Time is one of the core dimensions in Workday Adaptive Planning. It defines how periods are organized, how data is entered into sheets, and how monthly values roll up into quarters and years.
When we configure a planning model, we need to understand how the calendar is structured before setting up budgets, forecasts, historical actuals or reporting periods.
In this article, we look at Time Management, the calendar structure, time periods, locales, and how these settings work with Actuals and Plan versions.
1. What is Time Management?
We access Time Management from:
Modeling → Time
The Time option is available in the Versions and Time section of Model Management.
The screenshot shows two main areas.
On the left, we have the calendar locales. English is selected as the default locale.
On the right, we have the calendar structure, with DefaultTimeHierarchy selected and FY2026 displayed.
The calendar contains the following hierarchy:
- FY2026
- Q1-FY26: January, February, March
- Q2-FY26: April, May, June
- Q3-FY26: July, August, September
- Q4-FY26: October, November, December
The screenshot shows a calendar year running from January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2026.
This structure determines how the time periods are grouped within the calendar.
2. Understanding the time hierarchy
Workday Adaptive Planning uses time strata to define the units of time in a calendar.
The standard calendar structure contains three strata:
Month → Quarter → Year
Month is the smallest stratum in this default structure.
Three months roll up into a quarter, and four quarters roll up into a year.
For example:
| Month | Quarter | Year |
|---|---|---|
| January 2026 | Q1-FY26 | FY2026 |
| February 2026 | Q1-FY26 | FY2026 |
| March 2026 | Q1-FY26 | FY2026 |
| April 2026 | Q2-FY26 | FY2026 |
The same structure continues for the remaining months.
How do values roll up?
Assume we have a monthly operating expense account.
| Period | Expense |
|---|---|
| January | 10,000 |
| February | 12,000 |
| March | 15,000 |
| Q1 | 37,000 |
For a periodic General Ledger account, the quarter displays the sum of the three months.
However, not every account uses the same time rollup behavior.
For cumulative General Ledger accounts, the quarter displays the value from the last period.
Custom accounts can support additional time rollup methods, including averages and weighted averages, depending on their configuration.
For example, an ending cash balance should not normally be treated like monthly expense activity.
The calendar defines which periods belong together. The account configuration determines how the values are calculated at the rollup.
3. Understanding the columns in Time Management
In the screenshot, each period contains five fields.
| Field | Purpose | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Label | Name displayed for the time period | Jan-2026 |
| Code | Identifier for the time period | 01/2026 |
| Short Name | Abbreviated period name | Jan |
| Start Date | First date of the period | 2026-01-01 |
| End Date | Last date of the period | 2026-01-31 |
These fields serve different purposes.
Label
The label is used to display the time period in the model.
For example, the screenshot displays Jan-2026 and Q1-FY26.
Code
The code identifies the time period.
Time period codes are used in formula references and integrations where the relevant format is required.
We need to maintain consistent codes when working with calendar structures and data integration.
Short Name
Short names provide abbreviated labels.
They can be maintained through calendar locale configuration.
Start Date and End Date
These fields identify the dates covered by the time period.
For example:
- January 2026: January 1 to January 31
- Q1 2026: January 1 to March 31
- FY2026: January 1 to December 31
When we create or modify a calendar structure, we need to ensure that dates are mapped to the intended periods.
4. What is the default time stratum?
The default time stratum determines the level at which data is entered for standard sheets and accounts.
Workday Adaptive Planning starts with Month as the default time stratum.
For example, if Month is the default, Finance enters actual expenses or budget values by month.
The system then rolls these values up to quarters and years according to the account settings.
The default time stratum applies to standard sheets and their general ledger, custom and assumption accounts.
Cube and modeled sheets also use this default unless we configure a different time stratum for the individual sheet.
Example: Monthly financial planning
Suppose Finance prepares a budget by month.
We enter:
| Period | Budget |
|---|---|
| January | 25,000 |
| February | 30,000 |
| March | 35,000 |
| Q1 | 90,000 |
The quarterly total is calculated using the account’s time rollup behavior.
We do not need to enter the same expense separately at both the month and quarter levels.
The screenshot shows monthly periods in the hierarchy, but it does not independently confirm which default data-entry stratum is selected in that model.
5. Can we plan using weeks instead of months?
Yes. Workday Adaptive Planning supports customized calendar structures.
For example, a business may need weekly workforce or operational planning while maintaining monthly financial planning.
The calendar can include time strata such as:
Week → Month → Quarter → Year
We can configure a cube or modeled sheet to use an available time stratum that differs from the standard sheet default.
For example:
| Planning area | Time stratum |
|---|---|
| Financial expenses | Month |
| Revenue planning | Month |
| Operational capacity | Week |
| Workforce scheduling model | Week |
| Management reporting | Quarter |
These are examples of possible model designs.
The actual configuration depends on the calendar structure and the sheets being used.
Important configuration consideration
Changing the default time stratum is not simply a display change.
Workday documents that changing the default time stratum after standard sheets contain data requires erasing standard data or reloading the calendar structure, which deletes data.
Changing the stratum of an existing populated cube or modeled sheet also requires clearing the sheet’s data.
We therefore plan the required time granularity before loading production data.
6. What are calendar locales?
The left side of the screenshot shows several available locales:
- Dutch
- English
- French
- German
- Japanese
- Portuguese
- Spanish
English is selected as the default.
Locales allow administrators to maintain different calendar labels for different languages.
For example, a period may have the label January in English and Janvier in French.
The underlying time period remains the same.
How do we change calendar labels?
Workday provides an export and import process.
We navigate to Time Management, export the relevant calendar or locale labels, update the Label and Short Name columns, and import the updated file.
For nondefault locales, the time period codes must remain consistent with the default locale.
Workday also supports changing labels when sheets and reports already contain data. The displayed labels are updated.
This is different from changing the calendar structure or time granularity.
Calendar locales are not the same as the fiscal calendar configuration. Changing the language of a period does not change its underlying start and end dates.
7. What if the financial year does not start in January?
Not every organization uses a January-to-December financial year.
For example, a business may use April through March.
The fiscal reporting structure could be:
| Fiscal quarter | Calendar months |
|---|---|
| Q1 | April–June |
| Q2 | July–September |
| Q3 | October–December |
| Q4 | January–March |
Workday Adaptive Planning supports custom calendar structures for fiscal periods that differ from the standard calendar.
We configure the required time strata and period mappings using the TimeStructure spreadsheet.
The important decision is whether we need to change how data is entered or only how existing data is reported.
If Finance enters data monthly but needs another fiscal reporting rollup, an alternate calendar may be appropriate.
8. What are alternate calendars?
Alternate calendars allow us to view the same underlying data using different time rollups.
For example, an organization may have:
Default Calendar: January–December calendar year
Alternate Calendar: April–March fiscal year
Users can enter monthly data using the default calendar and report the same data using the alternate fiscal calendar.
Workday supports one default calendar for data entry and up to three alternate calendars for reporting and display.
Alternate calendars are available in sheets, reports and dashboards, subject to the relevant configuration.
How does the rollup work?
Suppose monthly expense data exists for January 2026 through March 2027.
Under the calendar-year structure, January through March 2027 belongs to Q1 of calendar year 2027.
Under an April-to-March fiscal structure, those same months belong to the fourth quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2027.
The underlying monthly values do not change.
Only the reporting hierarchy changes.
Important limitation
Alternate calendars cannot use completely unrelated period structures.
They must share the required lower-level time strata with the default calendar before their rollups diverge.
Workday calls the last shared stratum the fork stratum.
This is an important design consideration when we work with weekly, monthly, payroll or fiscal calendars.
9. How do we extend the calendar for future planning?
A common requirement is extending the planning model into future years.
For example, Finance currently has time periods through December 2026 and wants to prepare a 2027 or 2028 budget.
We first check whether the required time periods already exist in the calendar.
If they do not, we extend the calendar.
Workday provides different methods depending on the calendar configuration.
For legacy calendars, Time Management includes options to extend the calendar backward or forward by five years.
For custom calendars, administrators can add periods using the TimeStructure spreadsheet and the Append import option.
What happens after extending the calendar?
Adding time periods does not automatically mean every version displays them.
We also review the relevant version settings.
For Plan versions, this includes the Start of Plan and End of Plan.
For Actuals versions, this includes the Start of Version and End of Version.
For example:
| Component | Example setting |
|---|---|
| Calendar | Extended through December 2028 |
| Actuals version | Through December 2026 |
| 2027 Budget | January–December 2027 |
| Long Range Plan | January 2027–December 2028 |
This is a possible configuration, not an automatic result of extending the calendar.
We also review existing reports and OfficeConnect files that may need updated time elements.
10. How does Time Management work with Actuals and Plan versions?
Time and Versions are separate model components.
Time defines the available calendar periods.
Versions define the datasets and the periods applicable to those datasets.
For example, we may have Actuals through August 2026 and a Forecast for the remaining months.
| Period | Actuals | Forecast |
|---|---|---|
| January–August 2026 | Historical results | Actuals overlay, where enabled |
| September–December 2026 | Not yet completed | Forecast values |
The calendar provides the monthly periods.
The Actuals version identifies the available historical range and completed values.
The Plan version identifies the planning range and the Actuals version used for overlay.
Example: Actuals overlay
Suppose Actuals are completed through August 2026.
Finance prepares a forecast with planned values from September through December.
The Plan version can use Actuals overlay to display historical results for completed periods.
We configure the relevant Plan version and Actuals settings, including Completed Values Through and Start of Plan.
The overlay follows the configured period boundaries and account-level settings.
This is why we check both Time and Versions when a forecast displays the wrong historical periods.
11. How are time periods used in reports?
Reports can display values using different time periods and supported calendar rollups.
For example, a management report may show:
- Monthly Actuals
- Quarterly Budget
- Year-to-date results
- Full-year Forecast
The correct time selection depends on what the report is intended to show.
Example: Quarterly expense comparison
| Period | Actuals | Budget |
|---|---|---|
| January | 40,000 | 38,000 |
| February | 42,000 | 40,000 |
| March | 45,000 | 43,000 |
| Q1 | 127,000 | 121,000 |
The quarterly figures represent the sum of monthly expense values.
For accounts configured with another time rollup, such as an average or last-period value, we need to interpret the results differently.
When a report total looks incorrect, we check the selected time period, calendar, account type and time rollup configuration before changing formulas.
12. What should we check before changing Time Management?
Time configuration affects multiple areas of the model.
Before changing it, we review the following.
Calendar structure
Does the existing calendar support the business’s monthly, weekly, quarterly and annual planning requirements?
Default time stratum
At what level is data entered into standard sheets? Do cube or modeled sheets use different strata?
Fiscal year
Does the reporting calendar match the required fiscal period structure?
Actuals and Plan versions
Do the relevant versions cover the periods required for historical reporting and future planning?
Integrations
Do source files, loaders and API calls use the correct period codes and date mappings?
Reports
Do reports and OfficeConnect files reference the intended time periods and calendars?
Existing data
Will the proposed calendar change require clearing or reloading data?
Workday recommends testing calendar structure changes in a sandbox instance before applying them to a production model.
We also verify integration compatibility when changing the structure.
13. Summary: Time Management functionality
| Functionality | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Default calendar | Defines the main time hierarchy used for data entry |
| Time strata | Defines periods such as week, month, quarter and year |
| Time rollups | Groups periods; account settings determine the calculation |
| Calendar locales | Maintains period labels in different languages |
| Custom calendar | Supports different fiscal and reporting structures |
| Alternate calendars | Displays existing data using other time rollups |
| Calendar extension | Adds past or future periods |
| Default time stratum | Controls standard-sheet data-entry granularity |
| Sheet-specific stratum | Allows supported cube and modeled sheets to use another granularity |
| Version period settings | Controls the time range available within Actuals and Plan versions |
Conclusion
Time Management defines the calendar structure used across Workday Adaptive Planning.
The calendar determines which periods exist and how they are grouped. Account settings determine how values roll up. Versions control the time range available for Actuals, budgets and forecasts.
A standard monthly model may only require Month, Quarter and Year.
A more complex implementation may require weekly planning, fiscal-year reporting, alternate calendars and different time strata for specific cube or modeled sheets.
Before changing these settings, we check how the existing model uses time across accounts, sheets, versions, integrations and reports.
This helps us maintain consistent time periods and avoid unnecessary changes to a working planning model.
