Payroll software
Payroll software for small business that shows its working
This payroll software for small business calculates pay for a month from a frozen snapshot of attendance, leave and salary, shows every step behind each figure, and only then lets you approve, lock, issue payslips and produce a bank file. It calculates and records. A person reviews and applies every run, and your bank moves the money.
What payroll software for small business should do
Payroll software works out what each person is owed for a period: base pay, claims, loans, deductions and statutory items, after attendance and leave. For a small business the hard part is rarely the arithmetic. It is knowing which inputs the figures came from, and proving it later when somebody asks why their pay changed.
In ExecCortex payroll lives in the Human Resources app, next to the employee records, attendance and leave it reads from. Payslips can also be built and sent from the Invoicing app. Both use the same staff directory, so nobody is typed in twice.
The payroll screens
Payroll Runs
One run is one month, one population and every figure computed for them. There is one regular run per legal entity per month; extra payments go in an off cycle run.
Compensation
Salary structures and pay changes that the run reads when it calculates.
Claims and Loans
Expense claims to repay and loans to recover, each with its own screen and its own How to use panel.
Statutory
Statutory items, which follow the legal entity on the employment record rather than the workspace.
Settlements
Final settlements for people who leave, so a last month is never forgotten.
Payslips
In Invoicing: single payslips or grouped batches, a Salary Sheet for the whole run, and a Schedule. Payslips can be sent and shared.
Why the payroll software freezes its inputs
Freezing a run takes a snapshot of attendance, leave, salary structures and everything else the calculation reads. From that moment the run is computed from the snapshot, never from live data. A pay rise filed or a leave request approved after the freeze does not move the run, and that is what makes it reproducible: recalculating next year gives the same answer it gave today.
To take a late correction, unfreeze and freeze again. Each freeze is kept, so anybody who asks later why a figure moved can see when the inputs changed.
After calculating, the result says how many lines it managed and how many it could not. The variance against last month is the fastest way to spot a mistake, and opening a line shows every step of how its figure was reached.
Running a month of payroll in ExecCortex
The order matters: nothing can be changed once a run is locked.
1.Open a run for the period
Choose the legal entity and the month. A second payment in the same month is an off cycle run.
2.Fill the population
Pull people in from the directory, including anybody who left mid month and is still owed for the days they worked.
3.Freeze the inputs
The snapshot is taken here, and every later step reads only from it.
4.Calculate and review
Read the variance column and open any line that moved more than you expected.
5.Approve, then lock
Approval is refused while a blocking exception is open. Locking is the point after which nobody can change the run.
6.Bank file, payslips, posting
Generate the bank file for your bank, mark it delivered, issue payslips, and post the cost to your accounts.
Every screen is explained in detail in the Human Resources guide and the Invoicing guide.
What it does not do
Payroll here computes. A human applies. Being exact about that matters more on payroll than anywhere else.
- It does not pay anybody. It produces a bank file; your bank moves the money when you send it.
- It does not file payroll taxes or returns with any government body. Your business or your accountant files them.
- It does not change a locked run. A correction after locking is an off cycle run or arrears in the next month.
- It does not read live data after freezing. Unfreeze and freeze again to take a late change.
What it costs
Every workspace starts on the free plan, with no card required. Each app is then priced per workspace and switched on by itself, and capacity packs raise one limit at a time without moving you to a bigger plan. Prices below are read live from the platform.
- Human Resource ManagementEmployee records, time off and org structure, built for one company.Included free
- Invoicing Management SystemQuotes, invoices, payments and payroll, paid faster.$3 per month per workspace
See every price and capacity pack or read more about Human Resource Management and Invoicing Management System.
Related: Employee management software, Leave management system, or every use case.
Payroll software: common questions
Does this payroll software pay my employees?
No. It calculates the run, issues payslips and produces a bank file. You send the file to your bank, which makes the payments.
Does it file payroll taxes?
No. Statutory items are calculated and recorded, but filing with the tax authority is done by your business or your accountant.
Why did my approved leave not change the run?
The run was frozen before the leave was approved. Unfreeze and freeze again to take a fresh snapshot.
Which country rules apply?
Payroll, holidays and statutory items follow the legal entity on the employment record, so people employed by an entity in another country are handled by that entity.
Can I see how a figure was worked out?
Yes. Open any line in a run to see every step of the calculation behind it.
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