Why did my payroll total change in Check?
The Check help pages give 4 common reasons. The first to rule out: A payroll that is still being prepared sits in draft, so it is not paid yet.
Is it broken, or just quiet?
A number can fall because fewer people came, or because something stopped counting them. Below are the causes the Check help pages give, and how to check each one yourself.
What causes it?
A payroll that is still being prepared sits in draft, so it is not paid yet.
In the Check help:
When a payroll is first created, it will be in the `draft` status.
Payroll Status, read 2026-11-12.A payroll can be deleted while it is still a draft, so an expected payroll can disappear before it runs.
In the Check help:
You can only delete a payroll while it's in draft.
Payroll Status, read 2026-11-12.A payroll moves on to processing only once its deadline passes, so it can show as not yet processed until then.
In the Check help:
After the `reopen_deadline` on the payroll passes, the payroll will automatically move to a `processing` status.
Payroll Status, read 2026-11-12.A void corrects an earlier payroll as if the error never happened, so a past period's total can change after the fact.
In the Check help:
From a bookkeeping perspective, voiding a payroll item revises the original payroll, such that the error never happened.
Voiding a Payroll Item, read 2026-11-12.
How do I check it myself?
Look at each payroll's status to see whether it is a draft, still processing, or paid.
In the Check help:
Check surfaces status information on the payroll objects returned by our API through the `status` field.
Payroll Status, read 2026-11-12.Look for payroll items marked as a void of another item to find corrections that changed a past total.
In the Check help:
If a payroll item has a non-null `void_of` field, it means that it is a void of another payroll item.
Voiding a Payroll Item, read 2026-11-12.
How does Check work with Feder?
- Connect Check to Feder and it joins your Money apps.
- When you connect Check, Feder checks the connection straight away and shows Connected only when that check passes. If a reading cannot be taken later, Feder shows it as not read, never as zero.
Some numbers are too quiet to judge daily, such as a form filled in a few times a week. Until there is enough of your own history to judge a change, Feder says it is still learning and scores nothing, rather than guessing.
See whether you can trust the numbers in Check, one of your Money apps. Feder only reads. It never changes anything in Check.
What else goes wrong with these numbers?
- Why doesn't my Check payroll total match what left my bank account?Check
- Why did my payroll total jump in Check?Check
- Why did Google Analytics stop collecting data?Google Analytics
- Why aren't my key events showing in Google Analytics?Google Analytics
- Why does Google Analytics show (not set)?Google Analytics
See every question.
Where do these answers come from?
Every cause and check on this page comes from the Check help pages, quoted above with the date we read them. Last reviewed 2026-11-12. We read them again by 2027-11-12. If one changes, this page changes or comes down.