Organizing Employee Payroll With flair

Introduction to Payroll

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Payroll must be managed accurately to ensure all employees are provided with the correct amount of compensation for their work.

The act of processing and distributing pay to employees is known as a payroll run. It involves collating information required to calculate employee net pay, such as hourly rate, tax status, insurance and paid leave.

flair makes it possible for users to gather all this important information in neatly generated documents. The documents can then be exported and sent to, say, an accountant managing company financials.

A pay date is the scheduled time or day funds are released to the employee. For most companies, it is typically the same day every week or month. Depending on the country, employee pay can be liable to different rules, regulations, and taxes.

Through Salesforce, the flair HR app makes it easy to gather this payroll data and set payment parameters. Let’s check out the main features of Payroll on the flair HR app:

Creating a Payroll Run

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Creating a payroll run is necessary to pay employees who receive a salary. It’s a collection of all the information you need to complete payments. For example, who is due a payment? How much are individual staff members owed?

You need to gather data on how much each employee earns, how many hours they worked, their tax status, and any other deductions. A flair payroll run can help you automate this process by consolidating the necessary data you need to prepare your payroll. You can then send it to external payroll systems, payroll processors, and accountants.

To create a payroll run in flair:

• Open the Payroll Runs page in the flair HR app from the top navigation bar or by using the App Launcher.
• Alternatively, you can create a new payroll run via the Payrolls tab on the Compensations page, as shown in the video above.
• Click New to create a payroll run. Give your payroll run a name, a Start Date and End Date, and choose a Payroll Territory.
• Then click Save to create the new payroll run.
• Now click Add Employees and select all the employees that should be included in this payroll run.

flair will then automatically collate all the information needed and create a table, including information such as salary, hours worked, additional compensation, and total amount. You can then automatically generate payroll documents by clicking the Generate button in the Documents pane on the right.

Along the top the screen, you can see the status of your payroll run, which can be either Draft, Pending Approval, Submitted, or Completed.

Using the Columns To Display dropdown, you can change which columns are displayed in your payroll run.

By default, all entries in the payroll run will be set to Pending. You can now review the details and make any amendments necessary before submitting your payroll information.

Setting Up New Payroll Territories

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The Payroll Territories page helps you to select employees for each payment jurisdiction and configure documents during payroll runs.This is useful if your company and employees operate in multiple countries.

Payroll territories ensure that each payroll run only contains employees from a single territory.

• In the flair HR app, navigate to the Payroll Territories tab on the top menu bar.
• Select New to begin creating a Payroll territory. For example, you may want to create a payroll run for employees based in the UK.

• Once you have filled out the fields and clicked Save, you can begin to assign employees to a specific Payroll Territory via the Employees page.
• If later an employee is not displaying on the Payroll Runs page, you need to ensure they have been added to the correct Payroll Territory

Adding Deductions

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Deductions are individual amounts that are subtracted from the gross salary, such as tax and health insurance contributions. To manually add deductions to your payroll run:

• Click on an employee’s name within the payroll run and select Add New Compensation in the pane that opens on the right.
• Enter a name for the deduction in the Other Compensations field. For deductions, enter a negative amount in the Amount field. Entering a positive amount will add a one-time compensation, such as a bonus, to the payroll run.
• Click Save and the deduction will show up in the Deductions column. The Total Net column will be updated to reflect this deduction.

You can also add deductions via recurring compensation and one-time compensation on the employee Salary screen. Simply open an employee’s page in flair, select the Salary tab, and click New in the Employee Recurring Compensations or Employee One-Time Compensations pane.

Enter the compensation date, the recurring period (if the deduction is recurring), and enter a negative amount in the Amount field.

Another way to add deductions is via an API with your payroll system. To do this, change the status of the payroll run to Submitted, which will then lock the data so you can export it. You will also need to assign a custom permission to the integration user that is using the API integration. This will allow the external payroll system to push data to the payroll run, even when it is in a locked state such as Submitted.

Adding Stages to Payroll Runs

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If you want to add another payroll run stage, such as Submitted, you can do so in a few easy steps.

• Click the Gear icon in the top-right corner of the screen and open Setup.
• In the new window, use Quick Find in the left side panel to search for Object Manager.
• Use Quick Find in the top navigation bar to find the Payroll Run object.

• Select Fields & Relationships in the left side panel, then scroll down and click on State.

• Scroll down to Values and click New.

• Enter the name of your new State in the text box, then click Save.
• If you need to change the order of your States, click the Reorder button. Then use the Up, Down, Top, and Bottom buttons to rearrange the States. In this example, we have move the new state Submitted up one position so that it comes before Completed.

• If your new State should lock the payroll run data, preventing any changes, click on Edit.

• Now add _locked to the end of the API Name and click Save.

How To Reverse Payroll Run Status to Pending Approval

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Let’s take a look at how to change the payroll status from Completed to Pending Approval in situations where it is necessary to reverse the status change. Please follow the steps below to accomplish this task.

• Go to the relevant Payroll Run on the flair HR app on Salesforce
• For a very simple fix, you can download the Salesforce Inspector tool as a Chrome Extension
• Click on the option to Show All Data using the Salesforce Inspector extension menu

• Next, look for the Completed At field on the data page. In this case, we will amend the Field API Name: flair__Completed_At2__c
• Remove the Value in the Completed At field and click Save

• Return to the payroll run and it will be possible to revert to an earlier step

Another way to revert the payroll status, this time without the Salesforce Inspector extension, is to use the Developer Console on Salesforce. Here’s how it works:

• Open the Developer Console via the Salesforce Settings tab on the flair HR app

• Next, navigate to the Query Editor section

• Two codes are important in this next step, the Field API Name of the payroll run from earlier: flair__Completed_At2__c and the payroll run description which can be found in the payroll run page’s URL: flair__Payroll_Run__c

• Type in the following query into the Query Editor section: Select ID, Name, flair__Completed_At2__c from flair__Payroll_Run__c
• Then click on the Execute button

• Next, delete the date value that will appear under the Completed At field
• Save the changes and exit the Developer Console

By following the steps outlined above, you can successfully move the payroll status back to Pending Approval even after it has been marked as Completed. Please note that these methods involve using the Salesforce Inspector tool or the Developer Console.

To find out how to enable the Developer Console for new users, check out the flair Developer Hub.

Payroll Data Management

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The accurate input and efficient export of employee data are vital for effective payroll management. This section provides a comprehensive overview of the essential aspects involved in managing payroll documents and exporting data.

Generating Payroll Documents

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The Payroll Runs tab on the flair HR app allows you to quickly generate documents associated with payroll.

• Inside your created payroll run, you will notice a Documents tab on the right side of the screen. By using the Generate button you can create different types of documents including pay slips.

Managing Payroll Documents

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Let’s take a look at how to manage documents you want to include in the data export of a payroll run.

• First, visit the HR Admin page on the flair HR app on Salesforce
• Next, select the Payroll Territories option. Once you’re there, open the territory for which you want to configure exporting.
• Navigate to the Data Export section. Within this tab, you will find an overview of the documents that are set to be included in a Payroll Run associated with a particular Payroll Territory. It's worth noting that this list is fully customizable, allowing you to tailor it according to your preferences.

• By selecting employees within the payroll run you can opt to create a summary of payments for those staff members. This method can also be used to make pay slips.
• You may also upload other documents and add them to generated files

DATEV Integration

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DATEV is one of the leading tax and payroll software providers in Germany, serving over half a million customers. Due to popular demand, we offer a direct integration to DATEV, helping you simplify your payroll processes.

How To Integrate flair With DATEV

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You can set up your DATEV integration in seconds. First, open the flair HR app and go to the HR Admin page. Under the Integrations tab, click on DATEV. Then choose a payroll territory and click Connect Via Integration Service.

Next, grant flair access to your DATEV account. Enter your consultant ID and client ID, and then sign in to your DATEV account to set up the connection. Finally, click Enable to start using the integration in your flair HR app.

How To Use the DATEV Integration

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Once you have enabled the integration, you will see an Integrations box when you view a payroll run in flair HR. You have two options: Sync Employee Data and Sync Payroll Data.

Clicking Sync Employee Data will send any data changes to DATEV. This is important if employee information, such as address, IBAN, or salary, has changed.

The Sync Payroll Data button sends data from the current payroll run to DATEV. You will need to sync this data with DATEV if any compensation was added manually to an employee during the payroll run or if you have employees who are paid based on time worked.

Our integration currently imports payroll data directly to DATEV LODAS. If you are using DATEV Lohn & Gehalt, our integration can automatically create ASCII files that you can quickly and easily import to DATEV yourself.

Compensation Rules

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Compensation rules allow you to assign recurring compensation to multiple employees within a payroll territory.

Creating a Basic Compensation Rule

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In this example, we will create a compensation rule to give all employees in the Germany payroll territory a bonus for the last quarter of the year.

You can create a compensation rule by opening the relevant Payroll Territory in flair, selecting the Compensation Rules tab, and clicking New.

Alternatively, you can search Compensation Rules in the App Launcher 𓃑 and click the New button.

Give your compensation rule a name so you can easily identify it. The Start Date and End Date determine the length of time for which the rule will apply. The Recurring Period in Months field defines how often the rule will be applied: type in 1 for monthly, 2 for every two months, and so on. Entering a 0 into this field will apply the compensation rule to every payroll run, regardless of frequency.

For a basic rule that applies the same additional compensation to every employee, use the Amount field. In the below example, all employees in the Germany Payroll Territory will receive a €500 bonus each month from October to December.

Once you click Save, the compensation rule will be applied to every employee within the chosen payroll territory for the period defined.

You can check that the compensation was added by opening the current payroll run or by viewing the “Employee Recurring Compensation – Rules” section of an employee record.

Dynamic Compensation Rule Based on Employee Data

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An employee compensation rule (EC rule) is a dynamic compensation rule with an amount that varies based on employee data (years of service, performance ratings, etc.) or employee rates (salary, hourly rates, etc.).

Start by creating a compensation rule using the steps shown above. Instead of the Amount field, dynamic compensation rules use the fields in the Dynamic Formula section. In this example, we will create a compensation rule that increases compensation based on how many years an employee has worked for the organization.

To create a dynamic formula, go to Salesforce Setup and open the Object Manager. Use Quick Find to search for the Employee Recurring Compensation object. Select Fields & Relationships from the left menu panel and click New.

Now select Formula and click Next.

Enter a Field Label. In this example, we will label the field “Years of Service Bonus”. Now set the Formula Return Type to Currency and click Next.

Now you can define any formula that you need to be used later in compensation rules.

To create a formula for a years of service bonus, we will select the Advanced Formula tab and click Insert Field. First, select Employee Recurring Compensation > and then Employee > to see a range of fields related to employee records. For this example, we will choose Years of Service. Once you have chosen a field, click Insert.

The Insert Operator dropdown allows you to choose what to do with the number years of service. You can select an operator from the list or type the formula yourself. In this formula, we will multiply the years of service by 10 to calculate the bonus for each employee.

Once you have created your formula, click Next. You can skip Step 4 by clicking Next again. Finally, click Save.

Your formula will now appear in the Fields & Relationships list. You can use Quick Find to search for it. Copy the the Field Name so you can use this in your compensation rule.

Now return to the compensation rule you were creating. Paste the Field Name you just copied into the Amount Formula field. Enter flair__Employee_Additional_Compensation__c into the Base Object API Name field. For the formula used in this example, you can leave the Rate Type set to None as it is not needed. Finally, click Save.

Now, your compensation rule will be applied. If you want to check that it is working properly, open the compensation rule and select the Related tab. In the Amount column, you can see the various bonus amounts calculated for each employee.

Dynamic Compensation Rule Based on Employee Salary

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In this example, we will create a compensation rule that multiplies the years of service by 1% of the employee’s salary.

To create a dynamic compensation rule based on employee salary, you must first create an Employee Rate for each employee that will receive the compensation.

To do this, open the employee record, select the Salary tab, and click New in the Employee Rates box.

Enter an Employee Rate Name and set the Rate Type to Salary. The Amount should be the same as the employee’s salary. Then click Save.

Now, we can create a new formula using the steps defined above in the “Dynamic Compensation Rule Based on Employee Data” section. Or we can edit the formula that we already created.

Instead of multiplying the years of service by 10, we will multiply it by 1% of the employee’s salary. So first, we add the field flair__Employee1__r.flair__Years_of_Service__c. Then, click Insert Field and select Employee Recurring Compensation > Reference Employee Rate > Amount. To get 1% of the salary, we can multiply the reference rate by 0.01 by adding *0.01 to the formula. So the formula will be flair__Employee1__r.flair__Years_of_Service__c * flair__Reference_Employee_Rate__r.flair__Amount__c *0.01 . Then click Save.

Finally, make sure that the Rate Type in the compensation rule is set to Salary.

Payroll Run Rules

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Payroll run rules allow you to add compensations to an employee payroll run dynamically based on data related to a specific payroll run, such as working hours, overtime hours, or public holiday hours. In this example, we will create a payroll run rule for public holiday hours.

To start, create a compensation rule as described above. Enter a name, Start Data, and Recurring Period in Months. For Recurring Period in Months, we will enter 0 so that the rule is applied to every payroll run.

Now in the Dynamic Formula section, the Base Entity API Name should be filled with flair__Employee_Payroll_Run_Line_Item__c. Select Public Holiday Hours in the Rate Type dropdown.

Now go to Salesforce Setup and open the Object Manager. Use the Quick Find field to search for the Employee Payroll Run Line Item object. Click on the object, select Fields & Relationships from the left menu pane, and search for Public Holidays Compensation. This is a formula used to calculate public holiday hours compensation.

Copy the Field Name and go back to the compensation rule you were creating. Now paste the field name into the Amount Formula field. Then click Save.

The last step is to create Employee Rates for all employees who should receive this compensation. To do this, go to the Salary tab in the employee record, scroll down to Employee Rates, and click New.Give the rate a name, select the appropriate Rate Type (in this example Public Holiday Hours), and define an Amount. For the Rate Types “Public Holiday Hours”, “Overtime Hours”, and “Standard Hours”, the Amount refers to the hourly rate of compensation the employee should receive. In the below example, Adamaris Vinke will receive €30 per hour worked on a public holiday.