Position settings

Overview

The following general settings allow you to configure how positions are displayed and calculated across your organization.

• Job code label: The job code label is configurable for your organization. Updating the label here will be reflected throughout FTE Tree.

• Headcount FTE amount: Positions with an FTE greater than or equal to this value count toward headcount. By default, this is set to 0.0000, meaning all active positions count as headcount regardless of FTE. For example, if you want to exclude positions with 0.0000 FTEs from headcount totals, change this value to 0.0001. This setting accepts values up to four decimal places.

For FTE and headcount examples, see Position cost math and examples.

• Padding digits for position number: New positions receive the next position number for your organization. This setting pads the displayed number with leading zeros. For example, the 132nd position with padding digits set to four and the default prefix is displayed as POS-0132. Set to 0 for no padding digits. If the number of positions exceeds your setting, this value is automatically updated unless set to 0.

• Prefix for position label: This setting adds a prefix to the position number and defaults to "POS-". The hyphen is part of the prefix, so you can remove it by changing the prefix to "POS" or leave the prefix blank.

Access needed

Compensation settings

Annual hours per FTE, pay grades, and pay ranges are managed in the Compensation settings area. Those settings affect how wage rates become annualized cost and how wage rates compare with pay ranges.

See Compensation settings for setup guidance and Position cost math and examples for worked examples.

Calculation precision and rounding

FTE Tree uses the following precision rules for calculations:

• FTE and headcount: Calculated and stored to four decimal places for accuracy when aggregating across many positions. FTE adjustment amounts and FTE percentage impacts also use four decimal places. Summary views may use compact display, while calculation detail and reports expose the four-decimal values where precision matters.

• Costs and rates: Calculated and stored to two decimal places (cents). Displayed as whole dollar amounts on summary views for readability. Detailed calculation breakdowns show full two-decimal precision. Exported at two-decimal precision in reports.

• Hours: Calculated and stored to two decimal places.

• Rounding: FTE percentage impacts round to four decimal places. Financial values such as costs, rates, and financial adjustments use standard rounding (half-up) to cents. Cost uses the exact FTE x annual-hours intermediate and rounds the final currency amount to cents.

See Position cost math and examples for examples that show four-decimal FTE, two-decimal cost, and rounded adjustment impacts.

Position base wage rate requirement

The Position Base wage rate built-in detail controls whether each active position must carry its own wage rate.

• When Position Base wage rate is required, new active positions and active position changes must have a position-level wage rate effective by the active calculation date. A job code default wage rate can still be useful for reference, but it does not satisfy the required position wage detail.

• When Position Base wage rate is optional, an active position can use either a position-level wage rate or an approved job code default wage rate effective by the active calculation date. Job code defaults can be inherited from parent job codes.

This setting affects approval readiness. A new position cannot become active, and a position change cannot create an active gap, if the applicable compensation source is missing or starts after the active date.

For examples of position wage, direct job-code default wage, inherited job-code default wage, assigned employee wage, and fallback behavior, see Position cost math and examples.

External position ID settings

The external position ID allows you to link each position to an identifier in your HRIS or external system. The following settings control how this detail behaves across FTE Tree.

• Enable external position ID: When enabled, the external position ID detail is shown on position detail pages, the position list, detail settings, and CSV imports. When disabled, the detail is hidden throughout FTE Tree and external position IDs are ignored during imports.

• Show on position create: When enabled, the external position ID detail appears on the direct position create form. Leave this disabled if positions normally receive their HRIS identifier only after approval and creation in the external system.

• External position ID label: The display label used for the external position ID detail throughout FTE Tree. Change this to match the terminology your organization uses for external identifiers (e.g., "HRIS Reference", "SAP Position ID"). Defaults to "External Position ID".

• External position ID required: When enabled, the external position ID must be provided anywhere the detail is shown for editing, including single-position edits and batch edits. On direct position creation, this requirement applies only when Show on position create is also enabled. New position approval requests do not require the external position ID, because the HRIS identifier is often assigned after approval.

• Batch edit external IDs: When external position IDs are enabled, a batch edit link appears in the position settings section. Users with the Configure position settings permission can use this to update external position IDs across multiple Operating Budget positions at once. The batch edit view supports searching by position name, number, or external ID, sorting by any column, and filtering inactive positions. See Positions for more details.

Department filters

Department filters control which department assignments grant a user visibility to a position. When a user has department-limited permissions, these settings determine which types of department assignments are used to match positions to the user's permitted departments. All four filters are enabled by default.

• Department filter - approved as of today: Show positions based on the approved department as of today. This is the primary filter and matches positions to departments based on the most recent approved department assignment with an effective date on or before today.

• Department filter - future approved: Show positions assigned to a future approved department. This matches positions that have an approved department assignment with an effective date after today, making upcoming transfers visible before they take effect.

• Department filter - draft as of today: Show positions based on the draft department as of today. This matches positions that have an unapproved (draft) department assignment with an effective date on or before today, allowing users to see pending department changes while they await approval.

• Department filter - future draft: Show positions assigned to a future draft department. This matches positions that have an unapproved department assignment with a future effective date. This is useful when new positions are created with a future start date, ensuring users can see the position while it is still in draft.

These filters work together. If a position matches any enabled filter for a department the user has access to, the position is visible to that user. Disabling a filter removes that type of department assignment when FTE Tree determines visibility.

Example: position department transfer

When a position is transferred from one department to another, these filters determine when each department's users gain or lose visibility:

1. A draft is created to move the position to a new department. Users in the new department can see the position if the appropriate draft filter is enabled. Users in the original department retain visibility through the approved-as-of-today filter.

2. The draft is approved. Users in the new department can see the position through the approved-as-of-today or approved-future filter, depending on the effective date.

3. When the effective date arrives, the position's approved department as of today updates automatically, completing the transfer.

Funding source configuration

Funding sources allow you to track how position costs are allocated across different budgets, grants, or accounts. The funding source detail uses an option set to define the available sources for your organization.

Funding source is a position built-in detail because each value can contain multiple source and percentage rows. It is visible by default and optional by default. If your organization requires every position to have a funding allocation, update the position built-in detail settings and mark funding source as required.

When funding source rows are entered, the percentages must use no more than two decimal places and total exactly 100.00%. For fractional splits such as one-third and two-thirds, users can select Ratio mode in the funding source detail and enter simple portions such as 1 and 2. FTE Tree converts the portions into percentages, such as 33.33% and 66.67%, so users do not need to calculate the split manually.

Managing funding source values

Funding source values are managed through the funding source option set in Settings > Positions > Position option sets. By default, three values are provided: General fund, Grant, and Self-funded. You can add, rename, or deactivate values to match your organization's funding structure.

To add a new funding source value, navigate to the option set and create a new option value. To remove a funding source from future use, deactivate the option value rather than deleting it, so that historical records remain intact.

Approval level

Like other position details, the funding source detail can be assigned an approval level. When an approval level is set, changes to a position's funding source allocation will require approval before taking effect. See Working with approval requests for details.

Position comments

Each position detail page includes a Comments tab where your users can have conversations about the position. Comments support threaded replies, mentions limited to users who can view the position, follow/mute behavior, notifications in FTE Tree, and configurable comment email. Commenting on positions requires the Update positions permission. For more details, see Collaboration, messages, and notifications.