Salary Band Builder
Turn market pay data into a working salary structure. Set one anchor, a progression, and a spread. The workbook builds every grade’s minimum, midpoint, and maximum, then shows where each of your people sits against their range.
Previews are taken from the deliverable itself.
HR calculator
Merit Increase Matrix
Run a merit cycle on performance and where each person sits in their range, not a flat percent. Set your matrix, enter your people, and the workbook returns each raise, the cost, and a check against your budget.
$29
- Editable operating files, not a subscription
- Immediate access through the secure TrueStep HR store
- Built and reviewed under the published TrueStep HR standard
Digital products carry a 30-day money-back guarantee. General HR information, not legal advice.
Need it working, not sitting in Downloads?
Add a one-hour setup session · $149
Bring the purchased tool and your live situation. A TrueStep HR practitioner helps you set the inputs, make the first decisions, and leave with a usable next step.
See the Setup Session →What this closes
A practical system that moves the decision into real work.
Set your merit budget first. The matrix allocates raises by rating and position in range, then totals what you have committed.
DecisionSet pay and raises
IndustryCross-industry
Files4 PDF guides, 1 Excel workbook
ReviewBuilt to the published release checks; sources and change notes sit beside the catalog.
What is inside
Every file in the download, by name.
Taken from the kit’s own Start Here guide, so what you see here is what you open after checkout.
Excel · useMerit Increase Matrix: 7 tabs: Start Here, Merit Matrix, Merit Planning, Budget Scenario, Benchmark, Summary, and Notes.
PDF · printQuick Reference: the whole workbook on one page: what each tab is for, what you enter, and how to read the result.
PDF · readUsing This Workbook in Google Sheets: how to upload the file to Google Sheets and exactly what to check afterward.
PDF · keepTrueStep HR Product License: what you may and may not do with the files you purchased.
How to use it
What this workbook does
This workbook turns a merit budget into a defensible plan. You set one policy grid that pairs each performance rating with where a person sits in their pay range, and the grid decides the increase. It then applies that to each person, rolls up the total cost and the blended increase, and checks the plan against the budget you have to spend. Bigger increases go to strong performers who are paid low in their range; smaller or none go to lower performers or anyone already near the top, which rewards performance and quietly closes pay gaps at the same time.
Your first 15 minutesOpen the Merit Increase Matrix workbook in Microsoft Excel or a free equivalent such as LibreOffice. The first tab, Start Here, walks you through every tab. Start on the Merit Matrix tab and set your policy: the range-position cut points and the increase percent for each rating and band. On the Merit Planning tab, enter each person’s rating, current salary, and range minimum and maximum; the recommended increase, the new salary, and a new position in range fill in, and the budget rolls up below. Edit only the amber cells; the white cells calculate for you.
Before you buy
Clear answers to the practical questions.
The point of a product page is to let you judge the work before checkout.
What exactly do I receive?
4 PDF guides, 1 Excel workbook, each one named in the What is inside section above. The purchase is a download, not a subscription, and the files are yours to keep.
Are these the real screenshots?
Yes. The preview images on this page are taken from the current deliverable, so you can judge the structure and writing before buying.
Can I use the files in my business?
The files are designed to be edited for your own internal operations. Review the included license and have legal counsel check decisions that require jurisdiction-specific advice.
What if I need help applying it?
Use the $149 Setup Session for one hour of implementation help on this tool. TrueStep HR does not offer broader consulting engagements. For a legal question, use qualified counsel.
Extend the system
Build on this decision.
These products address the next connected step in the same situation, operating method, or industry.
Promotion and Internal Equity Calculator
Pressure-test one promotion before you commit to it. Enter the current salary, the new grade and its range, the proposed pay, and what peers already earn, and the workbook shows the size of the raise, where it lands in the new range, how it compares to peers, and what it costs in the first year.
Pay Structure and Internal Equity Review
Screen two groups for a pay gap in three steps. One Excel workbook takes your pay data and returns a clear read. A PDF guide walks the method, so you can defend the answer.