In the world of incentive compensation management, flexibility, audibility, and reporting are the significant pillars for a sound system. The use of calendars in Varicent is at the heart of the platform to help establish a foundation for success. Within Varicent, calendars are defined as date ranges, aggregated into periods that represent a specific block of time relevant for each respective business. Depending on the company’s needs, this can be weekly, monthly, quarterly, or a unique determination. These are the periods in which data needs to be aggregated.
Audibility
The ability to quickly and accurately retrieve data for auditing is a fundamental requirement in the world of incentive compensation management. A unique feature that significantly enhances a user’s auditing process is the ability to lock data on calendars. Each separate calendar can be locked so that data for prior periods can be frozen. Calculations and tables within each model can be tied to a calendar, and subsequently locked. This keeps linked results and data frozen in periods from changing, while still allowing periods that are unlocked to be continually updated, and the delta between the two reported. Administrators control the ability to lock a calendar and may choose when and how far back in time to lock data. One best practice is always to lock calendars once payment has been submitted to payroll, so details behind each payout tie precisely to each check written.
Reporting
Timely and accurate reports that provide supporting details behind past, current, or future payout are critical to adoption and long-term success. Varicent’s calendars make this possible by allowing for the ability to create report specific calculations tied to individual calendars. Results can be tailored to reflect the respective period that is required for each report. An example is the Compensation Statement Report. This report would utilize calculations that lock on the same calendar as the payout, matching paycheck amounts to the supporting performance. Clients also need to report on what prior periods look like if incorporated results that came in after that period have been paid out (i.e., prior period adjustments.) Calendar design, which allows the use of calculations that utilize a locked and unlocked calendar, provides the maximum amount of reporting options and insight.
Multiple calendars
Varicent provides the unique ability to add new calendars as necessary. The following are a few business cases for adding additional calendars:
- Compensation plans with different payout frequencies (such as monthly vs. quarterly
- Need to incorporate prior period adjustments (for example, restate past periods)
- Significantly different payroll date for business units (in general, it is ideal to have only one or as few payout specific calendars as possible)
Flexibility
In Varicent, users can create multiple calendars to meet the needs of their various business units or country-specific requirements. For example, a company’s sales division may capture data in monthly increments, whereas their manufacturing division may capture data in weekly increments. Varicent provides a custom and flexible platform, using time-based calculations (set to different calendars), can accurately aggregate the data for these distinct periods simultaneously. It is worth noting that by default, Varicent begins with a single calendar when a model is created, with the ability to add additional calendars manually on an as-needed basis.
Varicent gives you control
Varicent provides the flexibility and confidence to have complete control over the calendar system during the entire compensation process. Offered on a single platform leveraging the power of AI, workflows, dashboards, and dispute management, businesses can maximize the potential of their sales performance management solution, adapt and scale quickly, without compromising security or privacy.
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