RIF and Restructuring Savings Planner

Size the reduction before you make it. The severance bill, the full one-time cost, the ongoing savings, and the payback period, with every assumption on the surface.

One workbook that sizes the reduction end to end

Eight tabs in one Excel file. A Start Here page tells you the order to work in, six working tabs do the math, and a Notes tab holds the record of what you decided and why.

• Severance Calculator. Set the policy once: weeks per year of service, base weeks, a cap, and a minimum. List the affected roles and each person’s weekly pay, weeks, and severance calculate, with the totals rolled up.
• Full Cost of the Reduction. The extras that make the real one-time cost: employer payroll tax on the severance, accrued PTO paid out, the employer share of continued benefits, and outplacement support.
• Savings and Payback. The ongoing payroll saved, the payback period in months, and net savings for year one and year three. Stated as a gross run rate, with the plain note that the saving you keep is often lower.
• Notice and Timeline. A planning aid with screening prompts for the federal WARN trigger and date math for the notice clock, built so the legal steps are flagged where they belong, alongside the numbers.
• Benchmarks. Typical severance by role level and the general notice rules, from public sources, so you can see where your policy lands before anyone signs off.
• Summary. The board-ready page. The one-time cost, the ongoing savings, and the payback in one view, with every figure pulled live from the working tabs.

The sizing in the order finance will ask for it

Four steps from a severance policy to a payback number, and every figure flows forward so the summary is always current.

• Write the policy before the names. Set weeks per year of service, base weeks, the cap, and the minimum on the Severance Calculator before any employee is listed, so the policy is set once and applied evenly.
• List roles with real pay data. Enter each affected role with current weekly pay from payroll, not estimates, and adjust individual lines only where a written policy exception applies.
• Enter the extras you actually pay. On Full Cost, confirm your accrued PTO balances, your employer benefits contribution, and whether outplacement is offered, and leave at zero what does not apply.
• Screen the notice before the numbers travel. Work the Notice and Timeline tab and the Benchmarks check before the Summary goes to anyone, and hold the result until counsel has seen the WARN screen.

Numbers that hold up in front of finance

A payback figure is only as good as the assumptions under it, so the planner keeps every assumption on the surface and every rate sourced.

• Rates checked against primary sources. The employer payroll tax uses the 7.65% FICA rate per the IRS, and the default 30% benefits burden tracks federal compensation data, kept deliberately conservative.
• Honest about the savings. The run rate is stated as gross, and the workbook says plainly that the saving you keep is often lower once backfill, overtime, and coverage land.
• A worked example in every tab. The file opens on a realistic ten-person reduction, not a blank sheet you have to decode.
• The legal steps are flagged, not buried. The notice tab marks where WARN and OWBPA obligations apply, so the legal side is visible alongside the numbers.

Who it is built for

Built for

• An owner or operator who needs the real cost and the real savings before committing to a reduction.
• A lean HR team who has to put a number in front of finance and the board that holds up.
• A consultant or fractional HR lead building the case for or against a restructuring.

If you are looking for

• The selection and the people side, not just the money. The RIF and Restructure Planning Kit covers scoring, the fairness check, WARN and OWBPA planning, and the conversation.
• A single person’s package, not a group. The Severance Planning Calculator handles one exit.

Before you buy

What format is it and can I edit it?

One Excel workbook, eight tabs. It works in Excel or Google Sheets, every cell is editable, and the file is yours to keep.

How is this different from the RIF and Restructure Planning Kit?

The Kit runs the reduction: selection scoring, the four-fifths fairness check, WARN and OWBPA planning, and the manager conversation. The planner sizes the money: severance, the full one-time cost, savings, and payback. The Kit’s field guide points to this planner to size the cut, and many buyers use both. See the RIF and Restructure Planning Kit.

Will it handle my severance policy?

You set weeks per year of service, base weeks added to everyone, a cap, and a minimum, and every person calculates from that policy. The file is fully editable, so any individual line can be adjusted where your policy makes an exception.

Is it a subscription?

No. One-time purchase, instant download, no recurring fee. You keep the file.

Will it stay current as rates change?

The rates it uses are shown next to the figures they drive, and meaningful updates are released as the numbers change.

What is the refund policy?

Digital products are covered by a 14-day money-back guarantee. See the refund policy for the full terms.

What happens after I buy?

Checkout delivers an instant download link, and a receipt with the same link arrives by email. Open the Start Here tab first; it tells you the order to work in. Questions or want a hand getting set up? Email support@truestephr.com.

These are planning estimates, not legal or tax advice. The payroll-tax figure uses a stated FICA rate and the notice tab flags WARN and OWBPA, so confirm the current rates and the legal steps with qualified counsel before you act on a reduction.

How the download works

Your files arrive as a single ZIP download, best opened on a computer: save it, extract it (right-click and Extract All on Windows, double-click on a Mac), and open the Start Here file first. PDFs open in any reader, and the editable files work in Microsoft Word and Excel or their free equivalents, including LibreOffice and Google Docs and Sheets. No other software is needed. Step-by-step help for every device is at truestephr.com/pages/download-help.