Forecasting is an operating snapshot, not a payroll calculation or accounting statement. The implemented view uses captured active booking subtotals from the configured booking source as provisional booked value and the selected calculated payroll period as the payroll run-rate basis.
Prerequisites
- Access to the payroll account.
- Captured booking data for booked-value charts.
- A selected calculated run for a meaningful payroll run-rate comparison.
Review a forecast
- Open Forecasting.
- Choose a scenario:
- Base uses 100% of captured booked value.
- Conservative uses 90%.
- Growth uses 110%.
- Choose a chart window: next 13 weeks, trailing 3/6/12/24 months, all captured data, or custom dates.
- Review the booked-value and payroll-run-rate bars. PayCanvas automatically groups the selected window into daily, weekly, or monthly buckets.
- Check Forecast data quality for projection coverage, pending records, historical catch-up state, freshness, date coverage, unknown lifecycle counts, and payroll basis.
- Check subtotal completeness before using the numbers outside PayCanvas.
Changing the scenario or chart window changes only the forecast view. It does not alter collected source data, payroll rules, or a payroll run.
Expected result
You can compare provisional booked value with a payroll run-rate estimate for the selected window and see the data-quality limitations beside the chart.
Important limitations
- Booking subtotal is not recognized revenue, cash received, or settlement value.
- Cancelled and rebooked bookings are excluded when their lifecycle is known.
- Missing subtotal and unknown lifecycle records are counted, not estimated.
- Operating expenses and opening cash are not connected in the current view.
- Operating margin, ending cash, and runway remain unavailable.
- Scenario percentages are sensitivity cases, not an approved operating plan.
Current limitation: This forecast does not yet have reviewed sources for accounting revenue, non-payroll operating expenses, bank activity, receivable or payable timing, or tax treatment.
Troubleshooting
- No captured bookings: the forecast source is not enabled, has not synced, or has no covered records.
- Payroll run rate is unavailable: select a calculated payroll period.
- Coverage is low: review pending projection counts and the historical catch-up phase before interpreting totals.
- A value looks like revenue: verify the label. The forecast deliberately says booked value.