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Executing Payroll Runs & Generating Payslips¶

Overview¶

A payroll run is the core process that calculates employee compensation for a given pay period. The system gathers timesheet data, applies bonuses and deductions, computes tax withholdings, and generates payslips — all automatically.

In this tutorial, you will:

• Prepare your data before running payroll
• Create and configure a payroll run
• Understand the calculation breakdown (gross pay, taxes, net pay)
• Review run results and drill into employee details
• Generate and distribute payslips
• Export HR Intelligence Reports for your local payroll provider
• Reverse a run if corrections are needed

Prerequisites¶

• Employees added with correct rates and job categories (see Employee Management)
• Time tracking configured and timesheets approved (see Time Tracking Setup)
• Tax compliance configured for your countries (see Tax Compliance Setup)
• Bonuses and deductions configured on employee profiles
• Stations set up with assigned employees

Step 1: Pre-Run Checklist¶

Before creating a payroll run, verify the following:

Timesheet Verification¶

• All employees have clock-in/out records for the pay period
• Timesheets are submitted by employees
• Managers have approved all timesheets
• Manual entries (if any) are approved
• Overtime hours are reviewed and approved

To check: Go to Payroll → Timesheets → filter by the pay period. Look for any records with “Pending” status. Approve or address them before proceeding.

Employee Data Verification¶

• All active employees have correct hourly rates / salaries
• Bonuses are configured with correct amounts and effective dates
• Deductions are set up with correct amounts
• No terminated employees are still marked as active

To check: Go to Payroll → Employees and scan the list. Click into any employee whose data may have changed this period.

Tax Configuration¶

• Tax compliance is configured for each country where employees work
• Tax rates are current (review at the start of each fiscal year)
• Employer contribution rates are set correctly

Station Configuration¶

• All active employees are assigned to at least one station
• Stations that are no longer active are archived

Step 2: Create a Payroll Run¶

Start a New Run¶

1. Navigate to Payroll → Runs
2. Click Run Payroll
3. The system opens the Run Configuration screen

Configure the Run¶

Pay Period: 1. Select the Start Date — first day of the pay period 2. Select the End Date — last day of the pay period 3. The system shows the number of workdays in this period

Station Filter (Optional): - All Stations — Run payroll for all locations at once - Specific Stations — Select one or more stations if you run payroll per location

Use the station filter if your organization processes payroll on different schedules per location (e.g., weekly for warehouse, monthly for office staff).

Currency: - Select the Payment Currency for this run - The system applies exchange rates for employees with different salary currencies

Review Run Summary¶

Before executing, the system shows a preview:

Review these numbers against your expectations. If something looks off, click Cancel and investigate before proceeding.

Execute or Save as Draft¶

You have two options:

• Save as Draft — Saves the run without processing. You can return later to review and execute. Use this option if you want to double-check figures with your team.
• Execute Run — Processes the run immediately. Calculations begin and payslips are generated.

Step 3: Understanding the Calculation Breakdown¶

Once a run is executed, the system calculates each employee’s pay using the following formula:

The Payroll Formula¶

Gross Pay = (Regular Hours × Hourly Rate) + (Overtime Hours × Overtime Rate)

Net Pay = Gross Pay + Bonuses - Deductions - Tax Withholdings

Total Employer Cost = Net Pay + Employer Contributions

Component Details¶

1. Gross Pay¶

• Regular Hours — Based on approved timesheet data for the period
• Overtime Hours — Calculated using your configured overtime rules and multipliers
• Hourly Rate — From the employee’s profile (or derived from salary)

2. Bonuses¶

Added to gross pay before tax calculations:

If a bonus is set as a percentage, the system calculates it against the employee’s base pay for the period.

3. Deductions¶

Subtracted from gross pay after bonuses:

Installment deductions are tracked automatically — the system stops deducting once the total amount is reached.

4. Tax Withholdings¶

Calculated based on the employee’s country tax configuration:

• Income Tax — Progressive brackets applied
• Social Security — Employee portion percentage
• Health Insurance — Mandatory contribution
• Pension — Retirement fund contribution
• Other Statutory Deductions — Country-specific withholdings

See Tax Compliance Setup for a detailed walkthrough.

5. Employer Contributions¶

Calculated separately and shown as informational on payslips (not deducted from employee pay):

• Social Security (employer portion)
• Health Insurance (employer contribution)
• Pension (employer contribution)
• Aguinaldo provision (Christmas bonus accrual)
• Vacation provision (accrued vacation liability)

Step 4: Monitor Run Status¶

Run Statuses¶

What to Do If a Run Fails¶

1. Open the failed run
2. Review the Error Details section
3. Common issues:
4. Missing tax configuration for an employee’s country
5. Invalid hourly rate on an employee profile
6. Timesheet data missing for a required period
7. Currency conversion rate unavailable
8. Fix the underlying issue
9. Create a new run

Step 5: Review Run Results¶

Run Summary View¶

1. Click on the completed run in the Runs list
2. The summary displays:

1. Review for reasonableness — do the totals match expectations?

Drill into Individual Employees¶

1. Click View Details next to an employee name
2. See the per-employee breakdown:

1. Verify individual calculations match your expectations

Export Run Summary¶

1. From the run detail view, click Export Summary
2. Choose format:
3. PDF — Formatted report suitable for management review
4. CSV — Raw data for spreadsheet analysis
5. The file downloads with all run data

Step 6: Generate and Distribute Payslips¶

Payslips are generated automatically when the run completes. Here’s how to manage them:

View All Payslips¶

1. Go to Payroll → Payslips
2. All payslips from the completed run appear in the list

Export Individual Payslip (PDF)¶

1. Click on any payslip to open the detail view
2. Click Export PDF
3. The formatted PDF downloads with:
4. Company logo and details
5. Employee name and ID
6. Itemized earnings, deductions, and taxes
7. Employer contributions (informational)
8. Net pay summary

Bulk Export Payslips (PDF)¶

1. From the Payslips tab, select multiple payslips using checkboxes
2. Click Export PDF (bulk action)
3. All selected payslips download as individual PDFs in a ZIP file
4. Each file is named: Payslip_EmployeeName_Period.pdf

Export Payslips as CSV¶

For accounting or payroll provider analysis:

1. From the Payslips tab, click Export CSV
2. Choose the scope:
3. All Payslips — Everything in the system
4. Current Period — Only the latest period
5. Specific Station — Filter by location
6. The CSV downloads with all payslip data in spreadsheet format

Employee Access to Payslips¶

Employees can view their own payslips through: - Mobile App → Payslips tab — available immediately after generation - Employee Portal — web access at app.4geeks.io - Email Notification — optional; enable in Settings → Notifications

Step 7: Generate HR Intelligence Reports for Local Payroll Providers¶

The Employee Stream is designed to feed perfect data to your local payroll provider. The HR Intelligence Report is the key output.

1. Go to Payroll → Reports → Payroll Export
2. Select the Pay Period that matches your completed run
3. Click Generate Report
4. The report includes:

1. Click Export and choose:
2. CSV — For your local payroll provider’s system

3. PDF — For your records and approvals

4. Send the exported report to your local payroll provider so they can execute the actual payments

Step 8: Reversing a Payroll Run (If Needed)¶

If you discover an error after the run is completed:

1. Open the run from the Runs list
2. Click Reverse
3. Confirm the reversal

What happens: - All payslips from this run are voided - The run status changes to “Reversed” - Employee payslips show “Voided” status - You can create a new corrected run

Step 9: Post-Run Best Practices¶

Immediate Actions¶

• Review the run summary for any anomalies
• Export and archive the run summary (PDF)
• Notify employees that new payslips are available
• Send HR Intelligence Report to local payroll provider
• If using auto-funding for contractors, verify fund transfers

Regular Reviews¶

• Monthly — Check analytics for cost trends (see Analytics Guide)
• Quarterly — Review bonus and deduction configurations
• Annually — Verify tax rates and update employee profiles

What’s Next?¶

• Learn how to Use Analytics to Monitor Payroll Costs
• Learn how to Set Up Tax Compliance for Multi-Country Payroll
• Review the Payroll Runs 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