## What are smart flags?

Smart Flags automatically surface critical compensation decisions by applying customizable visual indicators to employee records that meet defined criteria. Teams can configure color-coded flags with specific logic rules, attach hard or soft stop compensation controls, and provide clear guidance to planners on how to resolve flagged scenarios.

Smart Flags transform compensation planning from a reactive, manual process into a proactive, systematized approach that ensures consistent decision-making across your entire organization. By providing immediate visual feedback and clear resolution paths, Smart Flags reduce planning cycle time, minimize errors, and give compensation teams confidence that every dollar aligns with strategic priorities while empowering planners with the clarity they need to make informed decisions.

 ![](https://support.pave.com/servlet/rtaImage?eid=ka0TV0000001gV3&feoid=00NUn00000C06g9&refid=0EMTV00000Enk85)

## Smart flag components

Smart Flags include the following features:

* **Logic builder**: A logic builder that can create rules on any cycle column as flagging criteria
* **Color coding**: A color picker that allows compensation teams to choose their desired color per flag type
* **Comp controls**: Our current system for hard & soft stops, fully compatible with Smart Flags and enhanced with better visibility and validation flows for planners in the worksheet
* **Planner guidance**: A new input for comp teams to specify explicit instructions for how planners can resolve the specific hard or soft stop they’ve encountered


## Configuring smart flags

### 1. Create a new smart flag or duplicate an existing flag

Under the new Smart Flags config tab, select Create new to build a new flag from scratch. To build a flag that is similar to one that already exists, click Duplicate flag from the overflow next to a smart flag to make a copy of it.

 ![](https://support.pave.com/servlet/rtaImage?eid=ka0TV0000001gV3&feoid=00NUn00000C06g9&refid=0EMTV00000EngxK)

### 2. Assign a name, description, and color

Customize the appearance of their Smart Flag at the top of the editing panel.

 ![](https://support.pave.com/servlet/rtaImage?eid=ka0TV0000001gV3&feoid=00NUn00000C06g9&refid=0EMTV00000Enk9h)

### 3. Add logic to your smart flag

Add the column rules that will apply to this smart flag.

 ![](https://support.pave.com/servlet/rtaImage?eid=ka0TV0000001gV3&feoid=00NUn00000C06g9&refid=0EMTV00000EnkBJ)

### 4. (Optional step) Add a soft or hard stop to your smart flag. 

Any flag that includes compensation controls will also require the comp team to provide directions for how planners can resolve the comp control issue, in the Planner guidance text box shown in the screenshot.

* **Basic flag:** The flag is only a visual indicator and does not require any comp control action
* **Soft stop:** The flag will require planners to include a justification comment in order to submit their inputted value *(non-justified values will still be saved in the meantime)*
* **Hard stop**: The flag will prevent planners from submitting their worksheet until the value is brought within the accepted range (values will NOT be saved in the meantime)
   ![](https://support.pave.com/servlet/rtaImage?eid=ka0TV0000001gV3&feoid=00NUn00000C06g9&refid=0EMTV00000EnkCv)

### Comp planner worksheet UX

Hard & soft stops are made clearly visible yet un-intrusive to the planning process. Inputs that violate a hard or soft stop will result in the entire employee row being highlighted red or yellow, in addition to a colorful far-left border and Attention icon next to the employee’s name.

 ![](https://support.pave.com/servlet/rtaImage?eid=ka0TV0000001gV3&feoid=00NUn00000C06g9&refid=0EMTV00000EnkEX)

With Smart Flags, comp control alerts & justification windows will appear in the Employee column next to their name. This way, planners will always know if they’ve hit a comp control, while still being able to continue their work and return to the comp control for adjustment at a later time, before submitting their worksheet.

 ![](https://support.pave.com/servlet/rtaImage?eid=ka0TV0000001gV3&feoid=00NUn00000C06g9&refid=0EMTV00000EnjX0)

FAQ

* **Can I use the same color for multiple smart flags? Do the colors have any intrinsic meaning?**

  Yes you can repeat colors. No, colors do not hold any intrinsic meaning or make a difference to how the Smart Flag works.
* **What happens if an employee has multiple comp controls?**

  You’ll be able to see every Smart Flag that the employee has in the Smart Flags column. Comp Control reasons, guidance, and justification inputs are all consolidated under a single visual indicator next to the employee’s name. Only a single comment is needed to justify all active soft stops for the individual.
* **Are unjustified comp controls saved?**

  Soft stops are autosaved even if they don’t yet have a justification comment, but hard stops are not.
* **How does worksheet submission work if there are unjustified comp controls on the worksheet still?**

  All comp controls will need to be resolved before the planner is able to submit their worksheet.
* **Can I hide the Smart Flags column?**

  Yes, you may hide the column in planner worksheets if desired
* **Can I permission Smart Flag visibility by role?**

  This functionality is coming soon!




Smart Flags

Comp Planner Configurations Overview

Compensation Planner 101

Getting Started - Compensation Planner

Compensation Planner FAQs

Cycle Specific Permissions

Employee Eligibility

Step 1: Initial Cycle Setup

First-Class Columns

Using Handlebars Formula for Calculated Columns

Columns

Step 2: Column Configuration

OTE Planning Configuration Guide

What is OTE Planning?

Step 3: OTE Planning

Am I able to update or change approval chains during a cycle?

Updating Approval Chains

Compensation Cycle Data Upload

Step 4: Data Management

How can I configure market adjustment recommendations for employees?

How can I configure variable raise recommendations for employees?

Recommendation Logic

What are Recommendations?

Step 5: Recommendation Logic

Budgets

Budget Dashboard

Top Down Budgets: In-app Configurations

Step 6: Budget Confirmation

Planning Windows Setup Guide

Planning Windows Overview

Monthly & Hourly Pay

Employee Compensation History Popout

UI Toggles

Filtering & Sorting

Approval Statuses

Step 7: Planner Experience

Compensation Outliers

Manager Compression Flag

Vesting Drop Flag

Step 8: Controls & Governance

Peers Overview

Cycle Outcomes

Value Rounding in Compensation Planning

In App Reward Letter Editor

Reward Letters

Peers Configuration Guide

Cycle Progress Dashboard Overview

Other Cycle Actions

 Compensation Planner

Market Data Connections Set up

Market Data Connections Overview

Integrations 101

Integrations

Adding Columns

Team View Overview

Team View Column Configuration

Team View Customizations

Re-ordering Columns

Deleting Columns

Team View Settings

Team View

Logging In

Custom Role Creation Guide

Creating an Account

How to add a colleague to Pave’s Market Data Platform

Market Data Role Management

Why does it matter to get levels and role families right?

SSO Configuration Guide

Account Setup

Contact Us

How much does Pave Market Data access cost?

How does Pave Work?

Intro to Pave

Pave 101

Compensation Philosophy

Total Compensation

Compensation 101

The Stock Option Lifecycle

ISO Tax Implications

The Basics of Stock Options

The Confusing AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax)

ISO Strategies

An Overview of How Stock Options Work

Equity 101

Account Creation Troubleshooting and FAQs

How to Benchmark Executive Compensation

Login Troubleshooting and FAQ

How does company size affect which department, job family and job level I should choose?

How does Pave determine a role level and role family?

What are Job Levels, Departments and Job Families? Why are they important?

Troubleshooting Rippling Zero Records Error

What Market Data Connections does Pave currently support?

FAQs

Getting Started

Survey aging

Edit and apply benchmarks

Set weights and logic

Map data sources to jobs

Supported survey providers

Manage Pave data sources

Manage survey data sources

Benchmarks overview

Step 2: Benchmarking

Band Sets

Pay Types: Calculated TDC, Annual Equity, and Refresh Equity

Manually Create New Band Sets

Bands Set Audit Log

How to duplicate band sets

Managing & Reordering Calculated Columns

Calculated Columns

Unmatched Employees

Upload/Download Bands

View changes

Editing Bands

Employee Distribution in Bands

Pay Zone Manager

Job Architecture 101

Grades

Setting up Company Job Architecture

Company Job Architecture

Step 1: Build Foundation

Generate Bands from Market Data

Bulk & Manually Associate Market Data to Bands

Step 3: Update Ranges

Relative Permissions

Generate Bands for New Jobs in Your Job Architecture

Compare Bands

Advanced Filters

Ongoing Management & Analysis

Market Pricing

Option Driver Deprecation FAQs

Option Driver

Option Impact Deprecation FAQs

Option Impact

Option Impact & Option Driver

Executive Reporting Dashboard

Cycle Monitoring and Reporting

Building Market-Based Compensation Bands

Employee Groups

Cycle Configuration

How does Recommendation Logic work?

Am I able to change another user’s permissions or login credentials while impersonating?

Smart Flags

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