Commission is the most sensitive number in a multi-dentist clinic. Get it wrong and you lose good dentists. Get it vague and you spend the first week of every month arguing about it. The fix is rarely a different percentage. It’s a clearer rule, written down once, and calculated the same way every time.
This guide walks through the choices every clinic has to make, with worked examples you can adapt.
The three common models
Fixed monthly salary. Predictable for everyone. It suits dentists who mostly do check-ups and routine work, or new graduates building a patient list. The risk for the clinic is paying the same whether the chair is full or empty.
Percentage of their work. The dentist earns a share of what they produce. It rewards effort and skill and aligns the dentist with the clinic. The risk for the dentist is a slow month.
Salary plus commission. A base salary for stability, plus a smaller percentage. This is often the fairest model for dentists who work regular hours in your clinic.
There’s no single right answer. What matters is that each dentist knows which model applies to them, from which date, and what it’s calculated on.
Decision 1: commission on what was billed, or what was collected?
This is the question that causes most disputes.
- On invoice value: the dentist earns when the work is billed. Simple and fast, but the clinic pays commission on money it may never collect.
- On collected payments: the dentist earns as the patient pays. Fairer to the clinic, but a patient on instalments means the dentist’s commission arrives in instalments too.
Many clinics use collected payments for long treatment plans and instalments, and invoice value for clinics where almost everyone pays on the day. Pick one per agreement and write it down.
Decision 2: what comes off before the percentage?
If a dentist earns 30% of a crown, is it 30% of the full price, or 30% of the price after the lab cost?
Deducting lab costs before commission is common and usually fair: the clinic doesn’t keep any of the lab’s share, so it shouldn’t pay commission on it. Some clinics also deduct expensive materials or implant components. Whatever you deduct, list it explicitly, so the dentist can check the maths.
A worked example
Say a crown is invoiced at 6,000 EGP and the lab charges 1,500 EGP. The dentist’s agreement is 30% on collected payments, with lab costs deducted before commission.
The patient pays 4,000 EGP today and 2,000 EGP next month.
- Commissionable base for the full invoice: 6,000 − 1,500 = 4,500 EGP.
- Total commission: 4,500 × 30% = 1,350 EGP.
- Because commission follows collection, the dentist earns part of it now and the rest when the second payment comes in.
On an invoice-value agreement, the same dentist would earn the full 1,350 EGP on the day the crown was invoiced, regardless of when the patient paid.
Neither is wrong. The point is that both sides can redo this calculation themselves and reach the same number.
Decision 3: when do changes start?
Agreements change: a dentist gets a raise, moves from salary to commission, or takes on more hours. Always give a change a start date, and don’t recalculate the past. Earnings before that date stay under the old agreement.
Keep a ledger, not a spreadsheet
The best protection against disputes is a ledger where entries are never edited, only added: earnings, deductions, payouts, and reversals if something was wrong. When a dentist asks why their number is what it is, you can show every line.
This is how BeClarified handles staff pay. Each staff member has an agreement: a monthly salary, a commission rate, or both, built from a preset that defines the basis (invoice or collected) and what’s deducted first. The agreement has an effective date. You can schedule a future change and cancel it before it starts. Before you save, a worked preview shows the calculation on example numbers.
From the start date, commissions post to the ledger by themselves as invoices are issued or payments are collected. Lab costs and similar are recorded as deductions. The ledger keeps every earning, deduction, payout and reversal, so there’s nothing to rebuild at the end of the month. See the staff and payroll page.
Show dentists their own numbers
Dentists trust a number more when they can see how it was made. Give each dentist access to their own production and earnings, without the rest of the clinic’s finances.
In BeClarified, a dentist’s own reports show their patients, visits and money for any period, and the per-dentist scorecard shows production against target, visits, no-shows, feedback and treatment plan acceptance. Roles decide who sees what, so a dentist sees their own figures without seeing anyone else’s. More on the reports page.
A checklist for a fair agreement
- The model: salary, commission, or both.
- The basis: invoice value or collected payments.
- What’s deducted before commission (lab costs, specific materials).
- The rate, and whether it differs by type of treatment.
- The start date.
- How and when it’s paid out.
- What happens to commission on work that’s later refunded.
Write these on one page, have both sides sign it, and enter the same rules in your system. If the paper and the software agree, the end of the month stops being a negotiation.
Frequently asked questions
What’s a typical commission rate for a dentist in Egypt? It varies widely by city, specialty and whether the clinic provides materials and staff. Rather than copying a number, work out what the clinic needs to cover its costs per chair-hour and set the rate from there.
Should specialists get a different rate? Often, yes, especially visiting specialists who bring their own patients or materials. Give them their own agreement rather than an exception scribbled on the side.
What if a patient gets a refund after the commission was paid? Record a reversal in the ledger instead of editing the old entry. The dentist sees both lines and the net effect.
Does the assistant or receptionist get commission? Some clinics pay a small bonus tied to targets. If you do, give them an agreement in the same system so all staff pay is in one place.