What is an override?

Sometimes a record keeper's report has a figure you know is wrong, or one that needs an adjustment the report can't show. An override lets you replace that figure inside the reconciliation and record why. The original reported value is never lost. You can see it at any time, along with who made the change and when, and you can put it back with one click. Every override and its reason also travels with the reconciliation when you export it.

The census works differently. A reconciliation never changes census data. The census figures in a reconciliation are read-only. When the census is wrong, you fix it in the census itself, and the reconciliation picks up the change.

[Image to add] 🎬 GIF: On the Plan tab of the Cedar Ridge Excavating 401(k) Plan reconciliation, click Edit, type a new amount in the Schedule cell for one money type, press Enter, type a reason in the Reason for override dialog, click Save, then hover the cell to show the dot and the tooltip with the reason, the name, and the date. About 12 seconds.

Before you start

You need Retirement write access for your team, or you must be an admin. People with read-only access don't see the Edit button.
The plan year must be unlocked. If it's locked, an admin must click Unlock first. See Confirming and Locking a Reconciliation.
Confirm each schedule's participant matches. Until you do, the Plan tab holds back its totals and there is nothing to override.

Plan level or participant level?

You can override a figure in two places. Pick the one that matches the problem.

Where	What you change	Use it when
Plan tab, Schedule column	The schedule's total for one money type, for the whole plan	The report's plan total is off, and you don't need to fix it person by person
Accounts tab, Schedule column	One participant's figure for one money type	One person's amount is wrong on the report

A participant-level change rolls up into the plan totals. A plan-level change replaces the participant figures under it for that money type. See "Superseded participant figures" below.

Override a figure

Open the reconciliation and click the Plan tab or the Accounts tab.
Click Edit at the top right of the table. The cells in the Schedule column become editable, and the button changes to Done.
On the Accounts tab, click a participant's row to expand it. Their money types appear underneath.
Click the Schedule cell you want to change.
• If the plan has more than one asset schedule, a short list opens. Each line shows a schedule name and its amount. Choose the schedule this change belongs to.
Type the new amount and press Enter. You can also click away from the cell. Press Esc to cancel and keep the old amount.
• Enter numbers only, like 1234.56. If CX can't read the amount, it tells you "Enter an amount like 1234.56".

The Reason for override dialog opens. The top line shows the money type, the reported amount, and your new amount, so you can check them before you save.
[Image to add] 📸 SCREENSHOT: The Reason for override dialog on the Cedar Ridge Excavating 401(k) Plan, showing the line with the money type and the old and new amounts, a short reason typed in the Reason box, and the Save button visible.
Type a short Reason. For example: "RK report double-counted the 12/31 deposit. Confirmed with RK by email."
Click Save. A reason is required. If you leave it blank, CX shows "A reason is required."

The dialog closes and a message confirms the override is saved and shows the new amount. A small yellow dot appears in the cell. The Reconciliation column updates right away.
Click Done when you're finished editing.

[Image to add] 📸 SCREENSHOT: The Plan tab with one Schedule cell showing the override dot and the small revert arrow, and the mouse hovering over the cell so the tooltip with the schedule name, provided amount, reason, name, and date is visible.

Tip: Write reasons someone else can follow next year. Your reasons appear in the Overrides sheet when you export the reconciliation.

See the original value, the reason, and who made it

Hover over any cell with a dot. A tooltip shows:

the schedule name
the value the record keeper provided
the reason
who made the override and when

For example: "Empower · provided $12,400.00 · RK report double-counted the 12/31 deposit · by Jordan Lee · 10/05/2026 2:14 PM"

You don't need to be in Edit mode to see this, and it works on locked reconciliations too.

Revert an override

Reverting puts the record keeper's figure back. You can do this without turning on Edit mode.

Make sure the plan year is unlocked.
Find the cell with the dot. A small revert arrow (↺) shows next to the amount.
Click the revert arrow.
• If more than one schedule has an override in that cell, a short list opens. Choose the schedule to revert.
• You can also right-click the cell and click Revert to provided value.

A message confirms the amount is restored to its provided value. The dot goes away and the totals update.

The revert arrow only shows when the plan year is unlocked and you have write access.

Accrual amounts on the Plan tab

When the reconciliation uses the Accrual method, the Plan tab also shows Prior Yr Accrual and Current Yr Accrual columns. In Edit mode you can type an amount in these cells and press Enter. These entries don't ask for a reason. A typed accrual shows the same small dot. Hover it to see who typed it and when.

To remove a typed accrual, clear the cell and press Enter.
A figure that came from your firm's accrual rules shows the note "From your firm's accrual rules" when you hover it. Typing your own amount replaces it.

For more, see Cash vs Accrual and Accrual Rules.

Superseded participant figures

When you override a money type on the Plan tab, that plan-level figure replaces the participant figures beneath it. The Accounts tab then shows this banner:

"A schedule-level override replaces the figures for 4 participant(s). Their amounts below are what the override replaced, so they will not add up to the plan totals."

This is expected. The participant amounts stay visible for reference, but the plan uses your override. If the participant figures change later (for example, after you add a file), the plan-level override may no longer fit. In that case you need to review it before the plan year can be locked. See Confirming and Locking a Reconciliation.

If someone locks the plan year while you're editing

If an admin locks the reconciliation while you have the Reason for override dialog open, your change isn't saved. You'll see a message like this:

"Jordan Lee locked PY 2025 while you were editing. Your change was not saved."

Click Copy my change to copy what you entered. Once the plan year is unlocked, you can enter it again.

Correcting census data

The Payroll / Census column is read-only in the reconciliation. This keeps the census as the trusted baseline. To fix a census figure, open the census and correct it there. There are two ways in.

To fix one participant:

Click the Accounts tab.
Find the participant. Next to their name, click Go to census. That person's census record opens in a new browser tab.
• The link only shows for people who are in the census. Someone who appears only in the record keeper file has no census record to open.
Correct the figure and save it in the census.
Return to the reconciliation tab. The comparison updates with the new census figure. If it doesn't update after a moment, reload the page.

[Image to add] 📸 SCREENSHOT: The Accounts tab on the Cedar Ridge Excavating 401(k) Plan, with the Go to census link next to one participant's name highlighted.

To open the whole census for the plan year:

On the Plan tab or the Accounts tab, find the Payroll / Census column header.
Click the small open icon next to the header. The plan year's census opens in a new browser tab.

The census links work whether or not the plan year is locked.

A small blue dot on a Payroll / Census figure means that value was overridden in the CX census itself.

Changing the census after a reconciliation is locked

You can still change the census after a reconciliation is locked. CX doesn't stop you. Instead, it warns you.

When you open a client's census under Retirement > Census and that plan year has a locked reconciliation, a notice shows at the top of the page. It reads like this:

"A locked PY 2025 asset reconciliation exists for Cedar Ridge Excavating 401(k) Plan. Changes you make to this census may update that reconciliation's census comparison. The Form 5500 figures come from the record keeper's asset data, so they are not affected."

The notice includes a link to open that plan's reconciliation. A short reminder also shows next to any unsaved census changes. A similar notice appears when you import payroll for a client with a locked reconciliation.

[Image to add] 📸 SCREENSHOT: The census page for the Cedar Ridge Excavating 401(k) Plan client, showing the locked reconciliation notice at the top with the Open Cedar Ridge Excavating 401(k) Plan reconciliation link.

Note: A census change after lock can change the comparison you see in the reconciliation. It doesn't change the locked record keeper figures that the Form 5500 uses.

Reading the Plan and Accounts Tabs
Cash vs Accrual and Accrual Rules
Matching Participants to Your Census
Confirming and Locking a Reconciliation
Trust Report, Balance Sheet, and Exporting a Reconciliation
Asset Reconciliation Troubleshooting and FAQ

Overrides and Census Corrections