Start a payroll run

Start a regular run from a selected pay-schedule occurrence. Run-specific eligibility can allow an employee with partial coverage for only the listed service dates; employed scheduled dates without a primary assignment remain unresolved, while ambiguous assignments or prior finalised payroll coverage block inclusion. Blocked candidates stay visible with their reasons and source-run links when applicable. The draft captures its employee set and inputs, calculates with its captured statutory pack, and may then be finalised. Several regular runs may fall in one month. See Choose employees for a pay run for the selection details.

Before you begin

Select the organisation, schedule, and service period. Confirm the close-by date, run-specific employee eligibility and explicit draft membership, compensation terms, and the signed pack applicable to the service-period end. The statutory effective date is derived from the service-period end; the close-by date is a separate operational deadline. General employee setup readiness does not replace eligibility for this schedule occurrence. After an assignment change, refresh and recalculate any affected draft before continuing.

Steps

1. Open payroll, choose a named schedule and one of its available occurrences, then start or continue that occurrence’s regular draft.
2. In “Hours & Earnings”, review coverage badges and date notices, then use each available employee inclusion checkbox. Partial employees receive ordinary pay only for the shown covered dates; blocked and no-service rows cannot be included. Review “Regular hours”, “Overtime”, “Additional earnings”, “Reimbursements”, “Personal note”, “Gross preview”, and “Payment type”. Upload CSV currently reports that CSV upload is unavailable; enter supported changes through the draft controls. Use “Refresh employees” after an assignment or employee change affects the draft. See Choose employees for a pay run.
3. Select “Save progress” before leaving the draft. Select “Continue” when Step 1 validation is clear.
4. In “Time Off”, review approved requests and add or adjust direct draft entries when appropriate, or continue without entries when no leave applies. Open Time Off Policies if the wizard reports that no policies are configured. See Adjust employee time off in a pay run.
5. In “Review & Finalise”, select “Preview payroll”. Check gross, deductions, employer costs, net pay, employee results, schedule/period, close-by date, statutory effective date, and readiness messages.
6. If the preview is current and finalisation is available, confirm the organisation, schedule occurrence, employee set, and calculation evidence before finalising.
7. In “Confirmation”, verify the “Finalised” status and the finalisation reference. Select “Back to payroll dashboard” when finished.

What to check

The final screen states that payroll is finalised and read-only. The review includes a run ID, snapshot reference, gross, employee deductions, statutory deductions, employer costs, and net values. Before that point, treat “Gross preview” and draft estimates as preparation values; the backend preview is authoritative.

Important boundaries

Finalising locks the calculated run and records when that happened. It does not schedule a debit, pay employees, or submit a statutory return. A separate approval action applies only where the run’s available actions expose it; see Approve payroll.

Common problems

Related guides

Related guidePayroll preparation checklistRelated guideReview payrollRelated guideFinalise payrollRelated guideChoose employees for a pay runRelated guideAdjust employee time off in a pay runRelated guideTransactions available in a pay runRelated guideAdd and manage pay-run exchange rates