Setting up offer types and offer fields

Offer types decide how an offer behaves and what is pre-filled when it is sent, and offer fields add your own details to offer letters and contracts.

Offer setup lives in one place: Settings > Offers > Offer Setup. It has four tabs: Offer Types, Offer Fields, Offer Documents and Offer Emails. This article covers the first two in detail and explains how the other two fit in.

Who can use it

System Admins and HR users can open Offer Setup and save changes. Other roles do not see the page. Everyone who can send offers sees the results of your setup in the Send Offer dialog, but only Admin and HR can change it. One difference between the two roles: only a System Admin can delete an offer field. HR users can create, edit and reorder fields but do not get a delete button.

New organisations start with two offer types, Provisional offer and Final offer. You can rename, edit or delete them.

Offer types

An offer type is a label recruiters choose when they make an offer. It controls whether a start date is needed and can pre-select documents and onboarding settings. The list on the left shows each type with a Provisional or Final badge.

Create an offer type

1. Go to Settings > Offers > Offer Setup and stay on the Offer Types tab.
2. Select Add Offer Type.
3. Enter a Name (up to 100 characters). Names must be unique in your organisation, otherwise you will see "An offer type with that name already exists".
4. Switch on Provisional offer if offers of this type should not need a start date. Leave it off for a final offer.
5. Select Save. You can then set the defaults described below.

Provisional and final offers

A provisional type makes the start date optional and sends the offer as a non-binding offer letter. The email to the candidate has the subject "Provisional Offer" followed by the job title. A final type makes the start date required: the recruiter cannot send until they enter one, and it must be today or later ("Start date must be today or later"). An offer made with no offer type is treated as final, so it also needs a start date.

Send Offer defaults

Select a type in the list to edit it. Under Send Offer defaults you can set values that are pre-selected in the Send Offer dialog when a recruiter picks this type. The recruiter can change any of them on an individual offer.

• Default offer letter: chosen from your offer letter templates.
• Default contract: chosen from your contract templates. A letter cannot be used in the contract slot, or the other way round.
• Start onboarding automatically: the dialog opens with Auto-start onboarding on acceptance already switched on. The recruiter can still turn it off.
• Default onboarding template: the template used for that automatic start.

The two onboarding settings only appear if onboarding is turned on for your organisation. If the job itself has an onboarding template, the job's template is pre-selected instead of the type's default. Choose None in any list to clear a default, then select Save.

When automatic onboarding is on, the recruiter must choose an onboarding template before sending ("Choose an onboarding template"), and the candidate's application must be at an offer or hired stage. If it is not, the offer will not save, and the message asks you to move the candidate to the offer stage or switch the option off.

Rename or delete a type

To rename a type or change its settings, edit it and select Save. To remove it, select Delete and confirm. This cannot be undone.

Offer fields

Offer fields are extra details you want on your offers, such as a reporting manager or a work location. Recruiters fill them in when they send an offer, and you can place them in offer letters and contracts.

Create an offer field

1. Open the Offer Fields tab and select Add Offer Field.
2. Enter a Label (up to 255 characters). This is the name recruiters see.
3. Enter a Merge field key, or leave it empty and one is created from the label. The key must start with a lowercase letter and use only lowercase letters, digits and underscores, up to 64 characters.
4. Choose the Type: Text for free typing, or Dropdown for a fixed list.
5. For a dropdown, enter each choice under Options and use Add option for more rows. A dropdown needs at least one option.
6. Select Save.

You can edit the label and the dropdown options later. The key and the type cannot be changed after creation, so choose them carefully. If you need a different type, create a new field. Labels and keys must each be unique, otherwise you will see "An offer field with the same label or merge key already exists". Keys that offers already use for built-in details, such as the candidate's name or the salary, are refused with a message asking you to choose a different key.

Fields are always optional for recruiters. There is no setting to make one required, and dropdown fields include a None choice.

Where fields appear

Every offer field appears under a Custom fields heading in the Send Offer dialog, in the order shown in your list. To change the order, use the Move up and Move down arrows beside each field.

To use a field in a document, type its key in double curly brackets in an offer letter or contract, for example . The key is shown under each field's label in the list. Custom fields are not in the merge-field palette of the document editor, so type or paste the key yourself. If you save a document containing a key that does not exist, the save is refused and the message names the key. When the offer is sent, the recruiter's answer replaces the key. If they left the field empty, that spot in the document is blank.

Delete a field

A System Admin can select Delete on a field and confirm. New offers no longer show it. Offers that already hold a value for the field keep that value.

Offer Documents and Offer Emails

The Offer Documents tab holds your offer letters and contracts in two lists, Offer Letters and Contracts. Use Add offer letter or Add contract, give the document a Name, then write the body under Content. The Default document switch marks the document that is used by default. To insert a merge tag, click it in the palette to copy it, then paste it into the body. Deleting a document cannot be undone, but offers already sent keep their saved copy. The documents you create here are the ones you can choose as default letters and contracts on an offer type.

The Offer Emails tab holds the emails sent with offers and when an offer is accepted. Use Add offer email to create one, then edit its subject and body. Preview shows the email with sample details.

What happens to existing offers when you change setup

• Each offer keeps the name of its offer type and whether it was provisional when the offer was made. Renaming a type, switching Provisional on or off, or deleting the type does not change offers already created.
• Changing a default letter, contract or onboarding setting on a type only affects offers made afterwards. If a template that is set as a default is deleted, that default is cleared on the type.
• Offers keep the values entered for custom fields, along with the label and key those fields had at the time.
• Changing a field's dropdown options does not alter answers already saved.