Why did my payroll total jump in Check?
The Check help pages give 3 common reasons. The first to rule out: A one-off payroll, such as a bonus or commission run, counts like a regular payroll once approved, so a period with an extra run can show a higher total.
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 one-off payroll, such as a bonus or commission run, counts like a regular payroll once approved, so a period with an extra run can show a higher total.
In the Check help:
Once approved, an off-cycle payroll should be treated the same as a regular payroll.
Off-cycle Payrolls, read 2026-11-12.When a bonus is set as a take-home amount, Check works out the gross needed to reach it, so the payroll total can be larger than the bonus figure people had in mind.
In the Check help:
Pay an employee an exact net bonus, commission, or non-hourly regular earning by having Check calculate the gross.
Gross-up Payments, read 2026-11-12.A payroll can carry its own pay frequency instead of the company's usual one, so totals can land on different days than your regular pattern.
In the Check help:
Pay frequency defined directly on a payroll will override the company's default pay frequency.
Pay Schedules, read 2026-11-12.
How do I check it myself?
Look at the earnings on each payroll item, where a grossed-up bonus appears as an ordinary earning, to see which items raised the total.
In the Check help:
The calculated gross is saved on the payroll item like any other earning, and the rest of the payroll flow is unchanged.
Gross-up Payments, read 2026-11-12.Compare the reimbursement total with gross pay in the payroll's totals, since reimbursements are counted separately and can explain part of a rise.
In the Check help:
Total amount of all employee reimbursements.
The totals object, 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 change 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.