Payroll
Payroll software for small businesses
Define each salary once, generate the month's payslips from attendance, then approve and pay, with the journals written for your accountant.
In short
SimpleERP is payroll software for small businesses. Salary structures with base pay, allowances and your country's usual deductions generate monthly payslips from attendance and leave, and each run moves from generate to approve to pay with journals posted.
Illustration of a payslip with Basic salary, Allowances, Bonus and net pay of 4,440.
The daily job, once a month: pay everyone correctly
Payroll is a monthly deadline with no room for mistakes. SimpleERP turns it into one review screen, then gives the accountant a balanced journal and each employee a payslip on their phone.
- Generate every payslip from salary structures and attendance
- Fix only the exceptions: bonus, arrears, an advance to recover
- Approve and pay, with salary expense and payables posted
Salary structures
Define each salary once, change it with an effective date
A salary structure lists an employee's earnings and deductions, each fixed, a percentage of base pay or a percentage of gross. A live preview shows gross, deductions, net pay and cost to company. A raise is a new structure from a date, and the old one stays on record.
- Exactly one base pay line, such as Basic or Salary, in every structure
- Bonus and similar components can skip pro-rating
- Percentages are worked on pro-rated base pay, so nothing is cut twice
| Sam Carter, September 2026 | Rule | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Salary | Fixed | $3,000.00 |
| Bonus | Fixed | $200.00 |
| Social Security | 6.2% of gross | −$198.40 |
| Medicare | 1.45% of gross | −$46.40 |
| Federal withholding | Fixed, set per employee | −$300.00 |
| Net pay | $2,655.20 |
Monthly run
A month's payslips are generated from attendance
Create the run for a month, choose a payment date, and SimpleERP builds every payslip: working days from the shift and holidays, loss of pay from absences and unpaid leave, and each line pro-rated by paid days. A bonus is paid in full regardless, and someone who joined mid-month is pro-rated automatically.
- Employees without a structure are listed, with a link to add one
- Unmarked attendance is treated as present and flagged
- One run per month per branch, or one for the whole business
- Regenerate a draft run after fixing attendance or a structure
Illustration of the daily attendance sheet on a phone with a Mark all present button.
Review
Generate, approve, pay: three steps, three records
Each step is deliberate and leaves a trail. Nothing touches the books until you approve, and nothing touches the bank until you pay.
Generate
Payslips are built and the run shows totals and anything that needs attention. Adjust a line, or add a bonus, arrears or other deduction.
Approve
Posts the accrual: salary expense and employer contributions against salaries payable and each deduction's payable account. A negative net pay blocks approval.
Pay
Choose the bank or cash account and the date. Salaries payable is cleared, and payslips appear in each employee's self-service.
Advances
Salary advances recover themselves
Pay an advance with a monthly recovery amount and each payroll run deducts it until it is settled. The advances page shows what was paid, recovered and still due per employee, and employees see their own balance in self-service.
- Recovery each month is the set amount or the balance left, whichever is less
- Recoveries show as their own payslip line
- An advance can be cancelled only while nothing has been recovered
Payslips
Payslips on paper and on the employee's phone
Every payslip prints on white A4 with earnings, deductions and net pay in words, and employees open their own from their phone once the run is approved. The payroll register and salary component summary are in reports.
- Payslip numbers by run and employee, such as PR-2026-0007/EMP-0012
- Download as PDF from self-service
- Payroll register per run with every component
Set up for your country
Your country's salary components are set up for you
| Country | Components as seeded |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Salary, bonus, PAYE income tax, employee NI, pension 5%, employer NI and employer pension 3% |
| United States | Salary, bonus, federal and state withholding, Social Security 6.2%, Medicare 1.45%, 401(k), and the employer's share |
| UAE | Basic, housing, transport and other allowances, deductions and an end-of-service accrual |
| Australia | Salary, bonus, PAYG withholding and superannuation 12% from the employer |
| Elsewhere | Basic, allowances and deductions, ready for your own components |
In India, the seeded structure has Basic, HRA, conveyance, special allowance and bonus, with PF at 12% of Basic, professional tax and TDS as deductions.
By industry
Payroll by industry
Make
Manufacturing
Two-shift attendance, shift allowance, overtime lines and holiday advances turned into payslips that post to the books.
Read moreBricks and blocks
Monthly staff on salary with shifts and advances, and the loading gang paid on its leader's bill, both posted to the same books.
Read moreEngineering and fabrication
Welders, fitters and site teams paid from attendance, with site allowance, agreed overtime and advances on the payslip.
Read moreFurniture
Monthly pay for carpenters, polishers and upholsterers from attendance, with advances recovered and deductions on every payslip.
Read moreElectrical and electronics
Monthly pay for wiremen, assemblers and testers from attendance, with deductions and advances recovered.
Read morePlastics and packaging
Monthly pay for machine operators on day and night shifts, with the deductions you set and travel advances recovered.
Read morePrinting and labels
Monthly payroll for press operators and binding staff, with season shifts, advances and deductions.
Read moreTextiles & garments
Monthly payroll for tailors, checkers and packers, with attendance by shift, advances and the deductions you set.
Read moreLeather & footwear
Monthly payroll for clickers, closers, lasters and finishers, with attendance, advances and deductions.
Read moreAgro processing & mills
Day and night shift attendance, deductions and advances for mill hands, and the wage journal posted after one approval.
Read moreStone crushers and M-sand
Two-shift attendance for operators and drivers, the deductions you set, and advances recovered from monthly pay.
Read more
Trade
Wholesale & distribution
Monthly salaries for salesmen, drivers and warehouse staff, with incentives on the run, advances recovered and allowances paid.
Read moreRetail
Two shifts, staggered weekly offs, a Christmas bonus and salary advances, paid from one monthly run per store.
Read moreGarment and apparel shops
Monthly pay for sales assistants, cashiers and seasonal staff, with commission on the payslip and advances recovered.
Read moreBuilding materials and hardware
Monthly pay for counter staff, the warehouse keeper and drivers, with advances recovered and a Christmas bonus.
Read moreAuto parts and workshops
Monthly salaries for mechanics, helpers and counter staff from attendance, with incentives and recovered advances on the payslip.
Read moreAgri inputs and farm supplies
Salaries for counter, warehouse and delivery staff from attendance, with season incentives and holiday advances recovered on the payslip.
Read more
Serve
Professional services
Salaries for staff accountants and graduate trainees, busy-season leave and audit travel claims, paid from one run.
Read moreIT services and agencies
Monthly payroll for developers and designers with tax, social security and pension, work-from-home attendance, notice-period exits and freelancer bills kept apart.
Read moreFreelancers and consultants
For the freelancer who has hired one to three people: salary structures, deductions, attendance on the phone and salaries posted to the books.
Read moreLaw firms and advocates
Monthly salaries for clerks, secretaries and salaried associates, with deductions, advances and payslips on the phone.
Read moreConstruction and contractors
Monthly payroll for engineers, supervisors and store keepers, advances recovered from salary, site claims on a phone, and labour gangs paid through the labour supplier's bill.
Read moreInterior and fit-out
Monthly salaries for carpenters, helpers and site supervisors from site attendance, with advances recovered and payslips on their phones.
Read moreSolar installers
Installation crew salaries from rooftop check-ins, site expense claims, advances recovered over months, and deductions on each payslip.
Read moreRepair and service centres
Technician pay from phone check-ins, travel allowance and incentives, fuel and parts claims, and advance recovery posted to the books.
Read moreSecurity agencies
Guard wages from site attendance with deductions you set, bonus, advances and payslips on the phone.
Read moreManpower and staffing
Monthly payroll for hundreds of deployed workers, from client-signed attendance, with deductions you set and advances.
Read moreEvent management
Monthly payroll for salaried coordinators, phone attendance at venues, advances recovered, and freelance crew paid on bills.
Read moreTravel agencies
Monthly salaries for the counter team, pro-rated pay for seasonal tour guides, salary advances and the deductions you set.
Read more
One system
What it connects to
Payroll reads HR and writes to the ledger.
HR, attendance & leave
Employees, a daily attendance sheet, phone check-in, holidays and leave balances.
See howAccounting
A double-entry ledger with journals, bank registers, statements and a lock date.
See howReports & dashboard
A morning dashboard and a catalogue of reports, each with filters, print and CSV export.
See how
Honest limits
Not included yet
- Income tax calculation from tax tables, codes or declarations
- Filing payroll returns or payments with the tax authority, such as RTI submissions in the UK
- Year-end employee tax forms
- Weekly or daily pay: payroll is monthly
- Bank salary upload files
FAQ
Questions, answered
Does SimpleERP calculate income tax on salary?
No. Income tax withheld is a deduction line you set per employee, and it is posted to its own payable account. Working out the amount from tax tables, codes or declarations is not built in.
How is loss of pay calculated?
Absent days count as one, half days as half, and unpaid leave as one, against the working days in the month. Each pro-rated component is scaled by paid days over working days. A bonus can be set to skip pro-rating.
Can I correct a payslip after approving the run?
An approved run is frozen. Cancel it, which reverses its journal, and generate a new run. A run that has been paid cannot be cancelled.
Do employees get their payslips online?
Yes. Once a run is approved, employees with a self-service login see their payslips on their phone and can download them. See HR and attendance.
How are payroll taxes and pension contributions paid over?
Payroll posts them to their payable accounts. When you pay them, record it as a manual journal or an expense against that account in accounting.
Related
Keep reading
HR, attendance & leave
Employees, a daily attendance sheet, phone check-in, holidays and leave balances.
Read moreAccounting
A double-entry ledger with journals, bank registers, statements and a lock date.
Read moreHR & payroll teams
Attendance, leave and payroll in one flow, with self-service for each employee.
Read moreManufacturing
BOMs with scrap and cost roll-up, work orders that move stock, and payroll for shop-floor staff.
Read more
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