Who We Help · Window & Door Companies · Payroll
Window and door payroll: commission reps, piece-rate crews, and subs who are really staff
A window and door company usually runs three pay models at once: in-home sales reps on commission, installers on piece rate or hourly, and subcontract crews paid per opening. Each one has its own CRA, ESA and WSIB rules, and the mistakes are specific — commission tax calculated as if it were salary, piece rates that fall under minimum wage on a slow install, and per-opening subs who fail the contractor test. We run payroll so each group is paid correctly, and so the burdened cost of an install crew is the number your quotes are built on.
By the AnalytIQ Accounting team · Last reviewed: August 12, 2026
Three pay models, three rulebooks
The office, the sales floor and the truck are paid differently, and payroll software does not know that unless you tell it. Sales reps are employees earning commission on signed contracts, installers are hourly or per-opening employees or genuinely independent crews, and the service technicians who handle callbacks are usually hourly staff. We set up Wagepoint or QuickBooks Online Payroll with separate earnings codes for base, commission, piece rate, callback hours and vehicle allowances, so the T4s, the WSIB return and the job costing all read from the same data.
Ontario's Employer Health Tax applies once payroll passes the $1 million exemption — a threshold a dealer with a dozen installers and a sales team can cross faster than expected — and CPP2 contributions apply on earnings above the first ceiling. Both are built into the burdened labour rate we hand back to you for quoting.
Commission reps: the TD1X, the chargeback and the cooling-off period
Commission earned by an employee is employment income with CPP, EI and tax withheld, but the withholding math is different. Reps whose pay is mostly commission can file a TD1X, estimating annual commissions and expenses so tax is withheld on a sensible annualised figure instead of spiking in a month with three big closes. Without it, a rep who sells a full house of windows in one week loses most of the cheque to withholding and spends the next month asking the office for an advance.
Timing matters as much as math. In-home window sales are direct agreements under Ontario consumer protection law, with a ten-day cooling-off period, and lenders can decline a financed deal after the contract is signed. Paying commission on signature means clawing it back on cancellation, and a deduction from a later cheque needs a written commission plan that says so. We build plans that pay on install or funding, or that pay a draw against commissions with a documented reconciliation, so chargebacks are settled without an Employment Standards complaint. Reps who cover their own vehicle and phone can claim commission expenses with a T2200 from you, and a per-kilometre allowance at a reasonable rate stays off the T4 while a flat monthly car allowance goes on it.
Installers on piece rate still have to clear minimum wage
Paying installers per opening aligns pay with output, and it is legal — but in every pay period the piece earnings divided by hours worked must meet Ontario minimum wage, vacation pay accrues on the piece earnings, and hours have to be recorded even when nobody is paid by the hour. A crew that spends two days fighting a rotten frame on a fixed per-window rate is where piece-rate payroll fails the test. Construction employees also sit under a distinct set of Employment Standards rules on public holidays and termination notice, and whether an installer counts as a construction employee for those purposes depends on the work, not the job title — we check before applying them.
Callbacks raise the other recurring question: can you dock an installer for a leaky install? For an employee, no. The Act does not allow deductions for faulty work even with written consent, so callback quality has to be managed through pay design and job costing rather than payroll deductions.
Subcontract crews: the test, the clearance, and the T5018
Per-opening subs are standard in this trade, and CRA does not care what the agreement calls them. It weighs the whole relationship, and the WSIB runs its own version for premiums.
| Factor | Looks like a subcontractor | Looks like an employee |
|---|---|---|
| Control | Crew books its own days, can decline jobs, decides its own methods | You set the daily route and supervise the install |
| Tools and vehicle | Crew owns the van, brake, saws and ladders | Company truck and company tools |
| Chance of profit, risk of loss | Crew quotes per opening, eats overruns, carries its own liability insurance | Paid regardless of overruns; you absorb rework |
| Other clients | Installs for other dealers | Works only for you, year after year |
| Business presence | HST number, own WSIB account, invoices | No registration; paid on a cheque like staff |
In Ontario construction, independent operators must carry their own WSIB coverage, and if a sub cannot produce a clearance certificate you can be assessed their premiums. Subs who pass the test are paid on invoice and reported on a T5018 if construction is more than half of your business income; our note on which contractors get a T5018 covers the threshold and filing window. The one that does not pass is reclassified before a ruling does it for you — our explainer on how the CRA decides walks through the factors in plain terms.
Winter slowdowns, ROEs and the year-end
Many dealers install through winter, but volume still dips, and layoffs or reduced hours trigger a Record of Employment — due within five calendar days of the end of the pay period in which earnings were interrupted when filed electronically. We issue them from payroll, code the reason correctly for a seasonal recall, and track vacation pay owed so it is paid out or carried forward as the plan requires. At year-end the T4s, any T4As, the T5018 summary, the WSIB reconciliation and the EHT annual return all tie to the general ledger. If you ever send a crew across the river for a US install, the payroll side of that trip is flagged in our cross-border guide for dealers, and our payroll services page shows what the regular cycle includes.
Common questions.
Can we pay installers per window instead of hourly?
Yes, as long as the piece earnings meet minimum wage for the hours actually worked in each pay period, vacation pay accrues on top, and hours are recorded. We build the earnings code so the check happens automatically.
Our install crews invoice us — are they contractors?
Only if the whole relationship says so: their own tools and van, their own WSIB account and clearance, the ability to work for other dealers, and real risk on overruns. An invoice alone does not settle it.
When should we pay commission — at signing, install or funding?
Paying on install or funding avoids chargebacks from cooling-off cancellations and lender declines. If you pay earlier, the commission plan must say in writing how clawbacks are handled.
Related reading
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