Getting Started

Preparation

You will need to do the following:-

1. Obtain contact details, bank account and IRD number for your organisation.
2. Collect all the Personal and Payroll details for the people you will be paying, including pay rates, tax codes, bank accounts and IRD numbers. You should be able to get all this information from your existing payroll records / personal files.
3. Decide on your payment method (you can give us a direct debit authority, or transmit the bank file yourself). (More Information...).

   TIP: It can take up to 10 days for a bank to process a direct debit authority. If you really can't wait, you will have to transmit your own file until the direct debit authority is set up.

4. Decide who will manage your payroll tax returns with Inland Revenue. (More Information...).

Creating a new Organisation

Actually creating a new organisation is easy. Just go to the Register your own Payroll page, fill in the fields and press the 'Create a new Organisation' button. You will be taken to the Getting Started page for your new organisation, which will lead you through the remaining steps.

A Person's Id

Every person is given an id which identifies them within your organisation. Id's are like employee numbers used in many payroll programs, and if you wish you can give each person an employee number by entering it as their id.

Its easiest to ignore id's - leave it blank and we will assign an id to each person that you add.

If you want to choose your own ids, the persons first name also makes a good id (until you employ someone else with the same name...). Surnames and job titles don't make good ids - because they may change, and you can't change a person's id once it has been created.

Personal Details

Once you have added a person, you can record personal and payroll related information. This includes details such as:-

• Address and other Contact details
• Job Title, Start Date and other job-related information
• Pay Rates or Salary
• Tax Code and IRD Number

(See MATTHEWS, John William in our Sample Company for an example).

Simply enter the information and press the 'Save Personal Details' button at the bottom of the page (you may have to scroll down to see it).

Important: You must press this button at the bottom of the page, or else your changes will be lost!

Standard Timesheets

Once you have entered personal details for a new person you should create a Standard Timesheet for them. Every time you go to pay a person their standard timesheet is copied into the current payroll. This can save you a lot of time and effort every pay day

When you first look at a standard timesheet it will probably already contain some entries:-

• A PAYE entry, so tax is deducted every pay.
• A SLD (Student Loan Deduction) entry, if the person has a tax code incorporating Student Loans.
• A BANK entry, that transfers the person's pay into their bank account. (Depending on the person's payment method entered on their Personal Details page, you may see a different entry, for example CASH or CHEQUE).

(See MATTHEWS, John William's Standard Timesheet for an example).

It is now a good idea to create some standard timesheet entries. Remember that every entry you create now means less work every time you run a pay. You would usually create these entries:-

• If the person works the same number of core hours every pay, or is paid a fixed salary regardless of their hours worked, create an entry for T1 (Time One / Ordinary Time).
  TIP: The Add Ordinary Time button will automatically add this entry for you, with the person's normal hours automatically keyed for you.
• Create an entry for regular deductions that the person receives each pay (for example, union fees, insurance payments). For fixed amounts that a person has going to one of their own personal bank accounts (or their partners, kids, etc. account), use the PBA (Personal Bank Account) code.
• Create an entry if the person receives Superannuation.
• If the person receives any allowances every pay, enter those too.

Leave

While you could set up leave now, we recommend that you don't worry about it until you have set up and run your first pay. It is easy to set up leave later, and you probably have quite enough to learn at the moment without worrying about it right now!

Note: If you have any "annual leave average" payments you should set up opening leave balances before making those payments - otherwise it can be a bit tricky to work out the correct balances and amounts later. (If you just pay annual leave at the person's normal pay rate you can ignore this note - it doesn't apply to you).

Once you have entered personal details and standard timesheets for all the people in your organisation, you can process a payroll.

1. Open a new Payroll

Go to the Open Payroll page, enter your pay day and select who you wish to pay.

Read the the tip at the bottom of the page - this will tell you when payments must be made.

When do you process your payroll?

If your staff receive their pay in their bank accounts on Wednesday mornings, for example, you will have to process your payroll by noon on Tuesday (or earlier). We will both debit your account and process your bank file on Tuesday night to deposit the money into peoples accounts.
Note: If you transmit your own file to your bank a later cut-off time will apply, depending on your bank.

Once you have entered the details, press the 'Open a new Payroll' button. There may be a small delay while your standard timesheets are copied over into this new payroll, and then you will be taken to the Enter Timesheets screen.

2. Enter Timesheets

Timesheet Entry is where you do most of the work - actually entering the details to pay each person. Hopefully you have set up your Standard Timesheets so you are only entering the transactions that change each pay.

All of the timesheets in this payroll are displayed on this page. From here you can quickly:-

• Change or delete a timesheet, just by selecting the person.
• Add people into this payroll, by pressing the button at the bottom of the list.
• Call up a person's Payslip - on the spot, without 'running a pay'!
• See the Hours Worked and Gross Pay, for a person or for the entire payroll.
• View more detailed reports:- Hours Worked, Payroll Summary and Transaction List.

You will find that a lot more help is available for entering timesheets and calculating various payments. Explore the help as you are changing timesheets and entering transactions, or refer to the Timesheets help topic.

3. Print Payslips etc.

After entering all of your payments on the Timesheet Entry page, you can print your payslips and other reports here.

The Payroll Control report that is displayed is a useful overview of your payroll. You should check that the various totals on this report are as you would expect. Many of the items listed in this report summarise other reports, and you can follow the links within this report (and many others), to easily get at additional information. This is a good time to explore, and you will discover that a lot of useful information is readily available.

There are also links to Print All Payslips and some other reports.

4. Confirm Payroll

Go to the Confirmation Page when you are happy with your payroll and ready to make payment.

Note: When you try to go to the Confirmation Page, you may first be asked to enter some additional information, for example the bank account or IRD number for your organisation. You will not be able to confirm your payroll until we have all of the information that we need to process your payroll.

Once you have reviewed the information on this page, press the button at the bottom to confirm your payroll. Another page will be displayed, so that you know that your payroll has been confirmed.

If you have selected the Direct Debit payment method, thats all you have to do. Otherwise you will have to send the money to us or your bank - the page will contain full details of what you need to do.

Summary

Thats it! We have designed iPayroll^® to be very easy to get started with, set up and use, while still providing a lot of power and flexibility. Our aim is always to provide you with an efficient and effective way to pay people, and we hope you will enjoy using our services.

Links

Explore our Sample Company

Read more Help

Register your own Payroll

Direct Debit

• This is the easier and better option, as once you have confirmed your payroll with us we do the rest.
• Using a direct debit authority we will transfer the money from your account to our client account.
• We will then pay all of your staff, deduction agencies, IRD (if we are managing your tax), etc.
• We will even manage any returned funds on your behalf - saving you even more time. (For example, if someone closes their bank account without advising you).
• Direct Debits are safe and secure. You provide a written authority to your bank, and we only debit payments that you have authorised.
• Your money is held in a separate client account with the bank. (Refer to this letter from our bank).
• You will simply see a single withdrawal on your bank statement after each pay - for the amount that you have authorised. (Note: If the "Itemise details on Bank Statement" option is selected, you will see up to three separate withdrawals - for Banking, Tax and Processing Fees).
• You must confirm your payroll by noon one working day before pay day.
• We will debit your bank account one working day before your pay day, and process your direct credit file for you at the same time.
• Print and complete the Direct Debit Form and Payroll Letter of Credit Application, and fax or post them to us.
  Without the debit authority and payroll letter of credit we can't debit your bank account.
  
• Note: If for some reason you cannot provide a Payroll Letter of Credit we are still able to process your Direct Debit file, however you will be required to confirm your payroll by noon three working days before pay day and we will debit your bank account that night.

Transmit your own Bank File

• This is the less convenient option, but some people prefer to do the banking themselves.
• If you have the necessary software from your bank you can download the bank file we create and transmit it to your bank yourself.
• We support all of the file formats from the different banks.
• You must process your direct credit file the night before pay day.
• Contact your bank to buy their banking software to use this option.