When they say the budget is fixed

What to say when an employer says the budget is fixed. Separate base band from signing bonus, equity, and the next review.

Currency Base salary Annual base, before bonus. Annual bonus Expected cash bonus for the year, not a percent. Equity, yearly value A yearly value you believe. Leave blank if you will not treat it as cash. Equity terms Your target The number you would accept, not a padded one. That target is Role Optional. Used so the script can name the job.

What you can say honestly I have a competing offer I can describe Competing offer, in your words Leave this blank if you do not have one. The script will not invent it. Scope you can defend Current total pay Optional. Spoken only if you check the box below. I will say this current-pay number. It is the real one. Market data you will cite

Channel Tone

The script updates on this page. These boxes are not uploaded.

Your script

Base $150,000. Annual bonus $15,000. Equity yearly value $20,000.

Priced total: $185,000.

Target total compensation: $195,000.

Target is $10,000 above the priced figure, about 5.4%.

Opener

Thanks for walking me through the offer. I am interested in the software engineer role, and I want to talk about compensation while we can still shape the package.

Say this, then stop. Let them respond before you add the number.

Anchor and justification

I am targeting $195,000 in total compensation.

From what I can price today: $150,000 base, $15,000 bonus, $20,000 as the yearly equity value I am willing to count.

That priced total is $185,000. I am asking for $10,000 more, about 5.4%, which is my target and not a padded number.

The market check I can cite is that published ranges for this level in my city sit around $180,000 to $200,000 total. The scope I can defend is this. I own a production service and I am the person on call for it.

Name the target once. Do not raise it on the spot, and do not apologize for it.

If they say this is our best offer

I hear you, and I appreciate you saying it directly. If this base is the ceiling, I still want to see whether a signing bonus, the equity grant, or the level can move. If none of those can, I will decide on the package as it stands rather than ask the same question again.

Thank them before you ask what else can move. Then wait.

If they say the budget is fixed

Understood. A salary band is often fixed once the level is fixed. Signing bonuses and equity grants sometimes sit outside that annual budget. Is either of those actually open? If both are closed, what does a pay review look like in six months, and what would have to be true for the level to change?

Ask one question, then stop. A list of demands sounds like you did not hear them.

If they ask for your current salary

I would rather keep this on the pay for this role. A prior salary is a different job, and in some places an employer should not ask. The number I am using here is $195,000.

I am not going to invent a current salary, and I am not required to answer with one.

You can decline. If you answer, use the real number.

Non-salary asks

If salary cannot move the whole way, I will ask about other terms I actually want. I will start with a signing bonus.

If base cannot reach the target, I would like to talk about a signing bonus that closes part of the first-year gap. I want the amount, and any payback terms, in writing.

On equity, I would like the grant size, the vesting schedule, the cliff, and what happens to vested shares if I leave. If these are options, I also want the last independent valuation and how long I have to exercise after I leave. I will not treat a percentage as cash.

I would like to know how refresh grants work here: whether they happen on a schedule, what they depend on, and whether this offer is only the initial grant.

Remote work matters to me. I would like the written policy: which days, which locations are allowed, and whether pay changes with location.

I would like to confirm paid time off: the number of days, whether they are accrued, and what happens to unused days.

I can start on a date I can keep. If you need someone sooner, tell me the real date and I will say yes or no, rather than agree and then slip.

Pick the two you care about. You do not have to read all six.

Closing

I would like to get to yes. If $195,000 is possible, I can move forward. If it is not, I am open to a different mix of base, bonus, and equity that lands in the same place. What is the next step on your side?

Stop talking after the question. The next person to speak should be them.

Email version

Subject: Compensation for the software engineer role

Hello,

Thanks for walking me through the offer. I am interested in the software engineer role, and I want to talk about compensation while we can still shape the package.

I am targeting $195,000 in total compensation.

From what I can price today: $150,000 base, $15,000 bonus, $20,000 as the yearly equity value I am willing to count.

That priced total is $185,000. I am asking for $10,000 more, about 5.4%, which is my target and not a padded number.

If base cannot reach the target, I would like to talk about a signing bonus that closes part of the first-year gap. I want the amount, and any payback terms, in writing.

Thank you,

[Your name]

A fixed budget is often a fixed row in a salary band. It is not automatically a fixed total package. This page is built around that distinction. The script agrees that the band may be real, then asks whether a signing bonus or the equity grant sits outside it, and what a review in six months would require.

Separate the buckets

Ask which budget is fixed: base for this level, the whole cash package, or every form of pay including equity. People use “budget” for all three. The answer changes your move. If only base is fixed, talk about a signing bonus. If cash is fixed and equity is not, talk about the grant. If they say every bucket is closed, stop looking for a hidden one.

A six-month review is not a raise. It is a meeting unless the letter says what happens to pay if you meet a standard. If you are willing to join on that promise, ask for the standard and the timing in writing. If you are not, do not pretend the review closed the gap.

Stay collaborative. The person on the phone often cannot edit the band themselves. A clear question they can take upstairs is more useful than a speech about what you are worth. The sample numbers are only there so the anchor is concrete. Your gap may be smaller or larger.

Questions

Should I keep negotiating after they say the budget is fixed?

Ask which part is fixed. If the answer is “all of it,” decide. Repeating the target without a new fact does not change a band.

Updated 2026-10-08. Wording help, not legal advice.