---
title: "Publish Bands"
description: "Publishing a band set makes your compensation bands available in different parts of Pave. This guide covers publishing to Live (for employees and managers) and to Merit Cycles (for compensation planning)."
canonical_url: "https://support.pave.com/articles/publish-bands-syjcvuKMir"
md_url: "https://support.pave.com/articles/publish-bands-syjcvuKMir.md"
---
# Publish Bands

Publishing a band set makes your compensation bands available in different parts of Pave. This guide covers publishing to Live (for employees and managers) and to Merit Cycles (for compensation planning).


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## Table of Contents


1. Publishing Options
2. Publish to Live
3. Publish to Merit Cycle
4. Related Articles


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## Publishing Options

You can publish a band set to two destinations:

### Live

Makes bands visible to employees and managers in:

* **Total Rewards** - Employees view their compensation and position within bands
* **Team View** - Managers see their team's compensation relative to bands
* **Visual Offer Letters** - Candidates see compensation bands in offers (if enabled)

**Limit:** Only one live band set at a time. Publishing a new one archives the previous.

### Merit Cycle

Makes bands available for compensation planning:

* **Planning Worksheets** - Managers see bands while making compensation decisions
* **Promotion Planning** - Bands for promoted roles appear
* **Location Changes** - Pay zone adjusted bands shown

**Limit:** One band set per merit cycle.


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## Publish to Live

### What Gets Published

When you publish a band set as live:

* Compensation bands (min/mid/max) for all jobs or grades
* All enabled pay types (base pay, equity, etc.)
* All pay zones with location adjustments
* Employee positioning within bands

### Where Live Bands Appear

**Total Rewards (Employee View):**

* Employee's current compensation
* Their compensation band for their job/grade and pay zone
* Where they fall within the band (percentile)
* How their compensation compares to band mid/target

**Team View (Manager View):**

* Each team member's compensation
* Band ranges for each team member's role
* Team member position within their band
* Visual indicators (below/within/above band)

**Visual Offer Letters:**

* Compensation offered for the role
* The compensation band for that role
* Requires enabling band display in offer letter settings

### Prerequisites

Before publishing as live:


1. **Band set is complete**
   * All jobs or grades have bands defined
   * Pay zones configured (if used)
   * Compensation values validated
2. **Employees are matched**
   * Employees assigned to jobs/grades
   * Employees assigned to pay zones
   * Unmatched employees reviewed
3. **Ready for transparency**
   * Bands are accurate and defensible
   * Prepared for employee questions

### Publishing Steps


1. Navigate to **Market Pricing**
2. Open the band set to publish
3. Click **Publish** in the top right (or **⋯** menu → **Publish**)
4. Select **Live** as the target
5. Review summary:
   * Number of employees affected
   * Which band set will be archived (if any)
6. Click **Publish as Live**

**Result:** Employees immediately see bands in Total Rewards. Managers see bands in Team View.

### What Happens to Previous Live Band Set

If you already had a live band set:

* Previous band set status changes to "Archived"
* No longer visible to employees or managers
* Preserved for historical reference
* Cannot be edited

New band set replaces old bands in all views immediately.

### Updating Live Bands

**Can you edit live bands?** Yes.

**How it works:**

* Edit the live band set directly
* Changes appear in Total Rewards and Team View immediately
* Employees and managers see updates

**When to update:**

* Annual compensation refresh
* Market data updates
* Correcting errors
* Adding new jobs/grades/pay zones

### Removing Live Bands

To stop showing bands to employees:

**Archive the live band set:**


1. Open the live band set
2. Click **Archive**
3. Confirm

**Result:**

* No live band set exists
* Employees don't see bands in Total Rewards
* Managers don't see bands in Team View


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## Publish to Merit Cycle

### What Gets Published

When you publish to a merit cycle:

* Job or grade bands (min/mid/max) for all jobs or grades
* All enabled pay types (base pay, total pay, equity, etc.)
* All pay zones with their differentials
* Employee-to-job/grade and employee-to-pay zone assignments
* Current compensation vs. band positioning

### Bands in Merit Cycle Planning

**Manager View:**

For each employee, managers see:

* Employee's current compensation
* Applicable compensation band (job/grade × pay zone)
* Position within band (below/within/above)
* New compensation recommendations
* Position in new band (after proposed changes)

**Band display:**

* Min, mid, max values for each pay type
* Visual indicators showing employee position
* Promoted role bands (if proposing promotion)

### Prerequisites

Before publishing:


1. **Band set is complete**
   * All jobs or grades defined
   * Compensation bands added
   * Pay zones configured (if used)
2. **Merit cycle is created**
   * Cycle exists in Pave
   * Cycle is not yet closed
   * You have permission to publish
3. **Employees are matched**
   * Employees assigned to jobs/grades
   * Employees assigned to pay zones

### Publishing Steps


1. Navigate to **Market Pricing**
2. Open the band set to publish
3. Click **Publish** in the top right (or **⋯** menu → **Publish**)
4. Select **Merit Cycle**
5. Choose the specific cycle from the dropdown
6. Review summary:
   * Number of bands being published
   * Number of employees affected
7. Click **Publish to Merit Cycle**

**Result:** Managers can now see bands in their compensation planning worksheets.


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## Related Articles

* **Create & Manage Band Sets**: Setting up bands before publishing
* **Match Employees**: Ensuring employees are matched before publishing
* **Edit Bands**: Making changes to bands
* **Permissions**: Controlling who sees what in Total Rewards and Team View


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