Pay run
Inputs, calculation, payroll approval, payment authorisation and posting, with held amounts reconciled separately.
8 stages · 3 approvals
Roles and responsibilities
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Step 1Open
Pay Run NumberLegal EntityRun TypePeriod EndOff Cycle
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Step 2Inputs
EmployeeRoster DateShiftLocation
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Step 3Lock
Timesheet NumberEmployeePeriod StartPeriod End
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Step 4Calculate
Payslip NumberPay RunPay DateDays Paid
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Step 5Review
Input NumberPay RunEmployeeComponent
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Step 6Approve
Pay Run NumberLegal EntityRun TypePeriod EndOff Cycle
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Step 7Pay
Payslip NumberPay RunPay DateDays Paid
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Step 8Post
Journal NumberJournal TypePay RunLegal EntityAccrual
Process steps
Follow the process from start to finish. Select a step to see who acts and what changes.
Open
Payroll Officer opens the run for an eligible period; a second Regular run for the same period is refused. Active and OnNotice employees are considered, with OnLeave and Suspended cases handled by configured rules. Onboarding staff need completed blocking tasks. Leavers due a final settlement are identified before regular pay is calculated.
Inputs
Payroll Officer reviews inputs from approved timesheets, attendance, benefits, loans and garnishments, then adds permitted bonuses, arrears and corrections. Source-derived inputs retain their source reference. Pending or rejected inputs are excluded and reported. Approval of an input increases the run's InputRevision.
Lock
Payroll Officer locks approved inputs at cutoff. Only approved timesheets included in the run become Locked. Unapproved sheets remain editable and, once approved, feed the next eligible open-period run with their original work dates.
Calculate
Payroll Officer calculates from the active compensation, approved inputs and verified tax details using the effective statutory rules. The calculation writes payslip lines and CalculatedRevision. Deduction priorities and protected amounts are configuration reviewed for the entity; this specification does not supply jurisdiction law.
Review
Payroll Officer checks Payroll Register, Payroll Summary by Component, Changes Since Last Run and Payroll Variance. Doubtful payslips move to Held with a reason. Before submission, a correction returns the run to Draft with CorrectionReason, changes InputRevision and requires another lock and calculation. A submitted run must be returned by Finance Controller before correction.
Approval required
Approve
Finance Controller approves the submitted run or returns it with a reason. CalculatedRevision must equal InputRevision. The approver cannot be the preparer. Changes after approval use a separate run in an open period.
Approval required
Pay
A different Finance Controller authorises the batch generated by Payroll Officer. It includes only released amounts not already paid, with verified account snapshots for bank transfers. Confirmations increase PaidNet and update PaymentStatus independently of posting Status; returns remain outstanding, put the payslip on hold and clear bank verification until a new change request is approved.
Approval required
Post
Finance Controller reviews and posts the journal against the full register, including held obligations. The journal records expense and liabilities; confirmed payments reduce clearing. Filings are prepared from the posted figures. The controller closes the period after reconciling remaining balances and recording their disposition.
Approvals and exception handling
3 approvals required in this process
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Approve
Finance Controller signs · pay waits
PayRuns -
Pay
Finance Controller signs · post waits
PaymentBatches, Payments, Payslips, BankAccountChangeRequests, Employees -
Post
Finance Controller signs · closes the process
PayrollJournals, PayrollJournalLines, StatutoryFilings, PayPeriods - SegregationPreparer, run approver and bank authoriser are distinct people. Administrator access does not bypass those conflicts.
- Current calculationA changed input invalidates the calculation revision and previous submission.
- Register reconciliationNetTotal equals confirmed payments counted once plus remaining released and held obligations. A batch equals only the released amounts assigned to that batch.
- Held payA hold excludes that payslip from new payments, while the register and journal retain the obligation. Clearing is not expected to be zero while unpaid amounts remain.
- Returned paymentsReissuesPayment links attempts; a returned or superseded attempt is excluded from PaidNet.
- Closed periodsCorrections use an eligible open period and retain the original work dates and source references.
When the process needs attention
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exception
Open
Payroll Officer opens the run for an eligible period; a second Regular run for the same period is refused.
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reject
Inputs
Pending or rejected inputs are excluded and reported.
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variance
Review
Payroll Officer checks Payroll Register, Payroll Summary by Component, Changes Since Last Run and Payroll Variance.
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hold
Pay
Confirmations increase PaidNet and update PaymentStatus independently of posting Status; returns remain outstanding, put the payslip on hold and clear bank verification until a new change request is approved.
Records and postings
| Stage | Records | Dr | Cr |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Open | PayRunsPayPeriods | none | none |
| 2 Inputs | PayrollInputsTimesheetsTimesheetLinesLeaveRequestsShiftRostersBenefitEnrolmentsLoansAndAdvancesGarnishments | none | none |
| 3 Lock | PayRunsPayPeriodsTimesheets | none | none |
| 4 Calculate | PayslipsPayslipLinesEmployeeTaxDetailsStatutoryRulesStatutoryRuleBands | none | none |
| 5 Review | PayRunsPayrollInputsPayslips | none | none |
| 6 Approve | PayRuns | none | none |
| 7 Pay | PaymentBatchesPaymentsPayslipsBankAccountChangeRequestsEmployees | confirmed payment debits clearing and credits bank |
|
| 8 Post | PayrollJournalsPayrollJournalLinesStatutoryFilingsPayPeriods | expense debits and liability/clearing credits |
Process reports
All reportsPayroll Register
Every payslip in a run with days paid, gross, each deduction, employer contributions and net; the document the approver signs off.
Payroll Summary by Component
Totals per component by entity and run, employee and employer sides, the sheet the register is reconciled to before the run is submitted.
Payroll Variance
This run against the previous run per employee, flagging changes in gross or net above the entity's threshold with the input or revision that caused them.
Changes Since Last Run
Joiners, leavers, compensation revisions, assignment changes, bank and tax-detail changes and new garnishments in the period, with who approved each.
Statutory Liability Summary
Withholding, social insurance and pension amounts by entity, jurisdiction and period, with what has been filed, paid and is still owed.
Payment Reconciliation
Net pay per payslip against confirmed payments counted once, linking returned and reissued attempts and listing the remaining released and held obligations.
Benefits Enrolment
Enrolment by plan and coverage level with employee premiums and employer contributions per period.
Payroll Cost by Cost Centre
Employer cost by entity, cost centre, component and month, reconciled to the posted payroll journal.
Headcount and Attrition
Headcount by entity, department and employment type from the assignments effective in the month, with joiners and leavers and the reasons for leaving.
Leave Liability
Accrued unused leave per employee valued at the current daily rate, for the balance sheet accrual.
Run by an agent
Agent support
The configured workflows must prevent agents from approving offers or bank-account changes, approving payroll, authorising payments, posting journals, approving year-end statements or locking periods. The assigned person records each decision. Rehearsal must verify identity, masking, the audit record and refusal of unauthorised actions before an agent may write.
# Example after configuration
$ curl -fsSL https://www.erp.ai/skill.md | paste into your agent
› pay run · open on PayRuns, PayPeriods
✓ Payroll Officer opens the run for an eligible period; a second Regular run for the same period is refused.
› pay run · inputs on PayrollInputs, Timesheets, TimesheetLines, LeaveRequests, ShiftRosters, BenefitEnrolments, LoansAndAdvances, Garnishments
✓ Payroll Officer reviews inputs from approved timesheets, attendance, benefits, loans and garnishments, then adds permitted bonuses, arrears and corrections.
› pay run · lock on PayRuns, PayPeriods, Timesheets
✓ Payroll Officer locks approved inputs at cutoff.
› pay run · calculate on Payslips, PayslipLines, EmployeeTaxDetails, StatutoryRules, StatutoryRuleBands
✓ Payroll Officer calculates from the active compensation, approved inputs and verified tax details using the effective statutory rules.
› pay run · review on PayRuns, PayrollInputs, Payslips
✓ Payroll Officer checks Payroll Register, Payroll Summary by Component, Changes Since Last Run and Payroll Variance.
› pay run · approve on PayRuns
⏸ approval · waiting for the finance controller
# 2 more stages after approval: pay, post
Other processes
5 moreHire to pay
From offer approval to the first payslip, with verified bank details, salary approval and separate payment authorisation.
8 stages · 7 approvals
Leave request to payroll
How a leave request becomes a balance movement, an attendance status and, where the leave is unpaid, a loss-of-pay day in the run, with the manager's gate in the middle.
6 stages · 1 approval
Roster to pay
For hourly and shift staff: publish the roster, capture the punches, correct the gaps, approve the timesheet, lock at cutoff and pay hours, overtime and shift premiums.
6 stages · 2 approvals
Exit to final settlement
Notice, documented terminal amounts, clearance, final payroll approval and separate payment authorisation before closure.
7 stages · 5 approvals
Year-end close and filing
Reconciling the year's runs to the returns filed, correcting what is wrong, producing the year-end statement and employee tax certificates, filing, resetting the year-to-date counters and locking the tax year.
6 stages · 2 approvals