How a payroll run works

A payroll run is one pay period for one company. It moves from draft to approved, and an approved run is not changed afterwards.

1. Employees

Add people one by one or import a spreadsheet. Employ shows how it read each column and lets you correct the mapping before anything is saved. It asks only for the facts the case needs and keeps anything you leave out marked as unknown; it does not guess dates, amounts or dependants.

2. The draft

Start the run for the month. Employ calculates PAYE, CSG, NSF and PRGF from the published rates in force for the period, on the server, so the figures are the same wherever you open them. Each statutory figure carries its source. Enter the variable items for the month (overtime, allowances, unpaid leave) and the draft updates.

• Editing an input after a review clears that review, so the approved figures are always the ones that were checked.
• If a statutory rate has not been confirmed by an authorised person, the run stays a draft and says why.
• Leave, extra work and roster hours that were approved for the period can be carried into the run.

3. Review and approve

Check gross pay, deductions, net pay and employer cost person by person. The employer, or an approver the employer has named, approves the period and its totals. An accountant can prepare the run; the approval stays with the employer.

4. Outputs

After approval you can download the payslips, the bank payment file for your bank's format, the accounting journal and the prepared statutory files. Downloading a file does not mean it has been paid, signed or filed. See filings.

5. Corrections

An approved run is never overwritten. A correction is a new record that keeps the original, who made the change and when.