Getting Started with the Payroll and HR Edition in CrmLeaf
Payroll & HR edition. The Payroll & HR edition is one of the five CrmLeaf product editions (Worksuite, Payroll & HR, Solar CRM, Construction CRM, Manufacturing CRM) and is selected when the account is created.…
Availability: Payroll & HR edition. The Payroll & HR edition is one of the five CrmLeaf product editions (Worksuite, Payroll & HR, Solar CRM, Construction CRM, Manufacturing CRM) and is selected when the account is created. HR core, Attendance and Leave are core features in every edition, but Payroll itself is a paid add-on module that an Administrator must have enabled for your account before the payroll screens appear.
Overview
The Payroll & HR edition of CrmLeaf is for organisations whose primary need is employee records, attendance, leave and salary processing. It runs on the same engine as the other editions but ships with its own signup route, its own navigation layout and its own Getting Started checklist. This article walks through that checklist so you can reach a first payroll run in a defined order.
The checklist exists because payroll depends on data created earlier: a salary cannot be assigned to an employee who does not exist, and payroll cannot be run for an employee with no salary structure.
How It Works
CrmLeaf presents a nine-step Getting Started checklist for the Payroll & HR edition. Each step deep-links to the screen where that work is done. Your progress is saved, so you can leave the checklist and resume it later without repeating completed steps.
Organisation setup → People → Time rules → Salary structure → Run Payroll
- The nine steps run in this order: Profile, Designations, Departments, Add Employee, Attendance & Shift, Leave Settings, Salary Components, Employee Salary, Run Payroll.
- Completion is recorded per step, so the checklist can be resumed at any time.
- Sample data can be seeded during onboarding so a new account starts with records to explore.
- Attendance and Leave feed payroll directly, which is why they are configured before salary.
Who Can Use This Feature?
Administrator
- Complete every step of the Payroll & HR onboarding checklist.
- Create designations, departments and employee records.
- Configure attendance, shifts and leave rules.
- Build salary components, assign employee salaries and run payroll.
This functionality is available only to Administrators.
Prerequisites
- A CrmLeaf account created with the Payroll & HR edition.
- The Payroll add-on module enabled for your account and your role.
- Your organisation's legal entity details, department and designation lists, and the salary structure you intend to use.
- Your statutory registration details for the countries in which you employ people.
For Administrators
Step 1: Complete the organisation profile
What to do: Complete the company record and branding details, including the company name, address and default currency and language. These values appear on payslips and payroll documents.
What to verify: The company name and currency are correct before any payslip is generated.
Step 2: Create designations
What to do: Add each job title your organisation uses. Designations are hierarchical, so a reporting structure can be represented.
What to verify: Every designation you will need when adding employees exists.
Step 3: Create departments
What to do: Add your departments. Departments are also hierarchical and carry a member listing. Payroll can be run for a selected department, so this structure matters later.
What to verify: The department list matches how you want to process and report payroll.
Step 4: Add employees
What to do: Create employee records with designation, department, reporting manager and bank details. You can add employees one at a time, invite them by email or link, or Import them in bulk.
What to verify: Bank details are complete for every employee you intend to pay.
Step 5: Configure attendance and shifts
What to do: Set the default shift and the attendance options you need, then define shifts and assign rosters. Attendance records and shift length affect payroll and hourly leave deductions.
What to verify: Every employee has an assigned shift.
Step 6: Configure leave settings
What to do: Define leave types with per-employee quotas, and enable hourly leave if your organisation uses it. Leave approvals are permission-based per role.
What to verify: Leave types and quotas are in place before the first payroll period closes.
Step 7: Create salary components
What to do: Build the earnings, deductions, variable components and statutory items your salary structure requires, then group them into salary groups.
What to verify: Each component behaves as an earning or a deduction as intended.
Step 8: Assign employee salaries
What to do: Assign a salary structure to each employee, using a salary group where possible, and record increments where they apply.
What to verify: Every employee to be paid has an active salary record.
Step 9: Run payroll
What to do: Select the payroll cycle and department, generate payslips, review them, update the payroll status, then Download the payslip PDF or email payslips to employees.
What to verify: Payslip totals reconcile with the attendance, leave and salary data for the period before you release them.
Expected Result
Your organisation profile, designations, departments, employees, attendance and shift rules, leave settings, salary components and employee salaries are all in place, and the checklist shows the Payroll & HR onboarding as complete up to your first payroll run.
Service Organisation Context
The Payroll & HR edition exists for organisations whose central need is employee records, attendance, leave and salary processing, and that remains its purpose in any industry. A professional services organisation running delivery in another CrmLeaf edition would normally enable the Payroll module there rather than move to this edition, because payroll is the largest recurring cost sitting behind a people-based business. Note that CrmLeaf holds no per-hour employee cost rate for project costing, so salary processed here does not become an engagement cost figure on its own.
Important Notes
- Menu names and their position can differ between product editions and can be customised for your account, so your sidebar may not match these paths exactly. Use Search or your Quick Access items if you cannot find a screen.
- Payroll is a paid add-on module. Confirm it is included in your plan before you plan a payroll go-live date.
- Do not change the order of the nine steps. Later steps depend on data created by earlier ones.
- Statutory contribution rates, wage thresholds and filing deadlines are set by the relevant government authorities and change over time. Confirm every rate, threshold and deadline with a qualified compliance advisor before your first live payroll run.
- CrmLeaf produces payroll and statutory filing outputs from your data. It does not submit returns to any authority on your behalf.
Common Scenarios
Example: onboarding across two sessions. An Administrator completes Profile, Designations and Departments on the first day and closes the checklist. Returning the next day, the checklist still shows those three steps as complete, and work resumes at Add Employee.
Example: migrating an existing workforce. Rather than creating 180 employee records manually, the Administrator uses employee import at step 4, then salary import to populate salary data before step 9.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Possible Cause | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll screens are not visible anywhere in the menu | The Payroll add-on module is not enabled for the account, or not for your role | Ask your Administrator to enable the module for the account and your role. |
| An employee cannot be assigned a designation or department | Steps 2 and 3 were skipped | Create the designation and department first, then reopen the employee record. |
| Payroll cannot be generated for an employee | No salary record is assigned to that employee | Complete step 8 for the employee, then generate payroll again. |
| The checklist shows a completed step as outstanding | The underlying record was deleted after the step was completed | Recreate the record and open the step again. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I skip the checklist and configure screens directly?
Yes. The checklist is a guided path, not a lock. The dependencies between the steps still apply, however, so the same order is recommended.
Is my progress lost if I sign out?
No. Step completion is saved against your account, so the checklist can be resumed.
Does the Payroll & HR edition include CRM and projects?
All editions run on the same engine, but each edition has its own navigation layout and its own set of enabled modules. Ask your Administrator which modules are enabled in your plan.
Can I run payroll for more than one department at a time?
Payroll is generated for a selected cycle and department. Repeat the run for each department you need to process.
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