How to: Headcount planning
Model your team by department and role, enter monthly FTE counts, and see exactly how hiring timing affects your cost base, EBITDA and monthly cash position — not just as an annual average.
Core concept
Most financial models spread annual employee costs evenly: total payroll ÷ 12 per month. That works for stable headcount — but breaks down the moment you plan any hiring or restructuring during the year.
A hire in July only costs six months, not twelve. An extra senior engineer from March costs roughly €75k in that year, not €120k. If your model uses the annual average, every month's cash position is wrong — even if the year-end total is right.
The headcount model in X-ASTRiS solves this. You enter FTE counts per role per month. The model carries each value forward automatically until you type something new — so you only record changes, not every single month. The resulting monthly cost series feeds directly into the runway view, giving you an accurate monthly cash position.
Setting up your headcount plan
Add departments (up to 10) and roles within each (up to 5 per department). Typical structure: Management, Sales & Marketing, Engineering, Operations, Finance. You can rename and reorganise at any time.
The January cell of each role is your starting headcount for that year. Type the number of FTEs in post on 1 January. Every month after January will auto-fill from this value until you change something.
When headcount changes — a hire, a leaver, a restructure — simply type the new FTE count in that month's cell. The model carries it forward to all subsequent months automatically. You only need to enter the months where something changes.
Enter the fully-loaded annual cost per FTE for each role. This is the total cost to the company — salary, employer taxes, benefits. The model multiplies monthly FTE by this rate (÷ 12), applying wage inflation year on year.
A single annual wage inflation rate (default 3%) compounds the cost per FTE forward across forecast years. This applies to all roles equally — adjust it to match your market assumptions.
Use the year selector to plan across all forecast years. Each year's January prefills from the previous December, so continuity is preserved without re-entering anything. Save to push the cost series into the P&L and runway model.
How carry-forward works
The model uses a sticky carry-forward: every cell you type becomes an anchor. All months between two anchors automatically fill from the earlier one.
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input (you type) | 2 | — | — | — | 4 | — | — | — | 5 | — | — | — |
| Resolved FTE | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Yellow cells with a solid border are anchors you set. Dashed-border cells carry forward automatically. To revert a cell to carry-forward, clear it.
From headcount plan to monthly cash flow
Once saved, the headcount model replaces the flat 1/12 assumption in the monthly runway view. Each month's employee cost reflects exactly how many people were in the business that month — not a smoothed annual average.
Annual payroll ÷ 12 per month. Every month looks the same regardless of when you actually hire. H1 cash burn is overstated; H2 is understated.
Jan–Apr at 2 FTEs, May–Aug at 4 FTEs, Sep–Dec at 5 FTEs. Each month reflects actual cost. H1 is genuinely cheaper — your runway chart shows the real picture.
Practical tips
- Use fully-loaded cost per FTE — include employer social security, pension contributions and benefits. A €70k salary often costs €90k+ to the business.
- For roles hired mid-year, enter the FTE count in the month they start. The model automatically costs only from that month forward.
- Planning a restructure? Enter a lower FTE count in the month it takes effect. The model handles both hires and leavers.
- Year-to-year continuity is automatic — December's headcount prefills the following January so you only need to enter changes.
- Use the 'Total cost' view to see the monetary impact of your headcount decisions across all 12 months at a glance.