Salary Band Builder

Build a pay structure from your job data. Set the market position you want, enter pay for each role, and the workbook returns grade boundaries, compa ratios, range midpoints, and the cost to bring people inside the band.

One Excel workbook that turns job data into a pay structure

A working model, not a blank grid. You set the structure inputs and list your jobs, the workbook returns the grade boundaries and the compa ratios, and it opens on a worked example so the logic is clear before you change anything.

• Salary Band Builder. Set the number of grades, the range spread and midpoint progression, and your market-positioning percentile. List each job with its grade, current pay, and market midpoint, and the workbook returns the band minimum, midpoint, and maximum for each grade, the compa ratio for each person, the range penetration, and a flag for below, in-band, or above. A cost tab totals what it would cost to bring below-minimum employees to the band floor.
• A board-ready summary, sourced benchmarks, and the method in plain English. A one-page Summary carries the structure parameters, the compa ratio distribution, and the bring-to-minimum cost into a compensation review or budget conversation. A Benchmark tab holds range spread and midpoint-progression norms from WorldatWork and Mercer, and the Notes tab documents how each number is built.

Three steps from job data to a pay structure

You set the structure parameters, list the jobs, and the workbook returns the bands, the compa ratios, and the cost to fix the gaps.

• Set the structure parameters. Fill the amber cells for the number of grades, the range spread as a percent from minimum to maximum, the midpoint progression, and the market-positioning percentile. These build the grade boundaries the jobs slot into.
• List your jobs. Enter each job with its grade, current pay, and market midpoint. The band minimum, midpoint, and maximum, the compa ratio, the range penetration, and the in-band flag calculate for each person.
• Decide the treatment for outliers. For each person the in-band flag marks outside the band, record the plan: a raise to the band floor, a freeze, or a documented exception, so the structure launches with the exceptions handled, not discovered.

A pay structure is not a spreadsheet of everyone’s salary

Most pay conversations start from individual salaries and work backward. A structure starts from the market, sets the bands, and places people inside them, so the question is not whether someone earns enough but whether the structure is competitive and consistently applied.

• The market midpoint anchors the band, not the current pay. Each grade’s midpoint is the market rate for roles in that grade at your positioning percentile. People below midpoint have room to grow; people above midpoint are more expensive than the market, which is a conversation to plan for, not an error to fix immediately.
• Compa ratio is the single most useful number. It puts each person’s pay against the midpoint on a common scale: 1.0 means they earn exactly the market midpoint; 0.85 means they earn 85% of it. Looking at the distribution of compa ratios tells you whether the structure is being applied consistently or whether pay has drifted.
• The cost to bring to minimum is the floor, not the recommendation. People below the band minimum are a compliance and retention risk, so the cost tab prices the minimum correction. Bringing everyone to midpoint or above is a separate, larger exercise.

Who this builder fits and where to go if that is not you

Built for

• An HR or comp lead building a pay structure from scratch or reviewing whether the current one still fits the market.
• A finance or HR partner who needs the cost of a band correction before the next comp review cycle.
• A small business owner setting pay ranges for the first time and wanting a defensible structure before the next hiring wave.

If you are looking for

• A merit increase budget that distributes raises within the bands you build here. The Merit Increase Matrix does that.
• A review of internal equity across roles and levels, not the band structure itself. The Pay Structure and Internal Equity Review covers that.

Before you buy

What format is it and can I edit it?

It is one Excel workbook that also works in Google Sheets. Every input and formula is editable, and the file is yours to keep. Add jobs by inserting rows inside the table, and duplicate the file to model a second structure or to run the next year’s review.

How do I get market midpoints?

Market data comes from compensation surveys, published salary tools, or a comp consultant. Free sources include the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics tables and published surveys from SHRM, though surveys from vendors like Mercer, Willis Towers Watson, or Radford carry more granularity by level and industry. Enter the 50th-percentile figure for each role at the grade you are targeting, or a higher percentile if you lead the market.

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 workbook in Excel or Google Sheets, set the structure parameters, and list your jobs. Questions or want a hand getting set up? Email support@truestephr.com.

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.

Scope

These are planning estimates, not legal advice. A pay structure is a planning tool; confirm market rates from a current survey, and have qualified counsel review any pay-equity exposure before you act on the findings.