How do I run a payroll period?

Summary

This article explains how to run a payroll period.

More Information

Platinum Payroll will allow you to combine different Pay Frequencies or run them separately within the same system. You may pay some of your employees weekly and some monthly, some on an hourly rate and some on a salary - all this is available in the payroll. It is advisable that you run each frequency separately, i.e. run the payroll for the Weekly paid employees then go back in to run the Payroll for the Monthly paid employees, but this is not compulsory.

Run Payroll

To run a payroll period, follow the instructions below:

Go to " Payroll Run Payroll Period".
This will bring up a "Payroll Selection" Screen.
Select the Payroll frequency you wish to run, by selecting [Yes] next to the appropriate frequency.
Check the period you are running the payroll for and the date you are paying the employees.
- The "Period End" date should be the last day of the period you are paying the employees for. If this is the first time that you are running the payroll, you may need to set the "Period End" date appropriately. Once you have set this, it should update to the correct period end each time you close the payroll period.
- Weekly paid employees: To fall in line with Statutory Pay and Tax Credit date settings it is advised the date you enter is the Saturday at the end of the week you are paying for.

if you are paying employees for time worked from Monday 7th April to Friday 11th April it is advised you enter Saturday 12th April as the Period End date (Sunday 6th April would have provided the first day in the 7 day period).

Click the [Drop Down] to choose a date. The system will take the day after this to be the start date for the next pay period of this frequency.
Enter the "Pay Date". This is the date you are actually going to pay the employees and must be within the current Tax Period.

Tax Period Week 1 runs from 6th April - 12th April. If your pay date for weekly employees falls within this date range then you should be in Weekly payroll Period 1. The payroll system will not allow you to enter a date which falls outside the permitted pay period.

Click [OK] to start entering your payroll information.

Employee Default Pay Changes

If you choose to amend employee pay defaults e.g. due to a pay increase, the changes will not be applied to the open period. Instead they will be applied after closing the current period. If you wish for pay changes to be effective within the current period please move to the relevant employee and press <F7> or press <Shift+F7> to refresh all employee pay defaults. Please ensure you use this option prior to entering hours or other adjustments for this period.

Entry Screens

You have the choice of two screens to enter your Payroll information, i.e. Hours worked, Pre/Post Tax Adjustments, SSP, Holiday Pay etc.

Standard Entry Screen
Detailed Entry Screen

Using the Standard Entry Screen

This screen allows you to move freely around it, using the arrow keys on your keyboard or clicking on the fields with the mouse.

All employees due to be paid during the Period are listed on screen.

The order in which they are listed is defined in the " " Reports & Settings Maintenance Options System Administrator Module Settings" Payroll Module Settings".

You may temporarily change the order from the standard entry screen by pressing <Alt+F2> to Re-Sort Data although the changes will be lost as soon as you exit the Run Payroll Screen.

The period details are displayed at the top of the screen. The employee your are working in is also displayed at the top of the screen so you can check their NI Rate and Tax Code for the current period are correct.

The headings across the payroll entry screen will be made up of Pay Rates and Period Adjustments.

For each employee, these fields will pick up the default values e.g. Standard Hours Worked, Standard Pay Rate and any Period Adjustments which have been set up to be added/deducted each period - see Employee Amendments.

Enter the hours worked at each pay rate.
Enter any additions or deductions to pay using the columns available to you.
Other additions and deductions to pay such as SSP, Student Loan deductions, P45 details should be entered using the additional functions. Press <F12> to view a list of functions including:

Press <Enter> or arrow key down the screen to amend each employee in turn. Alternatively follow the steps below to use the detailed entry screen.

Using the Detailed Entry Screen

From the Standard Screen, press <F5> on the first employee. This will pop up the Detailed Entry screen.

As per the standard screen you should:

Enter the hours worked at each pay rate.
Enter any additions or deductions to pay using the columns available to you.
Other additions and deductions to pay such as SSP, Student Loan deductions, P45 details should be entered using the additional functions. Press <F12> to view a list of functions including:

Press <F1> to amend each employee in turn. You will see the name of the employee you are amending just behind the detailed entry window.

Payroll Totals

The bottom half of the screen is for information only. This displays the current period totals: Gross Pay, Nett Pay, Employee's and Employer's NI contributions & rebates (if applicable) and Tax.

It will also display any Pension Contributions, SSP, SMP/SAP/SPP and Holiday Pay if entered for this employee.

If the employee contributes to the Holiday Credit Scheme, the amount they are contributing this period is displayed alongside 'Hol. Credit' and the amount they have available to draw on is displayed in the brackets.

Saving the Payroll

You may click [Close] to exit the payroll without completing it or submitting it to HMRC.

Reporting and Submitting

Once you have finished entering all the information for each employee for this period, you need to produce the End of Period Reports, i.e. Payroll Analysis, Payslips and so on.

How do I run reports at the end of a payroll period? will guide you through this process.

How do I close a payroll period? explains how to close and submit your FPS (Full Payment Submission) to HMRC.

You should also ensure you submit your EPS (Employer Payment Summary) at the end of each Tax month.

Historic Notes

Coronavirus Information

The current situation changes regularly so please ensure you visit HMRC's website for the most up to date information.

Please visit this page for information relating to furloughing workers, eligibility and how to calculate an 80% rebate.

Use the information on your 2019/2020 P11's and/or copies of employee payslips to assist you with calculating the wages per employee.

Please seek advice from your accountant if you are unsure of the amounts to use.

The HMRC portal address is here. Use your Government Gateway username and password.

How do I run a payroll period?

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