This article addresses the most frequently asked questions regarding preliminary payroll. 

Why is an inactive employee still listed in preliminary payroll?

An inactive employee may still appear in the preliminary payroll if their termination was not properly set (for example, if only their status was changed from active to inactive). Additionally, Personio allows remaining salary payments or data changes to be processed for up to three payroll periods after an employee’s termination date. This ensures all final adjustments and payments are accurately handled.

Why is an employee not listed in preliminary payroll?

Employees with the attribute Type of employment set to “External” do not appear in preliminary payroll. Internal employees with the attribute set accordingly might not be listed in the preliminary payroll if they fail to meet the following conditions:

1. Employment Conditions: The employee must be in regular employment, have been employed at least one day during the payroll period, or qualify for salary payments or data changes within three payroll periods after termination.
2. Payroll Assignment:
   1. The employee must be designated as internal.
   2. If the company is using legal entities, the employee must be assigned to a legal entity.
   3. If payroll groups are used, they need to have a value for the attribute being used to split the payroll groups. For example, if payroll is grouped by compensation type, employees must have either fixed salary or hourly wage configured in their profile.

Failure to meet any of these criteria can result in the employee not appearing in the payroll. Find more details in our article on the preliminary payroll section.

Why is a scheduled change displayed in the current Payroll month rather than the month it is scheduled?

Scheduled changes are displayed differently depending on the tab in the payroll table you are looking at. Under:

• Personal info tab: You can see scheduled changes in the payroll period, into which the effective date falls. That is the date a change takes effect for the employee. This allows you to see what is relevant in the current payroll period.
  • Example: For a change scheduled on March 5th to take effect on July 1st, this means that you can see the salary change marked in yellow in the Personal info tab in the July payroll.
• Employee changes tab: You can see scheduled changes for attributes that were scheduled in the current payroll period. This ensures you don't miss any changes, especially ones that are added for the past and apply retroactively to past payroll periods.
  • Example: For a change scheduled on March 5th to take effect on July 1st, this means that you can see the salary change in the Employee changes tab of the March payroll (with the effective date 1st of July).

Why can’t I see a new absence type in preliminary payroll?

To see new absence types in the absences tab of preliminary payroll, you need to add them in the settings first. To do so, follow the instructions in our article on how to set up preliminary payroll.

How can I display fixed salaries and hourly wages separately in preliminary payroll and the export?

To display fixed salary and hourly wages separately in preliminary payroll and the export, we recommend you set up payroll groups by salary type as well as separate payroll periods for each salary type. To do so, follow the instructions below:

To process fixed salaries and hourly wages separately with different payroll periods:

1. Go to Payroll > Manage.
2. Under Group by select Salary Type. Ensure every employee has this attribute set. You can check and edit this from the People list.
3. Go to Payroll Periods and set separate payroll periods for Fixed salaries and Hourly wages. Example:
   1. Fixed salaries: 1st to last day of the month
   2. Hourly wages: 15th to 14th of the next month

You can now export payroll data for each group separately and also transfer them to DATEV. Both groups can still be processed together if needed. For more details on setting up preliminary payroll, also read our article on the topic.

How do I handle additional hours, absences or compensations after approval?

Once payroll is approved, master data in the Personal info tab and data in the Salary tab is frozen, and later changes are not displayed there. This ensures you always know what information was shared with your payroll team.

If master data, absences, hours for hourly wages, or salary data are updated after approval but still need to be included in the current payroll period, generate a new Excel export for that period. Changes will be highlighted in yellow, so you can send the updated file to your payroll accountant or tax advisor for adjustments.

What happens if I never approve payroll?

If you export data at the end of your payroll period but never approve the preliminary payroll, the markings in the Personal info and Salary tabs will automatically update on the first day of each new payroll period. This means any data changes between your export date and the start of the next payroll period will not be tracked, and you may lose visibility of these changes.

Example:
If your payroll period ends on the 20th but you create an export on the 18th without approving payroll, any changes made between the 18th and 20th will be lost when the system refreshes on the 20th. If you later approve payroll, all further changes will be highlighted in the Personal info and Salary tabs until payroll is approved again. However, if you continue not to approve payroll in future months, you will lose the ability to identify which data changes are current.

Tip:
Always approve payroll to ensure all data changes are properly tracked and highlighted.

How is fixed salary calculated if there’s a change mid-month?

If a salary change occurs mid-month the calculation depends of the method selected under Salary proration in the General settings. Find detailed information about and calculation examples for each method in our article on salary proration.

Tip:
If you want to balance the payout for prorated salary, you can enter the difference as a (negative or positive) one-time compensation.

Why is the prorated amount of a mid-month salary change higher or lower than expected with the 30-day method?

The method based on 30 days can lead to higher payouts in months of 31 days or lower payouts in February due to the discrepancy between the days of the month and the 30 days used for calculation. The following table shows the calculation for different months in comparison to method considering all days of the month:

Tip:
If you want to balance the payout for prorated salary, you can enter the difference as a (negative or positive) one-time compensation.

Can I schedule a change in proration method for the future?

This is currently not possible. A change in proration method will always affect past periods.

Why isn’t a salary change displayed in the Employee changes tab when weekly hours are updated?

The Employee changes tab only displays direct changes to attributes or salary components. If you change an employee’s weekly hours, this update will appear in the tab. However, any resulting recalculation of the salary due to different proration will not be shown since the salary value itself wasn’t directly changed—only the basis for its calculation was updated. 

Can I reset an approved payroll to unapproved?

No, once a payroll is approved, it cannot be reset to unapproved. Approval freezes the payroll view in the Personal info and Salary tabs with the data as it was at the moment of approval. However, you can still enter new data, update attributes, and create new exports afterward. These new exports will always include the latest data.

Can I change the payroll period after preliminary payroll approval?

No, once preliminary payroll has been approved for a payroll group in a specific month, the payroll period for that payroll group cannot be changed for that month—even for another legal entity. Payroll periods can only be changed for months where preliminary payroll has not yet been approved.

How do pay period changes impact current, past, or future periods?

• Current periods : Pay period changes do not apply to the current pay period, regardless of its status (approved or unapproved). Pay period changes can only be applied to dates beginning in the next period.
• Past periods : Pay period changes do not affect past periods.
• Future periods : 
  • Pay period changes take effect based on the scheduled date that you select. For example: It is December and you schedule a Pay Period change to take effect in the February period.
  • When the future pay period start date changes, we create an Adjustment Period to fill the gap between the end of the current period and the start of the next.  
    
    For example, consider a pay period scheduled from the 15th–14th. If you update this period's start date to the 1st of the month, the system creates an adjustment period from the 15th to the end of the month. This fills the gap between the end of the current period on the 14th Aand the beginning of the next period on the 1st.

How do payroll group changes impact current, past, or future periods?

• Current periods: If the payroll grouping is modified in an unapproved period, the change is effective immediately. If the payroll period is approved, the new grouping becomes effective in the next period.
• Past periods: Payroll group changes do not affect unapproved past periods. They will retain the previous group.
• Future periods: You cannot schedule Payroll group changes in the future.

Does changing Payroll Group impact other payroll settings? 

Yes.

• When you change the pay group attribute for a legal entity, payroll periods for all groups in that legal entity reset to 1st - last of month. You can then adjust the pay period for the new groups.
• If all groups are set to 1st - last of month, there is no impact.

What happens if I don't have payroll groups, then I add them? 

Past payroll periods are unaffected. The new grouping takes effect in the current period if it is not yet approved, or the next period if the current period is approved.

How does changing the attributes visible in the Payroll table impact current, past, or future periods?

• Current periods: If you change attributes in the payroll table, the change takes effect:  
  • In the current period, if the period is unapproved.
  • In next period, if the current period is approved.
• Past periods: Payroll table attribute changes do not impact past periods.
• Future periods: Payroll table attribute changes impact future periods.

How does changing the proration method impact current, past, or future periods?

• Current periods: Proration method changes impact the current period.
• Past periods: Proration method changes do not impact past periods.
• Future periods: Proration method changes impact future periods.