Guide: Admins Getting Started Part 14 - Active Features

The Active Features section allows administrators to control how SimplyMerit displays and calculates Salary, Bonus, Equity, dashboard, approval, and manager-facing planning information.

Changes made in Active Features affect visibility, labels, layout, and display calculations, but they do not modify underlying imported employee, bonus, or equity data.

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Accessing Active Features

Navigate to Configuration → Active Features.

The page is organized into these tabs:

• General
• My Org
• Merit
• Bonus
• Equity
• Dashboard

The My Org tab is available when column ordering is enabled for your company. If it is not visible, contact your SimplyMerit administrator or support team.

General Tab

Final Approval

Controls whether a formal approval step is required before compensation is finalized.

When enabled:

• One or two approvers can be designated.
• Approvers receive a Final Approval button.
• Once clicked, a Final Approval export becomes available with all compensation data fields, date and time of approval, and approval status per approver.

This is commonly used for executive or HR sign-off.

Cycle Display Names

Controls the labels used for compensation cycles throughout the application.

Configurable fields include:

• Salary Cycle Display Name
• Bonus Cycle Display Name
• Equity Cycle Display Name

These labels appear in My Org and My Team views and are cosmetic only.

Background Progress Shimmer

Budget totals are updated in the background after managers save their information. Enabling the shimmer effect shows a visual indicator while budget rollups are being recalculated.

Show Indirect Reports

When enabled, managers can view their indirect reports in addition to their direct reports. Because indirect-report views can send a large amount of data to the browser, there is a built-in limit. If the company is over the limit, managers see a popup explaining that the feature is unavailable.

Show Actual and Target in Rollup Metrics

When enabled, Target and Actual percentages are displayed in the rollup metrics on the My Org Hierarchy and Budget View pages.

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My Org Tab

My Org Page Columns

Use this section to control the columns displayed on the My Org page. The My Org configuration has its own order, displayed labels, visibility, and locked state.

Drag rows to reorder columns. Renaming a displayed label updates the column header. Turn on Hidden to keep a field available for reports and downloads without rendering it on the page. Turn on Locked to render a planning column as read-only.

Available My Org fields can include the following fields, depending on your company’s configuration:

• Performance Rating
• Current Salary
• Merit Percent
• Proration Percent
• Merit Amount
• Salary after Merit
• Promotion Percent
• Promotion Amount
• Salary after Promotion
• Promotion New Title
• Other Percent
• Other Amount
• New Salary
• Total Increase Percent
• Total Increase Amount
• Total Award
• Lump Sum Amount
• Total Bonus
• Total Equity
• Total Historical Unvested Value
• Total Historical Vested Value
• Total Comp
• Comments

Use + Add Column to add an available field, + Add Separator to insert a layout-only vertical separator, Reset to Default to restore the company’s default My Org layout, and Save Changes to save edits.

Managing Columns

• Internal Label: identifies the underlying field.
• Displayed Label: controls the column header managers see.
• Hidden: keeps a field available for reports and downloads without displaying it on the page.
• Locked: displays a planning field as read-only.
• + Add Column: adds an available field.
• + Add Separator: adds a layout-only vertical separator.
• Reset to Default: restores the default layout for that page.
• Save Changes: saves the current configuration.

Column configuration is page-specific. A change to My Org Page Columns does not automatically change the Merit, Bonus, or Equity Page Columns configuration.

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Merit Tab

The Merit tab controls salary-planning columns, labels, comparison metrics, display fields, Total Compensation display logic, and manager salary download fields.

Salary Page Columns

Where available, Salary Page Columns provide a unified editor for the columns managers see on salary planning pages.

Use this editor to:

• Drag rows to reorder columns.
• Rename displayed labels.
• Add columns from eligible built-in fields, Custom Fields, or Dynamic Fields.
• Add separators to visually group columns.
• Hide a field so it stays available for reports and downloads without rendering on the page.
• Lock supported planning columns so managers can view them but not edit them.
• Reset columns to the default configuration when needed.

Note: Changing column order does not change how salary calculations are performed.

Recommended Merit Hover Point

Controls whether a hover icon appears beside Merit Percent with the employee’s suggested or budgeted merit percentage.

Total Compensation Column

Controls visibility and display logic for Total Compensation.

Options may include:

• Show Total Comp Column
• Total Comp Column Name
• Use New Salary instead of Current Salary
• Include Lump Sum
• Include Bonus Amount
• Include Total Historical Unvested Equity
• Include Total Historical Vested Equity
• Include Total Equity

These settings affect displayed totals only.

Salary Comparison Metric

Defines how salary positioning is calculated. Choose between:

• Compa Ratio
• Range Penetration

This selection affects comparison visuals and calculations.

Manager Download Fields – Employee

Controls which employee fields managers can export to Excel. Fields are configurable and reorderable and apply to both My Org and My Team downloads.

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Bonus Tab

Bonus Page Columns

Where available, Bonus Page Columns provide a unified editor for the columns managers see on bonus planning pages. Use it to reorder columns, rename labels, add eligible fields, hide fields, lock supported columns, add separators, or reset to defaults.

For each row, review the Internal Label to identify the underlying bonus field and the Displayed Label to control the column header managers see. Drag rows to set the order in which columns appear on the Bonus page.

Use Hidden when a field should remain available for reports or downloads but should not appear on the page. Use Locked when managers should be able to view a planning value but not edit it. Hidden and Locked apply only where supported by the selected field.

Select + Add Column to add an available built-in, Custom Field, or Dynamic Field. Select + Add Separator to add a visual divider without adding a data field. Select Reset to Default to restore the company’s default Bonus page layout; resetting removes custom additions, labels, and ordering. Select Save Changes when finished.

Column order and displayed labels affect the page layout only. They do not change bonus calculations.

My Team – Bonus Salary Value

Controls which salary value is used for bonus calculations.

• Default: Base Salary
• Optional: Incentive Salary, if provided

Discretionary Bonus

Controls whether managers can add discretionary bonuses. When enabled, managers see the Add Discretionary Bonus button in My Team – Bonus.

Manager Download Fields – Bonus

Controls which bonus fields appear in Excel exports. These fields appear after employee fields and can be ordered and labeled.

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Equity Tab

Equity Page Columns

Where available, Equity Page Columns provide a unified editor for the columns managers see on equity planning pages. Use it to reorder grant columns, rename labels, add eligible fields, hide fields, lock supported columns, add separators, or reset to defaults.

For each row, review the Internal Label to identify the underlying equity field and the Displayed Label to control the column header managers see. Drag rows to set the order in which grant columns appear on the Equity page.

Use Hidden to keep a field available for reports and downloads without displaying it on the page. Use Locked to make a supported planning field read-only. Select + Add Column to add an available field, or + Add Separator to insert a layout-only divider.

Select Reset to Default to restore the company’s default Equity page layout. Resetting removes custom additions, labels, and ordering. Select Save Changes to apply the configuration.

Column order and displayed labels change the page presentation only; they do not change equity calculations or the underlying grant data.

My Team – Equity Columns

Controls equity values shown on manager equity screens.

Target Quantity Icon displays Target Quantity as an icon instead of a numeric column when enabled.

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Dashboard Tab

The Dashboard tab controls optional dashboards for managers and HR admins. It includes enablement settings, widget visibility, preview panes, dashboard links, and cycle timeline entries.

Manager Dashboard Widgets

Use the Manager Dashboard section to configure the dashboard before making it available to managers.

Options may include:

• Enable Manager Dashboard
• Custom Manager Dashboard Message
• Show Manager Salary Budget Widget
• Show Manager Employees with Merit Widget
• Show Manager Bonus Budget Widget
• Show Manager Equity Budget Widgets
• Show Manager Direct Reports Widget
• Show Manager Indirect Reports Widget
• Show Manager Cycle Timeline Widget
• Show Manager Submission Progress Widget
• Show Manager Dashboard Links Widget
• Show Manager New Features & News Widget

The preview remains available while the dashboard is disabled, so administrators can review the experience before enabling it for managers.

Custom Manager Dashboard Message

The custom message appears in the manager dashboard as A Personal Message. It can be used for welcome messages, leadership notes, reminders, or cycle-specific instructions.

Supported variables use the same employee context as letters. You can use available basic variables, Dynamic Field variables, and Boolean variables to personalize the message for the logged-in manager.

Safe HTML can be used for emphasis. Avoid pasting unsupported scripts or complex styling.

Manager Dashboard Preview

The Manager Dashboard preview lets administrators view the dashboard from an employee’s perspective by employee ID. Use this to validate messaging, links, and widgets before enabling the dashboard.

Admin Dashboard Widgets

Use the Admin Dashboard section to configure the HR Admin dashboard before making it available to HR admins.

Options may include:

• Enable HR Admin Dashboard
• Show Admin Salary Budget Widget
• Show Admin Employees with Merit Widget
• Show Admin Promotion Budget Widget
• Show Admin Bonus Budget Widget
• Show Admin Equity Budget Widgets
• Show Admin Cycle Timeline Widget
• Show Admin Submission Progress Widget
• Show Admin Dashboard Links Widget
• Show Admin New Features & News Widget
• Show Admin Manager Survey Widget, when manager surveys are enabled

Dashboard Links

Dashboard Links let administrators add helpful resources to enabled dashboard link widgets, such as manager training, plan documents, or company resources.

Each link includes a title and URL. A short summary may also display when available. Dashboard links open in a new tab.

Cycle Timeline Entries

Cycle Timeline Entries control the timeline shown on dashboards. Administrators can add timeline entries, reorder them, mark whether they are visible to managers, and reset the list to defaults when needed.

Widget availability

Some dashboard widgets only appear when the related compensation cycle, feature, or data is available. For example, budget widgets depend on active planning data, dashboard links depend on saved links, and some HR-admin widgets depend on the related feature being enabled.

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Summary

The Active Features page allows administrators to:

• Control column visibility and layout across Salary, My Org, Bonus, and Equity screens.
• Customize labels shown to managers.
• Hide fields from pages while keeping them available for reporting and downloads.
• Lock supported planning columns so they render read-only.
• Define Total Compensation display logic.
• Configure manager and HR-admin dashboards.
• Manage dashboard links and cycle timeline entries.

These settings are designed to be flexible and can be adjusted without re-importing data.

→ Next: Guide: Admins Getting Started Part 15 - Budget Amounts