Setting up employee salaries

Setting up employee salaries is the foundation for generating accurate payroll. This process captures each employee's compensation structure, including base salary, allowances, deductions, and payment frequency—information the system uses to calculate and process payroll runs.

Before you start

• You must have HR admin or payroll admin permissions
• The employee must already exist in the system (created via HR → Employees or Contacts → Employees)
• You should know the employee's:
  • Base monthly or annual salary
  • Any allowances (housing, transport, performance bonus, etc.)
  • Mandatory deductions (tax, insurance, pension contributions, etc.)
  • Payment frequency (monthly, bi-weekly, weekly, etc.)
  • Bank account details for electronic transfer (if applicable)

Steps

1. Navigate to HR → Employees and find the employee. Open in Usystems

2. Click the employee's name to open their profile.

3. Scroll to the Salary or Compensation section (exact label depends on your Usystems version).

4. Click Edit or Add Salary Details to enter compensation information.

5. Enter the Base Salary amount (the fixed monthly or annual rate, depending on how your organization pays).

6. If applicable, add Allowances by clicking Add Allowance and selecting or entering:

   • Allowance type (e.g., housing, transport, meal allowance, bonus)
   • Amount (fixed or percentage of base salary)

7. Add Deductions such as:

   • Income tax or social security withholding
   • Pension or provident fund contributions
   • Health or life insurance premiums
   • Loan repayments

   Click Add Deduction for each item.

8. Set the Payment Frequency (monthly, bi-weekly, weekly, or other as configured in your payroll periods).

9. If paying by bank transfer, link or confirm the employee's Bank Account.

   • Click Link Bank Account and select from existing accounts, or enter new details
   • Verify the account number and routing information

10. Click Save to record the salary setup.

Accounting impact

When payroll is processed:

• Base salary, allowances, and other earnings are recorded as salary/wage expenses (debit)
• Mandatory deductions and withholdings are recorded as liabilities (credit) until paid to the government or third party
• Net pay (earnings minus all deductions) is recorded as a liability to the employee (payable via cash, check, or bank transfer)

The system automatically posts these entries to the accounts linked to your payroll settings.

Tips & common mistakes

• Define allowances and deductions consistently. If you use "Transport Allowance" for one employee, use the same name for others to simplify reporting and compliance.
• Keep base salary and allowances separate. This helps distinguish fixed vs. variable compensation and makes it easier to adjust bonus or incentive amounts without touching the core salary.
• Review salary setup before running payroll. Check that all active employees have current salary information; missing or outdated entries can cause incomplete or incorrect payroll runs.
• Update salary information when promotions or raises occur. Create a new salary record with an effective date to maintain an audit trail and ensure correct retroactive calculation if needed.

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