This article explains how to calculate payroll without finalizing it, using Preview Payroll. A preview does not close the period, use payroll credits, create payslips or e-payslips, or change the data you entered. You can fix data based on feedback from SSI, finance or employees and preview again as often as you like. It is done by a user with Payroll Manager Permission.
Before you start
The period must be Active. Closed or draft periods cannot be previewed.
Required information (salary, missing-day reason, employer premium discount type, etc.) must be complete. A preview does not start while there are validation errors.
Step by step
On Pay and expenses > Payroll periods, select the open period.
Click Preview Payroll in the toolbar. To change the scope, open the arrow menu next to it (Preview scope):
Preview all employees
Preview filtered (if a branch, department or position filter is set)
Preview selected employees (if you selected rows; Preview Selected in the selection box does the same)
Validation runs first. If there are errors, the Payroll Validation Errors panel opens on the right; fix them (see the validation section in Calculating payroll and closing the period).
Once validation passes, the preview starts. The Preparing preview card shows how many employees have been calculated. You can keep editing data meanwhile.
When it finishes, the Preview category opens. At the top you see Total Gross, Total Net, Total Employer Cost, Calculated Employees and, if any, Total Enforcement Deduction cards; below, per employee, Gross, Net, Income Tax, Employer Cost and Status (Calculated / Error).
Click an employee's row to open the Payroll breakdown. It has three tabs:
Payroll Summary: every result item such as gross, SSI and unemployment premiums, taxes, exemptions, net and employer cost. Hide empty items with Hide zeros and search with Search items….
Wage Items: gross and net amounts of salary, additional payment, benefit and deduction items.
Calculation Inputs: the employee data sent to the calculation service. If a value is wrong, go back to the relevant tab with Edit This Employee's Data.
To make a correction, click Back to Data, change the value and recalculate with Preview Again.
Result
Preview results are only kept on screen; the period stays Active. If data changed after the preview, the Data changed after this preview warning and the number of changed employees appear; refresh the status with Check for Changes and see the current result with Preview Again. When the period is closed with Calculate Payroll, the preview results are deleted and the final payroll is calculated with the data as it is at that moment.
Common issues
Symptom: Clicking Preview Payroll opens the validation panel instead of a preview.
Cause: Some required information is missing.
Fix: Fix every error on the screen shown in the panel; the panel revalidates changes automatically.
Symptom: An employee's status is Error.
Cause: The calculation service did not accept that employee's data (for example inconsistent incentive dates or day totals).
Fix: The error text appears under the employee's name and in the breakdown. Fix the data, select only that employee and try again with Preview Selected.
Symptom: The enforcement deduction shows 0 in the preview.
Cause: The employee's net pay subject to deduction may be 0 this month (unpaid leave, maternity leave, missing timesheet).
Fix: Read the enforcement note in the breakdown; see Enforcement deduction.