Keep every hire on the plan your board approved.

Built exclusively for Finance and FP&A leaders. Kinnect keeps every req, offer and position change connected to the approved headcount plan, so exceptions are approved before commitment, not found at the reforecast.

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Kinnect Finance page: approved plan, forecast and variance by cost center

Cost center detail: budget, forecast and the hiring events behind the variance

The traditional headcount cost control playbook approves the plan once, then lets hiring drift from it until Finance ties out three systems at the reforecast. The new playbook keeps every hire on the plan your board approved, so you know on any given day what's in budget and what isn't.

$7M

of headcount Finance had cut was hired back within a quarter.

At a global software company I supported, Finance cut the headcount plan. A quarter later, Recruiting had hired $7M of the headcount that was cut.

Nobody broke a rule. The plan was approved. Then the reqs opened, the offers went out, and positions were re-leveled and backfilled. Each decision made sense on its own. Finance saw the total at the reforecast, after the cost was already committed.

It isn't a discipline problem. It's how the number is built.

Three teams own one number. No one governs it.

Each reports it from its own system: Finance the plan from the planning tool, HR positions from the HRIS, Recruiting reqs and offers from the ATS. Every change updates one version and not the other two. That's why the numbers drift, and why Finance finds out at month-end.

Finance approves cost once, at the plan. The cost is committed later, at the offer, the re-level and the backfill, in systems Finance doesn't run.

"Small mismatches across HRIS, payroll, TA trackers, and finance models quickly erode trust in the numbers."
Finance practitioner, r/FPandA, 2025.

The board approved the plan. Then hiring changed it.

The new way doesn't slow hiring down. It moves Finance's approval to the moment the cost is committed. Every offer, re-level and backfill carries its plan number, so an exception is decided before it goes out instead of explained at the reforecast.

	The old way	The new way
A saving position empties	It's backfilled as a 'critical replacement'. The saving is gone, and nobody decided that.	The backfill needs a new approval. Re-approve it, or the saving stands.
An offer comes in above plan	HR approves it. The approver never sees the plan number.	It's routed for a new approval with its plan cost, before commitment.
When Finance finds out	At the next reforecast. The number the board saw has already moved.	While it's pending. The savings number reported in June holds in December.

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Take control of your headcount before your fiscal year starts.

Integrate your planning system with your HRIS and ATS.

Kinnect syncs positions, reqs and offers from the systems you already run onto one position-level plan. Finance, HR and Recruiting work from the same number, so it stays reconciled without a tie-out by hand at month-end.

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Kinnect settings: planning system, HRIS and ATS integrations connected

Every hiring change that moves cost goes to Finance first.

New positions, reqs, above-plan offers, re-levels and backfills each route to Finance with their plan cost and variance before they're committed. The plan the board approved stays the plan you're running, and nothing reaches the reforecast that Finance didn't approve.

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Kinnect Finance Partner inbox: approve or deny backfills, new positions, job changes and hires

Model scenarios, then reforecast from the one you approve.

Test exit timing, attrition and backfill assumptions on live position data, and see the headcount and cost impact side by side. Approve a scenario and its assumptions become the drivers of your forecast, so when hiring moves, the reforecast shows which assumption changed and by how much.

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Kinnect scenarios: FY27 plan as approved, exits one quarter late, two quarters late with backfills

Don't let the savings you promised the board come back as backfills.

While you're finalizing the FY2027 headcount plan, this year is still moving. Reqs, backfills and above-plan offers are being committed in systems Finance doesn't see, and they'll roll into the new plan before the board signs off.

Start the year on one number Finance, HR and Recruiting agree on, and keep every hire on it through Q4.

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Before you request access

What's in the demo version?

A working Kinnect environment with test data: positions, reqs, offers and a forecast. No access to your systems is needed.

How fast do I get access, and for how long?

Within 24 hours, usually within a few hours. We review every request and set up each demo version ourselves. Your access lasts seven days from when it's set up.

Who can request it?

Finance, FP&A, HR, People and Talent leaders at companies with 1,000 or more employees that own their headcount plan. We review each request with your work email and company, and we decline requests from software vendors, consultants and anyone outside that buying role.

Do I need Workday?

No. Kinnect connects your planning tool, HRIS and ATS, whichever ones you use.

What does the personalized demo cover?

Your stack and your plan. Tell us your systems and what you want to see, and we'll walk you through it.

What happens to my data?

The demo version uses test data only. Your details are used to review your request, set up your access and follow up, nothing else.

Ready to take back control of your headcount plan?

Follow one position from the approved plan through an offer, an exception approval and the forecast, with test data.

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Free trial of the demo version, with test data.

The 3-Point Headcount Cost Control Strategy Guide

Unify the number · Control cost · Reforecast in real time

Read the guide