Money & math
Gross vs net earnings
Payments from the company before costs, versus what the participant keeps after expenses.
Income disclosures almost always report gross payments from the company. They rarely subtract what participants paid for product to stay active, tools, samples, events and travel. The FTC staff report noted that expenses can exceed income for many participants.
When you model a plan, subtract at least the monthly qualification purchase and any fixed fees. Our comp plan calculator has a costs section for this reason.