You can now access Financial Workspace data directly through ONE — Factorial's AI assistant — using natural language. This feature lets you retrieve employee cost and headcount (FTE) information instantly, without navigating multiple filters or screens. In this article, you'll learn how to use ONE to explore financial workforce data efficiently.
Available for all HR admins, Finance admins, and managers with access to Financial Workspace.
Overview
ONE integrates with Financial Workspace, enabling users to query both employee cost data and FTE (headcount) figures directly from the chat. Instead of manually filtering by team, cost center, legal entity, or cost type, you can simply ask a question and receive instant answers in text or table format.
This functionality is available by default and requires no setup.
When and why it should be used
Use this feature when you need quick insights into workforce cost or headcount data without spending time navigating Financial Workspace.
It is especially useful when:
- You need fast answers to specific cost or FTE-related questions
- You are unsure where to find certain financial or headcount data
- You want to simplify reporting or exploratory analysis
- You prefer a conversational way to access data instead of applying multiple filters
Before you can use FTE reporting
FTE data is only available in ONE and Financial Workspace if working time percentages have been filled in for your employees in Factorial. ONE can only surface FTE figures that already exist in Financial Workspace — if working time percentages are missing or incomplete, ONE will not return FTE data.
If ONE doesn't return FTE results, check whether working time percentages have been configured for the relevant employees. If they haven't, an admin will need to fill them in before this data becomes available through ONE.
See more in this article.
How to use
- Open ONE
- Type your question related to employee costs or FTE
- Cost examples:
- "What is the total employee cost for the Marketing team?"
- "Show me employee costs by cost center"
- FTE examples:
- "How many FTEs does the Engineering team have?"
- "What is the FTE breakdown by cost center for April 2026?"
- Cost examples:
- Press Enter to submit your query
- Review the response provided by ONE
- Results may appear as text summaries or data tables depending on your question
If you don't see any data in the response, make sure you have permission to view Financial Workspace data. Contact your admin if you're unsure about your access level.
If the answer is too general or not what you expected, try adding more details to your question (e.g., team, dates, cost type, or time period) or rephrase your query using clearer terms.
If you cannot access this feature, ensure you are an HR admin, Finance admin, or manager with the correct permissions. If the issue persists, contact your support team.
Tips and best practices
- Be specific in your questions (e.g., include team, time period, cost type, or FTE scope) to get more accurate results
- Use natural language — you don’t need to follow a strict format
- If the answer is too broad, refine your question with more details
- Explore different ways of asking the same question to discover more insights
FAQ
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Do I need to configure this feature before using it?
No, this functionality is enabled by default in ONE.
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Who can access Financial Workspace data through ONE
Users with visibility permissions for Financial Workspace, such as HR admins, Finance admins, and managers.
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What kind of questions can I ask?
You can ask about employee costs and FTE (headcount) by team, cost center, legal entity, cost type, and more.
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How are results displayed?
Depending on your question, results are shown as text summaries or structured data tables.
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What is FTE?
FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) represents headcount normalised to full-time working hours. You can ask ONE to break down FTE figures across any dimension available in your Financial Workspace.
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Why is ONE not returning FTE data?
FTE figures depend on working time percentages being filled in for your employees in Factorial. If this information hasn't been set up, there is no FTE data for ONE to return. Contact your admin to ensure working time percentages are configured.