---
title: Getting started with Payroll
description: Understand what the Payroll module is for, what it does and does not do, its tabs, its permissions and a month’s cycle.
url: "http://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/payroll-getting-started/"
updated: "2026-11-11"
category: Payroll / Preliminary salaries
---

# Getting started with Payroll

The **Payroll** module gathers, each month, everything your payroll software needs to receive: base salaries, recurring payments, bonuses, absences, attendance hours and the changes made to employee records. You check them, approve the month’s payroll, then export these items to your payroll software or provider. Illizeo does not calculate contributions or net pay: it prepares accurate, traceable data that your payroll turns into payslips. This article introduces the module, its screens and its permissions. It is intended for payroll managers and administrators.

## Before you start

- The module opens from the **Payroll** menu. The screen is titled **Provisional payroll** until the month is approved, then **Approved payroll**.
- Each tab follows its own permission in the **Salaries & Payroll** catalogue, for example **Provisional payroll — People tab**, **Provisional payroll — Salary data tab**, **Alerts**, **Audit report (log)** or **Import — History and reports**. You only see the tabs you have permission for; if you have none, the Payroll menu is not shown.
- Approving, revoking and generating the payroll workbook require the **Manage (approve / unlock / export)** permission at the Execute level.
- The default **Administrator** and **Payroll Manager** roles open the module. The Payroll Manager reads every tab, approves payroll, imports data and configures payroll; the Administrator also has the Admin level.
- Settings are under **Settings › Salary & Payroll**. Each page has its own permission (for example **Compensation types — CRUD** or **Reference periods**).

## What the module does, and what it does not

- It **gathers** the payroll items entered in Illizeo: the compensation recorded in the Salaries tab of each employee record, approved absences, attendance hours, bonuses coming from other modules (referrals, objectives, CRM commissions) and expenses reimbursed through salary.
- It **flags** what needs checking: salary changes, missing data, contract or probation ends, exceeded thresholds.
- It **freezes** the month when you approve it: attendance, absence and counter entries for that period are then refused, and a payroll Excel workbook is filed in the **Documents** tab.
- It **exports** the entered items (Excel, XML, accounting CSV export) and, if a payroll connector is plugged in, sends them to that software.
- It does **not** calculate contributions, tax or net pay, and does not produce payslips on its own. The amounts it shows are those entered or imported; only the base salary of a month with a hire, a departure or a salary change is prorated, using the method chosen in the settings.

National payrolls calculated by Illizeo (such as Swiss payroll or Canadian payroll) have their own modules. When one of them is active, it adds its tab to the payroll screen (**Swiss payroll**, **Canadian payroll**); their own articles describe them.

## The payroll screen at a glance

![Provisional payroll screen for November 2026: Validate and Exports buttons, “No active accounting group” banner, Gross payroll (CHF and EUR breakdown), Headcount 50, Alerts 44 and Absences this month 2 indicators, month selector, Under review status, tabs and the start of the People list.](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/paie-01.en_-scaled.png?resize=800%2C409&quality=80&ssl=1)
The payroll screen for a month, before approval.

1. At the top, the **Provisional payroll / All employees** breadcrumb and the number of employees, then the **Validate** and **Exports** buttons.
2. Four indicators: **Gross payroll**, **Headcount** (with the average cost and the new hires, leavers and modified records), **Alerts** and **Absences this month**. The **View alerts** and **View absences** links open the matching tab.
3. The month selector, with the dates of the payroll period and, if a monthly reminder is set, its day.
4. On the right, the number of changes in the month and the status: **Under review** or **Validated**.
5. The tabs, described below.

## The tabs

- **People**: one row per employee, with their status, gross salary for the month, leave taken and leave balance. The **New joiners** and **Leavers** filters isolate the month’s arrivals and departures.
- **Personal data**: the identity and employment data useful for payroll (address, marital status, position, employment type, contractual hours…).
- **Salary data**: each compensation item of the month, with its contract, type, amount and currency.
- **Absence** and **Attendance**: the month’s absences and special hours (overtime, night, Saturday, Sunday and public-holiday hours, on-call duty). These tabs only appear if the Absences and Attendance modules are active.
- **Employee changes**: every change to a record that affects payroll, with the old and new value.
- **Documents**: the generated payroll workbooks and the exports of entered items.
- **Alerts**: the points to check before approving.
- **Audit log**: who did what on the month’s payroll.
- **Import**: load salaries, recurring payments, bonuses or attendance hours from a file.
- **Benefits**, **Annualised time**, **Swiss payroll**, **Canadian payroll**: present only if the corresponding module is active.

The open tab is written into the page address: you can copy it to go straight back to the **Alerts** or **Import** tab.

## A month’s cycle

1. Choose the month with the arrows or the selector.
2. Check the tabs: [Preparing the month’s payroll](https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/payroll-preparing-the-month/).
3. Complete what is missing in the employee records ([Entering an employee’s compensation](https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/payroll-employee-compensation/)) or by file ([Importing payroll data](https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/payroll-importing-data/)).
4. Approve the payroll, then download the workbook and the exports: [Approving payroll and exporting items](https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/payroll-approving-and-exporting/).

Before the first month, set up the compensation types and the payroll settings: [Compensation types and payroll items](https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/payroll-compensation-types/) and [Payroll settings](https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/payroll-settings/).

## Good to know

- Without an accounting group, all employees are in a single export; a banner at the top of the screen says so. Groups are set in **Settings › Salary & Payroll › General Settings**.
- When salaries are in several currencies without an exchange rate, gross payroll is not added up: the indicator shows the total of each currency separately.
- No back pay, contribution or net pay is calculated by the module; a prorated salary carries the **Prorated** label.
- Until the month is approved, values are “live”: they follow the records in real time. Once the month is approved, they are frozen.

## Frequently asked questions

### I cannot see the Payroll menu.

Your role has none of the payroll tab permissions. Ask an administrator to give you the Payroll Manager role or the relevant permissions from the Salaries & Payroll catalogue.

### Some tabs do not appear.

A tab is hidden if your role lacks its permission, or if the module it depends on (Absences, Attendance, Benefits, Annualised time, a national payroll) is not active in your workspace.

### Does Illizeo produce payslips?

Not this module. It prepares and exports the items; your payroll software calculates and issues the payslips. If a payroll connector is plugged in, the Documents tab gives access to its interface.

### *Similaire*