Processing Payroll

Payroll > Processing Payroll

Processing Payroll

Run payroll for a pay period. The dashboard guides you through reviewing earnings, calculating taxes, and finalizing pay — all without leaving the page.

Prerequisites

• You need PAYROLL_MANAGE permission to process payroll.

• A pay period must exist in draft or processing status. See Pay Periods.

• All earnings (time entries, commissions, course earnings) must be entered and preferably approved.

• Staff members must have complete profiles with compensation rates and tax identifiers. See Staff Profiles.

Overview

Processing payroll converts raw earnings into final pay. DiverDash aggregates time entries, course earnings, salary accruals, and commissions for each staff member, applies deductions and taxes, and calculates net pay. The entire process happens from the Payroll Dashboard using a two-step workflow with slide-over drawers for each action.

Navigate to Payroll > Dashboard, select a pay period, and follow the two-step workflow.

Step 1: Review & Approve Earnings

The first step displays four earning type cards. Each shows approval progress for the selected period.

Earning Types

Type	Description	Approval Action
Time Entries	Staff hours worked (regular and overtime)	Approve or reject individual time entry records
Course Earnings	Pay from teaching courses, calculated from component rates	Approve or reject course completion earnings
Salary Accruals	Prorated salary for salaried staff	Include or skip staff for this period
Commissions	Percentage-based earnings from sales and referrals	Assign to period, approve, or void

Approving Earnings

1. Click an earning type card to open its approval drawer.

2. Review individual items in the drawer. Each shows the staff member, amount, and current status.

3. Approve or reject items as needed. Approved items contribute to the payroll calculation.

4. Close the drawer to return to the dashboard. The progress bar and counts update immediately.

You do not need 100% approval to proceed, but unapproved items will not be included in the payroll calculation. Return to Step 1 at any time to approve additional items.

Step 2: Calculate & Process

Once earnings are reviewed, proceed to calculation and processing.

Calculating Payroll

1. Click Calculate Payroll (available from Step 1 or Step 2).

2. The Payroll Processing drawer opens and runs the calculation:

   • Aggregates all approved earnings per staff member.

   • Applies tax rules based on each staff member's tax jurisdiction and profile.

   • Calculates deductions (benefits, custom deductions).

   • Produces a draft with gross pay, tax withholding, and net pay for each staff member.

3. Review the calculation results in the drawer. The Staff Earnings Overview table on the dashboard also updates to show Gross, Tax, and Net Pay columns.

Payroll Calculation Breakdown

For each staff member, the calculation follows this formula:

Gross Pay = Time Entries + Course Earnings + Commissions + Salary Accruals + Adjustments

Deductions = Custom Deductions (insurance, retirement, etc.)

Taxes = Federal Tax + State Tax + Social Security / National Insurance

Net Pay = Gross Pay - Deductions - Taxes

Processing Payroll

After reviewing the draft:

1. Click Process Payroll (or Review & Process from the header button).

2. The processing drawer shows the final summary.

3. Confirm the action.

4. The pay period status changes to paid.

5. Payslips are generated automatically for each staff member.

Finalizing payroll is irreversible. Once finalized, the pay period moves to paid status. Payslips are generated immediately. If you discover an error after finalization, corrections must be applied in the next pay period using the corrections workflow.

Handling Changes After Calculation

If you approve additional earnings or modify existing items after calculating payroll:

1. The system detects the change automatically by comparing timestamps.

2. An amber warning appears: "Earnings have changed since the draft was generated. Recalculate before processing."

3. Click Recalculate to regenerate the draft with the updated earnings.

4. You cannot process payroll while the draft is stale.

Returning to Earnings

You can move freely between the two workflow steps:

• Click Back to Earnings in Step 2 to return to the approval view.

• Click the Step 1 indicator in the stepper to jump back.

• When earnings change via any drawer, the workflow automatically resets to Step 1.

The only exception is when the period has been finalized (paid status) — step navigation is locked.

Exporting Payroll Data

After payroll is processed, you can export the data from the pay period detail page. Navigate to Payroll > Pay Periods, select the period, then use the Export dropdown.

Export as Sheet (Excel)

Downloads a professional Excel workbook with four sheets:

Sheet	Contents
Summary	Executive overview with totals for gross pay, taxes, deductions, and net pay. Includes earnings breakdown by source and tax withholding detail.
Staff Detail	Full payroll register — one row per employee with hours, earnings by source, individual tax lines, deductions, and net pay.
Earnings Detail	Per-employee earnings broken down by source (time, salary, courses, activities, commissions, adjustments) with counts and course-level detail.
Time Entries	Audit trail of all time entries with date, hours, activity type, and approval status.

The workbook includes frozen headers, alternating row stripes, and print-ready layouts. Columns with no data are automatically hidden.

Export CSV

Downloads a flat CSV file with one row per employee. This format is best for importing into accounting software or other external systems.

The Excel export is best for reviewing, printing, or sharing with your accountant. The CSV export is best for importing data into other software.

Corrections After Processing

If you discover an error after payroll has been finalized:

• Corrections can be applied in the next pay period as adjustments.

• The payroll corrections workflow lets you document what went wrong and how it is being resolved.

• Historical payslips are not modified. Instead, amended payslips reference the original.

Tips

• Approve all earnings before calculating to avoid needing to recalculate.

• Review the Staff Earnings Overview table after calculation — the Tax and Net Pay columns show the calculated amounts per staff member.

• Use the Earnings Overview drawer (accessible from within other drawers) for a combined view of all earning types.

• Keep tax jurisdiction settings up to date under payroll settings. Incorrect rates lead to incorrect withholdings.

• Process payroll on the same day each period to build a consistent routine.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
Calculate Payroll button is not visible	The pay period may be locked (paid status). Only draft or processing periods can be calculated.
Some staff members are missing from results	They may not have any approved earnings in this period. Check their time entries, course assignments, and commissions.
Stale draft warning appears	Earnings were modified after calculation. Click Recalculate before processing.
Tax calculation seems incorrect	Verify the staff member's tax jurisdiction and configured tax rates. Check that the tax identifier is present on their profile.
Payslips are not generated after processing	Payslips are created automatically when the period moves to paid status. If missing, check the payroll logs or contact support.
Need to reverse a finalized payroll	Use the corrections workflow to apply adjustments in the next pay period. Finalized payroll cannot be undone directly.

Related Pages

• Payroll Dashboard

• Pay Periods

• Time Entries

• Commissions

• Course Earnings

• Payslips

Next Steps

• View Payslips to review and distribute the payslips generated from this payroll run.