Payroll Groups

Payroll Groups define pay cycles for your organization. Each group specifies the payment frequency, period start day, and payment day, allowing you to manage different payroll schedules for various employee groups.

What you can do here:

Create payroll groups with different payment frequencies
Define payroll calculation policies
Set up approval workflows for payroll runs
Configure currency and payment schedules

When should you create multiple payroll groups? Create separate payroll groups when you have employees on different pay cycles. For example, if your office staff is paid monthly while your hourly workers are paid weekly, you need two payroll groups. Similarly, if you have employees in different countries paid in different currencies (e.g., AED for UAE staff and USD for US staff), create a separate payroll group for each currency.

Why Use Payroll Groups?

Payroll groups are essential for organizations that need to:

Handle Multiple Pay Schedules: Pay different employee groups on different schedules (monthly, bi-weekly, weekly)
Separate by Region: Manage payroll in different currencies for international teams
Apply Different Policies: Use different calculation rules for different employee categories
Control Approval Workflows: Require different approval processes for various payroll runs

Every employee must be assigned to a payroll group. The payroll group determines when and how they get paid.

Payroll Groups Tab

The Payroll Groups tab displays all configured pay cycles with their settings.

Summary Cards

Card	Description
Total Groups	Number of payroll groups configured in the system
Active Groups	Number of groups currently accepting new payroll runs
Default Group	The group assigned to new employees if not specified

Group Properties

Column	Description
Group	Name and code of the payroll group
Frequency	How often payroll is processed (Monthly, Bi-weekly, Weekly)
Period Start	Day of month when the pay period begins
Payment Day	Day of month when employees are paid
Policy	Linked payroll policy for calculations
Currency	Currency used for this payroll group
Approval	Approval workflow type (Direct or workflow-based)
Default	Whether this is the default group for new employees
Status	Active or Inactive

Creating a Payroll Group

Click Add Group
Fill in the group details
Configure payment schedule
Select a payroll policy (optional)
Set approval workflow
Click Create Group

Group Fields

Field	Description	Required
Code	Unique identifier for the group (e.g., MONTHLY-01)	Yes
Name	Display name for the group (e.g., Monthly Payroll)	Yes
Description	Optional explanation of the group’s purpose	No
Frequency	Payment frequency (Monthly, Bi-weekly, Weekly)	Yes
Period Start Day	Day of month (1-28) when pay period starts	Yes
Payment Day	Day of month (1-28) when payment is made	Yes
Payroll Policy	Calculation rules to apply (None or select policy)	No
Currency	3-letter currency code (e.g., USD, EUR, INR)	Yes
Approval Workflow	Workflow for payroll run approval	No
Default Group	Use as default for new employees	No
Active	Whether group accepts new payroll runs	Yes

Payment Frequency Options

Frequency	Description	Use Case
Monthly	Once per month on a fixed day	Most common for salaried employees
Bi-weekly	Every two weeks	Common in North America
Weekly	Every week	Hourly workers, temporary staff

The “Next Possible Payroll Start Date” is automatically calculated based on your frequency and period start day settings.

Approval Workflows

Option	Description
No workflow (direct approve)	Payroll runs are approved immediately without review
Custom workflow	Payroll runs go through a defined approval chain before being finalized

For compliance and audit purposes, it’s recommended to use an approval workflow for payroll runs, especially in larger organizations.

Payroll Policies Tab

Payroll Policies define the calculation rules used when processing payroll. They control everything from daily rate calculations to overtime multipliers and deduction rules.

Why Use Payroll Policies?

Payroll policies allow you to:

Standardize Calculations: Ensure consistent payroll calculations across the organization
Handle Complex Rules: Define overtime rates, absence deductions, and rounding rules
Manage Features: Enable or disable advances, expense claims, and leave encashment
Control Limits: Set maximum advance amounts, expense claim limits, and deduction caps

Policy Properties

Column	Description
Policy	Name and code of the payroll policy
Daily Rate Method	How daily salary rate is calculated
Attendance	Whether attendance tracking is enabled
Overtime	Whether overtime calculations are enabled
Absence Deduction	Whether absences result in salary deductions
Status	Active or Inactive

Creating a Payroll Policy

Go to the Payroll Policies tab
Click Add Policy
Configure calculation rules
Set feature toggles and limits
Click Create Policy

Basic Information

Field	Description
Code	Unique identifier (e.g., DEFAULT)
Name	Display name (e.g., Default Policy)
Description	Optional explanation of the policy

Daily Rate Calculation

Method	Description
Calendar Days	Divide monthly salary by actual days in month (28-31)
Fixed Days	Divide by a fixed number (e.g., 30 days)
Working Days	Divide by number of working days in month

The daily rate method affects how per-day deductions and additions are calculated. Choose the method that matches your local labor laws and company policies.

Overtime Settings

Setting	Description
Enable Overtime	Toggle overtime calculations on/off
OT Base	What salary component to use for OT calculations (Basic Salary, Gross)
Standard Hours/Day	Normal working hours per day (default: 8)
Normal OT Multiplier	Rate multiplier for regular overtime (e.g., 1.5x)
Holiday OT Multiplier	Rate multiplier for holiday overtime (e.g., 2x)
Weekly Off OT Multiplier	Rate multiplier for weekend overtime (e.g., 2x)

Attendance & Absence

Setting	Description
Enable Attendance Tracking	Require attendance records for payroll
Enable Absence Deduction	Deduct salary for absent days
Absence Deduction Base	Which salary component to use for deductions
LOP Deduction Base	Base for Loss of Pay calculations
Deduct Weekly Off	Include weekly offs in deduction calculations

Rounding Options

Setting	Description
Method	Round, Floor, or Ceiling
Decimal Precision	Number of decimal places (0 for whole numbers)
Min Net Pay %	Warning threshold for minimum net pay percentage

Feature Toggles

Feature	Description
Advances	Enable salary advance management
Expense Claims	Process expense reimbursements through payroll
Leave Encashment	Include leave encashment in payroll calculations
Arrears	Calculate and pay salary arrears

Advance Limits

Setting	Description
Max Multiplier	Maximum advance as multiple of monthly gross (e.g., 2x)
Max Outstanding	Maximum concurrent advance requests
Min Tenure	Minimum employment months before eligible for advance
Max Installments	Maximum number of repayment installments
Max Deduction %	Maximum percentage of salary for advance deduction

Expense Limits

Setting	Description
Max Claim Amount	Maximum single expense claim
Monthly Limit	Per-employee monthly expense limit
Receipt Required Above	Amount threshold requiring receipt attachment

Payslip Settings

Setting	Description
Auto-generate	Automatically create payslips on approval
Send Payslip To	Email type for payslip delivery (Business Email, Personal Email)
Active	Policy is available for use

Best Practices

Start with one group: Create a single payroll group initially and add more as needed
Use descriptive codes: Make codes meaningful (e.g., MONTHLY-USD, WEEKLY-EUR)
Document policies: Add descriptions explaining why certain calculation methods were chosen
Test before going live: Run test payrolls to verify calculations before actual pay runs
Regular audits: Review payroll policies periodically to ensure compliance with changing regulations

Changes to payroll policies affect future payroll runs only. Completed payroll runs retain the calculation rules that were in effect at the time of processing.

Salary Components Salary Structures Payment Methods