Set up fields and choices

Add a field when your organization needs to record information that FTE Tree does not already provide, such as a position’s work arrangement. Use a choice list when people should pick from the same answers. Decide who will keep the information up to date before adding it.

Before you begin

You need Manage custom fields to create or change organization fields and choice lists. You need Manage position setup for the other position settings.

Choose the right record

Use position fields for position information, employee fields for authorized employee information, department fields for department information, and job classification fields for the job catalog. A Currency custom field can record an ordinary organization-specific amount. Keep labor budget amounts and protected actual compensation in their dedicated areas rather than recreating them as custom fields.

Before adding a field, answer:

• What decision or report will use this information?
• Who is responsible for keeping it accurate?
• Which record should contain it?
• Should people enter free text, a date, a number, or one choice from a controlled list?
• Is a custom field an appropriate place for this information?
• Is the field needed for future records only, or should earlier records also be completed?

Search the standard and custom fields first. A second field with the same purpose creates conflicting answers.

Understand the setup choices

A heading such as Position FTE settings means you are configuring the field’s label, guidance, or display choices. To change a particular position’s FTE, open that position. Create pages add a new record or choice; Edit pages change an existing one.

Currency controls entry and display formatting only. A Currency custom field uses the same access as other custom fields on that record. It does not receive the separate protections used by actual compensation, calculate labor budget or employee cost, or supply a financial report. Use it only when everyone who can view the record or related request may view the amount.

Create a field or choice list

1. Choose the record type and field format.
2. Enter a clear label and guidance.
3. Decide whether it is required, available, and shown in lists.
4. Add choices when the field uses a controlled list.
5. Review order and save.

Use the help text to explain what belongs in the field, not how the page is built. Include a short example when users could reasonably interpret the field in more than one way.

Every editable position field must have a Review through step, including optional custom fields. This determines how far approval goes when the field changes; it does not make entering a value mandatory. Choose the step in field settings and review the assignments in Position approval workflow.

Example: controlled choice instead of free text

An organization tracks workplace arrangement as On-site, Hybrid, or Remote. A choice list keeps those values consistent. A free-text field could produce variations such as “remote,” “Remote employee,” and “WFH,” which are harder to review in a report.

Create a new choice only when it represents a new meaning. Do not rename Hybrid to Remote after people have already used it, because earlier records would appear to mean something different.

Do not store passwords, MFA recovery codes, sign-in secrets, full payment-card numbers, protected employee compensation, or other restricted information in a custom field. Use only information your organization has approved for this purpose.

Manage choices safely

Make an old choice unavailable when it should remain in history but not be selected again. Rename only when the meaning is unchanged. Create a new choice when the business meaning changes.

The same principle applies to fields and statuses:

• Make unavailable when the established meaning remains part of history but should not be used for new work.
• Rename only to correct wording without changing meaning.
• Create new when the business meaning changes.
• Reorder to improve selection and display without changing earlier values.

Before making a field or choice unavailable, review forms, imports, reports, and existing records that use it. Earlier values remain part of the record history.

Understand status behavior

Employee status choices include Counts as active employee, which determines whether employees with that status count toward staffed assignment costs.

Positions use the fixed position status choices Active, Suspended, and Eliminated. Change position status through approved Suspend, Reactivate, or Eliminate actions; there is no configurable active-position status choice. See Suspend, reactivate, or eliminate a position.

Review the consequence before changing a status that existing records use. Choose a default for new records deliberately and make obsolete choices unavailable rather than changing their meaning.

Use Issues to review detected missing information. Issues do not require custom status choices.

Assignment purposes

Assignment purposes describe why or how an employee fills a position. The five starting choices have these meanings:

Each organization manages its own purposes with Manage position setup permission. You can add choices, edit names and descriptions, reorder them, select an available default, and make obsolete choices unavailable. Keep each purpose’s established meaning consistent so earlier assignments remain understandable. The default is a convenience when entering an assignment, not a conclusion that FTE Tree has verified about the arrangement.

Purposes do not change staffing or pay calculations, split FTE automatically, permit otherwise-blocked overlaps, or end assignments automatically. Assignment dates, FTE, and your organization’s assignment rules still apply. See assignment purpose examples for help choosing between backfill, handoff, and acting.

Assignment patterns describe how assignments overlap on the chosen date. Staffing totals show how much FTE is assigned on that date. Neither changes the purpose you entered for an assignment. See Compare purpose with assignment patterns.

Test a new field

1. Add the field to one record type.
2. Open a create or edit form that uses the field. Check whether its label and explanation make it clear what to enter.
3. Enter a valid value and confirm it appears in the intended detail view.
4. Confirm a missing value behaves correctly when the field is required.
5. If it uses choices, confirm ordering and unavailable choices.
6. Review a report or import that is expected to include the field.
7. Open Activity history to confirm a setup change is understandable.

Common questions

Can we use a Currency custom field?

Yes, for an ordinary organization-specific amount such as an approved equipment allowance or a request estimate that everyone with access to the record may see. Do not use it for employee pay, a labor budget rate, or another amount that needs separate access. Use labor budget and actual compensation when the value needs their calculations, dates, reports, or protections.

Can I reuse an unavailable choice for a new meaning?

No. Create a new choice. Reuse would make earlier records appear to carry the new meaning.

Does changing display order change reports?

It changes the order on supported forms and detail pages. Review each report separately because report columns follow the report’s own purpose.

When a position field becomes required

If official positions already exist, add the field as optional first. Fill it on existing active, suspended and approved future positions through approval or an authorized batch import. Once the values have been applied, turn on Required. FTE Tree checks current information and saved future changes before accepting the setting.

If a position is missing an answer, the setting stays unchanged and the message identifies positions and dates to complete. A draft answer, or a default choice does not complete an existing position. A scheduled future change that leaves the field blank must also be corrected before the field can become required.

You do not need to fill earlier historical periods or eliminated positions. Unapproved drafts do not block this setting, but must meet the requirements before they become official. During initial setup, you can make a field required before any positions exist.

There is no separate date for the Required setting. Prepare the answers while the field is optional, then enable it when the organization is ready. Existing approval history remains recorded. No and 0 count as answers when valid for the field. FTE Tree’s mandatory position fields remain required.

Form choices

Use this reference to choose form values. Available choices depend on the task, selected date, and your access.

Availability

Availability controls whether this choice may be selected for new work. It preserves existing recorded information.

Where availability is dated, select the first date the change applies. Correct a dated entry only when the recorded date was wrong. Do not rename an old choice to give it a different meaning; make the old choice unavailable and create a new one.

Field type

Choose the kind of information people should enter. The type is fixed after the custom field is created.

Use a choice list when values need to stay consistent across people, imports, and reports. For example, a Single select field can record one contract category, while Multi select can record several applicable tags. Currency custom fields have the same access as other custom fields; use actual compensation for employee pay that needs its separate access protections.

Existing option set

Reuse an existing choice list or create one for a new purpose. A default choice supplies a starting value; it does not explain the organization’s policy.

On creation, select Create new option set to enter its name and initial values, or choose an existing compatible list. Each label should have one stable meaning. A default must match a value in the list. Changing a shared list can affect several fields, so review its uses first.

Required field

Require a value only when people need it to complete this record correctly.

A required choice still needs an understandable label and available values. A default can make entry quicker, but should be used only when it is a reasonable starting point. Review existing data and import templates before making an established field required.

Field display

Choose whether this field appears in the supported browse, form, or detail areas.

Display settings organize a page; they do not grant or revoke access to protected information. Hiding a field is not a substitute for choosing the appropriate access controls. Check the affected page after changing visibility.

Counts as active employee

This setting gives an employee status its active or inactive behavior, independently of the status label.

Use an active status for an employee who should count as active on the date. An inactive status excludes the employee from actual compensation results. Keep the meaning stable after the status has been used; a label change should not silently turn an established inactive condition into an active one.

Default

Use this choice as the starting selection for new entries where a default is supported. People still need to confirm it fits.

Use a default for the most appropriate starting choice, not as a way to force the same answer on every record. Changing a default does not rewrite values already recorded. Review defaults after making a choice unavailable.

Custom field choice

Choose the value that matches this record. Your organization defines the field meaning and, for a choice list, the available values.

For Single select, choose one value. For Multi select, choose every applicable value. Follow the field’s own Help text for organization-specific meanings; if no value fits, ask the person who maintains the list rather than guessing or repurposing another value. A blank optional value and a selected default are different answers.

Optional practice: add a useful choice field

For exercises that change records, use a separate practice organization and complete the preparation below.

Practice steps and checks

1. Create a Work arrangement field on a practice position.
2. Add On-site, Hybrid, and Remote choices.
3. Write a short explanation of what people should select.
4. Enter a value on the position and check its detail page.
5. Try leaving it blank when required, then correct the missing value.

Make Hybrid unavailable and check that new selections stop while earlier records still say Hybrid. Rename a choice only when its meaning stays the same.

A Currency field can hold an ordinary amount everyone with record access may see. Use the separate compensation pages for protected employee pay. Finally, check a report or import that includes your new field.