What is FTE?

You’ve seen the abbreviation but don’t quite know the FTE meaning? That’s ok. In project management, it can be easy to get caught up in all the terms and abbreviations. So, let’s unwrap what is FTE, what FTE stands for, and how to use it?

The FTE acronym stands for “full-time equivalent.” It is a unit, which shows the workload of a person, and whether they are considered full-time or part-time. FTE has various business purposes, from calculating how many full-time employees a business has, to calculating payroll and taxes, to making hiring decisions and even applying for PPP (paycheck protection program).

How can I create an FTE chart?

Sounds simple, right? Well, not quite. Identifying full-time staff is not as easy as saying, “You work 40 hours a week. You’re full time.” Not when some employees work 50 hours some weeks, and 30 other weeks.

Here’s how it works. For example, you may have one staff member working 30 hours a week, another working 50 hours a week, and a third who worked 40 hours a week. This adds up to 110 hours a week in total. Considering the average FTE or full-time working week is 40 hours, this means you have 3 full-time staff. In other words, your FTE is 3.

What is FTE for PPP?

Now, what is FTE for PPP? The paycheck protection program or PPP is a scheme rolled out by the government to encourage companies to keep workers on their payroll. To claim PPP, you may need to keep a PPP chart for the scheme’s duration to show your employee retention.

How to calculate FTE for PPP?

FTE for PPP can be calculated using this simple formula:

(Hours worked by employee 1) + (hours worked by employee 2) + (add hours worked by additional employees…) = total hours worked per week
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(total hours worked per week) / 40 (average working week) = FTE