How to Run Payroll and Generate Payslips in CrmLeaf
All editions, and the final step of the Payroll & HR edition onboarding checklist. Requires the Payroll add-on module to be enabled for your account by an Administrator.
Availability: All editions, and the final step of the Payroll & HR edition onboarding checklist. Requires the Payroll add-on module to be enabled for your account by an Administrator.
Overview
Running payroll turns your configuration and the period's time data into payslips. In CrmLeaf you select a payroll cycle and a department, generate the payslips, review them, update the payroll status, and then distribute payslips by download or email. This article covers that run end to end.
How It Works
Payroll is a controlled sequence rather than a single action, so there is a review point before anything is released to employees.
Select cycle and department → Generate payslips → Review → Update status → Download PDF or email payslips
- Generation reads each employee's salary structure and the period's attendance, approved leave and approved overtime.
- Hourly leave deducts a fraction of a day proportional to the employee's shift length, and payroll accounts for that fraction.
- Payslips are reviewed before the payroll status is updated, so errors can be corrected first.
- Once payroll is processed, statutory reports and government compliance forms can be produced from the same data.
- Payroll data can also be synchronised to Tally where that integration is in use.
Who Can Use This Feature?
Administrator
- Generate payslips for a selected cycle and department.
- Review generated payslips before release.
- Update the payroll status.
- Download payslip PDFs or email payslips to employees.
This functionality is available only to Administrators. Employees receive or view their own payslips.
Prerequisites
- The Payroll add-on module enabled for your account and your role.
- Payroll global and period settings configured.
- Salary components and salary groups created.
- An active salary record for every employee to be paid.
- Attendance for the period complete, and leave and overtime requests for the period approved or rejected.
- Statutory components configured for the countries in which you employ people.
For Administrators
Step 1: Close the period's time data
What to do: Confirm attendance for the period is complete and that outstanding leave and overtime requests have been actioned. Payroll calculates from these records.
What to verify: No pending leave or overtime request remains for the period you are about to pay.
Step 2: Open the payroll run screen
What to do: Open the payroll run screen for the account.
What to verify: The payroll cycles you configured are available for selection.
Step 3: Select the cycle and department
What to do: Select the payroll cycle for the period you are paying, then select the department to process. Payroll is generated per cycle and department, so repeat the run for each department.
What to verify: The selected cycle covers the dates you intend to pay.
Step 4: Generate the payslips
What to do: Generate the payslips for the selected cycle and department, and wait for generation to complete.
What to verify: The number of payslips generated matches the number of employees expected in that department.
Step 5: Review the generated payslips
What to do: Review each payslip, or at minimum a sample plus every exception, checking gross pay, each deduction, statutory items and net pay. Correct the underlying data and generate again if anything is wrong.
What to verify: Statutory deductions match the rates and thresholds your compliance advisor has confirmed, and the payroll total matches your expected cost for the period.
Step 6: Update the payroll status
What to do: Update the payroll status to record that the run has been reviewed and processed.
What to verify: The status shown for the cycle and department reflects the stage the run has actually reached.
Step 7: Distribute the payslips
What to do: Download the payslip PDF, or email payslips to employees. Employees can also view their payslips through self-service and the mobile app.
What to verify: Payslips reached the intended employees, and no payslip was released before review.
Expected Result
Payslips exist for every employee with an active salary record in the selected cycle and department, the payroll status is updated, and payslips have been downloaded or emailed to employees.
Service Organisation Context
For a people-based business the payroll run is the largest single cost sitting behind every client engagement, which is why many service organisations align the payroll cut-off with the period in which timesheets, expenses and overtime are closed. That gives one consistent month-end across approved hours, approved expenses and processed salary. The link stops there. Budget actuals in CrmLeaf derive from expenses, timelogs, purchase orders and invoices, not from payroll, and no employee cost rate per hour is stored, so a payroll total does not become engagement cost or margin by itself.
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.
- Always review before you update the status and distribute. Once employees have a payslip, corrections are visible to them.
- Statutory contribution rates, wage thresholds, forms 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 a live payroll run.
- CrmLeaf produces payslips and statutory filing outputs from your payroll data. It does not pay employees, transfer funds, or file returns with any authority on your behalf.
Common Scenarios
Example: monthly run for four departments. The Administrator selects the monthly cycle, generates and reviews payroll for each of the four departments in turn, updates the status for each, then emails payslips once all four are reviewed.
Example: an error found during review. Review shows an employee's overtime is missing. The Administrator approves the outstanding overtime request, generates payroll for that cycle and department again, then re-reviews before updating the status.
Example: preparing India statutory filings after the run. Once payroll is processed, the Administrator produces the Provident Fund filing output for submission to the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) in good time for the deposit due by the fifteenth of the following month.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Possible Cause | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| A payslip is not generated for an employee | The employee has no active salary record | Assign a salary structure in Employee Salary, then generate again. |
| Paid days look wrong | Attendance for the period is incomplete, or leave was approved after generation | Complete attendance, action all leave requests, then generate the period again. |
| Overtime is missing from a payslip | The overtime request is still pending approval | Approve or reject the overtime request, then generate again. |
| A statutory deduction is missing | The statutory component is not configured or not in the employee's salary structure | Configure the statutory component and add it to the salary structure. |
| No cycle can be selected | Payroll period settings are not configured | Configure the payroll period, then reopen the run screen. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I run payroll for the whole company at once?
Payroll is generated for a selected cycle and department. Process each department in turn.
Can I regenerate payroll for a period?
Payroll can be generated again after you correct the underlying data. Review the result before updating the status and distributing payslips.
Does CrmLeaf transfer salary to employee bank accounts?
No. CrmLeaf produces payslips and payroll outputs. Payment itself is made through your bank or your country's wage payment arrangements.
Where do statutory reports come from?
From the processed payroll data. Reports exist per statutory type, and government compliance forms are produced from the same source.