The Payroll Dashboard
The Payroll dashboard is your home base for payroll. Open Payments > Payouts in the sidebar (route /employer/payroll) to reach it. From here you start a run, review recent runs, and jump to history and settings.
Header
The header reads Payroll with the subtitle "Manage payroll for your team", and offers three buttons:
- Create Payroll -- A green button with a dropdown (see below).
- View History -- Opens Payroll History.
- Settings -- Opens Payroll Settings.
A green banner reminds you that AI analysis is available on payroll runs before approval, so you can review anomalies and cost insights automatically. See AI Payroll Analysis.
KPI Cards
Four cards summarise your payroll at a glance:
| Card | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Next Payroll | The net total and pay date of the first run that is still in Draft, Pending Approval, or Approved status. If there is no such run, it shows -- and "No upcoming run". |
| Last Payroll | The net of your most recent completed run. When it is available, a green (up) or red (down) month-over-month percentage is shown. Otherwise the card notes the total paid out. |
| YTD Total Paid | The year-to-date amount paid, with "N runs this year" beneath it. |
| Success Rate | The percentage of runs that succeeded, with an "Avg N.N days processing" subtext. |
Pre-Payroll Checklist
Below the KPIs, a Pre-Payroll Checklist lists four readiness reminders: Attendance marked, Leaves approved, Adjustments added, and Bank details verified.
This checklist is a static reminder of the steps to run through before payroll. Its check and cross marks are fixed prompts -- they do not read your live attendance, leave, adjustment, or bank data. Treat it as a nudge, not a status report.
Recent Payroll Runs
A Recent Payroll Runs card shows your latest runs with a View All link to Payroll History. On desktop it is a table, and on mobile the rows stack into cards. Clicking a row opens that run's detail page.
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Run Name | The run name, falling back to "<Month Year> Payroll" |
| Period | The pay period start and end dates |
| Employees | The number of people, shown as "N person" or "N people" |
| Gross | Total gross |
| Net | Total net |
| Status | A color-coded status badge |
| Date | The pay date |
Creating a Payroll Run
Click Create Payroll to open the dropdown. It offers three run types:
| Option | Subtitle |
|---|---|
| Regular Payroll | Monthly salary run for current period |
| Off-Cycle | Bonuses, reimbursements, supplemental pay |
| Final Pay | Termination or last paycheck |
Only these three appear in the menu. A fourth type, Correction, is reached by a direct link rather than this menu -- see Correction Payroll.
For the full walkthroughs, see Running Payroll, Off-Cycle Payroll, and Full & Final Settlement.
Before You Hire Anyone
If your workspace has no employees yet, the dashboard replaces everything above with an empty state: Hire your first employee to start payroll and a Hire Employee button. The Create Payroll flow only becomes available once you have at least one employee.
Related Guides
- Running Payroll -- Step-by-step guide to processing a run.
- Payroll History -- Find and reopen past runs.
- Payroll Settings & Configuration -- Pay schedule, currency, and approvals.
- AI Payroll Analysis -- Review a run before you approve it.