The Workforce Planner in RunSmart helps you plan your team, payroll expenses, and future hiring needs with more confidence.
You can use the Workforce Planner in two ways:
Import available employee data from QuickBooks Payroll, complete any missing information, and run a workforce analysis
Create a staffing plan manually by adding employees, roles, compensation, and costs yourself
Both options help you understand how staffing decisions may affect:
Monthly payroll expenses
Future headcount needs
Profitability
Runway
Your overall financial forecast
Two Ways to Plan Your Workforce
Manual Planning
Use this option if you want to build your staffing plan from scratch.
With Manual Planning, you can:
Add employees manually
Create roles and positions
Enter compensation details
Add benefits and additional payroll costs
Set start dates and end dates
Build your own staffing forecast
QuickBooks Payroll-Assisted Planning
Use this option if you use QuickBooks Payroll and want to save time setting up your workforce plan.
With QuickBooks Payroll-Assisted Planning, RunSmart can:
Import available employee and payroll data from QuickBooks Payroll
Use that data as a starting point for your workforce plan
Let you complete missing employee information manually
Run an analysis once the required data has been completed
Help create a headcount and payroll forecast based on your data
Important: QuickBooks Payroll does not provide every field needed to automatically create a complete workforce forecast.
Because of this, RunSmart cannot automatically generate a headcount forecast immediately after importing QuickBooks Payroll data.
You will need to review the imported employee records, complete any missing information, and then run the workforce analysis.
Manual Planning: Create a Staffing Plan from Scratch
If you do not use QuickBooks Payroll, or if you prefer to enter workforce data yourself, you can build a staffing plan manually.
This gives you full control over your staffing assumptions.
What You Can Do
See forecasts as a guide
A “From Forecast” line shows projected payroll costs from your Profit & Loss statement for each month.
This gives you a helpful reference point as you build your staffing plan.
You do not need to match the forecast exactly.
Add employees and costs
You can manually enter employee and position details, including:
Job title
Department or function
Pay type
Compensation
Benefits
Start date
End date
Direct labor or indirect labor classification
Reporting structure
View variances easily
RunSmart compares your staffing plan against the payroll forecast from your Profit & Loss statement.
Variances are shown in green or red so you can quickly see where your plan is above or below the forecasted payroll amount.
QuickBooks Payroll-Assisted Planning
If you use QuickBooks Payroll, RunSmart can import available employee and payroll information to reduce manual setup.
However, QuickBooks Payroll does not provide all of the employee-level information needed for workforce forecasting.
After importing your QuickBooks Payroll data, you will need to:
Review the imported employee records
Add or update missing employee details
Confirm workforce planning assumptions
Run the workforce analysis
Once this information has been completed, RunSmart can use the data to help create a headcount and payroll plan.
How QuickBooks Payroll-Assisted Planning Works
1. Import available employee data from QuickBooks Payroll
RunSmart imports the employee and payroll information that QuickBooks makes available.
Depending on the data available in QuickBooks Payroll, this may include:
Employee names
Pay details
Hire dates
Other available payroll information
2. Complete missing employee information
Some important workforce planning fields may not be provided by QuickBooks Payroll.
For example, QuickBooks Payroll may not provide:
Job titles
Departments or functions
Reporting relationships
Role classifications
Direct labor vs. indirect labor classifications
Employee planning assumptions
All compensation or benefit details needed for forecasting
Before running a workforce analysis, you may need to manually enter or update information such as:
Job title or role
Department or function
Direct labor vs. indirect labor classification
Manager or reporting relationship
Employee status
Planned start date
Planned end date
Compensation assumptions
Benefits or additional payroll costs
RunSmart will help you identify which employee records need attention.
Within the employee name field, you may see two different indicators:
A yellow Review label means the employee row is missing required or recommended information and needs your attention before running the workforce analysis.
A green QB label means the employee data was pulled from QuickBooks Payroll.
If you see a Review button, open or update that employee row and complete the missing information.
Once the required employee details have been reviewed and completed, you can run the workforce analysis.
3. Run the workforce analysis
Once the missing information has been completed, you can initiate the workforce analysis in RunSmart.
RunSmart will use:
Available QuickBooks Payroll data
Completed employee details
Payroll history
Your financial forecast
Your workforce planning assumptions
The result is a headcount and payroll plan that helps you better understand future staffing needs.
What the Workforce Analysis Helps You Understand
The workforce analysis helps you estimate future staffing needs based on your business data and planning assumptions.
It can help you:
Understand how payroll costs may change over time
Estimate future headcount needs
See how hiring decisions may affect your financial forecast
Compare your workforce plan against forecasted payroll expenses
Plan roles and compensation more thoughtfully
Understand the potential impact of growth, hiring, and staffing changes
Important Note About QuickBooks Payroll Data
QuickBooks Payroll does not provide all of the employee-level information needed to automatically create a complete workforce forecast.
For example, QuickBooks Payroll may not provide:
Job titles
Role classifications
Reporting relationships
Department or function details
Direct labor vs. indirect labor classifications
Other planning details required to build a meaningful headcount forecast
Because of this, RunSmart requires you to review and complete missing employee information before running the workforce analysis.
Your Options
Modify the Workforce Forecast
After RunSmart creates a headcount forecast, you can fine-tune the forecast based on your own hiring plans and assumptions.
You may want to adjust the forecast if:
You plan to hire sooner or later than projected
You expect compensation to change
You want to add or remove roles
You have more specific knowledge about future staffing needs
Create a Custom Staffing Plan
You can also create a custom staffing plan from scratch instead of using an analysis-generated forecast.
This option gives you full control over:
Employees
Roles
Hiring timing
Compensation
Benefits
Reporting structure
Payroll assumptions
Transfer Modifications
Once your staffing plan is complete, you can transfer your modifications into your financial forecast.
This replaces the payroll forecast in your financial model with your completed workforce plan.
RunSmart will ask you to confirm before any changes are applied.
Helpful Features
No matter which planning method you use, the Workforce Planner includes tools to help you plan more effectively.
QuickBooks Payroll Import
If you use QuickBooks Payroll, RunSmart can import available employee and payroll data to reduce manual setup.
You can then complete any missing information before running the workforce analysis.
Manual Employee Planning
Add and manage employee details manually, including:
Employees
Roles
Compensation
Benefits
Start dates
End dates
Reporting structure
Forecast Comparison
Compare your workforce plan against the payroll forecast generated from your Profit & Loss statement.
This helps you see how your staffing plan compares to the broader financial forecast.
Transfer Modifications
Push your completed workforce plan into your financial forecast after reviewing and confirming the changes.
This helps keep your payroll forecast aligned with your actual staffing plan.
Org Chart Visualizer
View your team structure in an interactive org chart.
The Org Chart Visualizer helps you see:
Reporting lines
Team structure
How your organization may evolve over time
Why Use Workforce Planner?
The Workforce Planner helps you:
Keep payroll and headcount planning connected to your financial forecast
Understand the cost impact of hiring decisions before you make them
Save time by importing available employee and payroll data from QuickBooks Payroll
Improve forecast accuracy by completing missing employee details before analysis
Compare staffing plans against forecasted payroll expenses
Visualize your team structure with the Org Chart Visualizer
Understand how planned roles, compensation, and hiring timing may affect payroll expenses, profitability, and runway
Summary
The Workforce Planner gives you a structured way to plan future payroll and headcount. You can build a staffing plan manually or use QuickBooks Payroll data as a starting point.
If you use QuickBooks Payroll, RunSmart will import the available employee data, but you will need to complete any missing information before running a workforce analysis.
Once your data is complete, RunSmart can help create a headcount and payroll plan that connects your staffing decisions to your broader financial forecast.