Pre-Implementation of Personio Payroll – Personio

In this article, we explain the most important steps for pre-implementation using the onboarding portal. You can also complete the complementary Voyager Academy learning path (available in German).

What is the Personio Payroll pre-implementation?

The pre-implementation takes place about four weeks before the actual implementation of Personio Payroll. This step serves to prepare your team independently for the upcoming implementation. You complete the most important tasks and configurations directly in Personio's onboarding portal. You can also use the overview in the portal to track your progress.

Pre-implementation process

Your Payroll Specialist will send you a pre-implementation kick-off email with the most important information. Next, view your to-dos:

Log in to your Personio profile.
Go to Payroll.
Click the Payroll subsection to access the onboarding portal.

Grant Personio access to your account

Before the Personio Payroll implementation can start, our Payroll Specialists need administrative access to your Personio account. This is necessary to ensure optimal support during implementation and during the subsequent live phase.

You can find detailed setup instructions in our Help Center article on Personio Support Access.

Define payroll owners

To ensure that our payroll specialists know who they are allowed to contact, please specify at least two payroll owners. These individuals are responsible for your account and are key contacts for matters relating to your Personio Payroll.

To do this, follow the steps in the article on payroll administrators.

Grant Personio power of attorney

Personio requires a power of attorney for official communication on behalf of your-organization with authorities such as the tax office or health insurance companies.

To provide us with an authorization document:

In the onboarding portal, under Payroll, click the to-do for granting authorization.
Download the authorization in the respective section.
Read and sign the document.

Tip:
You can also sign the power of attorney digitally.
Upload the document.

Important information in the document

Ensure that you provide the following information correctly and completely:

Company details

Company name
Registered office of your company
The commercial register of the local court where your company is registered
commercial register number

Tip:
The commercial register number begins with the abbreviation "HR," followed by the letters "A" or "B" and a sequence of digits.

At the bottom of the document

Place and date
Signature
Your full name
Your properly authorized position in your company

Questionnaire for setting up payroll

To set up the payroll in Personio, our specialists require payroll data from you. To do this, fill in the questionnaire on payroll.

To make the questionnaire available to us:

In your task area under Payroll, click the to-do to complete the payroll questionnaire.
Download the payroll data checklist.
Fill out the questionnaire completely based on the questions in the table. Follow the instructions and notes in the file.
Upload the document.

Import of employee payroll data

To ensure that salaries, taxes, and social security contributions are calculated correctly, we need all of your employees' payroll-relevant data.

To provide us with the employees' data, follow these steps:

In the task area under Payroll, click the to-do for finalizing and importing your employees' payroll data.
Download the file for your employees' payroll data. Fill out the table completely. Follow the instructions and notes in the file.
Upload the document.

Please note:
Our payroll specialists validate the data and check it for completeness before the import is carried out.

Upload reference documents for payroll

To set up your Personio Payroll account correctly, our Payroll Specialists also need documentation from your previous payroll accountant. Please make the documents listed below available via the onboarding portal prior to implementation to ensure an efficient and smooth process.

Document	Explanation
Last income tax registration	The income tax registration is a regular (monthly, quarterly, and yearly) notification to the tax authorities about the withheld and paid wage tax. Where can I find the income tax registration? You can find your income tax registration in your payroll documents or can ask your previous payroll accountant.
Accounting report	The accounting report lists all the relevant accounts and amounts from payroll that you need to take into account for the profit determination. After you close your payroll each month, Personio can create such an accounting report based on your previous account assignment and list of accounts and contra-accounts. Where can I find the accounting report? You can obtain the accounting report from your previous payroll accountant, accounting service provider, or tax accountant on request.
Payroll account	The payroll account contains all the relevant data for an employee's payroll. These must be documented in full, correctly, and comprehensibly for a specific period (usually one calendar year) in accordance with legal requirements. Data that is contained in the payroll account: Personal data of the employee Tax and social security information Details on tax and social security contributions paid Gross and net salary You must transfer the data from the payroll accounts to Personio Payroll as start balances. This ensures a correct payroll. Where can I find the payroll account? The payroll account is part of the payroll documents. If you change your payroll accountant several times during the calendar year, the different accountants must provide more than one payroll account.
Company pension scheme contracts (if applicable)	The company pension scheme (BAV) is a financial benefit that employers grant their employees in the event of a claim (retirement, disability, or death). Personio requires the contracts to determine the type of pension provision and the contribution amount in order to support the setup. Where can I find the contracts for the company pension scheme? The contracts will be provided by the insurer after conclusion.
Garnishment documents (if applicable)	Garnishment documents are legal documents that contain information about salary garnishments for an employee. Creditors file these documents to garnish part of an employee's salary to pay down a debt. You need these documents so that Personio can support you with the correct setup and creation of garnishments. Where can I find the garnishment documents? The creditor usually sends these documents to the employer. However, the employee can also submit them.
Last payslip for all employees	The payslip documents the make-up of an employee's wages or salary for a defined period. Personio requires these to compare the payslips generated by Personio Payroll with those of the previous payroll accountant. This way, we ensure that all payroll settings are correct. Where can I find my employees' payslips? The documents are with your previous accountant's payroll records, or you can request them.
Latest contribution statements	The contribution statements document the contributions paid to the social security providers for all employees. The most recent contribution statements are relevant so that Personio can correctly consider current contribution payments and generate an accurate payroll. Where can I find the contribution statements? The documents are with your previous accountant's payroll records, or you can request them.
Latest accident insurance annual report	The annual accident insurance report documents the contributory salaries of all employees insured by accident insurance during the calendar year. Do not confuse the annual report with the electronic wage statement. Where can I find the annual accident insurance report? You can find the annual UV report in the payroll documents from your previous payroll accountant or request it if necessary.

Schedule the kick-off meeting

In the last step, you receive an invitation for a kick-off call from our Payroll Specialists. You can book it independently with a scheduling link. Once you have done this, your pre-implementation is complete. You can now move on to further setting up your account with the support of our Payroll Specialists.

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