System salaries calculate automatically from the staffing table. Learn how to remove them by clearing the table or offsetting them using a custom driver.
What Are System Salaries and Why Are They Showing Up?
System salaries are automatically calculated based on the data in your Staffing Table and are applied to the Operating Expense section of your plan. They’re used for workforce-based planning and will always recalculate as long as data exists in the staffing table — there’s no setting to turn them off directly.
If you don't want system salaries to appear in your forecast:
Option 1: Clear the Staffing Table
To prevent system salaries from appearing in your forecast, you can clear the staffing table — but the method depends on the type of hire:
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Forecasted Hires (blue rows): These can be deleted directly from the plan view.
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Actual Hires (white rows): These must be replaced via import rather than deleted in the UI.
If you'd still like to track headcount but avoid salary forecasts:
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Import a version of the staffing table that removes salaries, keeping rows limited to basic headcount info.
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Optionally, use distant future or past hire dates to ensure the rows don’t appear in headcount reporting.
⚠️ Note: At least one row is required in the staffing table for a successful import, but it can be a placeholder with no financial impact.
Option 2: Offset System Salaries with a Custom Driver
If you prefer to keep your staffing data but prevent system salaries from affecting your operating expenses, you can create a driver to offset them.
Step-by-step:
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Identify the Account
To identify the account used for system salaries, go to Settings ⚙️ > Company > Plans tab. In the Salary Expenses box within the Expenses section, you’ll find the relevant account used for system salary calculations. -
Add a Custom Plan Driver
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Go to the Plan View and locate the account identified in Step 1.
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Click the ellipsis (...) to the left of the account name to open the options menu.
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Select “Custom” to add the plan driver.
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Configure the Custom Driver
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Name the driver “Salary Offset.”
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For Input 1, select the Salaries line for the relevant department, or “Unassigned” if departments aren’t used.
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Set the constant to -1 to reverse the system-generated amount.
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Save the driver.
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Verify the Adjustment
Collapse the salaries or wages line where system salaries appear — the values should now net to zero, confirming the offset is working.
By using one of these two methods, you can control whether system-generated salaries are included in your forecast without disrupting other areas of your model.