Time Zones

Time Zones

Managing time zones in software, particularly in web applications with users across multiple time zones, can be challenging. FTE Tree strives to provide accurate time zone management for users.

All dates saved within FTE Tree are entered and displayed as local time according to the user's time zone. Internally, dates and times are stored in UTC. This standardization allows us to coordinate across users in different time zones. FTE Tree also accounts for changes such as daylight saving time and leap years.

Important Note: When displaying FTE and cost values of a position, they are calculated as of the current date in the organization's default local time zone. This is usually unnoticed unless users are working around midnight in different time zones. This approach ensures consistency in position pricing when viewed at the same time, but we do note the date on pages where this data is shown.

Your Privacy

Unlike many applications that attempt to determine your location automatically, we prefer to ask for your time zone directly to respect your privacy.

Default Time Zones

When creating your organization, you specify the default time zone. This default is assigned to new users, who can update their own time zone in their user preferences. More information on updating the time zone is available in the help center under user profile.

The application also uses effective dates for changes. For example, a wage rate increase for a job code set for January 1, 2024, is entered as a date value without a time component. To ensure uniform data viewing, the effective date is based on your organization's default time zone. While the current date is displayed where relevant, be aware that users in different time zones might see the same calculated values at different local times.

System Timestamps and Date Times

System-generated timestamps, such as those for approval requests or position version updates, are displayed in the user's selected time zone. For instance, if a user approves a request at 4:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, another user in Pacific Standard Time will see the approval timestamp as 1:00 PM in their local time zone.

Updated: Feb. 25, 2024