This article helps you troubleshoot common issues with Playground reports, including revenue numbers that look wrong, custom reports not pulling form data, staff time reports with incorrect overtime, and attendance reports showing inactive students or missing data.
Understanding How Reports Work in Playground
Playground reports pull live data based on your current filters, date ranges, and the status of students and staff at the time the report is generated. Most reporting issues come from one of three things: a filter is set incorrectly, the underlying data (a student status, a schedule, a program enrollment) has a configuration issue, or a report type is being used for a purpose it wasn't designed for. Understanding what each report is actually measuring is the fastest path to getting accurate numbers.
Revenue Summary Numbers Look Wrong
The revenue summary report doesn't match what I expected
The revenue summary report reflects charges and payments within the selected date range based on the date filter you're using. There are two common reasons it looks off:
Date filter type matters. Playground billing reports can be filtered by invoice date, due date, or paid date. Each will produce different numbers for the same period. For example, if you're trying to match what families paid in May, filter by paid date. If you're trying to see what was billed in May, filter by invoice date.
From your admin dashboard, navigate to Reports → Billing Reports.
Click the date filter at the top of the report and confirm which date type is selected.
Adjust the filter to match what you're trying to measure and re-run the report.
Refunds and credits reduce revenue totals. If a refund was issued or a credit was applied during the selected period, it will reduce the revenue total shown in the report. Check your Ledger for any credits or refunds that fall within the report's date range.
💡 If your revenue summary total still doesn't match your accounting software, try exporting the full report as a CSV and comparing line by line. The Reporting for QuickBooks article in the help center has guidance on reconciliation best practices.
Custom Reports Not Pulling Form Field Data
I added form fields as columns in a custom report but they're coming back empty
Custom reports can pull data from enrollment listing forms, but the form fields only populate if the data was captured through that specific enrollment listing. If a student's data was entered manually or came from a different listing, those fields will be blank.
From your admin dashboard, navigate to Reports → Custom Reports and open the report template.
Click the three dots next to the report and select Edit.
Review which enrollment listing form is selected as the source for the form fields. Make sure it's the correct listing — if you have multiple listings, data from one listing's form won't appear when you're pulling fields from a different one.
Check the Filters section. If the report is filtered by a program or classroom, confirm the students in that filter are the ones who submitted the enrollment form tied to those fields.
For students whose form fields are blank: confirm they completed the enrollment form for the correct listing. Students added manually or enrolled through a different listing won't have data for fields from another form.
🚨 If you're seeing completely empty columns for all students — not just some — and the listing and filters are set correctly, this is likely a bug. Contact Playground Support and share the report name, the listing it's pulling from, and which fields are empty so we can investigate.
Staff Time Report Not Calculating Overtime Correctly
The total staff hours report isn't showing the right OT amount
Overtime in Playground is calculated based on the pay rules set in your payroll configuration. If OT isn't calculating as expected, the most common causes are a missing or incorrect overtime threshold, approved time-off hours being excluded, or clock-in/out times that weren't approved.
From your admin dashboard, navigate to Staff → Payroll and open Settings.
Confirm that an overtime rule is enabled and the weekly threshold (typically 40 hours) is set correctly for the affected staff member's pay schedule.
Navigate to Reports → Staff Reports → Total Staff Hours and run the report for the relevant pay period.
Review the hours log for the staff member. Check whether any clock-in/out entries are marked as Unapproved — unapproved time is excluded from OT calculations.
Approve any unapproved clock-in/out entries under Staff → Attendance and re-run the report.
💡 If a staff member's pay rate or overtime rule was changed mid-pay-period, it will only apply to hours logged after the change. Hours logged before the change use the rule that was in place at the time.
Attendance Report Showing Inactive Students or Missing Data
Blank attendance report is showing N/A or including inactive students
The blank attendance report generates from the current classroom roster. If inactive students are still assigned to a classroom in the system — even if their status is inactive — they'll appear on the printout with N/A in all columns.
Open the student's profile and navigate to the Profile tab.
Under classroom assignment, confirm an end date has been set. If no end date is set, the student is still technically assigned to the classroom.
Set the classroom end date to the student's last day and save.
Re-run the blank attendance report. The student should no longer appear.
A student who was marked present isn't appearing on the attendance overview report
The attendance overview report tracks check-ins against the student's assigned program schedule. If a student was checked in but their schedule isn't configured — or they were checked into the wrong program — they won't appear under the expected classroom or program in the report.
Open the student's profile and navigate to the Schedule tab. Confirm the student has an active schedule assigned for the days in question.
Navigate to Attendance and locate the student's check-in for that day. Confirm the check-in is associated with the correct program.
If the check-in was recorded under the wrong program, you may need to re-log the attendance entry. Navigate to the student's attendance, click the three dots next to the incorrect entry, and select Edit to update the program association.
Re-run the report. If the student is still missing, contact Playground Support with the student name and the date in question.
Ages aren't showing on my roster printout
Age columns aren't included by default in all attendance report formats. To add ages:
Run the Blank Attendance (All) report from the Reports tab.
Click the gear icon in the top right of the report to open the column settings.
Toggle on the Age column.
Re-run or re-print the report.
💡 Column visibility settings reset between sessions. If you regularly need the age column, you may need to toggle it on each time you run the report — it doesn't save as a default.
FAQ
Why do the student counts differ between my attendance reports?
Why do the student counts differ between my attendance reports?
Different attendance reports measure different things. The Attendance - Daily report counts everyone who was checked in. The Daily Attendance & Meal Count report only counts students who had meals posted. The Attendance Percentage report counts check-ins against a student's assigned program schedule. If you're seeing discrepancies, make sure you're using the right report for what you're trying to measure.
My revenue summary numbers don't match what I see in QuickBooks. Why?
My revenue summary numbers don't match what I see in QuickBooks. Why?
The most common causes are date filter mismatches (invoice date vs. paid date), refunds or credits reducing totals within the reporting period, and timing differences between when charges are posted in Playground vs. when they're recorded in QuickBooks. Export the Playground report as a CSV and compare line by line to identify specific discrepancies.
Why is my custom report showing blank cells for form fields?
Why is my custom report showing blank cells for form fields?
Form field data only populates for students who submitted the specific enrollment listing form tied to those fields. Students added manually or enrolled through a different listing won't have that data. Make sure the report is pulling from the correct listing, and confirm the filtered students are the ones who completed that form.
Can I save custom column settings so I don't have to re-toggle them every time?
Can I save custom column settings so I don't have to re-toggle them every time?
Column visibility settings for standard reports (like blank attendance) don't persist between sessions — you'll need to re-toggle them each time. For recurring reporting needs, Custom Reports are a better option since they save your field and filter selections as a reusable template.
A staff member's overtime isn't showing up in payroll reports. What should I check?
A staff member's overtime isn't showing up in payroll reports. What should I check?
Check two things: first, confirm that an overtime rule is enabled in your payroll settings with the correct threshold. Second, check whether any of the staff member's clock-in/out entries for that period are still showing as Unapproved — unapproved time isn't counted toward OT. Approve the relevant entries under Staff → Attendance and re-run the report.
Is there a report that shows me total payments collected per family for the year?
Is there a report that shows me total payments collected per family for the year?
Yes — navigate to Reports → Billing Reports and look for the Payments by Family report. Set the date range to the full year, filter by paid date, and run the report. This will show total payments collected per family for the selected period. You can export it as a CSV for further analysis.
If a report is still showing unexpected results after working through these steps, reach out to Playground Support via chat or at [email protected]. Share the report name, date range, and a description of what you expected vs. what you're seeing — this helps us investigate quickly.