Payroll: run payroll and manage compensation in OMBA

OMBA’s payroll module covers the full compensation cycle: setting up the rules and structures that govern how employees are paid, recording the variable entries that change each period, and then running and posting the payroll itself. Everything flows from the employee record — the pay group and grade assigned there determine which allowances, deductions, and tax rules apply automatically when you run payroll.

Setup
Recording entries
Running payroll

Pay groups

Pay groups organize employees who share the same payroll rules and tax treatment. Go to Admin > Pay Groups to create or update a pay group. Each group has:

Name — a descriptive label for the group (for example, “Monthly Staff” or “Weekly Casual”)
Tax code — the tax table applied to employees in this group
Control account — the general ledger account that receives the payroll posting
Active flag — inactive groups are excluded from payroll runs

Every employee must be assigned to a pay group on their Employment tab before they can be included in a payroll run.

Pay groups drive tax code assignment at the group level. If a subset of employees requires a different tax treatment, create a separate pay group for them rather than overriding individual records.

Grades

Grades define seniority bands used for reporting and for tying employees to salary structures. Go to Admin > Setup Grades to manage grades. Each grade has a code, a name, a rank order (used for sorting and reporting), and an active status. Assign the correct grade to each employee on their Employment tab.

Benefit entries

Benefit entries configure recurring allowances that are added to employee pay. Go to Payroll > Benefit Entries Setup to define entries. For each entry you specify:

Input type — whether the entry applies to an individual employee, a pay group, a department, or another input dimension
Input code — the specific employee or group the entry targets
Benefit — the allowance type drawn from your benefits catalogue
Start period and end period — the payroll periods over which the entry is active
Amount — a fixed value, a percentage of basic salary, or both
Taxable flag — whether the benefit is subject to income tax
Treat as bonus flag — whether the benefit should be processed as a bonus payment

Use the percentage-of-salary option for allowances that should scale automatically when a basic salary changes, rather than updating fixed amounts manually each time.

Deduction entries

Deduction entries configure amounts subtracted from gross pay each period. Go to Payroll > Deduction Entries Setup. The form mirrors benefit entries — you select the input type and code, the deduction type from your deductions catalogue, the effective start and end periods, and enter a fixed amount or a percentage of salary. Deductions cover items such as union dues, voluntary subscriptions, or disciplinary deductions.

Loan entries

Employee loans are managed in Payroll > Loan Applications. When you record a loan, you configure:

Employee — the staff member receiving the loan
Loan type — drawn from your loans catalogue
Start period — the first payroll period from which repayments are deducted
Number of months — the total repayment term
Amount — the principal value of the loan
Interest rate — applied to the outstanding balance each period
Grace period — the number of months before repayments begin

OMBA calculates the monthly installment automatically and deducts it from the employee’s net pay for each period within the repayment schedule.

Savings entries

Savings entries cover employer and employee contributions to savings schemes such as provident funds. Go to Payroll > Savings Entries. Each entry specifies:

The input type and input code (employee, pay group, or other dimension)
The savings scheme
Effective start and end periods
Employee contribution — a fixed amount or percentage of salary, with an employee-taxable flag
Employer contribution — a separate fixed amount or percentage, with an employer-taxable flag

Both sides of the contribution are recorded on a single entry so the scheme balance is always complete.

Pay arrears

If a salary adjustment takes effect mid-period or covers a range of past periods, use Payroll > Salary Arrears Setup to post the catch-up amount. Each arrears entry captures the employee or group, the start and end periods covered by the arrears, and the effective pay period — the period in which the arrears amount will actually be paid out. This separates the periods the arrears relate to from the period they appear on the payslip.

Shift setups

Shift definitions are managed in Admin and referenced throughout Shift Entries. Shifts carry a shift code, defined start and end times, and break minutes. When a shift entry is saved, OMBA uses the shift definition to calculate total hours worked and any overtime hours automatically.

Shift entries

Shift entries capture daily attendance for hourly and shift-based employees. Go to Payroll > Shift Entries and create a new entry for each employee work day. Each record captures:

Employee — selected from the active employee list
Shift — the applicable shift definition (which supplies break minutes and standard hours)
Work date
Clock in and clock out — date-time values; OMBA calculates hours worked automatically from these values and the shift’s break minutes
Overtime hours — any hours beyond the standard shift, visible once the entry is saved

Once entries are created, select one or more rows and click Approve Selected to move them to an approved status. Only approved shift entries are picked up when payroll is run.

For businesses using OMBA’s POS module, the shift closure workflow for a POS station must be completed before that day’s shift entries can be finalized. Closing a POS shift records the cashier’s session totals and marks the entries as ready for payroll approval. Do not approve shift entries for a POS station until its shift has been formally closed in the POS module.

Overtime entries

Overtime entries record additional hours worked outside of a regular shift. Go to Payroll > Overtime Entries and create a new entry. Each record requires:

Employee
Overtime type — for example, weekday overtime, weekend overtime, or public holiday overtime, each carrying its own rate multiplier
Work date
From time and to time — OMBA calculates total overtime hours from these values
Narration — an optional note explaining the reason for the overtime

The rate multiplier stored on the overtime type is applied automatically to calculate the overtime amount included in the payroll run. Select entries and click Approve Selected to authorize them for payroll.

Benefit, deduction, loan, and savings entries

Beyond the setup entries that apply continuously across periods, you can also create period-specific benefit and deduction entries for one-off payments or adjustments. Use Benefit Entries Setup, Deduction Entries Setup, Loan Applications, and Savings Entries to add, edit, or delete entries that apply to specific periods. The start period and end period fields on each entry control exactly which payroll runs will include the value.

Running payroll

Once all entries for the period are recorded and approved, you can run payroll. Go to Payroll > Run Payroll.

Once you run and post payroll for a period, retroactive changes to benefit entries, deductions, loans, or shift data for that period will not be reflected automatically. Make all corrections before running payroll. If you need to amend a finalized payroll period, reverse the posting and re-run after making your changes.

Select the pay group

Choose the pay group you want to process from the Paygroup drop-down. The pay group determines which employees are included and which tax code is applied. You can only process one pay group per run.

Select the period

Choose the payroll period from the Period Code drop-down. Only periods that have not already been finalized for this pay group will be available. If the correct period is not listed, check that it has been created in the payroll period setup.

Set the payroll date

Enter the Payroll Date — typically the payment date shown on payslips. This date is stamped on all payroll transactions for the run.

Run payroll

Click Run Payroll. OMBA processes each employee in the selected pay group, applying their basic salary, approved shift and overtime entries, benefit entries, deduction entries, loan repayments, savings contributions, and the applicable tax code. A progress indicator shows the percentage complete and the number of employees processed. The run status badge changes from Idle to reflect the current state.

Review the results

After the run completes, review the payroll run summary. The Payroll No assigned to the run is your reference for audit and reporting. Check that the employees processed count matches your expected headcount for the pay group. If discrepancies exist, investigate before proceeding.

Post and finalize

Once you are satisfied with the run results, post the payroll to the general ledger. This records the payroll expense against the control account assigned to the pay group and marks the period as finalized. Payslips become available to employees after posting.

Payroll reports

After payroll has been run and posted, use the Run Report action from the HR dashboard or the dedicated payroll reports section to generate the outputs your organization requires. Available reports typically include:

Payroll summary — totals by pay group showing gross pay, total deductions, and net pay
Employee payslips — individual payslip breakdowns showing all earnings, deductions, and the net amount payable
Deduction schedules — itemized lists of each deduction type for remittance to third parties (tax authorities, pension administrators, savings institutions)
Loan repayment schedule — outstanding balances and monthly installments per employee
Bank transfer file — employee-level net pay amounts with account details for electronic payment

Run the payroll summary report immediately after posting and before distributing payslips. Cross-check the totals against your expected wage bill to catch any data entry errors before employees receive their payslips.

​Pay groups

​Grades

​Benefit entries

​Deduction entries

​Loan entries

​Savings entries

​Pay arrears

​Shift setups

​Shift entries

​Overtime entries

​Benefit, deduction, loan, and savings entries

​Running payroll

​Payroll reports

Pay groups

Grades

Benefit entries

Deduction entries

Loan entries

Savings entries

Pay arrears

Shift setups

Shift entries

Overtime entries

Benefit, deduction, loan, and savings entries

Running payroll

Payroll reports