Before starting your first payrun, the core payroll structure needs to be in place. This means the company setup must be ready, the pay input codes must be suitable for the way employees will be paid, the employee records must be complete, and the current pay process must then be run through Payrun.
This guide explains what needs to be done first, why it matters, and the order it should usually happen in.
Recommended order
Before starting your first payrun, complete the setup in this order:
Complete the essential company setup in the Settings screen
Create or review the required pay codes in the Codes screen
Create employee records in the Staff screen
Complete the your first pay process in Payrun
This order helps reduce rework and makes it easier to set up payroll correctly the first time.
1. Complete the essential company setup in the Settings screen
Before anything else, the company-level setup needs to be in place.
This is important because company defaults affect how payroll behaves and can influence what is inherited or expected later in setup.
To complete this part of the setup:
Go to the Settings screen
Select relative tab
Click the edit button
Complete/adjust the fields and options
Click Save.
As a minimum update the following tabs and relative fields named under each tab:
General tab
Employer - company name
Contact - main point of contact for the payroll (account owner)
Email - must be entered in order to send payslips, as well as automatic receipts generated by SmoothPay
Unique business number related to your jurisdiction - ties into system outputs relative to tax. Not always required but is mandatory for some outputs to work
Bank tab
Bank system - determines which banking system smoothpay will output a bank file for.
Account # - the bank account where your NET pays will be paid from, ties into the bank file
Some jurisdictions have additional fields that are required for a bank file to work and particular formatting requirements for Account #'s; please refer to the relative guide for your jurisdiction for more information.
Super tab
Some jurisdictions require an employer number here, otherwise this can be ignored, as the default settings should correctly apply the appropriate minimum.
Options tab
Can be useful to set a Standard work pattern before creating employees, as new employees will inherit those as default settings when you create them.
Why this matters
If these settings are not completed first, later setup may need to be corrected. This is especially important where company defaults feed into employee setup or payroll behaviour.
2. Create or review the required paycodes in the Codes screen
Once the core company setup is ready, the code structure used for payroll input should be reviewed. You may not need to add or adjust anything, as generally speaking everything required at a basic level for your jurisdiction should already be there.
To complete this part of the setup:
first review what is already there to assess,
then edit the existing codes (if required),
and add anything additional (if required)
Go to the Codes screen, then to review each category and paycode by:
selecting the category you want to review
then select the code you want to review and
review the current settings
If you need to amend any of the paycodes:
Click the Edit button to make changes to it
Adjust anything required
Click Save.
If anything additional is required:
Click the + button
Complete the fields
Save.
Repeat these steps for each of the following categories:
Work codes
Work codes are payment for hours spent at work
Abbreviation - an internal reference for the paycode, also used for imports
Description - what will show on the payslip
Classification - For work codes, is mostly either ordinary time, or overtime, with some additional nuances for some jurisdictions
Multiplier - determines how the rate of pay for an employee will be multiplied, useful for overtime types.
Leave codes
Leave codes are for payment of time spent away from work.
It is more than likely, this will exactly as it should be, unless:
You're providing above the minimum requirements of your jurisdiction
You require additional leave types not observed by your local legislation, but are included in your employment agreements.
If you need to make adjustments to these, please consult:
<The leave section of your country specific guide>
Allowance codes
Allowance codes are everything else that is not paid time directly.
Abbreviation - an internal reference for the paycode, also used for imports
Description - what will show on the payslip
Classification - determines how the payment will be treated for tax and superannuation purposes, as well as other country specific nuances.
Calculation - determines how a value will be calculated for the paycode; in most cases Units x Rate is the best option
Some jurisdictions provide other required fields that must also be completed, please consult your relative country specific guide for more information.
Why this matters
These codes control the structure of the pay inputs that will later be used in Payrun. This step should be done before employee setup, in particular Leave codes, as employees will inherit whatever settings have been applied there by default.
3. Create employee records in the Staff screen
Once the company setup and pay input codes are ready, the employee records should be created and completed.
To create a new employee:
Go to the Staff screen,
then create a new employee record clicking the + button at the bottom of the employee column.
This will open the Personal tab, complete the following fields as a minimum:
Surname
First names
Email - needed for emailing payslips
DOB - used for validation of some superannuation rules
Save, once completed.
Once completing the details under the Personal tab, use the Edit button at the top left of the Detail panel to update each required tab.
Update the following tabs as a minimum:
Contract tab
Defines key parts of an employee's employment agreement
Complete the following fields as a minimum:
Start date - must be correctly recorded, ties into how and when leave entitlements accrue
Contract - determines the type of employment agreement and applies standard required settings for particular contract types
Pay cycle - determines frequency of pay for an employee and how tax should be calculated for them
Definition of a working week - Determines the composition of an employees working week, which can ties into how leave is calculated:
- Days per week
- Hourly rate
- One day equals
- One week equals
Bank tab
Where the employee's NET pay will be paid to.
Contains it's own data column, use the + button at the bottom of the Bank accounts list to add new account details, the enter as a minimum:
Abbreviation - useful for identifying the account purpose, e.g. "MAIN" or "SAVINGS"
Account name - the name on the bank account
Account # - whole bank account number, including BSB, no formatting required
Super tab
Defines how superannuation will be calculated for the employee:
Adjust and complete the following fields required:
Member# - If option is present, it is required for your jurisdiction
Employee % - only adjust if employee is contributing above the minimum
Employer % - only adjust if you are providing above the minimum
Tax tab
Determines how tax will be calculated for the employee, the available options here are completely dependent on each country. Please consult <link to country specific section of help centre"your relative country specific guide for more information>
Payments tab (if required)
Used for setting up payments from employee's wages as recurring deductions, to agencies. Not generally needed for statutory tax and superannuation calculations.
Please consult the <payments/recurring deductions> guide to understand these functions.
Why this matters
Employees cannot be paid until their records exist and their key payroll settings have been completed. If any of these core areas are missing, the pay process may be incomplete or incorrect.
Migration
If your company is moving from another payroll system rather than starting from scratch, employee leave balances also need to be established at this stage.
Please refer to the <payroll data migration> guide
4. Complete the pay process in the Payrun screen
Once Settings, Codes, and Staff are ready, the pay process itself can be completed in the Payrun screen.
Why this matters
This is the point where setup turns into an actual payroll process. Employees are selected, pay inputs are entered or reviewed, the draft payrun is checked, and the pay process is finalised.
Next steps
If you've completed everything required from steps 1 to 3 review the Your first payrun guide.
Otherwise, the following guides may be helpful before approaching your first payrun:
<The Codes screen>
<General overview of migration into SmoothPay>