About Payroll Items
A payroll item is anything that changes an employee's pay for a period, on top of their basic salary. You enter these before you run payroll, and the system includes them automatically when it calculates pay.
You'll find them under Payroll → Payroll Items in the menu. Each item has its own page — this section explains every one of them.
The three kinds of payroll item
| Group | What it does | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Earnings | Adds money to an employee's pay. | Allowance, Overtime, Bonus, Commission |
| Deductions | Takes money off an employee's pay. | Deduction, Loan, Advance, Unpaid Leave |
| Tax & Statutory Adjustments | Changes how tax or statutory contributions (EPF, SOCSO, EIS) are worked out. | Overrides, Optional Tax Relief, Tax Benefit |
Earnings
Things that add to pay:
- Allowance — regular extras such as travel or phone allowance.
- Overtime — pay for extra hours worked.
- Bonus — one-off rewards.
- Commission — pay based on sales or targets.
- Director's Fees — fees paid to company directors.
- Wages — additional wage entries.
- Gratuity — a lump sum, for example on completion of service.
- Paid Leave — leave that is paid.
- Claims — approved expense claims paid through payroll.
- Employment Loss Compensation — compensation when employment ends.
Deductions
Things that subtract from pay:
- Deduction — general deductions.
- Loan — repayment of a staff loan.
- Advance Paid — record a salary advance you gave.
- Advance Deduct — take an advance back from pay.
- Unpaid Leave — leave taken without pay.
- CP38 — a tax instalment ordered by the tax authority.
Tax & Statutory Adjustments
Things that change tax or contributions:
- EPF Override — set a specific EPF amount.
- SOCSO Override — set a specific SOCSO amount.
- EIS Override — set a specific EIS amount.
- PCB Override — set a specific tax amount.
- Optional Tax Relief — reliefs that lower tax for the period.
- Tax Benefit — taxable non-cash benefits (benefits-in-kind).
tip
Add all your payroll items for the month before you run payroll. If you add an item after a run, you'll need to run payroll again for that period so it is counted.