Unable to create a new employee record in Sage 50 Payroll

Summary

Information on why the option to create a new employee record is sometimes unavailable in Sage 50 Payroll.

Description

When you attempt to create a new employee record, this option is sometimes unavailable, or this message appears:

'You have reached the limit for the number of employees permitted by your current licence. No more employees can be added to this company.'

Possible causes for this are:

Limited access rights of the username you're using
An incorrect activation key in the software
You've added the maximum number of employees available on your software licence

Resolution

If you're trying to create a new employee based on an existing record, check you only highlighted one employee record. Also, confirm that the employee record you highlighted is a leaver. Where this doesn't resolve your issue, continue to the access rights section.

Access rights

To give the required access rights to your user/s:

Log into Sage 50 Payroll as Manager.
Click Tasks, then Security.
Select Access Rights, then select the user.
From the Access List, ▼ select the relevant items.
- Employee Record
- Employee Wizard
- Quick Employee
- Personnel Record
Select Save.

Check if you've resolved the issue. If not, continue to the next section.

Employee limit reached

Check your activation key. If this is correct, check if you need to increase your employee licence limit.

Check your activation key

To check the last generated activation key for your software, use the find my serial number and activation key tool.

Increase the number of employees

If you need to increase the number of permitted employee records, leave your details and we'll call you back.

Check your licence information

To check your licence information in your software, open Help then About. Under the Licence Information heading, ▼ check the following details.

Serial number	This is your unique serial number.
Activation Key	This is the activation key currently used for the software. If this is incorrect, continue to the enter a new activation key section.
Variant	This is the variant of Sage 50 Payroll or Sage 50 Payroll Professional that you're currently using.
Users	This is the number of permitted users who can access the software from their own computer.
Licenced version number	This is the version of Sage 50 Payroll that you’re currently using.
Max companies allowed	This is the maximum number of companies allowed.
Max employees allowed	This is the maximum number of employees allowed in each company.
Payroll is compliant for	This is the relevant tax year.

If you want to increase your number of companies or employees, leave your details and we'll call you back.

Check your number of employees

To check your number of employees in your software, open Help then About. Under the Data Information heading, ▼ check the following details.

Number of Actual Companies	The number of companies you've created.
Current employees	The number of current employees.
Historical leavers	This is the number of employees marked as leavers in previous tax years. The number of historical leavers depends on how many years you opted to store historical data. This appears further down on the Data Information section. If you need to change this, go to Company then Settings and amend the Store Historical Data (Years) value.
Current year leavers	The number of employees you've marked as leavers in the current tax year
On hold	The number of employees you've marked on hold.
On holiday	The number of employees you've advanced holiday pay for, as of the current process date.
Directors	The number of employees set as directors.
Available Employees	The number of employee records you can create. This calculates as follows: Max employees allowed - (Current employees + Current year leavers)

Enter a new activation key

Click Tools, then click Upgrade Program.
In the New Key box, enter the activation key, then click Update.
Click OK, then click OK.

Upgrade your licence

Growing business? Add more companies, users, or employees to your licence with ease. Leave your details and we’ll be in touch.

Leave your details

Solution Properties

Solution ID: 200427112211157
Last Modified Date: Tue Nov 04 15:00:19 UTC 2025
Views: 0