Effective Dating

StarGarden 'effective-dates' most data elements to provide 'point-in-time' views of the database. What this means is that each item of data has a 'from' date and a 'to' date which describes the period over which the data is valid. Easily understood examples are a job occupied from one date to another date or a contract position available within a date range or pay step or a benefit coverage.

We've extended the principal of effective-dating to include pay plans, benefits, elements of benefits, schedules and practically every piece of dateable information.

Effective-dating our data is the only way we can replicate your organization as it really is. Things all over are changing all the time and we need to catch this in our system. It's a simple concept and it's the right thing to do but it creates a few problems. For instance, to get a count of jobs that were occupied at a specific date, you need to count those jobs that existed with a start date prior to the report date and an end date greater then the report date.

So, if you want to produce a cost comparison for next year versus last year you can do it with complete accuracy. Effective-dating is one of StarGarden's greatest strengths and, when used properly, it allows you to produce completely accurate and detailed reports for any period including the past, present and future. Effective-dating also allows our retro-pays, termination payout and other mass processes to perform with absolute precision.

At the same time, a poor understanding of effective-dating combined with the ease-of-use of modern reportwriter can result in inaccurate output. All of our built-in reports correctly deal with 'point-in-time and effective dating problems. If you wish to use 3rd party report writers it is strongly recommended that we provide training to minimize the possibility of this type of problem.