process and provides ongoing support so customers have continual success while using Core’s application. James graduated from Western Washington University with a degree in Management Information Systems.
When not in the office, he enjoys playing guitar and participating in fantasy sports.
Austin Gallogly
Austin started at Core after several years as a project manager in the healthcare IT industry. He works alongside customers to automate and streamline their commission plans using SQL queries among other tools, and he holds a degree in Mathematics and French from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Outside of the office, Austin enjoys hiking, biking, and birdwatching, as well as playing piano on rainy days.
Ryan Milem
Abbey Felley
As System Implementer, Abbey works closely with clients to gather requirements, build commission rules, write ETL queries, and troubleshoot issues. Originally from the small town of La Grande, Oregon, she holds a degree in mathematics and computer science from Whitman College. Abbey enjoys photography and uses her free time to go backpacking and hiking in the summer, or to stay home and read in the winter.
Josh Reiter
Having earned his computer science degree from Western Washington University, Josh provides implementation and development services and support to Core Commissions clients. Prior to joining the team, Josh spent five years as a QA tester and lead with Welocalize. He spends a lot of time outdoors running and hiking but also likes to read and play board games.
Samantha Sewell
As our Project Manager, Samantha is the primary point of contact for a customer during their software implementation. She is responsible for gathering requirements, answering questions, and providing training support. In addition, she keeps projects on schedule, within the budget, and Core’s customers happy. Prior to joining Core, Samantha graduated from Washington State University with a degree in Management Information Systems.
Outside of work, she enjoys gardening, painting, spending time with family, and frolicking with her dog Wallace.
Nathaniel Gurnee
Nat’s role is building, and maintaining Core’s powerful network of AI capabilities, from chat assistance to automated rule building to visualization creation. Nat is a fan of all things data science and received a degree in Business Administration with a focus in analytics and information systems from George Fox University.
On the weekends, he can be found rock climbing, hiking, golfing, and volunteering at his church in Portland as a student ministry leader.
Lynn Phillips
Lynn’s role is to equip the organization with systems and infrastructure to operate efficiently and within budget. She oversees HR, marketing, billing, and office administrative functions. Lynn learned the ropes in the telecom industry at Electric Lightwave and GST Telecom, where she was responsible for expanding market presence into new cities and strengthening the company’s existing footprint across the Western US and Hawaii.
Lynn graduated from Western Maryland College with an Economics Degree. Puzzles, wine tasting, and travel keep Lynn busy during off-hours.
Wyatt Jackson
A Portland, Oregon native, Wyatt has his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Vocal Performance from the University of Puget Sound and Portland State University. He works closely with customers as part of the Managed Services and Implementation teams.
In his free time, Wyatt enjoys performing opera and playing soccer, video games, and board games with friends.
Matthew Norvell
As an integral member of the development team here at Core Commissions, Matthew primarily develops features for our proprietary RuleBots technology while providing support on other projects as necessary. He graduated from Washington State University Vancouver with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science before joining Core.
When not developing advanced technology for commission automation, Matthew plays guitar and collects records.
Sandra Halbrook
As part of the Managed Services team at Core Commissions, Sandra prepares and processes customer statements into the commission system. She has a background in order tracking system administration and billing. Outside of work, Sandra enjoys games and puzzles, road trips, watching sports, and spending time with her family.
Kris Kingsbury
As Account Executive, Kris works directly with sales organizations to understand their commission requirements and pain points. He guides prospects through the Core application demonstrating how Core can automate their unique commission plan rules. Prior to joining the team, Kris graduated from Portland State University with a degree in mathematics and communication studies.
He’s a connoisseur of puns and spends his free time golfing, mastering video games, and cooking up new recipes in the kitchen.
Sarah Calvin
As Core’s Marketing Strategist, Sarah uses her passion for communications and storytelling to bring Core’s story to life. In this role, she works to support and enhance Core’s brand presence through various marketing initiatives, content creation, and intertwining messaging across media channels. Sarah joined Core after several years in the healthcare industry and uses this unique perspective to present versatile and data-driven campaign strategies.
Outside of work, you can most often find Sarah adventuring in some form or another. Whether it’s exploring hiking trails, traveling, or attempting to conquer a culinary challenge, she’s always dipping her toes into something new.
Dostyn Kama
In his role as Data Support Specialist, Dostyn plays a big part in developing and maintaining customer systems. A graduate of the University of Hawaiʻi, he earned his degree in Business Administration with a specialization in Management. His keen eye for detail and knack for problem-solving, allows him to work in customer systems with precision and efficiency.
Dostyn is proud resident of the small town of Nānākuli, Hawaii. Beyond his professional life, Dostyn enjoys video games, sports, and music.
Damon Lawton
A native to Washington, Damon joined Core as an Implementation Specialist after completing a degree in Mathematics from Western Washington University. As an Implementation Specialist, Damon enjoys getting to work closely with customers and learning new tools to more efficiently automate their commission processes.
Outside of work, Damon enjoys playing hockey, learning how to play instruments, and watching stand-up comedy.
Janelle Dockter
As a member of the implementation team, Janelle strives to provide the best possible commission solutions by leveraging the diverse capabilities of Core. As part of this process, she gathers client data, writes SQL queries, and designs reports. She holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and computer science from the University of Washington.
In her free time, Janelle can be found caring for her animals and playing games with her family. She also enjoys participating in dance classes and watching live theatre.
Davis Austin
As Core’s AI Data Specialist, Davis manages, preprocesses, and analyzes data to train and optimize our artificial intelligence models, ensuring they function effectively and accurately. Outside of work, Davis enjoys exploring new technologies and AI models along with cooking and playing games
Jim Landers
A native to Portland, Oregon, Jim received his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Oregon State University. As a Systems Implementer, he enjoys working with customers to facilitate data importing and automating their commission plans.
In his free time, Jim enjoys learning new technologies, reading, and playing games with friends.