Managing Earnings & Deductions

⚡ What Are Earnings & Deductions?

Earnings and Deductions (E/D) allow you to add adjustments to an employee's pay outside their regular working hours or to add a record to an employee's pay stub. These entries can range and are typically categorized as an earning, deduction, or benefit. 

Examples of why you would need to create an Earnings and Deductions entry include bonuses or tips, reimbursements, deductions for health benefits, or employer contributions to a retirement savings plan. These can be added as a one-time entry or set up to recur automatically on future pay runs.

📌 | Note: There are two ways to add Earnings/Deductions entries: directly in the platform, or in bulk by uploading a CSV spreadsheet through the E/D Uploader. This article focuses on adding, editing, and managing entries directly in the platform. See How To Use The E/D Uploader In Payroll if you're looking to add entries in bulk.

🔎 Why Use Earnings & Deductions?

Here are some common reasons to use Earnings & Deductions:

• Save time on one-off and recurring adjustments: Add a bonus, reimbursement, or benefit deduction once or set it to recur automatically if it repeats, instead of re-entering it manually every pay run.
• Ensure pay and deductions are taxed and reported correctly: Each entry is tied to a preset configured to be taxed properly and recorded correctly on year-end tax documents like T4s and W-2s.
• Keep pay types correctly categorized: Retroactive pay, overtime, severance, and regular pay are all treated differently; using the correct Preset keeps each entry classified accurately rather than lumped into regular pay. 
• Stay audit-ready: Every entry is timestamped and tied to the administrator who created it, so you can answer "who added what, and when" without digging through spreadsheets.
• Delegate payroll prep with confidence: Grant Team Administrators access to add Earnings & Deductions for specific presets, so you can share the workload without opening up full payroll access. 

🔐 Access Required

Earnings & Deductions is part of the Payroll feature and is available on all subscription plans with the Payroll add-on.

Who can manage Earnings & Deductions?

• Super Administrators: Full access to add, edit, delete, view, and filter Earnings/Deductions entries.
• Team Administrators: Can add, edit, delete, view, and filter Earnings/Deductions entries if the Run Payroll permission is enabled, or if granted access to specific Presets under Set Up Earnings and Deductions. Access is limited to whichever Presets a Super Administrator has checked off for them. If you are unable to access, please confirm your permissions with a Super Administrator.

📋 Topics Covered in This Article

• When to Add Earnings and Deductions
• Manually Adding Earnings and Deductions(One-Time or Recurring)
• Viewing, Searching, and Filtering Previous Earnings & Deductions
• Editing Earnings/Deductions Entries
• Deleting Earnings/Deductions Entries
• Requesting a New Earnings & Deductions Preset or a Change to an Existing Preset
• Frequently Asked Questions About Earnings & Deductions

📚 Related Articles

• A Guide To Running Payroll
• Understanding Payroll Processing Deadlines
• How To Use The E/D Uploader In Payroll
• Check out our dedicated Payroll section to find how-to guides, FAQs, and more.

When to Add Earnings & Deductions 

Where E/D entries fit in your payroll cycle matters. An entry can only be added, edited, or deleted while its pay run is still open. Once payroll has been processed, the entry is locked in and can no longer be changed.

If you're in the middle of processing and reviewing, and notice something is inaccurate, you'll need to delete the pending payroll to make the correction, then reprocess once it's fixed.

Earnings/Deductions is something your team should review in the days leading up to payroll processing, rather than right at the deadline. This gives your team enough time to add entries, catch inaccuracies, and follow up with other team members or managers as needed.

💡 | Tip: Review your Cut-Off Date and processing deadline on the Pay Run Schedule before adding entries, so you know how much time you have. See Understanding Payroll Processing Deadlines for a full breakdown by location and payment method.

Manually Adding  Earnings and Deductions

There are two ways to add an Earnings/Deductions entry in the platform, depending on the frequency. This could be a one-time entry that applies to a specific pay run, or an entry you set up once that automatically applies across multiple pay runs going forward. This section will guide you through the following:

• Manually Adding a One-Time Earnings/Deductions
• Manually Adding a Recurring Earning and Deductions

How to Add a One-Time Earnings & Deductions

When adding a one-time entry, think about which employee(s) this applies to. If it's just for one or a couple of employees, this workflow works great, but if you're entering for a larger group at once, we recommend using the E/D Uploader instead.

1. Click the Payroll tab.
   1. If you do not see step 1, click the Company Name in the top right-hand corner instead, select Company Setup from the drop-down menu, then click Earnings/Deductions in the side-bar — skip to step 4.
2. From the left-hand navigation bar, select Earnings/Deductions.
3. A page titled Earnings and Deductions Setup will load.
4. Under Batch Information: Earnings/Deductions, fill in the following:
   1. Under Preset, click the drop-down menu and select the relevant preset type, or click the Search Box and input the name.
      💡 | Tip: Presets are organized by Earning, Deduction, Benefit, or Adjustment. Make sure you choose the one that matches what you want recorded on the employee's paystub. For example, don't select Regular Pay if you're actually paying out a bonus.
   2. Under Frequency, click the drop-down menu and select One Time.
   3. Under Date, click the drop-down menu and select the pay period corresponding to the cut-off date.
      📌 | Note: This determines which pay period the entry will be included in — not necessarily when the adjustment occurred.
   4. Under Settings, review whether the selected Preset is taxable, accrues vacation, is eligible for stat holiday calculations, and so on. This is generated automatically based on the Preset; if anything looks incorrect, contact our Support Team.
5. Navigate to the next section called Employee Information: Earnings/Deductions and fill in the following:
   1. Click Select Employee and choose the relevant employee, or click the Search Box and input their name.
      📌 | Note: Employees are listed by their legal name, not their preferred name.
       💡 | Tip: Once you've selected an employee, a View Profile link appears so you can open their details in a new tab to confirm you've selected the right person.
   2. Under Position Details, the pay rate and position will auto-fill based on the selected employee.
      1. If the employee has multiple positions, click the drop-down arrow and select a different one if applicable.
   3. Under Optional Date, you can record the date the adjustment actually occurred. This field is optional, but we recommend using it for accurate records, labour reports, and stat holiday eligibility.
      💡 | Tip: For example, if you're adding a retroactive payment for a shift that happened two days ago, record that date under Optional Date. This ensures the entry is included in stat holiday calculations for the day the shift actually occurred. Otherwise, the platform defaults to the pay period's cut-off date, which could cause the entry to miss stat holiday eligibility it should have qualified for.
   4. Input the number of Hours and click Calculate Amount to calculate the dollar value — or leave Hours blank and enter a flat dollar value directly under Amount.
      📌 | Note: Anytime you enter a positive amount on an Earning Preset, you're increasing pay; a negative amount decreases it. Anytime you enter a positive amount on a Deduction Preset, you're decreasing pay; a negative amount increases it.
6. If you have other employees to add for the same Preset, click Add Employee and repeat steps 5–6.
7. If you created an entry that no longer applies, under Delete Row, click Delete that corresponds with the specific employee. 
8. Once ready to save, click Submit Earnings/Deductions. The page will refresh, and your entry will appear at the top of the All Earnings/Deductions section below.

How to Add a Recurring Earnings & Deductions

Recurring entries automate repeat earnings or deductions, like a monthly phone reimbursement or an ongoing benefit deduction, so you don't need to re-enter them every pay cycle.

Before setting up a recurring entry, it helps to think through a few things first. The Preset you'll use, how often it should occur (e.g. every pay run or a specific pay date each month), whether it has a specific end date, the employee(s) it's for, and the hours or dollar amount you want to record each time. 

1. Click the Payroll tab.
2. If you do not see step 1, click the Company Name in the top right-hand corner instead, select Company Setup from the drop-down menu, then click Earnings/Deductions in the side-bar — skip to step 4.
3. From the left-hand navigation bar, select Earnings/Deductions.
4. A page titled Earnings and Deductions Setup will load.
5. Under Batch Information: Earnings/Deductions, fill in the following:
   1. Under Preset, click the drop-down menu and select the relevant preset type, or click the Search Box and input the name.
      💡 | Tip: Presets are organized by Earning, Deduction, Benefit, or Adjustment. Make sure you choose the one that matches what you want recorded on the employee's paystub. For example, don't select Regular Pay if you're actually paying out a bonus.
   2. Under Frequency, click the drop-down menu and select either Recurring Every Payrun/Cheque, Recurring 1st Pay Date of Month, Recurring 2nd Pay Date of Month, Recurring 3rd Pay Date of Month, or Recurring 1st and 2nd Pay Date of Month.
      📌 | Note: The available frequency options are based on your payroll frequency, so not all of these may be listed.
   3. Under Start Date, select the cut-off date of the pay period you'd like the entry to begin.
   4. Under End Date, select the cut-off date of the pay period you'd like the entry to end, or leave it blank, and the entry will apply permanently.
      💡| Tip: Use Start and End Dates to plan ahead and stay audit-ready. Set a Start Date for future-dated entries like health benefits that begin after probation. If you leave the End Date blank, the entry continues indefinitely.
      📌 | Note: For yearly deductions or allowances that may change, we recommend setting the End Date to the last pay period of the year and then creating a new entry for the new year. This keeps records clean and supports accurate audits.
   5. Under Settings, review whether the selected Preset is taxable, accrues vacation, is eligible for stat holiday calculations, and so on. This is generated automatically based on the Preset; if anything looks incorrect, contact our Support Team.
6. Navigate to the next section called Employee Information: Earnings/Deductions and fill in the following:
   1. Click Select Employee and choose the relevant employee, or click the Search Box and input their name.
      📌 | Note: Employees are listed by their legal name, not their preferred name.
       💡 | Tip: Once you've selected an employee, a View Profile link appears so you can open their details in a new tab to confirm you've selected the right person.
   2. Under Position Details, the pay rate and position will auto-fill based on the selected employee.
      1. If the employee has multiple positions, click the drop-down arrow and select a different one if applicable.
   3. Under Optional Date, you can record the date the recurring entry actually begins. This field is optional, but we recommend using it for accurate records.
      💡 | Tip: For example, if you're setting up a health benefits deduction that doesn't actually take effect until an employee's 3-month anniversary (e.g. January 12). Record that date under Optional Date. This keeps your records accurate for anyone who's curious when the benefit actually began, separate from the pay period cut-off date the entry is tied to.
   4. Input the number of Hours and click Calculate Amount to calculate the dollar value — or leave Hours blank and enter a flat dollar value directly under Amount.
      📌 | Note: Anytime you enter a positive amount on an Earning Preset, you're increasing pay; a negative amount decreases it. Anytime you enter a positive amount on a Deduction Preset, you're decreasing pay; a negative amount increases it.
      1. If a deduction has a fixed total to collect instead (e.g., like a garnishment or loan repayment), leave Amount blank and click Maximum Amount instead (appears below the Amount field). Under Lifetime Maximum, enter the total amount to collect (for example, $500); the platform will calculate and deduct the right amount each pay period until that total is reached.
         ⚠️ | Important: Once created, the Lifetime Maximum can be increased but not reduced below the original amount. You will need to create a new entry instead for a lower total.
         📌 | Note: Per-period amounts won't always split evenly (for example, a $200 maximum could come out as $100, then $50, then $50). 
7. If you have other employees to add for the same Preset, click Add Employee and repeat steps 5–6.
8. If you created an entry that no longer applies, under Delete Row, click Delete that corresponds with the specific employee. 
9. Once ready to save, click Submit Earnings/Deductions. The page will refresh, and your entry will appear at the top of the All Earnings/Deductions section below. The entry will be included in the relevant pay period when payroll is processed! 
   📌 | Note: Adding in the entries under Earnings and Deductions does not automatically run your payroll. 

Viewing, Searching, and Filtering Previous Earnings & Deductions

Once entries have been added, you can review, search, and filter them at any time to confirm what's been entered and who entered it.

1. Click the Payroll tab.
2. If you do not see step 1, click the Company Name in the top right-hand corner instead, select Company Setup from the drop-down menu, then click Earnings/Deductions in the side-bar — skip to step 4.
3. From the left-hand navigation bar, select Earnings/Deductions.
4. Scroll to the All Earnings/Deductions box to see a list of entries that have been created in a table format.
5. Each row in the table represents a single Earnings/Deductions entry. Here's what each column tells you:

To search entries:

1. On the right of the table, click Select Employee to review entries for one employee — select their name and click Employee Search.
2. Under the Search bar, input a specific date, Preset type, amount, or employee name.

To filter entries:

1. To sort entries chronologically by Date, Amount, Description, and so on, click the relevant column Header.
2. To the right of All Earnings and Deductions, select One Time, Recurring, or All to filter which entries display.
3. Adjust Entries Displayed: Click the drop-down menu that states 20 entries and adjust the number shown (e.g., 50 entries) if needed.

To review an entry's history:

1. Click the Book icon under Edit that corresponds with the entry to see when and by whom it was entered.
2. Click the Pencil icon under Edit to update the Position, Hours, or Amount for that entry, then click the Checkmark icon once done.
   📌 | Note: If there's an unapproved pay run, you won't be able to edit any Earnings/Deductions entries until that pay run is deleted. 

Editing Earnings/Deductions Entries

Editing is meant for minor corrections, not major changes. You can update an Earnings/Deductions entry's Position, Hours, and Amount. But you can't change the Preset, the Employee it's assigned to, or the pay period it's part of. If one of those needs to change, delete the entry and create a new one instead. This is only possible while the related pay run hasn't been processed yet.

1. Click the Payroll tab.
   1. If you do not see step 1, click the Company Name in the top right-hand corner instead, select Company Setup from the drop-down menu, then click Earnings/Deductions in the side-bar — skip to step 4.
2. From the left-hand navigation bar, select Earnings/Deductions.
3. Scroll to the All Earnings/Deductions box to see a list of entries that have been created in a table format.
4. On the right, click Select Employee, input the employee's name under Search, and click their Name.
5. Once selected, click Employee Search.
6. The table will refresh and show a filtered list of existing entries associated with the employee. 
7. Locate the specific entry and, under Edit, click the corresponding Pencil icon.
8. Under Hours, click the box and update the total hours if applicable
9. Under Amount, click the box and update the total dollar amount if applicable
10. Once done, click the Checkmark icon, and the table will refresh to show the new values. 

📌 | Note: An Earnings/Deductions entry cannot be edited or deleted if the payroll has been processed. This includes payrolls that are pending and approved.  If the payrun is pending, delete it and you will then see the option to edit or delete an entry under Earnings/Deductions. Make your changes and then reprocess payroll once you're done. If the Payrun has already been approved, the entry can no longer be changed. Please contact our Support Team if you require a payroll to be unapproved.

Deleting Earnings/Deductions Entries

You can delete a one-time entry as long as its pay run hasn't been processed yet, or a recurring entry as long as it hasn't ended. Once an entry is fully processed, the delete option is no longer available. You can delete entries one at a time or select multiple entries for bulk deletion.

1. Click the Payroll tab.
   1. If you do not see step 1, click the Company Name in the top right-hand corner instead, select Company Setup from the drop-down menu, then click Earnings/Deductions in the side-bar — skip to step 4.
2. From the left-hand navigation bar, select Earnings/Deductions.
3. Scroll to the All Earnings/Deductions box to see a list of entries that have been created in a table format.
4. Filter the page to locate the specific entries you wish to delete: 
   1. Specific Employee: Click Select Employee, search for the employee's name, select it, then click Employee Search to load their entries.
   2. Search/Filter: Use the search bar or filters to locate the entry directly.
   3. Adjust Entries Displayed: Click the drop-down menu that states 20 entries and adjust the number shown (e.g., 50 entries) if needed.
5. To delete a single entry, click the Garbage Can icon next to it, then skip to step 7.
6. To delete multiple entries:
   1. To delete all entries on the page, check Select All to select all visible entries on the page or check the boxes next to the ones you want to remove.
   2. Review your selection and uncheck any entries you don't want to delete.
   3. Click Delete Selected at the bottom of the page.
7. In the confirmation pop-up, click Yes to proceed or Cancel to stop the action.

📌 | Note: An Earnings/Deductions entry cannot be edited or deleted if the payroll has been processed. This includes payrolls that are pending and approved.  If the payrun is pending, delete it, and you will then see the option to edit or delete an entry under Earnings/Deductions. Make your changes and then reprocess payroll once you're done. If the Payrun has already been approved, the entry can no longer be changed. Please contact our Support Team if you require a payroll to be unapproved.
 

Requesting a New Earnings & Deductions Preset or a Change to an Existing Preset

Every account includes a standard set of Presets covering common payroll scenarios, but you may run into situations that call for something different. For example, your business has a unique earning or deduction that isn't covered by an existing Preset, or an existing Preset needs to be updated, such as being renamed, adjusted for tax treatment, or changed ahead of year-end. In these cases, Super Administrators can submit a request for our Accounting Team to review.

For the full request steps, see our dedicated guide, as they differ by country: How to Request a New Payroll Preset or Update an Existing Preset.

Frequently Asked Questions About Earnings & Deductions

Have questions about setting up or managing Earnings & Deductions? Whether you're wondering why an entry can't be edited, how Presets affect pay, or who can make changes, this section provides quick answers to help you manage Earnings & Deductions with confidence.

Q: Why can't I edit or delete an Earnings/Deductions entry? 
A: An entry can only be edited or deleted before its Payrun has been processed. This locks the entry even while the Payrun is still pending approval. If the Payrun is pending approval, delete it first to make changes, then reprocess payroll once you're done. If it's already been approved, the entry is locked. Please contact our Support Team for assistance if you need your payroll unapproved or to review the options available. This same rule applies to Timesheets and Clock Entries, since all three are tied to the same pay period processing status.

Q: Is it possible to set up a recurring deduction for a loan given to an employee? 
A: Yes. A loan repayment can be set up as a recurring deduction using a Deduction Preset. If the loan has a fixed total to be repaid, use the Maximum Amount option to set a Lifetime Maximum so the deduction stops automatically once it's fully repaid — see the Manually Adding a Recurring Earning and Deductions section above.

Q: What happens once a recurring deduction reaches its Lifetime Maximum? 
A: The deduction locks and can no longer be edited; you'd need to create a new deduction if further collection is needed. This Lifetime Maximum functionality applies only to recurring, non-tax deductions, not to tax-type deductions. If an employee is terminated with a balance still outstanding, recovering that balance remains your responsibility outside the platform.

Q: What's the difference between an Earning Preset and a Deduction Preset? 
A: An Earning Preset increases an employee's pay, and a Deduction Preset decreases it. 

Anytime you enter a positive amount on an Earning Preset, you're increasing pay; a negative amount decreases it. 

Anytime you enter a positive amount on a Deduction Preset, you're decreasing pay; a negative amount increases it.

Q: I don't see a Preset that fits what I need — what should I do? 
A: Submit a request through the Earnings/Deductions Preset request form so our Accounting Team can review it. See Requesting a New Preset or a Change to an Existing Preset.

Q: Why use recurring entries?
A: Recurring earnings and deductions help streamline payroll by automating repeat entries, like monthly phone reimbursements, health benefit deductions, or anything unique that repeats. Instead of re-entering data every cycle, you can set it once and ensure accuracy, save time, and maintain a clean audit trail. This feature is especially useful for managing long-term entitlements or deductions while reducing last-minute payroll changes.

⚠️ Uncollected Deductions
If an employee does not earn enough in a pay period to cover a recurring deduction, the amount will not be collected and will not carry over. You’ll need to manually add a one-time entry in the next pay period.

A Report titled Uncollected Deductions Report will be available in the Payrun History section of the Payroll tab for the relevant pay period to help identify any missing deductions. 

Additional Information

Need further help? Refer to our Getting Help & Contacting Support article for the latest support options and ways to connect with our team.