Table of Contents

Compare payroll runs and resolve variances

Use the Difference List to compare two payroll runs by employee and salary type. Use the report before approval to trace monthly changes back to the salary entries.

Prerequisites

  • Both payroll runs that you want to compare are available.
  • The runs cover a comparable employee population.
  • You know about expected changes such as employment starts and ends, salary increases, or one-time payments.

Prepare the comparison

  1. Open Payrolls.
  2. Choose Difference List.
  3. Under Payroll 1, select the reference run.
  4. Under Payroll 2, select the run that you want to check.
  5. Select a Sort Key that suits your check.
  6. If needed, filter by Employee No., department, allocation group, or Salary Type No..

Compare runs that use the same period logic. A regular monthly run and an additional run can contain different employee populations and salary types.

Narrow down amounts and times

On the request page, select:

  • Salary Types with Amount to check financial variances;
  • Salary Types with Time to check quantity and time variances;
  • Active Employees Only if departed employees shouldn't be included;
  • Export to Excel if you need to analyze the results outside the preview.
Tipp

Start with a broad comparison. Then narrow the results to employees or salary types instead of combining several complete lists that use different filters.

Resolve variances

For each unusual line:

  1. Check the difference, type, and time quantity, if applicable.
  2. Match the change to a known event.
  3. Open Salary Entries for the affected run.
  4. Filter by the employee and salary type.
  5. Compare Quantity, Rate, and Amount with the reference run.
  6. If needed, check the salary journal, allocated salaries, TimeMachine entries, employment start and end dates, and insurance or withholding tax changes.

Also use the Salary Entries report when you need to analyze the composition of a single run with or without fictitious salary entries.

Wichtig

The Difference List shows changes but doesn't assess their business validity. A small mathematical difference can be relevant, while a large, documented one-time payment can be correct.

Document the decision

For each significant variance, document:

  • the employee and salary type numbers;
  • the amount or time difference;
  • the cause;
  • the source that you checked;
  • the required correction or approval decision.

If the variance is incorrect, cancel the unposted run, correct the cause, and create a new definitive run. Approve only a fully resolved run.

Good to know

  • You treat every large difference as an error—documented one-time payments can be correct, while small differences can be relevant.
  • You combine complete lists that use different filters—the source of the difference disappears.
  • You approve unresolved differences without documenting the decision—the audit trail is missing later.

See also