#Questions and problems

Short answers, with a link to the page that explains more. For messages on the phone, see also Problems and messages in the Employer app.

#Getting started

#Which app do I need?

• Payroll bureau: Payroll Manager Cloud in the browser, and if you like Payroll Manager Desktop on a Windows or Linux computer. One licence covers both.
• A bureau's client (the employer): the Employer app on a phone, to send hours and timesheets.
• A company that runs its own payroll: Payroll Manager Desktop, or Cloud with an Employer licence.

#Do I need to install anything?

For Cloud and the Employer app, no. Both work in the browser. On a phone, add the Employer app to your home screen so it opens like an app; see Join the Employer app. Payroll Manager Desktop is installed on Windows or Linux and updates itself.

#Is it the same as PayFlo?

No. PayFlo Payroll Manager is a separate product with its own accounts, data and licence. Signing in to one doesn't sign you in to the other.

#Can I move from my old payroll software?

Yes. Export your employees to a CSV file from the old software and import them. Then fetch RPNs so everyone has this year's tax credits. Year-to-date figures can be entered on each employee's Tax instructions tab.

#Signing in and security

#Why does it keep locking?

On purpose: payroll is personal data. Cloud locks after 5 minutes without use and when you switch away for a while; the Employer app locks when you open it and when you switch away. Use a passkey or (on the phone) a PIN so unlocking takes a second. See Sign in and security and Sign in and unlock.

#Why must I sign in again every hour?

A Cloud session lasts 60 minutes from sign-in. The time is shown at the top (Session ends …). Save your work before then; with a passkey, signing in again is quick.

#I forgot my password

• Cloud: choose Forgot your password? on the sign-in page, or ask an owner or administrator of your bureau to reset it. See Team and roles.
• Employer app: ask your payroll bureau to help you get back in. See Sign in and unlock.

#Why does it ask for my password again when I approve?

Approving a payroll, exporting data and making API keys are important steps, so Cloud asks you to confirm it's you, even if you are signed in. The approval records who confirmed it and when.

#AI and personal data

#Can AI see salaries?

No. AI sees only names and hours. It never sees pay rates, amounts, tax, PPS numbers, bank details or addresses. See What AI can see.

#Is AI on for every client?

No. It is off until the bureau switches it on for a client, after agreeing it with that client. See Client settings.

#Where is our data kept?

In the European Union. The servers are in Germany, backups are in the EU, and AI (when switched on) runs in the EU (Ireland).

#Hours and timesheets

#What if someone isn't on the timesheet?

They are paid their usual gross pay for the period (on the Tax instructions tab of the employee). If they should get nothing or different hours, change it in the payroll run before you calculate. See Hours and timesheets.

#Someone on the timesheet isn't on the payroll

AI marks the row New person. The bureau adds the employee (usually from the RPN), then the hours can be matched. See A name that is not on your staff list.

#The client sent hours after we calculated

Calculate the run again. A draft can be calculated as often as you like; only an approved run is locked.

#Payroll, Revenue and pensions

#Do I need RPNs every time?

Fetch RPNs before every payroll. Revenue changes tax credits and rate bands during the year, and you must use the latest RPN for each employee. See RPNs from Revenue.

#Does Payroll Manager send the payroll to Revenue?

It prepares the payroll submission (PSR) and, with your ROS certificate, sends it and shows Revenue's response. See Revenue.

#Does it pay the wages?

No. It makes a SEPA bank file that you upload to the business bank, which then pays everyone. See Bank file (SEPA).

#How do employees get their payslips?

Download the payslips as PDFs and give them to employees yourself or through the client. See Payslips and journal.

#What about the auto-enrolment pension?

Import the AEPN from MyFutureFund before you calculate. Payroll Manager takes the contributions and prepares the file for MyFutureFund. See MyFutureFund.

#Payroll Manager Desktop

#Why can't I finalise the payroll?

Desktop checks the tax rules online at least every 72 hours. If it can't, approval, payslips, the bank file and submissions pause until it can; editing and draft calculations still work. Connect to the internet and choose Check now on Updates & rules. If payday can't wait, use the emergency unlock.

#Does Desktop work without internet?

Yes, for day-to-day work. Choose Offline to keep the data on the computer only. It still needs to go online every few days to check the tax rules and the licence. See Backups and moving data.

#How do I move Desktop to a new computer?

Make a .ppmx package on the old computer and open it on the new one. With Central, sign in on the new computer and your data is already there. See Backups and moving data.

#Help

#Where is the help for the screen I'm on?

Choose Help (the question mark at the top in Cloud, or in the menu of the Employer app and Desktop). It opens the page for that screen.

#Something is wrong and the help doesn't say why

Clients: ask your payroll bureau. Bureaus: contact Payroll Manager support and say what you were doing, on which screen, and the exact message.