What's covered in this guide?
1. Enable Workforce Payroll
To get started, navigate to the Payroll tab in your account. Read through the terms and conditions, confirm your payment details and click Enable Now.
💡 Note: Only account admins can enable Payroll in an account.
2. Add company PAYE details and Government Gateway credentials for RTI
Under Payroll > Payroll Settings > Company Setup, add your business' details that are required for RTI submissions including:
Business Name
HMRC accounts office reference
Tax office number
Government Gateway User ID
Government Gateway Password
Self assessment unique taxpayer reference
Corporation tax reference
3. Earnings Rates
Earnings Rates can be imported from Workforce Management by going to Payroll Settings > Earnings Rates > Actions > Import Awards.
New/additional Earnings Rates can be added if required by selecting the +new button:
Learn more in the Earnings Rates help guide.
4. Deductions
Common deductions can be created and later added to the relevant employee's payslips.
To start, setup your deductions under Payroll > Payroll Settings > Deduction Types:
Learn more in the Deductions help guide.
5. Pension Providers
Set up Pension Providers for staff and employers to make contributions each pay run.
To start, set up your pension provider and contribution details under Payroll > Payroll Settings > Pension Providers:
Name of the Pension Provider
Employer Number (if applicable)
Employee contribution (%)
Employer contribution (%)
Opt in/out for 'Automatically assess new staff for enrolment'*
💡Note: If opting into 'Automatically assess new staff for enrolment', Workforce will assess any new staff for enrolment as per the conditions for 'Joining a workplace pension'.
6. Staff Details
Ensure staff have all relevant payroll details on their profiles, including bank details, tax information, and applicable.
If you use Workforce's Employee On-boarding, this information is already collected when staff first onboard. These details will automatically populate in Payroll.
If the required information wasn't collected through Workforce, it can be added in bulk under Payroll > Staff > Actions > Bulk Update Staff.
You'll be given a list of templates with different fields that can be updated. Download the relevant template, make any changes, and re-upload the document as a .csv file. Ensure you've selected the correct Type of Data from the options in the drop-down list.
Staff can also update their details through the Workforce mobile app with Employee Self Service enabled.
7. Staff profiles
Once staff details have been entered, configure any additional payroll details.
Payroll Details
Through Payroll > Staff > [click staff name] > Payroll Details, ensure the following fields have any necessary details for your staff:
Auto paid earnings template (generally used for salaried staff)
Leave balances (based on leave types configured in Workforce)
Deductions (select from those configured in step 4)
Pension Provider Memberships
Pension Provider Contributions
Employee Benefits
Bank Accounts
Tax Information
Tax information is provided during the onboarding process. New employees are required to enter their tax declaration details, including their National Insurance Number, Employment Status, and Student Loan Plan (if applicable).
This information can be found through Payroll > Staff > [click staff name] > Tax Information:
Opening Balances
Opening balances refer to the financial information about an employee's year-to-date earnings, taxes, and contributions from earlier in the tax year. This data must be entered to ensure that the system calculates taxes and deductions correctly for the remainder of the tax year.
Through Payroll > Staff > [click staff name] > Opening Balances ensure the following fields have any necessary details for your staff:
Earnings Types (Enter the year-to-date earnings for the employee. This refers to the total amount they’ve earned so far in the tax year. If they’ve already worked part of the year with another employer, you’ll need to add their earnings from that period).
Tax Balance (Enter the amount of income tax the employee has already paid for the current tax year. This is typically found on their previous payslips or from the details their previous employer has provided).
Statutory Leave (Enter any statutory leave that the employee has already used or is entitled to for the current tax year).
Pension Balance (Enter the amount the employee and employer have contributed to the pension scheme so far this tax year. This includes both employee and employer contributions).
Benefit Balance If the employee has received any non-cash benefits (e.g., health insurance, company car, etc.), enter the total value of these benefits for the tax year).
8. Leave accruals
For leave balances to accrue and pay accurately, ensure the settings for your leave types have been configured correctly in Workforce.
Configure your leave types by navigating to Payroll > Payroll Settings > Leave Types:
Click on the relevant leave type and scroll down to the Leave Rules section. Here you can set up who this will apply to using the "Leave Applies to" section:
Ensure that a Pay Rate and Accrual Rate have also been entered:
9. Payroll Journals
Payroll Journals are accounting records used to document all payroll-related transactions within a business. These journals capture detailed information about employee wages, salaries, deductions, taxes, and employer contributions, ensuring accurate financial reporting and compliance with legal requirements.
By default, your Workforce account is pre-configured with generic accounts. You can edit the name and code of these to match what you already have set in your account platform.
To do this, navigate to Payroll > Payroll Settings > Journal Setup (Accounts).
