New Payroll Experience Processing Guide

New Payroll Experience Processing Guide

We're excited to introduce the New Payroll Processing Experience—a redesigned workflow built to simplify payroll administration, reduce manual steps, and give you greater visibility throughout the payroll process.

This new experience replaces the traditional checklist-style workflow with a more intuitive, guided approach that brings the most important payroll tasks and information directly to you. Instead of navigating between multiple reports and screens, you'll be able to review, resolve, and process payroll from centralized workspaces designed to keep you focused and efficient.
Some of the key enhancements include:
  • Continuous Processing – Payroll automatically recalculates as timesheets and requests are updated, reducing manual processing and helping ensure your payroll data stays current.
  • Proactive Issue Identification – Processing errors, approvals, corrections, and other payroll-impacting items are surfaced earlier, allowing you to resolve issues before payroll deadlines.
  • Streamlined Workflow – Fewer clicks and less navigation mean faster payroll processing and a more user-friendly experience.
  • Greater Transparency – Corrections, retroactive pay adjustments, and expense reports now display their payroll impact before you approve them.
  • Centralized Payroll Actions – Importing data, syncing time, adding pay statements, voiding checks, reviewing reports, and submitting payroll are all easier to access from one location.
  • Enhanced Reporting Experience – Supporting reports are organized by purpose, making it easier to find the information you need when you need it.
This guide will walk you through each step of the new payroll process and highlight the changes you'll see along the way.
For a complete demonstration of the new experience, we highly recommend watching the full 30-minute Payroll Processing Overview Video available below. If you prefer a live walkthrough, Green Leaf also hosts weekly training sessions where our team reviews the new workflow, answers questions, and shares best practices to help you get the most out of the platform. Registration link can be found here or under the "Register for Training" section of the Knowledge Center. 

As we roll out this new experience, you can expect a pop up indicating the live date for your company as well as an email from your Payroll Specialist. All clients will be converted between August 6th and fully converted by the end of September. Thank you for your support while we work to enhance your client experience. 

Video of full process below - please note all steps have a video time stamp for easy reference. 


🎯 Reminder  - Reduce Errors with Built-In Payroll Alerts

Payroll Alerts help ensure important employee-specific reminders appear exactly when you need them. Create one-time or recurring alerts with custom notes—such as bonus reminders, pay changes, or benefit deductions—that automatically display during payroll processing. It's an easy way to keep important payroll reminders in the system instead of relying on sticky notes, emails, or memory.

Learn more: Payroll Alerts (Knowledge Center article)

Pre-Payroll Reminder: Ensure All Withholding Forms Have Been Processed

Before beginning payroll, ensure all employee withholding forms have been reviewed and processed so the most current tax withholding information is reflected in payroll.

To do so, hover over the "Payroll Processing" widget, choose "Withholding Forms to Approve".  

Once within the Withholding Forms to Approve, default view will show all forms employees have completed by jurisdiction (Federal or State). Select the boxes per jurisdiction and approve in the upper right. 


Important: Processing withholding forms ensures any employee tax withholding updates are reflected in the upcoming payroll. If this step is not completed, existing withholding elections will remain in effect. Employees who have not submitted a withholding form will default to the system's highest withholding setting (typically Single with zero adjustments, or the applicable agency default) until a completed form is received and processed.

Here are some additional Guides for reference. 
  1. Employee Tax Settings 
    1. covers how to manually update settings, check on unemployment state, and review employees current settings including employees that elected to block withholdings. 
  2. How to Process Withholding Form(s) 
    1. covers how to approve forms in mass or individually.

Step 1: Review & Resolve Time Related Issues 00:52

Hover over the Process Payroll widget, then choose "Process Payroll".


Then select the payroll check date and select Continue to begin the payroll. 


Once in the payroll, you will see all pending "Issues to Resolve" which are essentially the time related tasks that must be resolved before you can begin payroll. The "issues" or pending tasks will be displayed on the left side of the screen as seen below. In order to resolve each issue, click into the "issue", click "view details" to see what the request or change details are, who the manager is, and any other information you need to resolve. To resolve the issue, click the action icon on the right of the "issue", choosing to reject, approve, or delete.

Each step is detailed individually below. Keep in mind within the "All Issues Widget" you can, Filter by issue type, Search by employee, Search by manager and Access supporting reports directly from the page. 


On this page you'll be able to review the following time related issues. All of these "issues" must be resolved before moving onto process payroll. 

  • Timesheet Change Requests 03:06

    • Requests employees have submitted to add or change punches that managers have yet to complete. 
      • You can resolve these issues from the screen or alert the manager. 

  • Pending Time Off Requests 05:19

    • Any pending time off requests that have not yet been resolved by the assigned manager. 
      • You can resolve these issues from the screen or alert the manager. 

  • Missing Punches 06:05

    • Any missing punches that are not resolved by resolving pending Change Requests will appear here. By completing the missing punches, time will become complete. 

  • Unapproved Timesheets 08:35

    • Any timesheets that have not yet been approved by the manager. 
      • If timesheets are not approved, you can alert the manager or you can approve. You can do this in bulk (first image below) or one at a time, second image. 
      • Please remember ALL timesheets must be in approved status. If an employee has 0 hours, and 0 is accurate, then the timesheet would be approved. If an employee is terminated, the hours must still be approved. If the employee was already paid a manual check, be sure to remove the 2nd check that the system will auto produce once you're in payroll. As long as the employee is marked terminated at the time of payroll, the system will alert you that you're trying to pay a terminated employee. 
      • Please all keep in mind that all data approved on timesheets showing on the "Summary by Day" will flow to payroll. So if you or your managers see Holiday pay for example, and the employee is not eligible for Holiday, please be sure to remove the holiday and update the employee's holiday profile to avoid future holidays to populate. If you have meal penalties that are present and the employee waived the meal penalty, be sure to fully remove the meal penalty before approving the timesheet. You can find more information on these steps within the timekeeping guide. 

  • Never Opened Timesheets 11:58

    • If you have any new hires or employees that did not work during the pay period, the system will alert by showing the timesheet in the "never opened" category. If the employee DID work but forgot to punch, be sure to add the time and approve the timesheet. If they didn't work, simply open the timesheet, and approve if 0 hours is correct. 

  • Timesheet Processing Errors 12:16

    • Any issues that would cause time to not calculate correctly. For example, a missing "pay calc profile"*, or missing "pay prep profile"*. 
      • If you receive any errors on this step that you are not able to resolve, be sure to reach out to your assigned Payroll Specialist for help - screen shots are always appreciated. 
        • *Pay Calc Profile defined - the "pay calc" profile is what tells the system how to calculate the time punches based on the rules within the pay calc profile. For example, OT starts after 40 hours, or if you're in CA, it starts after 8 hours each day. Without the Pay Calc Profile assigned, the system wouldn't know what to do with the punches to total up the employee's punches into time buckets. 
        • *Pay Prep Profile" defined - the Pay Prep Profile tells the system how to map the time categories to the earning codes within payroll. In most cases, this profile would auto assign when adding a new employee to the system but without the profile, the data would not flow properly. 

  • Retro Pay Adjustments 12:35

    • The Retro Pay feature automatically calculates pay adjustments when an employee's Base Compensation is updated with an effective date in the past. When a retroactive pay rate change is entered, the system compares the employee's previous rate to the new rate and reviews the hours worked during the affected time period. It then calculates the difference in earnings and automatically generates the appropriate Retro Pay adjustment to be included on the employee's next payroll. This eliminates the need for manual calculations, helping ensure employees are paid accurately for retroactive wage changes while reducing processing time and the risk of errors.

      • Retro Pay is an optional system enhancement that must be enabled before it can be used. There is no cost to activate this feature; however, setup is required. If you'd like to take advantage of Retro Pay, please notify your Payroll Specialist and allow adequate time for the enhancement to be configured and tested prior to use.

  • Expense Reports 12:35

    • **only applicable if using Expense Module (extra fee), allows you to determine if the expense should process in payroll or not. 

    • The Expense Module is an optional add-on that provides a true expense management solution, separate from Extra Pay entered on a timesheet. It allows employees to submit expenses for approval, categorize expense types, attach receipts (optional or required), and maintain a more organized expense approval process.

      Once an expense is approved, it can be sent to payroll for reimbursement. Declined expenses will not flow to payroll.

      Note: If you're currently using Extra Pay on timesheets for reimbursements, that is a timesheet-based process and is not the same as the Expense Module.

      Interested in adding the Expense Module? Contact your Payroll Specialist or Sales Representative for pricing and setup information.


Notes
Please note, all changes will auto update the total hours that will process within payroll. 

After all issues have been resolved and show a "0" in each box to the left, move to step 2. 


Step 2: Lock Pay Period & Run Accruals and Points (if Applicable) 14:38

Once all issues are cleared, lock the Pay Period. This step ensures that no further changes can be made to the timesheets AND that the accruals and/or points are able to run against the data on the timesheets. 

After clicking lock, you'll be given the option to run points or accruals on the pop up. If you choose the box " When I lock Time Automatically Run Accruals or Points" below you will not see the pop up in the future. 


Step 3: Process Payroll 14:56

Click into the "Go to Payroll Processing" button on the upper right corner. 


Once within the payroll, the new view will now be one screen that has all pay statements for your active staff with all of the time approved already within the pay statements. 
Please note, however, Salary employees data will need to be brought in by clicking the "Import/Add Pay Statements" button on the upper right. More details are supplied below. 

From this screen we recommend following these steps. 

  1. Add Pay Statements 19:30

    1. This step MUST be completed in order for Salary employees to populate their pay onto the pay statements. 
      1. Click "Import/Add pay statements" by default the Add Pay Statements tab is present. 
      3. In the pop up, choose "All Active Employees in this EIN" and "Regular", then "Add". This will populate all auto earnings and deductions for all staff, including the salary employees.
        1. If you have more than one pay period for a single EIN, choose the "All Employees in this Pay Period" along with Regular. With this second option you may need to delete pay statements for terminated employees. 
        2. If your salary employees are not displaying the "pencil" icon when you're in the edit pay statement screen, it means this step was skipped and must be processed. 

  2. Import Additional Data (if Applicable)

    1. If your company has any outside data that needs to be imported into the payroll such as tips, bonuses, etc. you can do so by importing a file within the payroll. Attached to this article you will find a template that can be used or you can work with your Payroll Specialist to create a specific template for your needs. In either case, to import the data, follow these steps:
    2. Click the "Import/Add Pay Statements" button
      2. Then on the pop up choose the "Import" tab. 
        1. Choose your completed template file and "Add". 
          1. All of the data will flow into the current pay statements. If you need the import to create additional pay statements rather than add to the current, work with your Payroll Specialist before importing. 

  3. Review Payroll Warnings and Errors 22:43

    1. Review and resolve any payroll warnings, errors or pay alerts.
      1. See the full payroll warnings and errors guides for quick resolution
        1. The most common Errors and Warnings are listed below with resolution within the articles. If you come across an error that you cannot resolve, please reach out to your Payroll Specialist. 
          1. Pay statement was created for an employee whose status has 'Terminated' checked.
          2. Warning: “Employee does not work or live in the unemployment state for this pay statement.”
          3. TTOC Payroll Warning - Missing TTOC for employee
          4. Earning Was Not Prorated
          5. Warning: "This tax parameter is used in quarter-end reporting. Please update this value by the end of the current quarter. 12971253422 : State SC Occupational Code."
            1. All other states are within the Payroll Warnings and Errors section. You can search any error within Knowledge Center to see if a guide would help resolve your issue. 

  1. Edit Pay Statements

    1. Review each pay statement and make any remaining pay statement adjustments not captured through the previous steps, including imported time and Retro Pay.

  1. Once within the pay statement the view will look like below. Make all applicable edits, Save, then "Preview" to validate accuracy. 
    1. Note - E/D Name will auto populate once the Earning or Deduction is chosen. 
    2. Enter hours if its an hourly Earning code. The base comp will auto populate and will always use the base rate. DO NOT override for Overtime. The system will calculate and reflect the OT rate within the Preview. 
    3. Amount will auto populate if the earning is hourly related but if not, enter the amount you with to pay. For example, bonus would not have hours, only an amount. 

Step 4: Audit Your Work

Before closing payroll, review common payroll exceptions that may not generate a system warning. Taking a few minutes to audit these items can help identify discrepancies before employees are paid.
  1. Duplicate Payments for Terminated Employees
    1. Verify terminated employees who received a manual or off-cycle check are not also receiving a regular payroll payment.
      1. Video Overview of seeing 2 checks for an employee
  2. Missing New Hires
    1. Review newly hired employees to ensure they have earnings. Employees with no imported or entered hours can be unintentionally missed.
      1. Video Overview of Reviewing Employees Not Paid and Root Causes
  3. Base Compensation Changes or 
  4. Unusual Pay Amounts
    1. Review employees with recent pay rate or salary changes to confirm the correct compensation is being used and no one is being overpaid or underpaid.
    2. Scan for employees whose gross or net pay is significantly higher or lower than expected compared to prior payrolls.
      1. Video going over how to review low or high rates as well as an employee being paid both Regular and Salary
  5. Review Totals for Unusual Earnings or Deduction Amounts
    1. Review totals to see total by Earning, Deduction, and/or Tax and dig deeper to see if there's any mistake that can be caught prior to closing your payroll .
      1. Video covering some tips and tricks while reviewing the Payroll Totals. 

Step 5: Close Payroll & Review Reports 23:37

Now that you've finished making all payroll edits, click the Close Payroll button in the upper right. 

Closing the payroll will ensure all totals are calculated and prep for complete reports to review prior to Finalizing and will ensure totals are set for final internal review prior to finalizing. Once you close the payroll, any checks that had 0 net that were not deleted, will now be deleted. 


Now, check your reports by clicking "View Supporting Reports"



Once in the Supporting Reports Pop Up - the reports will be broken into 3 categories, Pre-Processing, Processing, and Review your Data. Choose the "Review your Data". 
  1. Review your Data
    1. All payroll related reports to verify your payroll is correct
      1. Always check your Payroll Totals Report
        1. This report will show you totals by category so you can check for figures that seem too high or too low, for example, total overtime, total bonus, etc. 
          1. Video of Reviewing Totals Report
      2. Always check your Recap and Funding Report 
        1. This will give you total net broken out by direct deposit and live checks, total tax amount, total invoice, and any vendor payments such as garnishments or benefits. 
          1. Payroll Related Reports
      3. You can check your payroll register by pulling the "Payroll Register by PST" (pay statement) 
        1. This report will allow you to see gross to net per employee within the payroll and can be grouped and in order as you wish for easy payroll auditing. 
          1. Payroll Related Reports
      4. Other reports include
        1. Payroll Comparison - check your last payroll against the current for large variances
        2. Child Support or Garnishment Reports
        3. Labor and General Ledger Reports
        4. Audit Reports
        5. Retirement Reports 

Step 5: Finalize and Deliver Payroll 27:29

Once all payroll reports have been reviewed and your payroll has received internal approval, you are ready to Finalize & Deliver. This option is available in the same location where you previously Closed the payroll.

When you select Finalize & Deliver, your payroll is submitted for processing. At that point, we begin processing ACH files, printing and packaging live checks, and distributing any scheduled payroll reports.

Payroll Deadline: To ensure timely processing, payroll must be Finalized & Delivered no later than 2:00 PM PST, two (2) business days prior to the check date. If you anticipate missing this deadline, contact your Payroll Specialist as soon as possible to discuss available options. While we will always do our best to help, extensions cannot be guaranteed.

Important: Do not finalize payroll until sufficient funds are available in your business bank account to cover the entire payroll liability, including employee net pay, payroll taxes, and any applicable invoices.

Once payroll has been Finalized & Delivered, it cannot be pulled back or cancelled. If changes are identified after submission:

  • Underpayments must be corrected through a manual check or an unscheduled payroll (additional processing fees may apply).
  • Overpayments can be corrected by working with your Payroll Specialist to process the necessary adjustment in a separate payroll.
  • Voids should be communicated to your Payroll Specialist immediately so the appropriate steps can be taken.

For additional guidance, the overview video and registration link for our weekly payroll training sessions are available at the top of this article. If you have questions or would like one-on-one assistance, your Payroll Specialist is also happy to help.



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