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Process a pay run

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Summary

How to process your payroll in Sage Payroll.

Description

Processing a pay run consists of four main steps:

  1. Confirm your processing date.
  2. Enter any absences.
  3. Review employees pay.
  4. Complete and submit to HMRC.

You must complete the pay run for each pay frequency you have.

 NOTE: You can only run the payroll once per frequency per period. For example You can’t process a monthly pay cycle twice within one tax month. 

 CAUTION: Once you complete a run, you can't reverse it or undo a submission to HMRC. If you need to make changes, read Make changes to a completed pay run 

Resolution

This video will take you through processing a pay run. For more detailed steps, read the information below.

Process your payroll

  1. Select Summary or Pay Runs from the menu bar.
  2. Under the required pay frequency, Select Process Pay Run.

1. Confirm pay date

The date displayed is based on the pay calendar you have set up. If this is correct, select Next.

▼To change the pay date
  1. Select the calendar icon.
  2. Type in, or select a date from the calendar. You can only select a date within the tax week/month of your pay calendar.
     TIP: If required, you can change the tax week/month of your pay calendar. For more information, read skip or miss a pay run.
  3. Select Next.

2. Enter absence

If you don’t have any absence, select Next.

▼To enter absence

  1. Select the relevant employee then select Add Absence.
  2. Select the absence type.
  3. Fill in the required details. For more information on this, read Record employee absence.
  4. Select Save.
  5. Repeat for any other employees then select Next.

3. Review employees pay

The information you entered for the last pay run will appear. If the payment and deduction values are correct for each employee, select Next.

▼To change employees pay
  1. Select an employee.
  2. To edit or enter payment details, do one of the following:
Enter a payment value For hourly based payments, enter the Quantity and Rate. For a salary payment, enter just the Rate.
Add an existing payment type If you’ve set up a new payment and need to add this to the employee’s pay, select Add Payment. Select the required payment and enter the relevant amounts. 
Add a new payment type If you need to set up a new payment, select Add Payment. Then select Add a new payment and enter the relevant details. For more information, read Create and manage payments.                            
Remove a payment

Select the discard button next to the relevant payment.

 NOTE: This doesn’t delete the payment type. It only removes the payment type from this employee. 
  1. To edit or enter deduction details, do one of the following:
     NOTE: You can only edit manually added deductions. You can’t edit deductions such as PAYE and NI as they’re calculated on the employees payment values.  
Enter a deduction value Enter or edit the amount of the deduction.
Add an existing deduction To add an existing deduction to the employee, select Add Deduction. Select the required deduction and enter the deduction amount.
Add a new deduction Select Add Deduction. Then select Add a new deduction and enter the relevant details. For more information, read Create and manage deductions.
Remove a deduction

Remove a deduction from an employee’s pay in the current pay run if needed. Select the discard button next to the deduction.

 NOTE: This doesn't delete the deduction type. It only removes the deduction from this employee 
  1. If the employee isn’t due any money in the current pay run select the Exclude Employee check box. If you don't choose the Exclude Employee option, the system might calculate a tax rebate. This is because it assumes the employee worked but earned nothing.
     NOTE: The Exclude Employee option might not be available. A correction in the employee payment page is the cause. For more information, read Understanding payroll corrections. 
  2. Repeat for each employee whose pay details you want to review or edit and then select Next.

4. Complete and submit to HMRC

  1. Check all figures are correct. If they aren’t, select the Back button to get to the relevant screen and make the changes.
     TIP: For a more detailed breakdown of the figures, you can run the Detailed report and Draft payslips.  
  2. Once you’ve confirmed the pay values are correct, select Complete Pay Run.

The Confirm Pay Values screen will appear to submit your Full Payment Submission (FPS) to HMRC. You must enter your HMRC credentials for this to happen.. These are the same details you use to log into the HMRC portal. You’ll be in one of the following situations:

▼You have previously entered your HMRC credentials

The system now saves these. You don’t need to type them in again. Select Submit to send your FPS

▼You have previously entered your HMRC credentials but need to change them

To re-enter these details, select the green Change option. Once entered, select Submit to send your FPS

▼You haven’t yet entered your HMRC credentials

You’re prompted to enter them now. Once done, select Submit to send the FPS. For more information, read Get your Government Gateway credentials.

If you submit the FPS late, you must select a late reason. For more information, read FPS late reasons.

 CAUTION: If the submission fails, check the error code and resolve the issue. for more information, read Submission errors.

Next steps

Depending on your situation, you may need to:

 NOTE: If you also have Sage Accounting and you enable integration, the system automatically posts your salary journals. 

Related Solutions

Warning messages when completing a pay run

Create and edit employee records

Publish payslips to Sage HR Essentials

Can I add an employee to a completed pay run?