Running a Pay Run — Agribantu Documentation

What this guide covers: Payroll → Payroll runs, from an empty list to an approved run ready for payslips (next guide) and Finance posting (two guides after that).

Part A

Before your first run: Pay Group and Pay Period

Every run belongs to a Pay Group (a set of employees paid together on the same cycle, e.g. "Monthly — Farm Staff") and a Pay Period (the specific date range being paid, e.g. 1–30 September 2026). Your organisation's Pay Group and the first Pay Period for it are set up for you when your Payroll module is provisioned.

First time setting up a brand-new organisation? If you open Payroll runs and there's no Pay Group or Pay Period to select in the create dialog, this isn't something you can self-serve today — contact Agribantu support to have your first Pay Group and Pay Period provisioned. After that, subsequent periods are handled automatically as part of the normal run cycle.

Part B

Creating a run

Open Payroll → Payroll runs. The list shows every run with its Period, Type, Status, Roster (active/total employees, and a count of anyone blocked), and Final cash total. Filter by Status (Draft / Calculated / Approved / Cancelled) or Type (Regular / Off-cycle).

Click Create and fill in:

Field	What to choose
Type	Regular for your normal monthly/weekly cycle, or Off-cycle for an out-of-cycle payment (e.g. a bonus run).
Period	Pick the Pay Period this run covers.
Pay Group	Pick which group of employees this run pays.

Example — Karoo Valley Farm

Type: Regular. Period: 1–30 September 2026. Pay Group: Monthly — Farm Staff (the group Thandiwe belongs to). Clicking Create adds a new run in Draft status, with every employee in that group and period on its roster.

Part C

Run statuses

A run moves through a simple, one-way lifecycle:

Status	Meaning
Draft	Just created. Roster and adjustments can still be freely changed.
Calculated	Remuneration and statutory amounts have been worked out. Still reviewable and re-calculable.
Approved	Signed off (Owner only). This is what unlocks payslip attestation and Finance posting.
Cancelled	Abandoned before approval — can happen at any point before Approved.

There's no separate "Paid" or "Finalised" status on the run itself. Whether someone's actually been paid is tracked per employee, on their payslip (see Payslips & Paying People).

Part D

Calculating the run

Open the run to reach its detail page. At the top you'll see the Period dates, whether the pay period is Locked or Open, the Payment date, and the running Final cash total. From the actions menu:

Step 1

Set payment date

Set the date people will actually be paid — required before statutory amounts can be calculated.

Step 2

Calculate remuneration

Works out gross pay for everyone on the roster from their compensation and any timesheet data. See View time evidence on the run header to check the ordinary/overtime hours and any time-related blockers behind this.

Step 3

Calculate statutory

Works out PAYE, UIF and any ETI for everyone. Only available once the run is Calculated and a payment date is set, and can be safely re-run while still in that status if something changes.

Buttons that make a real change — like calculating or approving — ask you to confirm first. Read the confirmation dialog; it tells you exactly what's about to happen.

Part E

Reviewing the roster

The roster table lists every employee on the run: Employee, Status, Gross, and Final cash. Click Explain on any row to open a detail drawer showing:

Remuneration lines — the components making up their gross pay.
Adjustments — anything added manually for this run (Part F).
Statutory — their calculated PAYE amount.
Payslip preview/attest controls — covered in Payslips & Paying People.

You can also Add roster member (bring someone into this run who wasn't originally included) or Remove from roster (a soft removal — it always asks for a typed reason and can be undone with Restore roster member, since payroll history is never silently deleted).

Part F

Adjustments

Use Add adjustment for anything outside the normal calculation — a one-off bonus, a manual deduction, a reimbursement. Every adjustment requires:

Field	What to enter
Kind	Earning, deduction, employer contribution, benefit, or reimbursement.
Code & description	What it is.
Amount	The value, in ZAR.
Reason	Required, always — the system's rule is that there's never an unexplained number on a payslip.

Example — Karoo Valley Farm

A once-off harvest bonus for Thandiwe: Kind Earning, Code HARVEST-BONUS, Amount R 500.00, Reason "Harvest season performance bonus, approved by farm manager."

Made a mistake? Use Void adjustment — it also requires a reason, and keeps the original line visible for history rather than deleting it.

Part G

Approving the run

Once you're happy with the roster and every employee's numbers, click Approve run. This is a sign-off action reserved for the Owner — if you're an Admin and don't see this button, that's expected (see Payroll Overview — Part E); ask your Owner to review and approve.

Once approved, the run is locked from further roster/adjustment changes. From here you move on to issuing payslips and, once ready, posting the run to Finance.

Changed your mind before approval? Cancel run abandons it entirely. To lock the underlying pay period against further edits from anywhere in Payroll, use Lock pay period.

Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting & FAQ

The Create button is disabled on the Payroll runs page.

Either you don't have run-creation permission, or there's no Pay Group/Pay Period available yet — see Part A.

"Calculate statutory" is greyed out.

Set a payment date first, and make sure the run is already in Calculated status (i.e. you've run "Calculate remuneration" first).

I don't see an Approve button.

Approval is Owner-only by design. As an Admin, prepare the run and hand it to your Owner for final sign-off.

Can I still add an adjustment after approving?

No — an approved run is locked. If you spot a mistake afterwards, see Corrections & Terminations for how to fix it safely without touching the approved history.