Payroll Templates

The Payroll Templates page lets you create and manage HTML/CSS templates for two types of payroll documents: payslip PDFs that employees receive each pay period, and SIF files (Salary Information Files) used for bank or exchange-house salary transfers in the UAE. The active template is used for all generated and emailed payroll documents.

What you can do here:

View and switch between Payslips and SIF templates
Activate the template that should be used for new payroll runs
Preview built-in templates to see how they render
Duplicate a built-in template and customize it for your branding
Create a new template from scratch using HTML, CSS, and Nunjucks placeholders

Page Layout

The page has two tabs and a few global controls:

Element	Description
Payslips tab	Templates used to render the payslip PDF that gets emailed to each employee after a payroll run.
SIF tab	Salary Information File templates used for UAE bank/exchange-house salary transfers (WPS-style files).
Search templates…	Filters the templates within the active tab by name or description.
Create Template	Opens a side panel to create a new custom template.

What is SIF? A Salary Information File is a fixed-format text file that UAE employers send to a bank or exchange house to credit salaries to employees’ accounts. RadixHR generates these files from the active SIF template during payroll processing.

Understanding Template Cards

Each template appears as a card with a thumbnail preview, name, badges, description, and action buttons.

Element	Description
Thumbnail	A small visual preview of the rendered output
Template Name	The display name (e.g., “Modern”, “Simple”, “SIF - Bank Model”)
Active badge	Purple badge marking the template currently in use; the card also shows a check-circle and a coloured border
Built-in badge	Indicates a system-provided template — you can preview and duplicate it but the source is read-only
Description	Short summary of the template’s style or use case
Edit (pencil)	Open the template in the HTML/CSS editor (custom templates only)
Duplicate (copy icon)	Create a copy you can edit
Preview	Render a full preview using sample data
Activate	Set this template as the one used for all future payroll runs (hidden when already active)

Built-in templates are read-only by design. To customize one, click Duplicate to make an editable copy, then customize and Activate the copy.

Built-in Templates

Payslip Templates

Template	Description
Simple	Classic table-based layout with clean typography. Good starting point for traditional payslips.
Modern	Contemporary branded header layout with accent colours. Good if you want a more designed look.

SIF Templates

Template	Description
SIF - Bank Model	Standard SIF file format for UAE bank salary transfers. EDR records with employee unique ID, routing code, IBAN, and pay details.
SIF - Exchange Bank Model	SIF file format for exchange house salary transfers. EDR records with employee unique ID and exchange house routing details.

How to Activate a Template

Go to Settings > Payroll > Payroll Templates
Choose the Payslips or SIF tab depending on what you want to change
Find the template you want to use
Click Activate on its card

The template’s card gets a check-circle marker and an Active badge once it’s set. Only one template can be active per tab at a time — activating a new one automatically deactivates the previously active template.

Activating a different template only affects future payroll runs and document generations. Already-issued payslips and SIF files keep the layout they were generated with.

How to Preview a Template

Find the template you want to preview
Click the Preview button
The system renders the template using sample data so you can see exactly how it will look

Use this to compare templates before activating, or to verify changes you’ve made to a custom template.

How to Duplicate a Built-in Template

Built-in templates can’t be edited directly. To customize one:

Find the built-in template you want to use as a starting point
Click the Duplicate icon (the copy icon next to the pencil)
The system creates an editable copy
Click the Edit icon on the new copy to start customizing

Duplicating is the fastest way to apply your branding (logo, colours, header text) without writing a template from scratch.

How to Create a Custom Template

Click Create Template in the top-right of the page
Fill in the template details
Write or paste your HTML and CSS
Click Preview to render the template with sample data
Click Save Template

Create Template Form Fields

Field	Description	Required
Template Name	The display name for your template (e.g., “EGH Branded Payslip”). Shown on the card and in any selectors that reference templates.	Yes
Description (optional)	A short note about the template’s style or purpose. Helps other admins understand when to use it.	No
HTML	The HTML body of the template. RadixHR uses Nunjucks as the templating language — wrap dynamic values in `{{ ... }}` and use `{% ... %}` for logic. The default starter contains an empty `<!DOCTYPE html>` document.	Yes
CSS	Stylesheet that’s inlined into the rendered output. Use this for layout, fonts, colours, and print rules.	No

Nunjucks is a templating language similar to Jinja or Twig. It lets you embed variables ({{ employee.name }}), conditions ({% if employee.bonus %}...{% endif %}), and loops ({% for item in items %}...{% endfor %}) inside your HTML.

Previewing While Editing

Click the Preview button (bottom-left of the editor) to render your in-progress template against sample data without saving. Iterate until it looks right, then save.

Save your template before navigating away — the editor doesn’t autosave. Closing the panel without saving discards your changes.

Best Practices

Start by duplicating — pick a built-in template close to what you want and duplicate it instead of writing from scratch.
Test with realistic data — use the Preview button to render with sample data before activating, especially for SIF templates where format errors break bank uploads.
Keep CSS print-friendly — payslips are emailed as PDFs. Avoid web-only features (hover states, JavaScript, large fonts), and use absolute units (mm, pt) over px where possible.
Validate SIF format carefully — banks reject files that don’t conform exactly to their schema. Always test a small payroll batch first when you change the SIF template.
Document your changes — fill in the Description field for any custom template so future admins know what it’s for and when it was last updated.

Payroll Groups Salary Components Payroll Companies Running Payroll