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MDP - Payroll Processing - Running Payroll

How to Run Payroll and Access Payment Reports

Sharabin Mathi avatar
Written by Sharabin Mathi
Updated over a month ago

This article provides step-by-step guidance on processing payroll and accessing employee payment reports efficiently.

Quick Navigation

Accessing the Run Payroll Screen

To access the payroll run screen, please follow the steps below

  1. Navigate to the dashboard by clicking on the logo. This will take you to the "Manage Clients" list.

  2. Find the client and click the "People" icon in the corresponding row. This will open a list of employees.

  3. On the employee dashboard, click on the "Payroll" tab. An orange underline will indicate the active tab.

  4. Select the Current Period tab. This tab is selected by default.

  5. Click the Reports icon in the desired pay period to initiate the payroll process.

Completing Payroll for the Current Period

The system automatically calculates payroll for each pay period once employees are added to the pay cycle. Employees with employment details only will appear in the payroll run.

Note: Ensure all employees' pay data is entered before processing payroll. If pay data is missing, the report and payslip will reflect a value of zero. Learn more about adding pay data here.

Payroll Run Overview

At the top of the payroll run screen, you will find key details:

  • Employee Count: The total number of employees included and excluded in the payroll run.

  • Pay Period: Displays the tax week or tax month based on the pay cycle.

  • Pay Date: The scheduled payment date.

  • Current Period Status: Indicates if the period is Completed, Approved, Closed, Error, or Locked.

Steps to Complete a Pay Run

  1. Ensure that all employee pay data is accurately entered before proceeding with payroll processing. If pay data is missing, the report and payslip will reflect a value of zero

  2. By default, the current period status will show as completed.

  3. Verify the Pay Period, Pay Date, and Employee Count.

  4. Edit/Update Pay Date: You can edit the pay date by selecting a different date and then clicking Save to update it.

    Note: You can only select a pay date that falls within the start and end dates of the pay period defined in the pay cycle settings

  5. If you prefer not to process payroll for certain employees, you can easily exclude them from the payroll run. Click on the Employee Excluded & Included Link. Learn more about this here.

  6. Download and resolve Errors and Warnings (if any). Changes will update payroll automatically. Click the Recalculate button at the top if needed.

  7. Download the PBE Report to review payroll calculations, including earnings, deductions, and taxes. Learn more about the PBE report here.

  8. Download the Pay Item Result Listing report to review all pay items, including system-generated pay items for all employees. It will show negative values for the deduction pay items. Learn more about the Pay Item Result Listing report here.

  9. (Optional) Download and verify Payslips. The payslips that are at the completed/locked stage will have the "Draft" watermark when you download them.

  10. Click Lock Current Period to finalise payroll. The current period status will be changed to "Locked" status.

  11. Once locked, modifications are not allowed. You need to unlock the period to make any changes.

  12. Approve payroll by selecting Approve Current Period. This enables access to pension reports and FPS submissions. Note: Payroll cannot be approved if there is no pay data for all employees on the payroll.

  13. After approval, the payroll status updates to Approved, and payslips can be sent by clicking Send Payslips.

  14. (Optional) Access additional reports, such as Pension Reports and FPS Submissions, after approval.

  15. (Optional - FPS) You can download the FPS once the period is approved. The section will show the FPS status as Incomplete before the download. You can also access and do this after closing the current period.

  16. (Optional - FPS) After downloading, the FPS status will change to Pending. You will then have the option to submit FPS. Learn more about FPS submissions here (add link).

  17. (Optional - FPS) Once the FPS is submitted successfully, the section will display the FPS status as Success, along with options to download an Excel file containing the submitted data and an XML file of the submission request.

  18. (Optional - FPS) When submitting a late Full Payment Submission (FPS), a slider will appear with submission details. Select the appropriate option and click Proceed to finalise the submission. The FPS status will be updated based on the FPS submission.

  19. (Optional - FPS) If the FPS fails for some reason, then you can download the report, and the FPS status will be changed to Pending.

  20. (Optional) To generate pension reports, click the Download button in the pension reports section. For more details on pension reports, refer to this section. You can also access this after closing the current period.

  21. (Optional) You can also access the Final Reports section, which will include the Bank File, and Journals for this payroll. These reports can be accessed and downloaded even after closing the current period

  22. (Optional) If corrections are needed, you can use the Undo Approval option. This will reset the payroll status to Completed and allow for necessary adjustments before proceeding. Once the corrections are made, you can continue with the payroll process

  23. (Optional) If there are any leavers during that pay period, then you can send the P45s by clicking on the send P45s button in this section.

  24. To finalise payroll, click Close Current Period. This moves the period to Payroll History, and the next pay run is created automatically.

Additional Details for the Pay Run

Excluding or Including Employees from Payroll

If you prefer not to process payroll for certain employees, you can easily exclude them from the payroll run. Follow the steps below to manage employee inclusion and exclusion:

How to Access the Exclusion/Inclusion Panel

Click on the "Employee Excluded & Included" link to open the panel where you can adjust employee selections for payroll processing.

To Exclude Employees:

  • Use the slider to view the list of employees.

  • To exclude a particular employee, untick the checkbox next to their name.

  • To exclude all employees, simply deselect the checkbox at the top of the list. This action will exclude all employees across all pages. If you apply a filter first and then deselect the checkbox, only the filtered employees will be excluded.

  • The employee will then appear in the Excluded Employees list on the right-hand side.

  • Click Proceed to save your changes.

To Include Employees:

  • On the right-hand side (Excluded Employees list), tick the checkbox next to the employee(s) you wish to include.

  • The selected employee(s) will move to the Included Employees list on the left-hand side.

  • To include all employees, simply select the checkbox at the top of the list. This action will include all employees across all pages. If you apply a filter first and then select the checkbox, only the filtered employees will be included.

  • Click Proceed to save your changes.

Additional Tools and Filters:

  • You can use the filter icon to search for employees by Name, Gross Pay, or Employee Number.

  • By default, the panel displays the first 10 employees. Use the pagination controls at the bottom to navigate through the full list.

This feature allows you to efficiently manage who is included in each payroll cycle, ensuring you have full control over your payroll processing.

Note: Once the payroll run is complete, this option will be switched to view-only mode, and the checkboxes will no longer be available.

Errors and Warnings

If errors or warnings appear, they will be listed in this section with corresponding counts. If there are any errors, payroll cannot be processed, and the current period status will change to Error.

  • Errors: Must be resolved before proceeding. Common issues include incorrect tax codes.

  • Warnings: Payroll can still be processed, but affected employees (e.g., missing bank details) will be skipped.

  • Download the Error and Warnings Report for more details.

Bank File

To download the bank file:

  1. Navigate to the Reports section.

  2. Click the Download icon.

Possible bank file errors include missing or incorrect employee bank details. If bank details are missing or incorrect, the payroll process may need to be rolled back to the previous period to correct the information. To avoid this, ensure all bank details are entered correctly before running payroll.

  • A TXT File button appears for successful downloads.

  • An Error File button appears if issues are detected. Download the file to review and correct errors.

If some details are incorrect, both an Error File and a TXT File will be available for download. If all details are incorrect, only the Error File will appear. Please see the reference images below.

For Zempler Bank, it will also show the option to download the "International File" format.

Pay Item Result Listing

This report provides a breakdown of all processed pay items, including system-generated pay items for all employees. It will show what each pay item is subjected to.

Journals

The Journal Report contains payroll-related credit and debit entries. Journal codes are derived from pay items and can be edited if needed. To update journal or nominal codes, refer to this guide here.

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