Overview

Use this guide to investigate a questioned position cost, compare FTE Tree with payroll, budget, or general ledger results, and document where a difference begins.

Keep the existing report or export unchanged while you work. Record its dates, filters, allocation method, completion time, and access scope before reproducing the amount.

For the detailed rules behind the worksheet, use:

Access needed

Activity Access needed
View position cost and FTE View positions for every included department
View Assigned cost View employees, View positions, and View sensitive workforce data for every included Department
View a report The access required for the selected report
Download CSV or Excel The report’s view access plus Export reports
Review proposed cost Access to the position request or assigned approval task
Access setup See Permissions and roles.

If two analysts have different Department access or View sensitive workforce data, their visible records or pay-derived values can differ. Confirm access before comparing totals.

The four questions to settle first

Before doing arithmetic, identify these four facts:

  1. Are you reconciling a point-in-time annualized amount or a date-range amount?
  2. Are you reviewing approved values or proposed values?
  3. Which effective dates and assignments apply?
  4. Is the report using Actual calendar days or Even monthly?

A position page can show $52,000.00 as the yearly rate on July 1 while a July report shows only July’s allocated share. Both can be correct.

Step-by-step comparison worksheet

Use this sequence for every questioned amount.

1. Identify the result

Record:

  • Position and report name.
  • Report creation date and time.
  • Selected start and end dates.
  • Date grouping.
  • Cost allocation method.
  • Filters and included departments.
  • Approved or proposed values.
  • Whether you viewed the report on screen or downloaded a comma-separated values (CSV) or Excel file.

2. List effective boundaries

For the questioned position, list every date when one of these changed:

  • Position status.
  • FTE.
  • Base pay rate and Pay rate basis.
  • Annual hours.
  • Adjustment.
  • Assignment start or end.
  • Employee status.
  • Department or job code.
  • Funding allocation.

3. Resolve each interval

Write the exact input values that apply from each boundary through the day before the next boundary. Keep the supported trailing zeros.

4. Reproduce FTE adjustments

Start with the Position FTE. Apply fixed-before, non-compounding percentage, compounding percentage, and fixed-after lines in order. Round each impact and running total to four decimals.

5. Reproduce pay rate adjustments

Start with the position Base pay rate and basis. Apply fixed before, non-compounding percentage, compounding percentage, and fixed after lines in order. For each component, apply Same basis only or Convert to every basis as configured. Round hourly impacts and totals to four decimal places and annual impacts and totals to cents.

6. Calculate annualized cost

Annualize the Adjusted pay rate: multiply Hourly pay by exact annual hours or use Annual pay directly. Round annualized full-time pay to cents, apply adjusted FTE once, round Position cost to cents, and then apply annual cost adjustment lines at cents.

7. Review a floor

If a completed FTE, pay, or annual cost group is negative, match the zero result and warning. Do not replace a temporary negative line with zero.

8. Reproduce assigned cost

List each assignment that is active in the interval. The end date is exclusive, which means the assignment no longer counts on that date. Exclude every Cancelled or Voided assignment at every date. Use assignment FTE rather than adjusted position FTE. Use the position’s Base pay rate and basis for that date; do not apply position adjustments. Convert the position rate to an annual amount according to its basis, calculate each assignment cost, and round it before adding.

9. Calculate exact period shares

For Actual calendar days, use included days divided by 365 or 366 for that calendar-year slice.

For Even monthly, use one-twelfth for a full month and the included-days share of one-twelfth for a partial month.

Do not round a period contribution before every dated interval and split line is known.

10. Reconcile periods

Add the exact period contributions across the selected range and round that exact total. Compare it with the rounded period rows. Put the difference in the final contributing period, carrying backward only to prevent a negative cell.

11. Reconcile funding

Confirm percentages total exactly 100.00%. Calculate exact shares, round to cents, and confirm the displayed lines equal their required position or period total.

12. Compare presentation

On screen, confirm $, commas, and two decimals. In CSV or Excel, confirm the exact decimal value without currency symbols or commas. Compare the numeric meaning of $50,000.00 with 50000.00, not the characters.

13. Isolate the first difference

If a mismatch remains, identify the first line where expected and actual values differ. A later manual balancing entry can hide the source of the problem and should not be used to explain the discrepancy.

Common reasons totals differ

Difference Check
Position page does not match report Annualized versus date-range amount
Two reports differ Dates, filters, allocation method, access, or when each report was completed
Assigned and position cost differ Assignment FTE, vacancy, several Employees, or Position Adjustments
One month is one cent different The rounding remainder is assigned to the last period with an amount.
Funding line received a cent Rounding; the same inputs produce the same result regardless of display order
February changed in a leap year Actual day denominator
Retroactive amount changed Dated change and a newly run report
Export lacks $ Expected; exported money omits display symbols
Value is zero instead of blank Review whether the input is a real zero or unavailable

When to contact support

Contact support when the first differing line cannot be explained by the saved inputs, effective dates, access scope, or documented rounding rules. Include the report name, completion time, selected dates, filters, allocation method, position number, and the first expected and actual values. Do not send sensitive pay or employee information unless support asks for it through an approved channel.