When creating a Salary Report in ChurchSalary 3.0, ranges are used for some key data points like church budget and size. But what if your church falls on the boundary between ranges, or right in the middle of a wide range, and you want to get precise results for the exact spot you fall?
The Precise Budget & Size Report (often referred to simply as the Precise Report) moves beyond the predetermined ranges, empowering you to define your own specific financial and demographic parameters for salary report generation.
The Precise Report introduces three major tools you can use to zero in on your precise results.
1. Histogram Range Slider
The Histogram Range Slider lets you set precise minimum and maximum values for three key pieces of your Church Profile and Employee Profiles that are otherwise defined as ranges:
Church Budget
Church Size (Attendance)
Relevant Experience
The Histogram Range Slider allows you to either adjust the range using draggable handles, or enter exact numerical values. For example, a church with a $345,000 budget might see an initial range of $270K–$420K, which can then be fine-tuned.
Results are displayed as a simple histogram—a visual graph showing how data is distributed—to help you select appropriate ranges based on the available data.
2. Dynamic Sample Size Banner
Have you ever been curious how many records exist in ChurchSalary that relate to the report you are generating? The Sample Size Banner provides real-time feedback as you adjust your criteria, showing how your selections affect the underlying data sample.
The Sample Size Banner displays the total number of “similar employees serving at similar churches” that will be used in your report. It automatically updates as you adjust your criteria, showing exactly how many records the system has available to generate your report.
Remember that by default, ChurchSalary excludes your church size when running a standard Salary Report. This is because, while you are able to include your church size as a factor, accounting for your church size usually significantly decreases the number of available results. The Banner reminds you of this, saying "Discarding size will always have the biggest impact on your results."
3. Tooltips
Hovering over numbers in the Nationwide Salary Summary and Salary Comparison sections of the generated report provide more context behind that number. Hovering over a number reveals:
Sample Size (N) — the count of employees included in the data.
Margin of Error — based on a 95% confidence interval.
For example, hovering over a number may reveal "N = 904 (+/- $2,231)." This means that the sample size used to generate this number was 904 employees, and the number has a margin of error of $2,231.
If the value you are looking at is an average value, hovering over it will display both sample size and margin of error. If the value is a percentage (e.g., median and quartiles), hovering will display sample size only.
How to generate a Precise Report 📋
On your Dashboard, select an Employee and then click Precise Report.
The report you generate will at first look basically the same as a standard Salary Report. But when you click Edit Criteria you'll see all of the new tools available to customize your Precise Report.
Click on Budget, Size, or Experience to enter the Histogram Range Slider for each.
You can use the slider to set minimum and maximum values. A chart shows how many churches or staff fit your range, so you can see the impact right away. A visual histogram accompanies the slider, illustrating the distribution of employees and churches, helping users understand how their custom range impacts data inclusion or exclusion.
Or, if you prefer, you can enter numerical values as well for your minimum and maximum, rather than using the slider.
Once you've set your range the way you'd like, either click outside the modal or hit enter to commit your changes.
Note that once you've entered all of your precise ranges, the Sample Size Banner will display the final sample size being used for your report. Click Generate Report to generate your Precise Report.
Try hovering over some of the results in the Nationwide Salary Summary or Salary Comparison sections to see the Tooltips!
You can go back at any time and adjust the sliders and criteria used to make any changes needed to your Precise Report.