Payroll runs

/hcm/payroll is the HR-admin surface for running payroll. Each pay run moves through four states — prepared → generated → transmitted → closed. AxisSynapse generates the NACHA file for direct-deposit ACH transmission and routes it under a strict 4-eyes Separation of Duties: the admin who generates the run cannot be the admin who transmits it. The transmit step itself is step-up-protected — fresh phishing-resistant MFA at the moment of click. Real money moves. The audit footprint is correspondingly deliberate.

TL;DR — Open HCM → Payroll. Create or open the current period's run. Review the prepared totals. Generate pay slips. A different admin reviews + transmits the ACH file (step-up required). Close the run. Repeat per period.

Before you start

• You must be an HCM payroll admin to prepare, generate, or transmit a run. The 4-eyes rule is enforced server-side; the UI hides the wrong button for the wrong admin.
• Have your payroll calendar finalized for the workspace — pay periods, pay dates, and the lead-time required between generation and transmission. Ad-hoc runs (off-cycle, bonus, correction) are supported but follow the same workflow.
• For garnishments: orders must be loaded into the workspace before the run prepares; the engine applies CCPA / IRS Pub 1494 precedence automatically.
• For multi-state employees: verify the state W-4 + reciprocity routing in Multi-state payroll.

The four states

Prepare the run

1. 1

   Click "+ New pay run"

   Pick the period (current, off-cycle, bonus, correction).

2. 2

   Pull source data

   Hours from time-tracking, salary from comp records, bonus + comp adjustments approved during the period, garnishments, benefits-elections changes, FSA / HSA / 401(k) contributions.

3. 3

   Review the prepare report

   Highlights variance from the prior run: new hires, terminations, leaves of absence (paid → unpaid), comp changes, garnishment starts / ends, FSA / HSA contribution updates, retro-adjustments from back-dated lifecycle changes.

4. 4

   Resolve any flagged exceptions

   Examples: an employee with no active direct-deposit account, a garnishment exceeding CCPA caps, a back-dated comp change that fell outside payroll's reasonable-retro window. Each exception names what to fix.

5. 5

   Confirm prepare

   Audit log records HCM_PAYROLL_RUN_PREPARED. The run advances to Prepared.

Generate pay slips

1. 1

   From the Prepared run, click "Generate"

   Pay slips compute for every active employee.

2. 2

   The engine runs

   Federal + state + local + FICA + pre-tax deductions + post-tax deductions + garnishments + voluntary contributions + direct- deposit splits per /hcm/direct-deposit.

3. 3

   Review the generate report

   Per-employee summary + workspace totals (gross / taxes / deductions / net / employer-paid FICA + benefits). Spot-check for outliers.

4. 4

   Confirm generate

   Audit log records HCM_PAYROLL_RUN_GENERATED. The NACHA file is built but not transmitted.

Transmit (4-eyes + step-up)

1. 1

   A different admin opens the run

   The generate-admin cannot transmit. The 4-eyes rule is enforced; the Transmit button is hidden for the generate- admin.

2. 2

   Review the transmit summary

   Total dollars going out + count of accounts + ACH effective date + remittance detail.

3. 3

   Click "Transmit"

   Step-up modal opens — phishing-resistant (passkey or hardware key required by the platform's step-up policy for PAYROLL_TRANSMIT_ACH).

4. 4

   Complete step-up

   On verify, the file is sent to the bank. Audit log records HCM_PAYROLL_RUN_TRANSMITTED at critical severity.

5. 5

   Watch confirmation

   The bank typically confirms receipt within minutes; the receipt is recorded on the run. ACH effective date is the next business day or per the file's date marker.

Voiding and reopening

Garnishments

The engine applies CCPA percentage caps + IRS Pub 1494 protected minimums in the correct precedence order:

• Child support / spousal support — first; CCPA caps at 50%, 55%, 60%, 65% per family-status + arrears-status.
• Federal tax levy — second; IRS Pub 1494 protected-amount table preserves the minimum.
• Other levies (state tax, defaulted student loans) — next.
• Voluntary wage assignments — last.
• Creditor garnishments — last; CCPA caps at 25% / 30% per state law.

Audit log records HCM_PAYROLL_GARNISHMENT_APPLIED per applied order per slip.

Every field, explained

Audit codes

For SIEM ingestion + compliance review, this surface emits:

See Reference → Audit codes for the canonical description of each. HCM_PAYROLL_RUN_TRANSMITTED is the critical-severity row — real money moves.

Common gotchas

• "I prepared a run but employees show $0 net." Direct-deposit prenote pending: the engine generates the slip but the ACH routes to a hold account until the prenote verifies. See Direct deposit.
• "Variance report shows a comp change I didn't approve." The comp review cycle's calibration-finalize event may have applied changes you weren't the proposer for. The variance row links to the audit detail.
• "Transmit button is greyed out for me." You're the generate-admin; a different HCM payroll admin must transmit.
• "My step-up failed twice in a row." Failed step-up emits ACCOUNT_STEPUP_FAILED; repeated failures auto-pause the transmit button for ~10 minutes. Wait and retry with a fresh challenge.
• "I reopened a run and the YTD shifted." Year-end totals reconcile against currently-active slips. A reopen + re-close preserves a coherent YTD; consistency is verified before the reclose accepts.

Troubleshooting