Intelligent compensation planning software for the modern business

Compensation planning software helps organizations design, manage, and execute employee compensation strategies. It typically includes workflows for crucial tasks that compensation leaders might otherwise rely on spreadsheets to support, like salary benchmarking, merit cycles, and total rewards communication. Compensation planning software can automate manual processes, provide real-time budget tracking, and enable data-driven decisions through analytics and reporting.

Compensation planning software supports businesses with the tasks associated with adjusting pay, such as running annual merit cycles, allocating equity grants and bonuses, and sending reward letters. Compensation management software is broader, and includes tools for ongoing compensation strategy workflows like salary benchmarking, pricing jobs, and managing pay ranges. While the two terms are very similar, many modern platforms like Pave handle both.

Compensation planning software can help compensation teams shift from administrative data entry to strategic, data-driven decision-making. These solutions help reduce time spent actively running compensation cycles by eliminating spreadsheet-based processes and automating workflows, while also providing budget control to prevent overspending. Real-time analytics track budgets and timelines, and transparency tools improve employee trust and retention.

Compensation planning software should automate compensation cycles for merit increases, promotions, equity refreshes, and bonuses while providing budget management tools to track spending. Look for solutions that offer real-time compensation data and salary and equity benchmarking to understand how your pay compares to your peers. While the needs of every business are unique, some essential features include seamless HRIS integration, customizable approval workflows, and employee communication tools.

When it comes to compensation management software, small businesses should prioritize solutions that offer quick implementation and ease of use. Focus on essential features like basic equity and salary benchmarking, merit cycle management, and budget tracking. Since small teams rarely have dedicated compensation specialists, quality customer support is also critical. If you plan to scale, look for platforms like Pave that offer more sophisticated solutions you can add on as your business grows.