Overview
A payslip is the record of an individual pay event for an employee. It contains all the line items that make up their pay — wages, tax deductions, employer contributions, and the resulting net amount.
Payslips are normally created via a Pay Run (batch creation for all employees) or individually from an employee's Payslips tab.
Payslip Layout
Header
The header bar shows the payslip's identity at a glance:
- Payslip # — a unique reference (e.g. PR-001).
- Employee — the recipient's name, with a Final Payslip badge if this is their last pay before leaving.
- Pay Period — the date range this pay covers.
- Processing Date — the bank deposit date that appears on the payslip.
- Net Amount — the figure deposited into the employee's bank account.
- STP status badge — shows the ATO lodgement status:
- Accepted (green) — successfully lodged with the ATO.
- Submitted (blue) — sent to the ATO, awaiting response.
- Rejected (red) — the ATO rejected the submission. Review and re-submit.
- Discrepancy (yellow) — calculated amounts differ from expected values. <!-- /region -->
- Final Payslip badge — displayed when the employee has a leaving date set. The leaving date is included on the next FPS submission to HMRC and a P45 can then be issued. Once the final pay is processed, the employee's payroll record is closed. <!-- /region -->
Transaction Groups
Payslips are organised into named groups:
| Group | Contents |
|---|---|
| Wages & Salaries | Base pay, overtime, allowances, and any additional wage items. |
| Tax Withheld | PAYG withholding (income tax) and any HELP/HECS repayments. Calculated automatically from the employee's ATO tax scale. |
| Employer Contributions | Superannuation Guarantee and any additional employer super contributions. |
| Deductions | Any other deductions (e.g. salary sacrifice, union fees). |
| Group | Contents | Editable? |
|---|---|---|
| Wages & Salaries | Base pay, overtime, allowances, statutory payments (SMP, SPP, SSP), bonuses. | All lines editable; you can add new lines. |
| Tax Withheld | PAYE Income Tax (cumulative), Employee National Insurance, and Student Loan repayments. | System-calculated, read-only. Add Line Item is hidden for this group. |
| Employer Contributions | Employer National Insurance and Employer Pension contributions. | System-calculated, read-only. Add Line Item is hidden for this group. |
| Deductions | Employee Pension contributions, attachment-of-earnings court orders, voluntary deductions (union dues, payroll giving, season-ticket loans). | Employee Pension is system-calculated; manual deductions are fully editable and can be added. |
Each line item shows the description, account allocation, and amount.
System-Calculated Lines
Certain lines are calculated by formula and cannot be edited directly:
- PAYG withholding, HELP/HECS, Medicare Levy, Superannuation Guarantee. <!-- /region --> <!-- region:GB -->
- PAYE Income Tax, Employee NI, Employer NI, Employee Pension, Employer Pension, Student Loan repayments. <!-- /region -->
These display with a locked indicator and a subtle grey background. The Add Line Item button is hidden inside the Tax Withheld and Employer Contributions groups so you can't break the calculation. If you need to override a system value (e.g. to correct a back-dated change), edit the source field on the employee's record — the system lines are recalculated whenever the payslip is saved.
Manual lines (descriptions and amounts in Wages & Salaries and most of Deductions) remain fully editable as long as the payslip itself is editable.
Net Amount
The net pay is displayed at the bottom — this is the amount deposited into the employee's bank account.
Calculation: Gross Pay − Tax Withheld − Deductions = Net Pay
Creating a Payslip
Via Pay Run (Recommended)
Use Payroll → Pay Run to generate payslips for all employees at once. See the Pay Run help page.
Individually
- Navigate to an employee's profile → Payslips tab.
- Click Create Payslip.
- Enter the pay period, date paid, and bank account.
- The payslip is pre-filled from the employee's Default Pay template.
- Review and save.
Alternatively, from Default Pay, click Create Payslip to generate one directly from the template.
Editing a Payslip
You can edit a payslip to adjust amounts, add line items, or correct errors — as long as the payslip has not been reconciled against a bank transaction.
What You Can Change
- Wage items — adjust base pay, add overtime or allowances.
- Deductions — add or remove employee deductions.
- Pay period — correct the date range.
- Date paid — change the bank date.
- Bank account — change the payment account.
What's Recalculated Automatically
When you save changes, the following are recalculated based on the updated amounts:
- PAYG withholding (from the employee's tax scale)
- HELP/HECS repayment (if applicable)
- Superannuation Guarantee <!-- /region --> <!-- region:GB -->
- PAYE Income Tax (from the employee's tax code)
- Employee and Employer National Insurance
- Pension contributions
- Student loan repayments (if applicable) <!-- /region -->
When Editing is Locked
A payslip becomes read-only once it has been reconciled against a bank transaction. This prevents changes that would create discrepancies with your bank records.
Sending a Payslip
Click Send from the payslip's action menu to email a PDF payslip to the employee. The PDF includes:
- Employee name and pay details
- Full breakdown of all transaction groups
- Pay period and bank date
- Net amount banked
The email is sent to the employee's registered email address.
Previewing a Payslip
Click Preview to open a PDF view of the payslip in a new tab. Use this to check the layout and figures before sending.
Duplicating a Payslip
Use the Clone option from the action menu to create a copy of an existing payslip. The clone resets the dates and state, allowing you to use it as a starting point for a new pay period. This is useful for one-off adjustments or back-pay calculations.
Deleting a Payslip
Click Delete from the action menu to remove a payslip. A confirmation dialog appears — you must explicitly click Yes, Delete It! to proceed. This is a soft delete: the payslip is hidden but can be recovered if needed.
After deletion, you're redirected back to the employee's Payslips tab (or to All Payslips if the payslip wasn't tied to a specific employee).
Note: You cannot delete a payslip that has been reconciled against a bank transaction.
<!-- region:GB -->
Note: Deleting a Final Payslip does not automatically retract the FPS submission. If a Final Payslip has already been reported to HMRC, contact HMRC and follow their correction guidance before deleting locally.
<!-- /region -->
Payslip States
| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | Payslip is being prepared. Fully editable. |
| Finalised | Payslip has been completed. Still editable unless reconciled. |
| Paid | Payment has been recorded. Editable only if not reconciled. |
Permissions
| Action | Owner | Super Admin | Manager | Accountant | Basic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View payslip | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Create payslip | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Edit payslip | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Send payslip | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Delete payslip | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
Tips
- Review system-calculated items. After editing wage amounts, check that the recalculated tax and contributions look correct before sending.
- Send payslips on time. Employees expect their payslip on or before pay day.
- Use clone for corrections. If you need to issue a corrected payslip, clone the original and adjust the amounts rather than editing the original (which may already be reconciled).