diff --git a/docs/operations.md b/docs/operations.md
index 2c816db..1bc1c8b 100644
--- a/docs/operations.md
+++ b/docs/operations.md
@@ -56,6 +56,17 @@ A period whose payday is **in the past** is where the modes diverge:
 | `current` | today's rate | the debt reads "we owe EUR 800, whenever it settles" |
 | `manual` | a rate you state (`100000` EUR/BTC) | the figure was agreed, not looked up |
 
+`manual` is an instruction, not a lookup, so it applies to **every** period —
+a contract pegged to an agreed rate honours it whether the payday is last
+month or next week.
+
+`payday` and `current` only diverge for a payday already past. For one that
+is today or ahead there is no history to consult, so `payday` collapses into
+`current`: a future rate is not knowable, and the live one is the only
+defensible answer. The pay-now dialog says so outright, naming the period's
+date, rather than leaving a hint to be missed beside a control that appears
+to do something.
+
 Set per contract; overridable per payout via `pricing_mode` / `manual_rate`
 on `pay-now`, which is how you enter one back-dated payment without editing
 the contract.
diff --git a/services.py b/services.py
index 60e8950..e3cf8f2 100644
--- a/services.py
+++ b/services.py
@@ -290,12 +290,26 @@ async def resolve_price(
     mode = mode or contract.pricing_mode
     manual_rate = manual_rate or contract.manual_rate
 
-    # A payday that is today or ahead needs no history: every mode agrees on
-    # the live rate. Payroll still does the conversion rather than handing
-    # create_invoice a fiat amount, because knowing the rate *before* the
-    # invoice exists is what lets the memo state it. It is the same single
-    # conversion either way — fiat_amount_as_satoshis is the function
-    # create_invoice would have called — not a second opinion.
+    # An explicit rate wins outright, whatever the calendar says. It is an
+    # instruction rather than a lookup — "pay at the rate we agreed" is as
+    # meaningful for a payday next week as for one last month, and a
+    # contract pegged to a fixed rate should honour it on every period.
+    if mode == PricingMode.manual:
+        if not manual_rate:
+            raise PricingError("manual pricing selected but no rate given")
+        return Price(
+            sats_for(contract.amount, manual_rate), "sat", manual_rate, "manual"
+        )
+
+    # A payday that is today or ahead has no history to consult, so `payday`
+    # mode collapses into `current` — a future rate is not knowable, and the
+    # live one is the only defensible answer.
+    #
+    # Payroll still does the conversion rather than handing create_invoice a
+    # fiat amount, because knowing the rate *before* the invoice exists is
+    # what lets the memo state it. Same single conversion either way —
+    # fiat_amount_as_satoshis is the function create_invoice would have
+    # called — not a second opinion.
     if payday >= today or mode == PricingMode.current:
         amount_sat = await fiat_amount_as_satoshis(contract.amount, contract.currency)
         if amount_sat <= 0:
@@ -306,13 +320,6 @@ async def resolve_price(
         rate = (contract.amount / amount_sat) * 100_000_000
         return Price(amount_sat, "sat", rate, "current")
 
-    if mode == PricingMode.manual:
-        if not manual_rate:
-            raise PricingError("manual pricing selected but no rate given")
-        return Price(
-            sats_for(contract.amount, manual_rate), "sat", manual_rate, "manual"
-        )
-
     historical = await historical_btc_rate(payday, contract.currency)
     if historical is None:
         raise PricingError(
diff --git a/static/js/index.js b/static/js/index.js
index 4f88d7a..8f3b912 100644
--- a/static/js/index.js
+++ b/static/js/index.js
@@ -194,6 +194,19 @@ window.app = Vue.createApp({
       )
     },
 
+    // Which period pay-now would settle, and whether it is actually in the
+    // past. "Rate on the payday" cannot mean anything for a date that has
+    // not happened, and the dialog should say so rather than offer a choice
+    // that quietly does nothing.
+    payNowPayday() {
+      const c = this.payNowDialog.contract
+      return c ? c.next_payday : null
+    },
+
+    payNowIsBackdated() {
+      return !!this.payNowPayday && this.payNowPayday < today()
+    },
+
     ledgerCsvHref() {
       const f = this.ledgerFilter
       const params = new URLSearchParams()
diff --git a/templates/payroll/index.html b/templates/payroll/index.html
index 0e5ca71..4a5ab2e 100644
--- a/templates/payroll/index.html
+++ b/templates/payroll/index.html
@@ -269,8 +269,8 @@
           <q-select outlined dense v-model="contractDialog.data.pricing_mode"
             :options="pricingModes" emit-value map-options
             :disable="contractDialog.data.currency === 'sat'"
-            label="Price a late payday at"
-            hint="Only applies to a payday already in the past"></q-select>
+            label="Pricing"
+            hint="'Rate on the payday' only differs for a payday in the past"></q-select>
         </div>
         <div class="col-5">
           <q-input outlined dense type="number" step="any"
@@ -356,7 +356,7 @@
         <div class="col-7">
           <q-select outlined dense v-model="editDialog.data.pricing_mode"
             :options="pricingModes" emit-value map-options
-            label="Price a late payday at"></q-select>
+            label="Pricing"></q-select>
         </div>
         <div class="col-5">
           <q-input outlined dense type="number" step="any"
@@ -384,15 +384,25 @@
       <div v-if="payNowDialog.contract" class="text-caption"
         :style="{opacity: 0.7}">
         ${ payNowDialog.contract.label || payNowDialog.contract.employee_username }
-        — ${ payNowDialog.contract.amount } ${ payNowDialog.contract.currency }.
+        — ${ payNowDialog.contract.amount } ${ payNowDialog.contract.currency },
+        payday <strong>${ payNowPayday || '—' }</strong>.
         The period is consumed even if its payday has not arrived yet.
       </div>
     </q-card-section>
     <q-card-section class="q-gutter-md">
       <q-select outlined dense v-model="payNowDialog.pricing_mode"
         :options="pricingModes" emit-value map-options
-        label="Price it at"
-        hint="Ignored unless the payday is already in the past"></q-select>
+        label="Price it at"></q-select>
+
+      <div v-if="payNowDialog.pricing_mode === 'payday' && !payNowIsBackdated"
+        class="text-caption" :style="{opacity: 0.8}">
+        Payday ${ payNowPayday } has not passed, so there is no historical
+        rate to look up — this will be priced at the current rate.
+      </div>
+      <div v-else-if="payNowDialog.pricing_mode === 'payday'"
+        class="text-caption" :style="{opacity: 0.8}">
+        Will convert at what BTC was worth on ${ payNowPayday }.
+      </div>
       <q-input outlined dense type="number" step="any"
         v-model.number="payNowDialog.manual_rate"
         :disable="payNowDialog.pricing_mode !== 'manual'"
diff --git a/tests/test_pricing.py b/tests/test_pricing.py
index 31eab99..064018f 100644
--- a/tests/test_pricing.py
+++ b/tests/test_pricing.py
@@ -168,3 +168,37 @@ def test_memo_of_a_sat_contract_has_no_rate():
 
 def test_memo_without_a_rate_still_states_the_fiat_amount():
     assert services.payout_memo(eur(label="x"), PAST) == "x — 2026-05-15 · 800 EUR"
+
+
+# --- an explicit rate is an instruction, not a lookup ----------------------
+
+
+def test_manual_applies_to_a_payday_today(historical):
+    """ "Pay at the rate we agreed" is as meaningful for a payday now as for
+    one last month — the calendar must not quietly override it."""
+    p = price(eur(pricing_mode=PricingMode.manual, manual_rate=100_000), payday=TODAY)
+    assert (p.source, p.rate) == ("manual", 100_000)
+    assert p.amount == 800_000
+
+
+def test_manual_applies_to_a_future_payday(historical):
+    p = price(
+        eur(pricing_mode=PricingMode.manual, manual_rate=100_000),
+        payday=date(2026, 12, 1),
+    )
+    assert p.source == "manual"
+
+
+def test_manual_override_beats_a_future_payday(historical):
+    """Paying next week's period early, at a stated rate."""
+    p = price(
+        eur(), payday=date(2026, 12, 1), mode=PricingMode.manual, manual_rate=50_000
+    )
+    assert (p.source, p.rate) == ("manual", 50_000)
+
+
+def test_payday_mode_on_a_future_payday_falls_to_the_live_rate(historical):
+    """There is no historical rate for a date that has not happened."""
+    p = price(eur(pricing_mode=PricingMode.payday), payday=date(2026, 12, 1))
+    assert p.source == "current"
+    assert historical == []