Payroll Configuration

Empxtrack Free Payroll and HR Software

Empxtrack enables you to configure payroll module as per your company’s requirements. Map your existing processes and run payroll accurately in a few clicks.

Learn how to:

Set Reminder to run payroll
Configure approval process
Set pay period type
Declare pay periods
Set up investment declaration time period
Set monthly sheet processing mode
Configure tab visibility

Watch the video for step-by-step instructions on how to configure global payroll settings

Note: Empxtrack Free Payroll and HR software does not have the option to design payslip, download monthly salary and a few other configurations. Upgrade the product to avail more configuration options. Watch a short video on how to upgrade Empxtrack Free Payroll and get additional licenses, advanced features and free trials of additional products.

To configure payroll module, you need to:

Log into the system as an HR Manager/ HR Admin.
Click on the Product configurations tab on the Homepage. Click on the Configure Payroll link under Payroll Settings section. The Configure Payroll page appears as shown in Figure 1. The page is already configured with commonly used default settings.
Figure 1

1. Set Reminder to Run Payroll in Time
  
  Select the checkbox labelled as Select to configure reminders that remind you to run the payroll process before each pay period. Then specify the number of days in the Days to send automatic reminder (prior to pay period) field that appears, to set the reminder for the HR manager / admin to run the payroll process on the due date, each month. For example, if you set 3 in Days to send automatic reminder (prior to pay period) field and you run payroll process on 30th day of each month then you will get an automatic reminder on 27th of each month reminding you to run payroll in three days.

Configure Approval for Payroll Processing

Select Verification checkbox in the steps for Payroll Processing section and then provide the name of the approver in the text field. Search the name of the approver by clicking Advance Search icon next to the field as shown in Figure 2. Click Update button.
Tip: Setting an approver allows you to get the salary calculations rechecked for any errors by the authorized approver before finalizing it. After the salaries are finalized, you cannot make any changes to them.
Figure 2

Set Pay Period Type to be Used
Pay period is the pay duration after which the employee is compensated for the work done. The Pay Period Type field displays Monthly frequency selected by default to calculate salaries of employees. You can set the pay period type as Monthly, Weekly or Fortnightly (if required).
Note: Multiple options for pay period type are available in Empxtrack Enterprise edition.

Figure 3
Declare Pay Periods

Click View/Generate Pay Periods for FY link to generate pay periods for the entire year. A window that allows you to generate pay periods for the financial year appears, as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4
Click Edit button to modify the pay periods for the selected pay period type, as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5

Setup Investment Declaration Time Period

a. Click on the Configure Investment Declaration tab. This functionality allows employees to declare their investments to avail exemptions and tax benefits.
b. By default, Display Investment Declarations Tab to employees checkbox is selected, as shown in Figure 6.
Figure 6
c. In the Investment Declaration Processing Mode section, select the investment declaration processing mode. There are multiple options available:
- Declared: The payroll will be calculated on the declared investment.
- Actual: The payroll will be calculated on the Actual investment
- Ask: The system will ask which processing mode to use before calculating payroll.
- Ignore: The system will ignore investment declarations all together and will calculate tax on the salary.
Employers are required to deduct tax from an employee’s taxable income. This is Tax Deducted at Source (TDS). To make the correct TDS calculation from the beginning of the financial year, the employer needs a declaration from the employees about the deductions and exemptions to which they are entitled.
Throughout the year, the tax is deducted based on the information employees provide. One or two months before the financial year ends, the employees need to submit documentary proof of their actual investments in the financial plans that they had declared so that tax adjustments can be made and correct amount of tax can be deducted from their income.
The investment declarations made by employees to allow correct TDS deductions from their salaries from the beginning of the financial year is called Declared Investment.
At the end of the financial year, the employees need to submit the documentary proof of the actual investments in the financial plans that they had declared so that tax adjustments can be made and correct amount of tax can be deducted from their income. The investments made by the employees for which they submit the proof is called Actual Investment.
d. Specify the start date of the investment declaration time period in the Start Date field and the end date of the investment declaration time period in the End Date field.
e. Select All Employees or Group to whom this investment declaration mode applies.
f. Click send declaration notification to notify the employees.
g. Click Update button to save all the changes that you made.
Set Monthly Sheet Processing Mode

In the Global Settings tab, go to Steps for Payroll Processing section. Monthly sheet processing is automatically selected, as shown in the Figure 7.
The available options are:
- Automatically In Payroll: This option enables monthly sheet variables to automatically import during the payroll processing.
- Outside Payroll: This option enables an HR manager to calculate the monthly variables manually.
Figure 7
Configure Tabs Visibility
Select Allow employees to view yearly Details checkbox to display the Year to Date Details tab to the employee (Log in as an employee to view this). The Year to Date Details tab displays the payments made to the employee till date for each month, as shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8
Select Display Tax Advice to employees? checkbox to display tax advice to the employees. In the employee portal, employees can view tax advice in Seek TDS Advice tab. It also shows the salary amounts paid till date, projected amounts, exemptions and the taxable amounts. The page further details about the investments that an employee has made and the exemptions that (s)he can get on that amount, as shown in Figure 9.
Notes:
a) To check this, you need to login as an employee and go to Process >>Salary Records >> Click More dropdown and select Tax Advice.
b) The option to Display Tax Advice to employees is available in the paid edition.

Figure 9
Select Process payroll for the entire group without selecting employees checkbox and select the required option from Allow relationship between salary heads field to allow/ deny master-dependent relationships between salary heads that can be setup while setting up a salary structure.
Choose Display salary structure to employees and select a relevant option for showing monthly or yearly salary breakup to employees.
Now select the required options for HRA calculation mode and Enable claim to employees, and then fill the value for Payroll cut-off date.

If you want to round off the payroll values up to a decimal number, select the required option for the Rounding field. Else select No decimal option.
Click Update.The configuration settings are saved successfully and the message suggesting the same appears on the top.

Figure 10
Learn more about Empxtrack Payroll

Next Link
Setup Payroll Variables

Click on the following links to know more about them: