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You may choose either 8 weeks (56 days) or 24 weeks (168 days) from the date you received your money to spend it ("covered period").
If your payroll schedule does not align with the loan receipt date, you can use 8 weeks (56 days) or 24 weeks from the next payroll cycle ("alternative covered period". For example, (using the 8 week timeframe) if a borrower received the loan funds on June 1 but has a bi-weekly payroll that begins on June 7, the Alternative Payroll Covered Period would begin on June 7. Anything you haven't spent by that point, except for in cases of specific safe harbors, won't be forgiven and will have to be paid back over the remaining term of your loan. The alternative period applies only to your payroll costs. The non-payroll eligible costs must be spent during the regular covered period in order to be considered for forgiveness.