This article explains how to configure your preliminary payroll settings. For answers to frequently asked questions on preliminary payroll, read our dedicated article.

Note:
Something seems different? Preliminary payroll settings are moving from the Settings area to the Manage tab. After the initial rollout is completed, you can access them from both locations during the transition phase. Eventually, they will be available only in the Manage tab.

Before you start

To set up preliminary payroll, you need to have administrator access to Personio.

Access the Manage tab

To access preliminary payroll settings:

1. Go to Payroll > Manage.
2. Choose a legal entity, if enabled.

The Manage tab is your central hub for efficiently setting up and managing preliminary payroll settings. Here, you can directly handle legal entity settings, such as payroll groups and salary proration, and access company-wide settings, such as payroll reminders.

Set up Payroll groups

To create separate preliminary payroll tables and exports, set payroll groups at the legal entity level. You can use payroll groups to further segment employees within a legal entity. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Go to Payroll and select a legal entity, if enabled.
2. Open the Manage tab and to Payroll groups.
3. Choose the attribute of the type list of options that you want to group by.
4. Your changes are saved automatically.

Configure reminders

To set up admin task reminders for preliminary payroll review, specify the day of the month on which admins should receive the task to review preliminary payroll. To do this:

1. Go to Payroll and select a legal entity, if enabled.
2. Open the Manage tab and go  to Reminders.
3. Click the button to manage reminders and select the date you want admins to receive the reminder.
4. Your changes are saved automatically.

In order for reminders to be sent to Personio users, they have to be enabled in their personal profile, too. To do this, individual users need to:

1. Go to the Avatar > Personal Settings.
2. Select Notifications.
3. Under Payroll review, activate the notification for the Dashboard and, if enabled, via Email.
4. Save the entry.

Only if this is enabled in the employee's personal profile can reminders set up in preliminary payroll settings be received.

Define salary proration

To define the basis for prorate salary calculation on a legal entity level, you can choose from six calculation methods. For detailed information on and examples of these methods, read our article dedicated to proration methods. For information on frequently asked questions on proration methods, visit our article on the topic.

To set the proration method, follow these steps:

1. Go to Payroll and select a legal entity, if enabled.
2. Open the Manage tab and go to Salary proration.
3. Decide the proration method you want to use. Read our article detailing proration methods for more information and calculation examples.
4. Your changes are saved automatically.

Note:
When changing your proration method, it will be applied retroactively to past periods and will affect past salary calculations.
Example: If your payroll period is set from the first to the last of the month and you change the method on the 15th of the month, then this will be effective for all payroll periods, including past periods of this legal entity.

Set up payroll periods

Payroll periods are based on the payroll groups you have selected. They:

• Define the time frame over which the tracked hours and leave periods are added up if you have added them as attributes to be exported.
• Determine the start and end dates of when employees are paid.
• Are used as the basis for proration calculations.

You can set one payroll period per payroll group. If you do not have set up payroll groups, payroll periods are set up at the legal entity level. To set up payroll periods, follow these steps:

1. Go to Payroll and select a legal entity, if enabled.
2. Open the Manage tab and go to Payroll periods.
3. Click the edit button to manage payroll periods and set the payroll period dates for each payroll group.
4. Save your changes.

Once updated, payroll periods are set from the following month. To see past payroll periods per payroll group, click on History in the relevant group.

Configure payroll data

Payroll data is displayed in different columns of the preliminary payroll table based on your setup here. You can customize them for each legal entity separately. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Go to Payroll and select a legal entity, if enabled.
2. Open the Manage tab and go to Payroll data.
3. Click Personal info, and include personal data, salary, and absence attributes for both daily and hourly absences in your payroll setup. Add attributes for fixed and hourly salary along with base salary to ensure updates are visible in the Employee changes tab.
4. Under Time off, select all the absence types you wish to display in the absence tab and the export.
5. Your changes are saved automatically.

Next steps

• Learn more about preliminary payroll in our dedicated FAQ article.
• Read our article dedicated to proration methods for detailed information and examples.
• Read our article on the monthly payroll process with Preliminary payroll.