---
title: Approving payroll and exporting items
description: Approve or revoke a month’s payroll, download the payroll workbook and export the entered items as XML or accounting CSV.
url: "http://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/payroll-approving-and-exporting/"
updated: "2026-11-11"
category: "Payroll / Compliance & exports"
---

# Approving payroll and exporting items

Once the month’s items have been checked (see [Preparing the month’s payroll](https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/payroll-preparing-the-month/)), you approve the payroll: the period is locked, values are frozen and a payroll Excel workbook is filed in the **Documents** tab. That is also where you download the exports of entered items (XML, accounting export) to send to your payroll software or your accountant. This article explains how to approve, how to revoke an approval if a correction is needed, and how to export. It is intended for payroll managers.

## Before you start

- Approving and revoking require the **Manage (approve / unlock / export)** permission at the Execute level. The default Administrator and Payroll Manager roles have it; without it, the **Validate** button does not appear.
- The list of workbooks requires the **Provisional payroll — Documents/Exports tab** permission; the Execute level also lets you delete a workbook.
- The exports of entered items require **XML Import / Export** for the XML file and **Accounting export (salaries + attributes)** for the accounting CSV (Execute level to download it).
- If accounting groups are set up, each group is approved separately; otherwise the whole workforce is approved at once.

## Approving the month’s payroll

1. Open **Payroll** and choose the month.
2. If accounting groups exist, choose the group in the breadcrumb at the top of the screen: with **All groups**, the screen shows “Select a group to validate” instead of the button.
3. Click **Validate**. The **Confirm payroll approval** dialog opens.
4. Read its messages: “Payroll will be final and non-modifiable.”; for a group, the number of employees concerned and a reminder that the other groups remain editable; and the fact that the month’s payroll workbook will be generated and filed in the Documents tab. If you approve before the end of the period, a warning says that absence and attendance data may be incomplete.
5. Click **Confirm approval**.

![Confirm payroll approval dialog for November 2026: payroll will be final and non-modifiable, warning about approving before 30.11.2026, notice that the workbook will be filed in the Documents tab, and the Confirm approval button.](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/paie-06.en_.png?resize=600%2C502&quality=80&ssl=1)
The confirmation before approving.

The status changes to **Validated** and the title becomes **Approved payroll**. A banner reminds you that the period is locked: “Payroll approved — period locked: presence, absence and counter entries for this period are refused.”, with the date at which the data was frozen.

If an approval workflow is set up for payroll, the approval is first submitted to it: the message “Payroll submitted for approval” appears and the month is only approved once the approver agrees.

## Revoking an approved payroll

An error found after approval is corrected by reopening the period.

1. On the approved month (and the group concerned), click **Disapprove**.
2. Read the **Revoke payroll approval** dialog: the payroll table will be unlocked and data will no longer be frozen; changes made after approval will be marked again; a new export must be generated and sent to your accountant; the approved export and its payslip remain archived.
3. Enter the **Revocation reason** (required), for example “overtime hours error”.
4. Click **Confirm revocation**.

The reason is recorded in the audit log. Then correct the items and approve again.

## Downloading the payroll workbook

1. Click **Exports** at the top of the screen, or open the **Documents** tab.
2. Under **Payroll documents**, each workbook for the month is listed with its **File** and **Date**.
3. Click **Download**. If the workbook is still being prepared, a message says so: it downloads as soon as it is ready, and stays available for 24 hours even if you leave the screen.

The **Generate an export** button produces a workbook on demand, without approving the month: useful for an interim check. **Delete** removes a workbook from the list.

![Documents tab: Entered items for the period block (Base salaries type, Changes of the month content, XML export, 47-line accounting export with Download (CSV) and a preview of the rows), Silae and PayFit banners, and the November 2026 payroll documents with Generate an export.](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/paie-07.en_-scaled.png?resize=800%2C344&quality=80&ssl=1)
The Documents tab: exports of entered items and payroll workbooks.

## Exporting the entered items

The **Entered items for the period** block exports amounts as they were entered, with no calculation.

### XML export

1. Choose the type of items: **Base salaries**, **Recurring payments**, **Bonuses** or **Attendance hours**.
2. Choose the **XML content**: **Changes of the month** (only items taking effect in the month) or **Full current state** (all items in force during the month, one row per item).
3. Click **XML export**.

### Accounting export

The **Accounting export** label shows the number of lines in the file, and the table below previews them (the first lines when the file is long). Click **Download (CSV)** to get the full file, including the export attributes chosen in the general settings.

## Sending to a connected payroll software

If a payroll connector (such as Silae or PayFit) is plugged into your workspace and you have its permission, the **Documents** tab shows a banner with a button to its interface: from there you send the month’s variable pay items, follow the flows and retrieve payslips.

## Good to know

- The lock comes from approval: while a month is approved, attendance, absence and counter entries for that period are refused throughout Illizeo.
- A bonus or payment entered with a date falling in an already approved period is flagged when it is entered: Illizeo generates no back pay.
- Revoking deletes nothing: the approved export stays archived for traceability.
- With accounting groups, approval, revocation and the workbook are handled group by group; the other groups are not affected.

## Frequently asked questions

### The Validate button does not appear.

Either your role lacks the Execute level of the Manage (approve / unlock / export) permission, or accounting groups exist and the view is on “All groups”: choose a group.

### What is the difference between the workbook and the XML export?

The Excel workbook is the month’s payroll file, generated on approval (or on demand). The XML export and the accounting export take the entered items, type by type, for import into another tool.

### I approved too early.

Revoke the month with a reason, complete the data, then approve again. Remember to send the new export.

### *Similaire*