House Account

Account handled at the main office of a brokerage firm or managed by an executive of the firm; in other words, an account distinguished from one that is normally handled by a salesperson in the territory. Ordinarily, a salesperson does not receive a commission on a house account, even though the account may actually be in his or her territory.

Customer or prospect handled by the seller's management team rather than by a commissioned salesperson or agent. A house account might be a long-term customer with an established personal relationship with management or a prospect of especially great importance to the business. The seller must balance the desire to stay close to that customer against the salesperson's right to potential commissions. A salesperson cannot succeed with a territory that has had all the best prospects cherry-picked for house accounts.