Fix the most common incentive plan problems: missing tab, empty payroll concept list, missing goals, people alerts, blocked activation or sending, Not sent payouts and unexpected amounts. Each entry below lists the symptom, the cause and the fix. Incentive plans are also called bonus or commission plans.

Before you start

• You need the Manage incentive plans permission for most fixes.
• Fixing people alerts with Add compensation to contract also needs permission to edit the person's contract.

Troubleshooting: access and setup

• Symptom: "I can't see Incentive plans in Compensation." → Cause: You don't have Manage incentive plans, or your company doesn't have both Compensation and Goals. → Fix: Ask an admin to enable Manage incentive plans in Settings > Permissions > Incentives, or contact your account manager.
• Symptom: "Incentive plans shows an upgrade page." → Cause: Your company has Compensation but not Goals. → Fix: Request Performance from the upgrade page.
• Symptom: "No payroll concepts available." → Cause: None of the plan's people has a variable compensation with an Amount up to value, the plan's recurrence and a concept free from other plans that aren't archived. → Fix: Add or edit the variable compensation on the contracts, or change the plan's Recurrence.
• Symptom: "The People and Goals steps are locked." → Cause: Name, Period, Recurrence, people or Payroll concept is missing in Basic information. → Fix: Fill them in and click Save.
• Symptom: "You can select up to 17." → Cause: Teams and legal entities allow up to 17 entries; roles allow up to 10. → Fix: Select fewer entries or use hand-picked People.

Troubleshooting: goals

• Symptom: "My goal isn't listed in Add goals." → Cause: The goal's period doesn't cover the plan's year, its frequency differs from the plan's Recurrence, or it's already in the plan. → Fix: Edit the goal's period and frequency in Goals.
• Symptom: "A goal shows No matching period and pays 0%." → Cause: The goal has no target period with exactly the plan period's dates. → Fix: Align the goal's frequency and targets with the plan.
• Symptom: "Goal weights add up to 90% — increase them to reach 100%." → Cause: Weights don't total 100%. → Fix: Click Edit weights & rules and adjust, or click Distribute weights equally.
• Symptom: "This goal can't be deleted." → Cause: The goal is in an active incentive plan. → Fix: Remove the goal from the plan, or archive the plan. Goals of draft and archived plans can be deleted.
• Symptom: "Period and frequency can't be changed" on a goal. → Cause: The goal is in an active incentive plan. → Fix: Remove this goal from the incentive plan to change the period and frequency.

Troubleshooting: people

• Symptom: "Missing compensation" next to a person. → Cause: The person has no variable compensation that matches the plan's payroll concept, recurrence and has an Amount up to value, or it's used by another plan. → Fix: Click Add compensation to contract, or fix the compensation on the contract.
• Symptom: "Duplicate compensation" next to a person. → Cause: More than one variable compensation matches the plan. → Fix: Click Choose compensation and keep one.
• Symptom: "Add compensation to contract isn't offered." → Cause: You can't edit the person's contract, or their legal entity has no currency. → Fix: Use Go to contracts or ask someone with contract permissions.
• Symptom: "A new team member isn't in the plan." → Cause: The plan uses hand-picked People, or the plan is archived. → Fix: Add the person in Manage people.

Troubleshooting: activation and sending

• Symptom: "Activate plan is disabled." → Cause: No payroll concept, no people or no goals. → Fix: Complete the missing part.
• Symptom: "Send to payroll cycle is disabled." → Cause: The selected period was already sent, a send is running, or you lack permission. → Fix: Select another period, wait, or ask for Manage incentive plans.
• Symptom: "Q1 2026 is still in progress." → Cause: The period hasn't ended. → Fix: Send it from the day after the period's last day.
• Symptom: "Fix goal issues", "Fix people issues" or "Fix plan issues". → Cause: Weights don't total 100%, there are no goals or people, or someone has a missing or duplicate compensation. → Fix: Fix the Goals and People tabs, then send again.
• Symptom: "The send failed and nothing reached payroll." → Cause: This month's payroll cycle isn't open, or no person could be added. → Fix: Open this month's cycle in Compensation > Cycles, then send again.

Troubleshooting: payouts and amounts

• Symptom: "A person shows Not sent." → Cause: Their variable compensation isn't due in this month's payroll cycle, or its amount there was already filled in. → Fix: Enter the amount from See payout breakdown in the payroll cycle by hand, or adjust the compensation's First payment for future periods.
• Symptom: "The payout is higher than the Amount up to value." → Cause: A goal was over-achieved and has no cap in its payout rules. → Fix: Add a capping tier for periods not yet sent.
• Symptom: "Everyone has the same Overall achievement." → Cause: Goal results are shared by everyone in the plan. → Fix: This is expected. Amounts differ by each person's Variable amount.
• Symptom: "The amount sent doesn't match today's goal progress." → Cause: Sent amounts are frozen at the moment of sending. → Fix: Edit the amount in the payroll cycle if a correction is needed.
• Symptom: "Overall achievement shows -." → Cause: There's no estimate for that person and period, for example no goals or no matching compensation. → Fix: Check the Goals tab and the person's Alerts.

Rules and behavior

• If a period has any issue, then it can't be sent to payroll.
• If a person can't be added to the payroll cycle, then the rest of the period is still sent and that person shows Not sent.
• If no one can be added to the payroll cycle, then the send fails and can be repeated.

Limitations

• You can't resend a period that was sent successfully, even if some people show Not sent.
• You can't undo a send from the plan.

FAQ

1. Who do I contact if the numbers look wrong?

Check See payout breakdown first. It shows each goal's achievement, weight and payout. If a goal's achievement looks wrong, check the goal's progress for that period in Goals.

2. Some people were Not sent. Can I send the period again just for them?

No. A period that was sent can't be sent again. Add their amounts by hand in the payroll cycle, using the figures in See payout breakdown.