Table of Contents

About payroll runs

A payroll run is a processing batch that calculates and processes wages for a group of employees for a specific payroll period. Payroll runs are the core of the OnePayroll processing workflow.

Payroll run overview

What is a payroll run?

A payroll run represents the complete payroll processing cycle for:

  • A specific pay group (group of employees paid on the same schedule)
  • A specific payroll period (pay period start and end dates)
  • A defined payment date (when employees are paid)

When you create a payroll run, OnePayroll automatically calculates gross pay, deductions, taxes, and net pay for all employees in that pay group for that period. Creation and calculation happen in a single step — there is no separate "calculate" action.

Key characteristics

Each payroll run includes:

  • Pay Group — the group of employees to be paid (for example, "Biweekly Employees")
  • Period Dates — the period start and end dates defining which earnings and deductions to include
  • Payment Date — when employees receive their payment
  • Period Number — the sequential period number for the year
  • Status — the current state in the payroll processing workflow
  • Type — Standard or Manual
Note

Only one Open payroll run can exist per pay group at a time. You must cancel or post the existing run before creating a new one for the same pay group.

Payroll run types

Standard The regular periodic payroll for a pay group (for example, "Biweekly employees for the period 2/1/2026 - 2/14/2026"). Also used for off-cycle payroll runs such as bonuses, severance, or corrections.

Manual Individual ad-hoc payments created outside of scheduled payroll runs.

Payroll workflow and statuses

Payroll runs follow a defined workflow. The exact status transitions depend on whether approvals are required in Payroll Setup.

Without approvals (default)

┌────────┐             ┌────────┐
│  Open  │────Post────▶│ Posted │
└────────┘             └────────┘
    │
    Cancel
    (deletes)

When Require Approvals is turned off in Payroll Setup, the Post and Pay actions are available directly from the Open status. There is no intermediate approval step.

With approvals

┌────────┐            ┌──────────┐             ┌────────┐
│  Open  │──Approve──▶│ Approved │────Post────▶│ Posted │
└────────┘            └──────────┘             └────────┘
    │                      │
    Cancel                 Cancel
    (deletes)              (deletes)

When Require Approvals is turned on, the Approve action appears on Open payroll runs, and Post and Pay become available only after approval. Approval limits can be configured per user on the Approval User Setup page.

Status descriptions

Open

  • Initial status when you create a payroll run
  • Calculation is already complete — payroll entries exist and can be reviewed
  • The payroll run cannot be edited directly: the Payroll Runs page is read-only
  • If corrections are needed, Cancel the run (which deletes it), make your adjustments to employee or payment data, and then create a new payroll run

Approved

  • Only used when Require Approvals is turned on in Payroll Setup
  • Indicates the payroll has been reviewed and approved for posting
  • You can still Cancel an approved payroll run (this deletes it)

Posted

  • The payroll run is final and cannot be modified or cancelled
  • If the General Ledger Posting setting in Payroll Setup is configured to transfer entries, General Journal Lines are created and optionally posted during this step
  • Corrections to a posted payroll run require creating a reversal

Status transitions

Without approvals:

From To Action Description
Open Posted Post Marks the payroll as final; optionally transfers entries to the General Journal
Open (deleted) Cancel Permanently deletes the payroll run and all its entries

With approvals:

From To Action Description
Open Approved Approve Marks the payroll as reviewed and ready to post
Approved Posted Post Marks the payroll as final; optionally transfers entries to the General Journal
Open or Approved (deleted) Cancel Permanently deletes the payroll run and all its entries

General ledger posting

Whether the Post action creates General Journal Lines depends on the General Ledger Posting setting in Payroll Setup:

Setting Transfers to General Journal? Automatically posts?
No Transfer No No
Manual Posting Yes No — you must post the General Journal manually
Automatic Posting Yes Yes — posted automatically without confirmation
Always Ask Yes Yes — with a confirmation dialog

With No Transfer, posting only changes the payroll run status to Posted without creating any General Journal Lines.

Payroll entries

When you create a payroll run, OnePayroll creates a payroll entry for each pay type on each employee. For example:

Employee: John Smith, Period: 2/1/2026 – 2/14/2026

  • Payroll Entry: Regular Pay = $1,000
  • Payroll Entry: Federal Income Tax = -$120
  • Payroll Entry: FICA = -$76.50
  • Payroll Entry: Health Insurance = -$150
  • Payroll Entry: Net Pay = $653.50

Each payroll entry records:

  • The employee and pay type
  • The amount calculated
  • The source table (where the calculation originated)
  • The GL account for posting
  • Calculation details (hours worked, rate, formula)

Source table ID

Each payroll entry includes a Source Table ID field that tracks where the entry came from:

  • Pay Type table — regular earnings and deductions
  • Benefit table — benefit deductions
  • Garnishment table — wage garnishment deductions
  • Tax calculation — tax withholding amounts

This source tracking maintains an audit trail and enables you to trace each entry back to its origin.

Reviewing payroll entries

Before posting, you can review the calculated payroll entries:

Payroll Entries View all payroll entries for the entire payroll run from the Payroll Entries action on the Payroll Runs page. Filter by employee, pay type, or GL account.

Payment Entries View payment entries that show how net pay is distributed across Employee Payment Methods.

Paycheck Preview individual employee paychecks showing gross pay, deductions, and net pay from the Paycheck action on the Payroll Runs page.

Preview Payroll (without creating a run)

The Preview Paycheck and Preview Payroll Entries actions on the Employee Card and Employee List let you simulate a payroll calculation for selected employees without creating a real payroll run. This feature:

  • Runs a full calculation using the same engine as a real payroll
  • Shows the resulting paycheck or payroll entries
  • Rolls back all changes — no payroll run or entries are persisted
  • Works even when an Open payroll run already exists for the pay group

Use this to verify employee setup, pay types, or tax configurations before running a real payroll.

Payroll history

After posting, payroll runs remain on the Payroll Runs page with Posted status. You can:

  • View completed payroll runs and their entries
  • Reprint paychecks
  • Review historical payroll data
  • Save paychecks to employee dossiers

Common payroll scenarios

Regular periodic payroll

Create a payroll run for your standard pay group on your regular schedule. Review entries, post, and process payments. This is the primary use case.

Bonus or off-cycle payroll

Create a standard payroll run outside your regular schedule for bonuses, severance, retroactive pay adjustments, or other irregular payments.

Payroll corrections

If an error is discovered after posting, use the Reverse Paycheck action to reverse individual employee paychecks. If you discover an error before posting, Cancel the payroll run, correct the underlying data, and create a new run.

Next steps

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