SimplyMerit provides multiple methods for distributing Salary, Bonus, Equity, and Total Rewards letters, allowing administrators to export letters in bulk, route them through managers, or send them directly to employees once approvals are complete.
Letters are distributed from:
Configuration → Standard Exports
Within Standard Exports, letters are organized by type using the following tabs:
Total Rewards Letters
Salary Letters
Bonus Letters
Equity Letters
Each tab follows the same distribution structure, with behavior varying slightly depending on the letter type.
Before You Distribute Letters
Before letters can be generated or sent:
All managers must be in an approved state in the application. This can be done in bulk on Configuration → Manager Activity.
Move SimplyMerit into view-only mode on Configuration → System Control → Lock Planning for Changes.
Configure PDF file naming conventions on Configuration → System Control → Manage Letters. Please contact SimplyMerit Support if you need help adjusting the file name variables.
Letter templates must be configured and saved under Configuration → Letters.
Employees excluded in the code (for example, via exclusion logic) will not receive letters, regardless of distribution method.
- Verify who will receive email notifications that the letters are ready. This is managed on the Configuration → Communications screen.
Distribution Methods
For each letter type, SimplyMerit supports three delivery methods plus employee-portal publishing:
Export all letters (admin download)
Send letters to managers
Send letters directly to employees
Publish letters to the employee portal
Each option is outlined below.
1. Export All Letters (Admin Download)
Location:
Standard Exports → (Letter Type) → All [Letter Type] Letters
This option allows administrators to generate a ZIP file containing individual PDF letters for all eligible employees.
Key Details
One PDF is generated per employee.
PDFs are bundled into a single ZIP file.
No emails are sent to managers or employees.
Commonly used for internal review, auditing, or offline distribution.
Export History
After an export completes, SimplyMerit displays:
Recipient name
Export date/time
Status (Succeeded / Failed)
Download link (“Save to Computer”)
Multiple exports can be run as needed.
2. Send Letters to Managers
Location:
Standard Exports → (Letter Type) → Send [Letter Type] Letters to Managers
This method makes the letters available to managers in SimplyMerit for their respective teams.
How It Works
SimplyMerit sends an email notification to each manager announcing the letters are ready to be downloaded from the application.
The email contains a link back to SimplyMerit.
Manager Experience
If the manager is already logged in, the ZIP file containing their team’s letters downloads automatically.
If not logged in, the manager is redirected to the login page.
After logging in, managers can download letters from their My Team planning screen as shown below.
Important Notes
Ensure Receive Emails is enabled so managers will receive notifications that the letters are ready
Letters are not sent as email attachments to managers.
Managers cannot view letters outside their reporting hierarchy.
- Ensure email addresses are correct for managers (via a Basic Employee Data export under Standard Exports) before sending letters to managers
3. Send Letters Directly to Employees
Location:
Standard Exports → (Letter Type) → Send [Letter Type] Letters Directly to Employees
This method emails letters directly to employees as PDF attachments.
Key Details
Letters are sent as PDF attachments.
Emails are only sent to employees whose adjustments are approved.
Letters can be sent in batches, based on approval status.
Each employee receives only their own letter.
Example: a Standard Exports letter tab with Publish to Portal and Archive Current Version controls.
4. Publish Letters to Portal
Location:
Standard Exports → (Letter Type) → Publish [Letter Type] Letters to Portal
This option makes generated letters available to employees in the Employee Portal. It does not send an email by itself; it controls which version employees can view after they sign in to the portal.
Key Details
The portal shows the most recently published version of each employee letter.
Generating a new letter batch creates draft letters for review. Those drafts are not visible to employees until an administrator selects Publish to Portal.
If no new draft letters exist for a letter type, the publish button is disabled.
The publish option is available for the individual letter types supported in Standard Exports, such as Salary, Bonus, Equity, and Total Rewards when enabled.
Archive Current Version
Before publishing, review the Archive Current Version toggle.
On (default): the currently published portal version is moved to the employee letter-history page, then the new draft becomes the published portal version.
Off: the current published portal version is overwritten by the new draft and no history is kept for the replaced version.
Use the default archive setting when you want employees and administrators to retain a history of previously published portal letters. Turn it off only when the previous portal version should not be retained.
Letter-Type Notes
Ensure Receive Emails is enabled so employees will receive their letter emails
Salary, Bonus, and Equity letters follow standard approval-based batching.
Total Rewards Letters follow the logic defined in the Total Rewards letter syntax, including conditional sections and inclusion rules.
IMPORTANT! Letters often contain sensitive compensation details. If someone other than the intended recipient as access to the recipient's inbox, they would then have access to the sensitive compensation details. This is common with assistants who have access to their executive's inbox.
Visibility and Access
Admins can view and initiate all exports.
Managers can access letters for their teams.
Anyone reviewing a manager’s worksheet, as well as anyone above that manager in the reporting hierarchy, can see distribution activity.
Employees can only access letters sent directly to them or letters that have been published to their employee portal.
Typical Distribution Flow
Configure letter templates under Configuration → Letters
Approve all employee adjustments
Export letters for internal review (optional)
Send letters to managers (optional)
Send letters directly to employees (optional)
Publish letters to the employee portal when employees should view letters in the portal (optional)
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