Corrections

Payroll changes. The record stays intact.

Payroll gets questioned because reality arrives late: a missed timecard, a retro raise, a W-4 change, a garnishment, a prior-provider import, or an agency notice. Runbook treats correction as core payroll, not an afterthought.

The original run stays intact. The new fact creates a traceable delta.

CORRECTIONDerived delta
Original runsealed
Late factrecorded
Repriced periodcurrent knowledge
Next rundelta carries
WhyWhat changedWho approvedProof

The reconciliation failure that shows up at tax time.

A correction that rewrites the run leaves the worker statement, the state filing, and the deposit telling different stories.

10%

Withholding records a tax department could not verify.

New York measured a 10% exception rate for filers whose payroll ran through the largest payroll providers, against 5.7% for employers filing on their own. An exception means the withholding on the worker’s return did not match what the provider reported to the state, or the record was missing data. The report notes that a provider’s error usually surfaces at tax time, not on the paystub.

NY Department of Financial Services, payroll service provider report, September 8, 2022

Figures reviewed September 2, 2026 against the cited primary sources. They describe the payroll industry, not Runbook results.

The correction workflow.

This is the signature product experience that makes Runbook feel different from normal payroll software.

1

Approved run

The payroll period is sealed with the facts and rules known at approval time.

2

Late fact arrives

A source event records what changed, when it was known, and who supplied it.

3

Replay period

The engine recomputes the affected period under the correct knowledge horizon.

4

Show delta

Runbook shows the exact employee, employer, tax, deduction, and liability difference.

5

Approve carryforward

The delta is proposed for the next run or amendment workflow with human approval.

6

Seal evidence

The correction record travels with payroll reports, notice packets, and the sealed payroll proof (Quittance).

Correction cases buyers recognize.

These are the pages and demos worth building next.

Engine pattern

Late raise

A retroactive rate change reprices wages and taxes without overwriting the approved check.

Engine pattern

Missed timecard

Additional hours arrive after payday; the next run carries the corrected gross, taxes, and net.

Product path

Garnishment update

A legal order changes withholding and needs evidence for both worker support and compliance review.

Product path

W-4 change

The effective date, old election, new election, and affected checks stay visible.

Engine-supported

YTD transfer

Prior-provider totals become founding facts, and later corrections show exactly what changed.

Product path

Agency notice

Runbook assembles the payroll, liability, payment, rule, and correction evidence into a response packet.

What proof adds to payroll.

The buyer does not need cryptographic theater. They need an answer that survives review.

QuestionNormal payroll artifactRunbook artifact
Why did pay change?Paystub, register, support explanation.Source fact, rule citation, calculation trace, and correction event.
What was known then?Audit log or edited record.Bitemporal event history with approval-time knowledge preserved.
Can a CPA verify?Exported reports and screenshots.Sealed payroll proof (Quittance) and replayable evidence packet.
Can an agent help?Read the dashboard or API response.Verify the record, draft a proposal, and wait for human approval.

Make corrections a payroll feature, not a support ticket.

Inspect the synthetic correction record before relying on it.

Explore correction demo