Payslip Totals per Item and Employee — Complete User Guide — Two Accounts Web

Comprehensive guide for the Payslip Totals per Item and Employee report — enabling it, creating multi-period summaries, reading every column and section, and validating each figure against payslips, the General Ledger, and accounting regulations

Table of Contents

1. What Is the Payslip Totals per Item and Employee Report?
2. Prerequisites — Enabling via the Customize Menu
3. Navigating to the Report
4. The Report List
5. Creating a Report — Field-by-Field
   • 5.1 Description
   • 5.2 Periods (From Date, To Date, Column Name)
6. Report Output — Columns and Sections
   • 6.1 Column Headings
   • 6.2 Earnings Items Section
   • 6.3 Gross Pay Total
   • 6.4 Deduction Items Section ("Less …")
   • 6.5 Net Pay Total
   • 6.6 Contribution Items Section
   • 6.7 Total Contributions
7. How the Report Is Calculated
   • 7.1 Source of the Data
   • 7.2 Personal / Base Currency
   • 7.3 Earnings Calculation
   • 7.4 Deductions Calculation
   • 7.5 Contributions Calculation
   • 7.6 Inclusive Dates and Zero Rows
8. Related Settings and Configuration
9. Sample Data and Report Output
   • 9.1 Sample Setup
   • 9.2 Creating the Report
   • 9.3 Report Output
   • 9.4 Calculation Verification
10. General Ledger Verification
11. Reporting and Accounting Impact
12. Accounting Regulation Validation
13. Common Issues and Best Practices

1. What Is the Payslip Totals per Item and Employee Report?

The Payslip Totals per Item and Employee report is the payroll analyst's period-comparison tool. Instead of showing one line per payslip (like the Payslips listing) or one line per employee (like the Payslip Summary), it shows how much was posted to each payslip item — and, within every item, how much belongs to each employee — for several periods side by side.

Each period becomes one column of the report. So you can place January, February and March side by side and instantly see, for example:

• How Basic Salary per employee changed month over month,
• How Income Tax per employee moved,
• What the gross pay, net pay, and employer contributions were for every period.

The report is built directly from the General Ledger: every amount comes from the actual GL postings generated by payslips. This makes the report fully auditable — each figure can be traced back to the individual payslip lines that produced it.

2. Prerequisites — Enabling via the Customize Menu

The report appears under Reports only when the payroll area is active for the business. The report is shown when either the Employees tab or the Payslips tab is enabled in the Customize Menu.

How to Ensure It Is Enabled

1. Open the Customize Menu from the navigation bar.
2. Find the Employees toggle. It is turned on by default for every new business. Ensure it is enabled.
3. The Payslips toggle appears when Employees is enabled. It is also on by default.
4. Click Update / Save to apply any changes.

Once enabled, the report is available under Reports → Payslips → Payslip Totals per Item and Employee.

3. Navigating to the Report

From the main navigation bar:

1. Open Reports.
2. Go to the Payslips category.
3. Click Payslip Totals per Item and Employee.

This opens the report list — every saved report for the business appears here, sorted by its Description.

4. The Report List

The list shows one row per saved report, with three columns:

Each row is clickable:

• Click the row to open the report output (the items-per-employee-per-period table).
• Edit opens the report form to change the description or the periods.

A New Report button at the top creates a fresh report.

5. Creating a Report — Field-by-Field

Click New Report to open the report form. It contains a Description and a list of Periods.

5.1 Description

5.2 Periods (From Date, To Date, Column Name)

Each Period adds one column to the report. You can add as many periods as you like — one per month, one per quarter, or any custom windows. Each period has three fields:

1. Enter a Description (optional).
2. Add at least one Period by entering its From Date, To Date, and (optionally) a Column Name.
3. Add further Periods for each additional comparison column.
4. Click Save.
5. The report opens showing the comparative output.

6. Report Output — Columns and Sections

The report opens with a subtitle:

For the period from {earliest From Date} to {latest To Date}

The table then reads top to bottom as a classic earnings-minus-deductions payroll worksheet, and left to right across the periods you defined.

6.1 Column Headings

Each column represents one period. The heading is the period's Column Name if entered, otherwise the two dates. Every amount column shows the figure for that period only, using its own inclusive date range.

6.2 Earnings Items Section

Each Earnings Item (e.g. Basic Salary, Overtime, Bonus) becomes a group heading. Under it, one row appears for each employee who had that earnings item in any of the periods. The cell shows the earnings amount for that item for that employee in that period. If a group contains more than one employee, a "Total — {Item}" subtotal row closes the group.

6.3 Gross Pay Total

After all earnings groups, a total row labelled "Gross pay" shows the sum of all earnings items for each period — the total gross pay posted in that period.

6.4 Deduction Items Section ("Less …")

Each Deduction Item (e.g. Income Tax, Health Insurance, Pension) becomes a group headed "Less: {Item}" — signifying that it is subtracted from gross pay. Under it, one row appears for each employee who had that deduction in any period, showing the deduction amount per employee per period. A "Total — {Item}" subtotal closes the group when it holds more than one employee.

6.5 Net Pay Total

After all deduction groups, the total row labelled "Net pay" shows Gross pay − deductions for each period — the total net pay owed to employees in that period. This equals the amount credited to the employees' clearing balances for the period.

6.6 Contribution Items Section

Each Contribution Item (e.g. Employer Social Security) becomes a group headed by its name. Under it, one row per employee shows the employer contribution amount per employee per period. Only the employer expense side of each contribution is included here — the corresponding liability (payable) is not part of the report. A "Total — {Item}" subtotal closes the group when it holds more than one employee.

6.7 Total Contributions

The report closes with a stand-out row labelled "Total contributions", giving the total employer contributions for each period. This total equals the sum of the contribution items shown above it.

Gross pay  −  (Less: all deduction items)  =  Net pay
Total contributions  =  sum of all contribution items (employer cost only)

7. How the Report Is Calculated

7.1 Source of the Data

The report reads the General Ledger. It selects every GL transaction that:

• is linked to an Employee (via the employee field on the transaction), and
• carries one of the three payslip item references — an earnings item, a deduction item, or a contribution item.

In practice these are exactly the GL lines generated when payslips are saved. Payments to employees, opening balances, and the net-pay balancing line do not carry a payslip item reference, so they are never part of this report.

7.2 Personal / Base Currency

Every amount in the report is the GL transaction's base-currency amount — that is, the amount in the business's base currency (after any foreign-currency exchange conversion). All periods and all employees are therefore compared on one common monetary basis. Foreign-currency employees (e.g. a USD employee in a BDT business) appear with their amounts converted to the base currency using the exchange rate on the payslip.

7.3 Earnings Calculation

For an earnings item, an employee, and a period:
  Cell = sum of the base-currency amount of every GL earnings line for that item
         and employee whose Date is on or after the period's From Date and on or
         before the period's To Date.

Gross pay (per period) = sum of all earnings item cells for that period.

The earnings GL lines are the debits to the expense accounts set on each Payslip Earnings Item — the same amounts that flow to the Profit & Loss payroll expense accounts.

7.4 Deductions Calculation

For a deduction item, an employee, and a period:
  Cell = sum (with sign reversed for display) of the GL deduction lines for that item
         and employee within the period's inclusive date range.

Net pay (per period) = Gross pay − total deductions for that period.

Deduction GL lines are posted as credits to the deduction accounts (e.g. Income Tax Payable). The report displays them as positive figures under the "Less:" headings, and subtracts their total from gross pay to arrive at net pay.

7.5 Contributions Calculation

For a contribution item, an employee, and a period:
  Cell = the employer cost for that item and employee within the period's inclusive date range.

Total contributions (per period) = sum of all contribution item cells for that period.

Each contribution posts two GL lines: an expense debit (the employer cost) and a liability credit (the payable). The report includes only the expense (Profit & Loss) leg, so it shows the true employer cost, not the payable. This is why contributions appear separately rather than being subtracted from the employee's net pay.

7.6 Inclusive Dates and Zero Rows

• Every period's date range is inclusive: transactions on the From Date and on the To Date are counted.
• An employee row is hidden automatically if every one of its period cells is zero (e.g. an employee who had earnings in none of the periods).
• Cells are computed per period independently, so one period may be zero while another has a figure.
• Items are ordered alphabetically by item name within each section; employees are grouped within each item.

8. Related Settings and Configuration

9. Sample Data and Report Output

9.1 Sample Setup

Employees

Payslip Items and Accounts

Payslips — January 2026

9.2 Creating the Report

From Reports → Payslips → Payslip Totals per Item and Employee, click New Report and enter:

9.3 Report Output

For the period from 1-Jan-2026 to 28-Feb-2026

9.4 Calculation Verification

Gross pay (January 2026):

Basic Salary   = 30,000 (John) + 220,000 (Jane)  = 250,000
Overtime       =  5,000 (John) +  55,000 (Jane)  =  60,000
Gross pay      = 250,000 + 60,000                = 310,000  ✓

Deductions (January 2026):

Income Tax        = 5,000 (John) + 33,000 (Jane)  = 38,000
Health Insurance  = 1,500 (John) + 11,000 (Jane)  = 12,500
Total deductions  = 38,000 + 12,500               = 50,500

Net pay (January 2026):

Net pay = Gross pay − deductions = 310,000 − 50,500 = 259,500  ✓
(Cross-check: 28,500 John + 231,000 Jane = 259,500)            ✓

Contributions (January 2026):

Employer Social Security = 6,000 (John) + 44,000 (Jane) = 50,000  ✓

Per-employee, per-item cells (January 2026, base currency):

Basic Salary     John 30,000 │ Jane 220,000      = 250,000  ✓
Overtime         John  5,000 │ Jane  55,000      =  60,000  ✓
Income Tax       John  5,000 │ Jane  33,000      =  38,000  ✓
Health Insurance John  1,500 │ Jane  11,000      =  12,500  ✓
Employer Social  John  6,000 │ Jane  44,000      =  50,000  ✓

Jane Doe's USD-to-BDT conversion (rate 1 USD = 110 BDT):

Basic Salary       2,000 × 110 = 220,000  ✓
Overtime             500 × 110 =  55,000  ✓
Income Tax           300 × 110 =  33,000  ✓
Health Insurance     100 × 110 =  11,000  ✓
Employer Social Sec  400 × 110 =  44,000  ✓
Net pay            2,100 × 110 = 231,000  ✓

February 2026 (no payslips):

All cells = 0 because no GL payslip lines are dated within 1-Feb to 28-Feb. ✓

10. General Ledger Verification

Every figure above is literally a sum of General Ledger amounts. For John Smith's January 2026 payslip, the system posts:

  Dr Salaries Expense                      30,000.00
  Dr Overtime Expense                       5,000.00
    Cr Income Tax Payable                            5,000.00
    Cr Health Insurance Payable                      1,500.00
    Cr Employee Clearing Account — John Smith       28,500.00   ← Net Pay
  Dr Social Security Expense                 6,000.00
    Cr Social Security Payable                         6,000.00
                                      ──────────   ──────────
  Total Debits: 41,000.00   Total Credits: 41,000.00   ✓ Balanced

For Jane Doe (USD), the same structure is posted — with each USD line converted to the base currency (BDT) at the pay slip's exchange rate of 1 USD = 110 BDT — crediting her custom control account ("International Payroll"):

  Dr Salaries Expense                      220,000.00
  Dr Overtime Expense                        55,000.00
    Cr Income Tax Payable                              33,000.00
    Cr Health Insurance Payable                        11,000.00
    Cr "International Payroll" — Jane Doe             231,000.00   ← Net Pay
  Dr Social Security Expense                  44,000.00
    Cr Social Security Payable                         44,000.00
                                      ──────────   ──────────
  Total Debits: 319,000.00   Total Credits: 319,000.00   ✓ Balanced

How each report cell maps to the GL:

Cross-check with the Balance Sheet (as shown in the Employees & Payslips guide at 31-Jan-2026, with Jane's USD figures converted at 1 USD = 110 BDT):

Income Tax Payable      5,000 + 33,000 = 38,000    ✓  
Health Insurance Payable 1,500 + 11,000 = 12,500   ✓ 
Social Security Payable  6,000 + 44,000 = 50,000   ✓
Employee Clearing (John) 50,000 OB + 28,500 net                     ✓
"International Payroll" (Jane) 1,000 OB + 231,000 net               ✓

11. Reporting and Accounting Impact

• Profit & Loss: The earnings section and the contributions section are the payroll expenses of the period, split by item and employee. Summing the earnings items reproduces the P&L payroll expense accounts; summing the contributions reproduces the employer-cost expense accounts.
• Balance Sheet: The deduction item totals equal the period's payroll liabilities (income tax payable, insurance payable, etc.). The Net pay total equals the movement in employee clearing balances (payroll payable) created by the period's payslips — before any payments are made.
• Cash Flow: Payslips create no cash movement; cash flows when employees and tax/insurance liabilities are paid. This report contains payslip accruals only.
• Payroll management: The report's core value is period-on-period comparison — spotting salary changes, tax movement, or overtime trends per item and per employee without opening individual payslips.

12. Accounting Regulation Validation

13. Common Issues and Best Practices

13.1 The Report Does Not Appear

Cause: Neither Employees nor Payslips is enabled in the Customize Menu, or the user lacks report permission.

Solution: Enable Employees (and, if desired, Payslips) in Customize Menu, or ask the administrator to grant report access.

13.2 A Period Column Shows Only Zeros

Cause: No payslips were created with dates inside that period, or the period's date range does not cover the payslip dates.

Solution: Confirm the From and To dates of the period (inclusive) cover the payslip dates you expected. This is normal for a period with no payroll run.

13.3 An Employee Row Is Missing

Cause: The employee has no amounts for the item in any of the periods, so the row's cells are all zero and it is hidden automatically.

Solution: An employee only appears for an item if they actually had that item on a payslip inside one of the periods.

13.4 Amounts Look Different From the Payslip Summary

Cause: This report uses base-currency amounts from the General Ledger, while the Payslip Summary can show an employee's own currency. Foreign-currency employees are converted here.

Solution: Remember the different basis — this report is the base-currency, General Ledger–driven comparison tool.

13.5 Why Are Contributions Not Subtracted From Net Pay?

Explanation: Contributions are the employer's cost. They are shown separately as additional expense — they do not come out of the employee's pay, so they are not part of Net pay (Gross − Deductions).

13.6 Why Do Deductions Read as Positive Numbers Under "Less:"?

Explanation: The GL posts deductions as credits (negative), but the report presents them as positive amounts under the "Less:" heading to read naturally as amounts being subtracted from gross pay. Net pay is still Gross − Deductions.

Best Practices

• Create one saved report per comparison need — e.g. a monthly-Q1 report with three period columns (Jan/Feb/Mar) — and give it a clear Description. The saved list lets you re-open it any time.
• Always set a Column Name per period so the output columns are readable.
• Reconcile Net pay per period to the employee clearing accounts after all payslips are saved, using the Employees listing or General Ledger.
• Reconcile the earnings items and contributions to the P&L payroll expense accounts for the same periods.
• Post all payslips before printing so the period figures are complete.
• Note the base-currency basis when presenting this report to management — it aggregates across all employee currencies on one common basis.

End of Payslip Totals per Item and Employee Guide