This question often arises when settling accounts with agents.
A business determines that an agent has earned commission and assumes that the agent can demand payment from that moment.
👉 Not always.
If the agency agreement does not regulate the payment deadline, the Civil Code applies.
📌 The agent earns commission when the first of the following events occurs:
➡️ the principal’s performance to the customer falls due;
➡️ the principal performs its obligation;
➡️ the customer performs their obligation to the principal.
⚠️ This does not yet mean that the commission must be paid immediately.
As a rule, the principal should pay by the last day of the month following the quarter in which the agent earned the commission.
👉 Only from that point can the agent effectively demand payment.
📌 Example
➡️ the customer’s contract was concluded on 28 December;
➡️ the principal and the customer performed their obligations on 10 January.
The agent earned commission in the first quarter.
💰 The payment claim falls due on 30 April. Only from that day can the agent effectively pursue payment.
⚠️ One further point is worth remembering.
If the contract between principal and customer is performed in instalments, for example in an instalment sale, the agent earns commission progressively as the individual parts are performed.
📌 Conclusion?
Earning commission and being able to enforce payment are not the same thing.
👉 When settling agency accounts, establish both whether commission is owed and when it falls due.
That date determines when the agent can effectively bring a payment claim.
