Planyway makes it easy to manage team workload, estimate tasks, and avoid overbooking with customizable schedules and smart settings.
Setting Daily Capacity
Planyway calculates workload based on two main parameters:
Working hours set in Planyway settings
Estimated time per task
Configure Working Hours
Go to ⚙️Planyway settings → Work schedule to define working hours. These hours are used to calculate how much time each user is available for work.
For more advanced availability settings, check out Workload Schemes.
Estimate Modes: Internal vs Original Estimate
You can choose how Planyway calculates workload by selecting between two estimation modes in General settings.
Note: This setting applies globally across all projects and to all users within your domain.
Tip: You can switch between modes at any time. Data from each mode is stored separately and won’t be lost when switching.
Internal (Default)
Time estimation is managed directly in Planyway using the Daily and Total modes:
Daily – set planned hours per day, and Planyway calculates total hours automatically based on duration.
Total – set the total number of hours, and Planyway evenly distributes them across the task duration.
Flexible switching between modes.
Manual adjustments supported, including setting 0h if needed.
Note: This mode gives you full control over time estimation inside Planyway.
Original Estimate (synced with Jira)
In this mode, workload is based on the Original Estimate field in Jira:
Estimated time is automatically synced from/to the Original Estimate field.
Daily mode is disabled, total time is spread automatically across the task duration.
Changes in Original Estimate in Jira instantly update workload in Planyway, and vice versa.
If the field is empty or disabled, workload will show 0h.
Note: This mode is ideal for teams that rely on Jira estimates and want consistency across tools.
Workload Schemes
Workload schemes let you define individual working schedules for each user, so that Planyway can accurately calculate their availability for tasks.
Note: You can manage workload schemes in Planyway settings for all projects. They are not tied to a specific project.
Workload
Workload schemes determine how many working hours are available per day, either for the whole team or individually per user, helping ensure workload is distributed realistically.
The Default scheme applies globally to all users, but you can either update it or override it by assigning a different scheme to specific users.
Managing Schemes
Create a new scheme using the Add workload scheme button.
Use the
⋯menu to:Edit – opens the form with existing values.
Duplicate – creates a copy with name “Copy”.
Delete – available unless it's the default scheme.
Supports fractional hours (up to 2 decimal places) and validation for:
Max 24 hours/day.
No negative or invalid input.
Missing values default to 0.
Holidays
Holidays schemes exclude national/public holidays from workload calculations.
Manage Holidays Schemes
Create a new scheme using the Add holidays scheme button.
In the
⋯menu:Edit – update name or country.
Duplicate – creates a copy.
Delete – removes the scheme with confirmation.
Assign Workload Schemes to Users
In the Users tab under Work Schedule:
See all active users with assigned workload and holidays schemes.
Use checkboxes to apply schemes in bulk or click a user to edit individually.
Note: Edit view lets you switch or create a new scheme, that will be applied to the selected user(s) automatically.
Vacations and Days Off
To ensure accurate workload calculations, you can mark specific days as unavailable for individual team members, such as vacations, sick leaves, or any other days off.
These days are excluded from the person’s available working hours and directly impact workload distribution.
Creation & Editing
Vacations and days off can be created directly on the Workload tab by clicking or dragging across the timeline, just like creating a regular card. In the compact dialog, switch the card type to Vacation or Day Off.
You can create these cards for any team member, including Unassigned.
Note: Vacation and Day Off cards are only available in the Workload view. They cannot be created or edited in other Planyway views.
Visibility & Appearance
You can toggle their visibility in View settings → Vacations/Days Off.
These cards always appear at the top of the user’s lane as gray blocks with a dedicated icon, displayed above all other tasks.
If needed, you can show dates on these cards by enabling the corresponding field in Field settings.
Workload Impact
Vacation and Day Off cards block availability for the selected dates.
They override the regular working schedule, for example, if Tuesday is usually an 8-hour day, it will be counted as 0 hours when a day off is added.
When using Original Estimate mode, dragging a task onto a vacation/day off period will automatically resize it based on remaining availability (just like weekends and holidays).
Deletion
You can delete vacation or day off cards via the context menu or from the edit dialog.
Indicators to Help You Plan
Workload indicators show if each user is properly allocated:
Under allocated hours
Perfectly allocated hours
Over allocated hours
No estimation added to an issue
Note: These indicators are only visible in daily view. They disappear when zooming out to weeks, months, or quarters.
Estimated vs Logged Time Visualization
To better understand how time is spent on each task, you can display key time tracking fields directly on cards. This makes it easy to compare estimates with actual work logged, without even opening the card.
The following fields are available for display:
Planned time - estimated time set directly in Planyway (available when Internal mode is enabled in General Settings).
Tracked time – the total amount of time already logged by team members.
Time remaining – how much time is left to complete the task.
Original estimate – the initial time planned for the task (from Jira); available as a custom field and can be added via the +Custom fields button in the Fields settings, where all available Jira fields are listed.
These fields help you monitor progress at a glance, stay on track with estimates, and identify tasks that may require attention.
FAQ
Why don’t I see workload indicators?
If you don’t see them at all, make sure you’re using the Daily timeline view. Workload indicators are only available there.
If indicators are missing for a specific day or user, check the default workload scheme assigned in settings. It’s possible that the selected day has 0 working hours, which means there's no available capacity to visualize.
Does the “Original Estimate” field in Jira affect workload?
Yes, but only in Original Estimate mode. In Internal mode, this field is not used.
Can I see the Original Estimate for tasks on the timeline?
Yes, you can! Go to the Fields settings and enable the Original Estimate custom field to display it right on the timeline cards.
You can also see this value when hovering over a task or in the tasklist panel, as long as the estimate has been filled in.
Can I use Story Points to calculate workload?
Yes, but only when Internal estimation mode is enabled. If you add a value to the Story points field, Planyway will automatically convert it into hours and use it as the planned time when you assign dates and an assignee to the newly created task.
However, keep in mind, once you manually change the Time estimate value in Planyway, the Story points field won’t affect it anymore.