How to Plan in Percent or Currency in Pequity

 

Overview

By default, Pequity allows you to plan compensation changes in currency. This guide walks you through configuring your workbook to support planning in either percentages or currencies, giving planners flexibility in how they input salary adjustments.

---

Default Planning Behavior

In Pequity's default configuration:

• Planners input salary increases in currencies
• The system shows current salary, recommended amount, and an input field
• The final increase amount and new salary are calculated automatically

For example, if you input $10,000 instead of the recommended $6,000, the system will show a 5% increase and update the new salary to $210,000.

---

Setting Up Percent or Currency Planning

Step 1: Create Input Fields

Navigate to your workbook's column editor and create four new custom fields:

1. Salary Input Currency
   1. Type: Currency
   2. Purpose: Currency-based input field

1. Salary Input Percent
   1. Type: Percentage
   2. Decimal places: Add a couple for precision
   3. Purpose: Percentage-based input field

1. Salary Input Recommendation Currency
   1. Type: Currency
   2. Purpose: Shows recommended currency increase

1. Salary Input Recommendation Percent
   1. Type: Percentage
   2. Purpose: Shows recommended percentage increase

Step 2: Configure Recommendation Formulas

Set up formulas for the recommendation fields:
For Salary Input Recommendation Currency:

= Current Salary * 0.03

For Salary Input Recommendation Percent:

= 0.03

Note: You can make these formulas more sophisticated by incorporating merit matrices or other business logic as needed.

Step 3: Organize Columns with Grouping

Stack and group related columns for better user experience:

1. Group the currency input field with its recommendation
2. Group the percent input field with its recommendation
3. Label each group clearly:
   1. Column Name: Salary Input Currency or Salary Input Percent
   2. Subfield Labels: "Input" and "Recommended"

Step 4: Set Edit Permissions

Ensure that:

• Input fields are editable for admins and planners
• Recommendation fields are read-only (calculated values)

Step 5: Update New Salary Calculation

Modify the New Salary field formula to handle both input types:

=@current_salary + 
IFS(
    AND(
        NOT(ISBLANK(@salary_input_currency)),
        ISBLANK(@salary_input_percent)
    ),
    @salary_input_currency,

    AND(
        NOT(ISBLANK(@salary_input_percent)),
        ISBLANK(@salary_input_currency)
    ),
    @salary_input_percent * @current_salary,

    AND(
        NOT(ISBLANK(@salary_input_percent)),
        NOT(ISBLANK(@salary_input_currency))
    ),
    0,

    TRUE, 0
)

This formula:

• Uses currency input if only that field has a value
• Uses percent input (multiplied by current salary) if only that field has a value
• Returns zero if both fields have values (conflict state)

Step 6: Add Input Validation Flag

Create a validation field to alert users when they input both values:

Field Name: Input Flag

• Type: Text

Formula:

=IF(
    AND(
        NOT(ISBLANK(@salary_input_percent)),
        NOT(ISBLANK(@salary_input_currency))
    ),
    "🚩 Only 1 input allowed",
    ""
)

Step 7: Connect to Budget Tracking

Create two hidden fields to properly track budget spend and allocation:

• Salary Increase Budget Spend (salary_increase_budget)
  • Type: Currency
  • Formula: = New Salary - Current Salary
  • Purpose: Tracks actual spend in the comp element
• Salary Increase Budget Override (salary_increase_budget_recommended)
  • Type: Currency

• • Formula: = Salary Input Recommendation Currency
  • Purpose: Sets the budget allocation

Important: These field names must exactly match the naming convention [Comp Element Name] Budget and [Comp Element Name] Budget Recommended for Pequity to properly link them to the compensation element.

Step 8: Hide Budget Fields

Hide the budget tracking fields since they're only needed for system calculations, not planner visibility.

---

Final Configuration

Your completed setup should include:

• Current Salary 
• Salary Input Currency (editable, with recommendation)
• Salary Input Percent (editable, with recommendation)
• Input Flag (shows validation warnings)
• Final Increase Percent (calculated)
• New Salary (calculated)
• Hidden budget mapping fields

---

How It Works for Planners

Once configured, planners can:

1. Choose their preferred input method: Enter either a dollar amount OR a percentage
2. View recommendations: See suggested values in both formats
3. Get validation feedback: Receive an alert if they accidentally input both values
4. See automatic calculations: The system updates the final increase percentage and new salary based on their input

Example Scenarios:

• Input $5,000 → System calculates the percentage and new salary
• Input 3% → System calculates the dollar amount and new salary
• Input both → System shows "Only one input allowed" flag and sets values to zero

---

Advanced Customization

You can enhance this setup by:

• Incorporating merit matrices into recommendation formulas
• Adding conditional logic based on performance ratings
• Creating different input configurations for different employee populations
• Adding more sophisticated validation rules

---

Troubleshooting

• Budget isn't updating: Ensure your hidden budget fields follow the exact naming convention and are properly linked to the compensation element.
• Inputs aren't editable: Check that edit permissions are set for admins and planners on the input fields.
• Calculations seem incorrect: Verify that your New Salary formula correctly references the input fields and handles all scenarios (currency only, percent only, both, neither).