When to use a Credit Rule vs Qualifier

When do I need to use a credit rule? Should I be using a qualifier instead? What's the difference? 

These are all common questions that deal with credit rules in defining deal credits, and qualifiers, which fall under the defining payments section in Express.

Credit Rules

Essentially, a Credit Rule is a plan component that ties together quotas and deals for Sales Reps and teams. Upon selecting the specified plan that an Admin will want to adjust or define credits for, field values, like total attainment, are loaded.

Unlike a qualifier, a credit rule will help the user select which quota to use in a plan, as well as the source of the credit (i.e whether the deal assignment is going to a team or direct to the rep). Credit rules will also allow for filters, which let the user select which deals the credit rule will be applied to upon calculation.

Qualifiers

Qualifiers are a payment component that works just like a credit rule, however, it is applied in the payment stage of the plan (section F). Defining qualifiers lets the Admin set different payment rates, whether in amounts or percentages, and lets the Admin edit and define the qualifier rule, or to what the rate applies to.

The Difference

Credit rules are established to lay out how sales teams and individual reps work with quotas and deals. Payment cannot be given, without first getting credit. The credit rules establish who should get credit on what deal and in what percentage. Credit rules should always be used instead of qualifiers when establishing this relationship between deals and quotas.

Qualifiers are used in the plan payment process as a way to take plan sub-components like credit rules and formulas and determine what payment rates can now be applied.