Why are the week's figures lower than I expect?

What the Looking ahead card counts, why its figures can look low, and what Month ahead really covers.

Last updated

What it is#

The Looking ahead card on your dashboard shows fewer visits, hours or pounds than you know you have booked.

The short answer: for Week ahead and Month ahead, the card counts only visits that are placed on the diary. A visit still waiting to be placed adds nothing. In self mode ("I place visits myself") that can be many visits, because due visits wait until you place them. Month ahead covers the next 28 days from today, not a calendar month.

When to use it#

Use these checks when the card's Visits, Scheduled hours, Total booking value or Profit look lower than your own sums.

How to do it#

  1. Check which range is chosen: Week ahead, Month ahead or Year ahead. The dates are shown on the card. Week ahead is today and the next 6 days. Month ahead is today and the next 27 days.
  2. Open Waiting to be scheduled from the dashboard card. Every visit on Visits to be placed is missing from the week and month figures until it is on the diary.
  3. Check your mode in Settings under Scheduling. With I place visits myself, visits you have not placed yet are not counted. With Let the diary plan itself, only visits the diary could not fit are left out.
  4. For Month ahead and Year ahead, read the line under the tiles. "visits beyond the planning window have no room yet" counts visits that are due but have nowhere to go.
  5. Check cancelled visits. A cancelled visit adds nothing, unless you charged for it. A charged cancellation is counted in the booking value, with no hours or pay, and a line under the tiles says so.
  6. For Profit and Estimated team costs, check each team member's pay in Team. The cost uses their hourly rate or salary plus Additional employment costs (%). Profit is booking value less estimated team costs, before your other costs.

What your customer sees#

Nothing. The card is for you only.

What happens next#

As you place visits, or the diary places them at its next planning pass, the week and month figures rise to match. Year ahead is a projection of the year and does not wait for visits to be placed.

Good to know#

  • VAT is left out of both the booking value and the costs. When you are VAT registered, the tiles say "+ VAT".
  • Scheduled hours includes travel and loading time, so it is more than the visit hours alone.
  • Weeks planned ahead in Settings, Scheduling, sets how far the diary places visits. Beyond that, visits are expected, not placed.
  • Your choice of range is remembered on the device you use.

Not what you needed? Contact us and say what you were trying to do.