🤖 Explain with AI

Managing Employees, Bonuses & Deductions¶

Overview¶

The Employee Stream in 4Geeks Payroll acts as your Central Command Center for managing local employees. You maintain your own local entities and payroll providers — 4Geeks provides the enterprise technology to track every hour, overtime minute, bonus, deduction, and vacation day, then generates high-fidelity data reports for your local HR team to execute payments.

In this tutorial, you will:

• Add employees manually and configure their profiles
• Upload face-ID photos for biometric verification
• Set up job categories for reporting
• Configure per-employee bonuses with installment tracking
• Set up per-employee deductions with automatic tracking
• Import employees in bulk via CSV
• Send invitations so employees can access the mobile app

Prerequisites¶

• 4Geeks Payroll account with Employee Stream enabled
• Employee details ready (name, email, role, contract type, rate)
• Company entity and station information

Step 1: Add an Employee Manually¶

Create a New Employee Profile¶

1. Log in to the 4Geeks Console and navigate to Payroll → Employees
2. Click Add Employee
3. Fill in the Personal Information section:
4. Full Name — Legal name as it appears on official documents
5. Email Address — Work email for account invitations and notifications
6. Phone Number — Mobile number for app-based authentication
7. Date of Birth — Required for benefits and compliance
8. National ID / Tax ID — Local tax identification number
9. Address — Residential address
10. Emergency Contact — Name and phone number
11. Click Next to proceed to employment details

Configure Employment Details¶

1. Job Title — Position name (e.g., “Software Engineer”)
2. Job Category — Select from the predefined list:
3. Management — Executives, directors, managers
4. Administrative — Office staff, coordinators, assistants
5. Technical — Engineers, developers, specialists
6. Operations — Field workers, operators, technicians
7. Sales — Sales representatives, account managers
8. Support — Customer service, help desk
9. Custom — Define your own category
10. Station Assignment — Select the work location(s). Employees can be assigned to multiple stations if they split time across locations
11. Employment Type — Full-time, part-time, or fixed-term contract
12. Hire Date — First day of employment
13. Contract Rate — Hourly rate or monthly salary
14. Payment Currency — The currency for payroll processing
15. Payment Method — Bank transfer details (if applicable)

Click Save to create the employee profile.

Face-ID Photos¶

For biometric check-in via the Entrance App:

1. Open the employee profile
2. Click Manage Photos
3. Upload a clear front-facing photo or capture one using a camera
4. The system processes the photo for face recognition

Face-ID photos enable touchless biometric check-in at office Entrance App stations and serve as visual identification in the employee directory.

Step 2: Configure Job Categories¶

Job categories help you organize employees for reporting and analytics.

Using Predefined Categories¶

The system includes six default categories plus custom:

• Management — Executives, directors, managers
• Administrative — Office staff, coordinators, assistants
• Technical — Engineers, developers, specialists
• Operations — Field workers, operators, technicians
• Sales — Sales representatives, account managers
• Support — Customer service, help desk

Creating Custom Categories¶

1. Go to Settings → Job Categories
2. Click Add Category
3. Enter the category name (e.g., “Logistics”, “Research”)
4. Click Save

Categories appear as filters in the analytics dashboard and payroll reports.

Step 3: Set Up Bonuses¶

Bonuses add compensation on top of regular pay. Each bonus can be one-time or recurring, with optional installment tracking.

Bonus Types¶

Adding a Bonus¶

1. Open the employee profile
2. Click the Bonuses tab
3. Click Add Bonus
4. Configure the bonus:
5. Type — Select from the predefined types
6. Amount — Enter a fixed amount OR a percentage of salary
7. Period — One-time or recurring (per pay period)
8. Start Date — When the bonus takes effect
9. End Date — Optional: when the bonus expires
10. Notes — Internal description or conditions
11. Click Save

Installment Tracking for Large Bonuses¶

For significant bonuses paid over multiple pay periods:

1. When adding the bonus, toggle Pay in Installments
2. Set the Total Amount (e.g., $3,000)
3. Set the Number of Installments (e.g., 3)
4. The system calculates the per-period amount (e.g., $1,000/period)
5. Track remaining balance in the bonus detail view

Example: Sales Commission Setup¶

A sales representative earns 5% commission on closed deals:

1. Open sales rep profile → Bonuses → Add Bonus
2. Type: Commission
3. Amount: 5% (percentage-based)
4. Period: Recurring
5. Start: First day of current quarter
6. Notes: “5% of closed deal revenue, verified by sales manager”

Step 4: Set Up Deductions¶

Deductions subtract amounts from employee pay for benefits, equipment, or services.

Deduction Types¶

Adding a Deduction¶

1. Open the employee profile
2. Click the Deductions tab
3. Click Add Deduction
4. Configure the deduction:
5. Type — Select from the predefined types
6. Amount — Fixed amount per pay period
7. Total Amount — If the deduction has a cap (e.g., $500 total for equipment)
8. Start Date — When deductions begin
9. End Date — When deductions end (or leave blank if tied to total amount)
10. Notes — Description or reference
11. Click Save

How Installment Deductions Work¶

When you set a Total Amount:

• Each pay period, the fixed amount is deducted from the employee’s pay
• The system tracks the remaining balance
• Deductions stop automatically when the total amount is reached
• View the deduction history in the employee profile

Example: Equipment Deduction¶

An employee receives a $2,000 laptop with $200 deducted per pay period:

1. Open employee profile → Deductions → Add Deduction
2. Type: Equipment
3. Amount: $200
4. Total Amount: $2,000
5. Start Date: First pay period after equipment issued
6. Notes: “MacBook Pro — 10 installments of $200”

Step 5: Bulk Import Employees via CSV¶

For adding many employees at once:

1. Navigate to Payroll → Employees
2. Click Import Employees
3. Download the CSV Template — this contains the required columns
4. Fill in the template with employee data for each row:

1. Save the completed CSV file
2. Click Choose File and select your CSV
3. Click Upload — the system validates the data
4. Review the Import Summary showing:
5. Total rows processed
6. Successful imports
7. Errors (with row numbers and descriptions)
8. Click Confirm Import to finalize

Step 6: Send Employee Invitations¶

After adding employees, invite them to access the mobile app and portal:

1. Open the employee profile
2. Click Send Invitation
3. The system sends a magic-link email to the employee’s address
4. The employee clicks the link to set up their password
5. They can then download the mobile app and log in

Bulk Invitation:

1. Go to Employees → select multiple employees using checkboxes
2. Click Send Invitation (bulk action)
3. All selected employees receive invitation emails

Step 7: Verify Employee Setup¶

Checklist for Each Employee¶

• Profile information is complete (name, ID, contact, address)
• Job title and category assigned
• Station assignment(s) configured
• Contract type and rate set
• Payment currency selected
• Bonuses added (if applicable)
• Deductions configured (if applicable)
• Face-ID photo uploaded (if using biometric check-in)
• Invitation sent and accepted

View Employee Directory¶

The Employees tab shows all active employees:

Best Practices¶

Employee Management¶

• Use job categories consistently — Standardize categories for accurate reporting
• Keep profiles current — Update details when employees change roles or locations
• Review bonuses quarterly — Ensure performance bonuses reflect current targets
• Cap equipment deductions — Always set a total amount for equipment deductions to auto-stop

Data Accuracy¶

• Verify IDs on entry — Confirm national ID/tax ID digits to avoid payroll errors
• Use CSV import for bulk — Reduces manual entry errors
• Review import summaries — Check error logs after each bulk import
• Match station names exactly — Case-sensitive matching in CSV imports

Compliance¶

• Retain employment docs — Upload contracts and IDs to the Compliance Vault
• Verify work authorization — Ensure all employees have valid documentation
• Set correct employment types — Proper classification affects tax and benefits
• Document bonus conditions — Add notes to bonuses for audit trail

What’s Next?¶

• Learn how to Set Up Time Tracking for Your Team
• Learn how to Execute Payroll Runs & Generate Payslips
• Review the Employee Stream reference documentation

Need Help?¶

• Documentation: docs.4geeks.io/en/payroll
• Support: Available through the console dashboard
• Get Started: console.4geeks.io/payroll

Still questions? Ask on Discord or explore tutorials