Fabrication
Payroll software for engineering workshops and site teams
Welders, fitters and helpers paid from attendance whether they are in the shop or at an erection site, with site allowance, agreed overtime and advances as lines on the payslip.
In short
SimpleERP is payroll software for engineering workshops. A fabrication shop pays welders and fitters from attendance marked in the shop or from site, adds site allowance and agreed overtime, and recovers advances on the monthly payslip.
Illustration of a payslip with Basic salary, Allowances, Bonus and net pay of 4,440.
A payroll day at Don Valley Fabrications
Don Valley Fabrications has 26 people: welders, fitters, a plasma cutter operator, helpers who cut steel pipe for handrails, a crane driver, a draughtsman who turns customer sketches into shop drawings, a storekeeper and two in the office. When a shed is being erected, a team of six spends weeks at a site in Rotherham or Doncaster and comes back to the shop on an industrial estate in Attercliffe between jobs.
Overtime is the argument every month. A Saturday spent welding chequered plate onto a platform deck, a late night at site bolting roof sheets to a truss before the rain: the supervisor writes the hours in a diary, and the welders keep their own count. Advances for a motorcycle down payment or a family function come on top.
In SimpleERP each person has a shift and a salary structure, attendance is marked in the shop or checked in from the site, and the payroll run turns paid days into payslips. Overtime and site allowance are lines the supervisor agrees before the run, so the payslip shows the number everyone already accepted.
Which components does a fabrication shop put on the payslip?
Grade-wise structures for welder, fitter and helper cover the shop; the draughtsman and office have their own. Two lines change month to month: site allowance and overtime.
- Exactly one Basic line per structure, with pension worked on pro-rated Basic
- One-off lines such as overtime added to a payslip before approval
| Component | Earning or deduction | Used at Don Valley Fabrications for |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | Earning | Grade-wise for welder, fitter and helper |
| Tool allowance | Earning | A fixed amount for welders who bring their own kit |
| Site allowance | Earning | Added for the months a worker spends at an erection site |
| Overtime | Earning | Hours agreed with the supervisor, entered as an amount |
| Pension | Deduction | 5% of Basic, employer's share posted as a contribution |
| Income tax and social security | Deduction | Set per employee from their tax details |
| Advance recovery | Deduction | The monthly amount agreed when the advance was paid |
How does attendance work when half the team is at a site?
Workers with a self-service login tap Check in when they reach the Doncaster site and Check out when they leave, and SimpleERP records the time and marks them late against their shift. The shop supervisor marks the rest on one screen, so payroll reads one attendance sheet for everyone.
- Hours worked after the break worked out from check-in and check-out
- One check-in a day; corrections go through HR
- Night work that runs past midnight stays on the day it started
Illustration of the daily attendance sheet on a phone with a Mark all present button.
How is overtime paid without a monthly argument?
Agree the hours with the supervisor before the run, then add them as an amount on the payslip. Ryan, a welder, worked 14 hours of overtime at $22 an hour, so his payslip carries a $308 overtime line that he can see on his phone once the run is approved.
- Adjust before approval, then the payslip is locked with the run
- Payroll register lists overtime per person for the partner to review
What does a welder's payslip show at month end?
Ryan's Basic is $2,900 with no absences, site allowance $200 and overtime $308, so gross pay is $3,408. Income tax of $420 as set, pension at 5% of Basic, $145, and his advance recovery of $250 make deductions of $815 and net pay of $2,593.
- Net pay in words on the white A4 payslip
- Salary expense and payables posted when the run is approved and paid
One system
What payroll reads and writes
Payroll reads attendance and advances from the shop and the site, and posts salary expense, deductions payable and the advance balances to the ledger.
Engineering and fabrication
Quotations to invoices, BOMs and work orders per job, and steel stock in kg and metres.
See howInvoicing & tax
Tax invoices with VAT, GST or sales tax on every line, numbered by fiscal year and posted in one step.
See howInventory for fabricators
Beams, channels, plate and pipe in kg or running metres, consumables in their own store, offcuts in a scrap bay, all at average cost.
See howAccounting for fabricators
Steel bills, stage payments, gas and crane hire in one double-entry ledger, with margin per job and a monthly close for a fabrication unit.
See howProduction for fabricators
Shop drawings as BOMs with offcut allowance, work orders that draw steel from the yard, and the actual cost of every fabricated frame.
See howPayroll
Salary structures, monthly runs and payslips with your earnings and deductions, posted to the books.
See how
Honest limits
What SimpleERP does not do yet
- Income tax withholding is not computed from government tables; you set the deduction per employee
- Social security, pension and end-of-service amounts are components you set, not statutory calculations
- No biometric device integration: attendance is marked on the phone or entered by HR
- Overtime is not worked out from check-in times; enter the agreed amount on the payslip
- Contract welders paid per job through a labour contractor are paid on his bill as a purchase
Getting started
Start with payroll
Sign up with your email
Name, email and a password. No card for the seven-day trial.
Tell us about the business
Pick your country and, if you are registered, type your tax number. Accounts, tax rates, units, roles and numbering are seeded for that country.
Add your people
Add welders, fitters and helpers with their grade structure and shift, and enter advances that are still being recovered.
Run the first payroll
Attendance and leave feed the run; payslips post to the books and staff see them on their phones.
FAQ
Questions, answered
Can welders at a site mark attendance from their phones?
Yes, if they have a self-service login. They check in and out from the site, the time is recorded and late arrival is flagged against their shift. Those without a phone can be marked by the site supervisor or the office on the daily sheet.
Can I pay site allowance only for the months at site?
Yes. Either keep site allowance out of the salary structure and add it as a line on the payslips of the erection team each month, or give the team a structure that includes it while they are posted at site.
Will SimpleERP work out overtime from the hours?
No. Check-in and check-out give the hours worked, but overtime pay is not computed from them. Agree the hours with the supervisor and add the amount as an overtime line before you approve the run.
Can the draughtsman be on a different salary structure?
Yes. Each employee is assigned a structure, so the draughtsman and office staff can have their own components while welders, fitters and helpers share the grade structures. Changing one structure does not touch the others.
Related
Keep reading
Engineering and fabrication
Quotations to invoices, BOMs and work orders per job, and steel stock in kg and metres.
Read moreAccounting for fabricators
Steel bills, stage payments, gas and crane hire in one double-entry ledger, with margin per job and a monthly close for a fabrication unit.
Read moreProduction for fabricators
Shop drawings as BOMs with offcut allowance, work orders that draw steel from the yard, and the actual cost of every fabricated frame.
Read more
See how payroll works in SimpleERP for engineering and fabrication
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