The payroll run lifecycle, explained
Run, review, approve and lock, pay, remit, then roll over. The same flow every month.
Every month follows the same controlled path. You Run payroll to compute everyone's pay, review the draft (payslips, variance, reconciliation), then Approve & lock, which finalises the figures and locks the period.
From the approved run you Create payment batch (to pay people) and Generate remittances (to track PAYE, pension and NHF owed). At month-end you open Payroll, Pay periods to close the period and open the next.
Nothing is paid or remitted until the run is approved, and once a period is locked its figures are immutable. Re-opening it is a rare, audited action.
Related articles
Review pre-run checks before you approve
The checks that catch missing bank accounts, zero net pay and unusual swings, before money moves.
Read the variance report
Compare this run to last period and catch a silently-wrong payroll before you approve.
Pay your team: disbursement & the NIBSS file
Turn an approved run into a bank payment batch, approve it, download the NIBSS file, reconcile.
Didn't find it?
Open a ticket or talk to the team. We'll help you get unstuck.