Before the run
Hours, changes, starters, leavers and absence — everything that has to arrive before anything can be keyed.
Nobody elseif the person who does this is away
The Cut-Off Nobody Else Keeps
A cut-off is not an administrative preference. It is the slack that makes the statutory dates reachable, and it is usually kept by one person alone.
Chasing the Hours
Collecting hours is the largest single piece of work in a small payroll and the one most easily reduced. Most of the fix is in the format.
The Change Nobody Mentioned
Most payroll errors in small businesses are not mistakes. They are things that happened and were never said, because nobody thought of them as payroll.
A New Starter, From Payroll's Side
A new starter generates obligations with their own deadlines, and payroll is usually told last. The fix is a habit at the offer, not a process.
A Leaver, and the Payment That Closes It
A final payment is harder than an ordinary one, happens under emotional conditions, and is the last impression a business makes on somebody.
Absence, and What Reaches the Run
Absence is the input most likely to be recorded nowhere. By the time it matters it has usually been reconstructed from memory.
The List You Actually Work From
Every run is built from six inputs. In most small businesses four of them live in conversations, which is why the run is rebuilt from memory each month.