## What columns are

Columns define the data fields that appear in each planner's worksheet. Some columns display existing employee data (like current salary or department), some let planners enter compensation decisions (like salary raise or equity grant), and some compute values automatically from other columns (like new salary or compa ratio).

You configure a single set of columns for the cycle, then use role-based permissions to control what each planner role can see and edit. To configure columns, open the cycle and go to **Configurations** > **Columns**.



## Column data sources

Every column gets its data from one of these sources:

| Source | What it means | Example |
|----|----|----|
| **Integration** | Pulled automatically from your HRIS | Current salary, department, start date |
| **User input or data upload** | Planners enter values, or admins upload via CSV. Can optionally display a recommended value as a reference point. | Salary raise, one-time bonus |
| **Computed** | Automatically calculated from other columns | New salary, new total annual cash |
| **Bands** | Derived from the employee's matched compensation band | Compa ratio, range penetration, band min/mid/max |
| **Formula** | Calculated using a custom Handlebars expression | Any derived metric you define |
| **Dropdown** | Planner selects from a predefined list of values | Performance rating categories |
| **Performance integration** | Pulled from an integrated performance management system | Performance rating |



## Types of columns

### First-class columns

Pave provides a library of pre-built columns covering employee data, current pay, pay increases, promotions, equity, bands, and compensation metrics. These columns have pre-configured data types, display formats, and computation logic. You add the ones you need to your cycle.

### Custom columns

When none of the first-class columns fit your needs, create a custom column. Custom columns support any data type (number, currency, text, date, boolean) and can pull data from your HRIS, accept planner input, use dropdown values, or compute values using a Handlebars formula.

For uploading external data into custom columns, see [Adding non-integration data to your cycle](https://support.pave.com). For writing formulas, see [Writing formulas with Handlebars](https://support.pave.com).


---



## First-class column reference

### Employee and job data

| Column | What it shows |
|----|----|
| **Employee** | Name, avatar, title, and level. Always the first column; frozen when scrolling. Click to open the employee detail panel. |
| **Tenure** | Time between the cycle start date and the employee's start date. |
| **Performance** | Performance rating. Can be a dropdown, HRIS data, uploaded data, performance integration data, or a combination. Values can feed into recommendation logic. |
| **Manager Name** | Employee's manager from HRIS. |
| **Department** | Department from HRIS. |
| **Division** | Division from HRIS. |
| **Family** | Job family from HRIS. Often used for band matching. |
| **Level** | Job level from HRIS. |
| **Title** | Job title from HRIS. |
| **Job Code** | Job code from HRIS. Often used for band matching. |
| **Location** | Location from HRIS. |
| **Metro** | Metro area from HRIS. Often used for band matching. |
| **Start Date** | Employee start date from HRIS. |
| **Employee ID** | Employee ID from HRIS. |
| **Gender** | Gender from HRIS. |
| **Ethnicity** | Ethnicity from HRIS. |
| **Paid Hourly?** | Whether the employee is paid hourly, from HRIS. |


### Approval workflow columns

| Column | What it shows |
|----|----|
| **Status** | The employee's approval status and chain. Only relevant for cycles using approval flows. See [Approval chains](https://support.pave.com). |
| **Current Planner** | The planner currently responsible for this employee in the approval chain. |
| **Smart Flags** | Rule-based visual indicators highlighting employees that need attention. |
| **Key Talent** | Editable flag to mark high-priority employees. |


### Current pay columns

| Column | What it shows |
|----|----|
| **Current Salary** | Current base salary from HRIS. Can display in local or cycle currency, and as hourly or monthly if configured. |
| **Variable Pay** | Current variable pay from HRIS. |
| **Current Bonus** | Current annual bonus from HRIS. |
| **Current Total Annual Cash** | Sum of current salary + variable pay + bonus. |
| **Current Total Annual Compensation** | Current total annual cash + next year of equity vesting (excluding grants from this cycle). |
| **Current OTE** | Current on-target earnings (base + variable, excluding bonus). Only for OTE-eligible employees. |
| **Last Salary Change** | Date of the most recent salary change from HRIS. |
| **Last Compensation Adjustment Date** | Date of the most recent compensation change. Must be uploaded; used for proration in recommendations. |


### Pay increase columns

These are the columns where planners (or admins via upload) enter compensation decisions. Any input column can optionally display a recommended value based on your cycle's recommendation logic, giving planners a starting point they can follow or override.

| Column | What it does | Notes |
|----|----|----|
| **Salary Raise** | Merit increase to base salary. | Flows into New Salary. Supports percent/cash toggle, currency toggle, and hourly input. Tracked by salary budgets. |
| **Market Adjustment** | Market-based salary increase, tracked separately from merit. | Also flows into New Salary. Same toggles as Salary Raise. Useful when you have separate budgets or recommendations for market vs. merit. |
| **Variable Raise** | Increase to variable pay. | Flows into New Variable. |
| **New Annual Bonus** | New target annual bonus amount. | Flows into New Total Annual Cash. |
| **One-Time Payment** | Spot bonus or payout. | Excluded from New Total Annual Cash. Often used for bonus payouts from a prior cycle. |
| **Target One-Time Payment** | Target amount for one-time payment recommendations. Must be uploaded. | Used as the basis for recommendation logic on one-time payments. |
| **Promotion Cash Raise** | Salary increase specifically for promoted employees. | Only editable when employee is marked as promoted. Flows into New Salary. |


### Equity columns

| Column | What it does | Notes |
|----|----|----|
| **Current Equity** | Total granted shares and next year of vesting, valued at the cycle's share price. | Excludes grants from this cycle. |
| **Equity Refresher Grant** | New equity grant (shares or currency). | Flows into New Equity Impact and Vesting Summary. |
| **Equity Performance Grant** | Equity grant tracked separately from refresher (e.g., for separate budgets or recommendations). | Same behavior as Refresher Grant. |
| **Equity Promotion Grant** | Equity grant for promoted employees. | Only editable when employee is marked as promoted. |
| **New Equity Impact** | Same as Current Equity but includes grants from this cycle. |    |
| **Vesting Summary** | Vesting percentage, vested shares, and unvested shares. | Includes new grants from this cycle. |

### 

### Promotion columns

| Column | What it does |
|----|----|
| **Promotion** | Checkbox indicating the employee is being promoted. Enabling it unlocks promotion-specific columns (Promotion Cash Raise, Equity Promotion Grant, new job fields). |
| **New Job Title / Level / Family / Code** | The employee's post-promotion job attributes. Used for band matching to the new position. |
| **Reward Letter Job Title** | Optional free-text title for the reward letter, separate from band-matching title. Only editable when promoted. |


### New pay columns (computed)

These columns automatically calculate based on pay increase inputs.

| Column | How it's calculated |
|----|----|
| **New Salary** | Current Salary + Salary Raise + Market Adjustment + Promotion Cash Raise |
| **New Variable** | Variable Pay + Variable Raise |
| **New Total Annual Cash** | New Salary + New Variable + New Annual Bonus |
| **New Total Annual Compensation** | New Total Annual Cash + next year of equity vesting (including this cycle's grants) |
| **New Total Annual Compensation With One-Time Payment** | Same as above, plus the One-Time Payment |
| **New OTE** | New base + new variable for OTE-eligible employees |


### Band data columns

| Column | What it shows |
|----|----|
| **Comp Band Min / Mid / Max Salary** | Salary band range for the employee's matched band. |
| **Comp Band Min / Mid / Max Total Cash** | Total cash band range. |
| **Equity Band** | Equity band min/mid/max. Updates to the promotion band if the employee is being promoted. |
| **Equity Band (No Promotion)** | Always shows the current band, even if the employee is being promoted. |


### Compensation metrics columns

| Column | What it shows |
|----|----|
| **Salary Impact** | Visual of the employee's salary against their band. Hover to see band values and range penetration. |
| **Total Cash Impact** | Visual of total cash against the total cash band. |
| **Current / New Compa Ratio** | Employee's salary divided by the band midpoint. Shows how the employee is positioned relative to market. |
| **Current / New Total Cash Compa Ratio** | Total cash divided by the total cash band midpoint. |
| **Current / New Range Penetration** | Percentage of progression through the band. 0% = at min, 100% = at max. Can be negative (below min) or above 100% (above max). |
| **Current / New Range Penetration (Total Cash)** | Same calculation but for total cash. |
| **Pay Mix / New Pay Mix** | Ratio between salary and variable pay (e.g., 70:30). |


### Reward letter columns

These columns are typically hidden from planners and used only to populate reward letters.

| Column | What it shows |
|----|----|
| **Full Name** | Employee's full name from HRIS. |
| **Current Hourly Pay Rate** | Current annual salary / 2,080 hours. |
| **New Hourly Pay Rate** | New annual salary / 2,080 hours. |
| **Raise Base Percent** | Percent change from Current Salary to New Salary. |
| **Total Equity Grant Value** | Sum of all equity grants (refresher + promotion + performance) in currency. |


### OTE columns

These columns appear when On-Target Earnings planning is enabled for the cycle. For details, see the OTE planning documentation.

| Column | What it does |
|----|----|
| **Use OTE?** | Determines which employees are planned in OTE mode. |
| **OTE Raise** | Single input that splits between base and variable based on the employee's pay mix. |
| **OTE Salary Raise** | Calculated salary component of the OTE raise. Admins can override. |
| **OTE Variable Raise** | Calculated variable component of the OTE raise. Admins can override. |
| **OTE Market Adjustment** | Optional separate market adjustment for OTE employees. |
| **OTE Pay Mix** | Target pay mix for OTE employees. |


---



## Setting up columns for your cycle

### Adding columns

Click **Add New Column**, select a first-class column from the dropdown or click **Create a Custom Column**. Fill out the properties (name, data type, display format, data source), configure permissions, and save. The column is added to the end of the table.


### Controlling who sees and edits each column

Each column has a default permission that applies to all roles, plus optional role overrides. Three permission levels:

| Permission | What it means |
|----|----|
| **Can edit in table** | Planner can view and modify the value. |
| **Can view in table** | Planner can see the value but not change it. |
| **Cannot view in table** | Column is hidden from the planner. Values are still available for formulas, budgets, and reward letters. |

Use **View Columns by Role** to preview exactly what a planner with a given role will see. When multiple roles apply, the highest authority wins (edit > view > hidden).


### Setting default visibility

For each column, set the default to **On** (visible in the worksheet by default) or **Off** (hidden by default but planners can toggle it on). Use this to keep worksheets clean while still making supplementary data accessible.


### Pinning columns

Pin columns to freeze them in place when planners scroll horizontally. The Employee column is always pinned. You can pin up to 4 additional columns.


### Reordering columns

Click **Edit Column Order** to drag and drop columns into the order you want planners to see them. The Employee column always stays first.


### Editing and deleting columns

Click the pencil icon on any column to edit its properties or permissions. Click the trash icon to delete it. Both actions are logged in the audit log.


### Audit log

Click **View Audit Log** to see a timeline of all column changes: additions, edits, deletions, reorders, and clones. Each entry shows what changed, who made the change, and when.



## Things to know

* **Finalized cycles.** Columns cannot be added, edited, or deleted after a cycle is finalized.
* **Currency display.** Currency columns can display in the employee's local currency or the cycle's base currency. Planners can toggle between them.
* **Hourly and monthly display.** Salary columns can optionally display as hourly rates (based on 2,080 hours/year) or monthly amounts.
* **Fewer columns is better.** In general, a cleaner worksheet with fewer visible columns makes for a better planner experience. Use default visibility and role permissions to keep things focused.




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Overview

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Adding non-integration data to your cycle

Reward letters

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Cycle Progress dashboard

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Overview of smart features in compensation planning

Peer Comparison

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