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Every employee record holds what Bumara needs to pay them correctly and to report them correctly to ZRA, NAPSA and NHIMA. Incomplete records are the single most common cause of rejected statutory returns.

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Adding an employee

Open Payroll → Employees → Add employee.
  • Full name, as it appears on their identification
  • Date of birth
  • Gender
  • Marital status
  • NRC number
  • Passport number, for foreign nationals
Names must match identification exactly. A mismatch between your records and their NRC causes problems with every regulator.
  • Email address — where payslips are sent
  • Phone and alternative phone
  • Residential address
  • Emergency contact: name, phone, relationship
  • Department
  • Designation or position
  • Branch, if you operate from more than one place
  • Employment type: full-time, part-time, contract or casual
  • Hire date
  • Probation end date
  • Basic salary
  • TPIN — required for PAYE reporting
  • NAPSA number — required for pension contributions
  • NHIMA number — required for health insurance contributions
All three are required for statutory returns. A missing number causes a rejection.
  • Bank name and branch
  • Account number
  • Sort code
  • SWIFT code, where applicable
Verify the account number against a bank statement or a cancelled cheque. Paying salary into the wrong account is difficult to recover.
Bumara generates the employee number automatically, in sequence.
Sensitive fields — NRC, passport, TPIN, bank details — are encrypted, and only roles with explicit permission can see them. See Team and roles.

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Bulk import

For more than a handful of employees, import rather than typing.
1

Download the template

Payroll → Employees → Template download. Use the current template — an old one may not match the expected columns.
2

Fill it in

One row per employee. Follow the format exactly, especially dates and identification numbers.
3

Check it before uploading

Every employee has a TPIN, NAPSA number and NHIMA number. Salaries are correct. Bank account numbers are right.
4

Upload

Payroll → Employees → Bulk upload.
5

Review what was imported

Check the count and spot-check several records against your source.
6

Fix anything that failed

Rows are rejected for missing required fields or bad formats. Correct and re-upload only the failed rows.

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Assigning allowances and deductions

1

Open the employee

From the employee list.
2

Go to the Allowances tab

Choose Add allowance. Select the type, enter the amount, and set the effective dates.
3

Go to the Deductions tab

Choose Add deduction. Select the type, enter the amount, and set the frequency.
4

Check the effective dates

An allowance dated from next month will not appear in this month’s run. This is the most common cause of “why is this employee’s pay wrong”.
See Pay elements for how each type behaves.

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New joiners

1

Add them before the cutoff day

An employee added after cutoff will not be in that month’s run.
2

Set the correct hire date

It determines whether they are paid for a full month or part of one.
3

Collect their regulatory numbers

TPIN, NAPSA and NHIMA. If they are new to employment, they must be registered with the schemes before their first contribution. See NAPSA and NHIMA.
4

Verify their bank details

Against a statement, not from a note.
5

Assign their allowances and deductions

From their start date.

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Leavers

1

Record the leaving date

On the employee record.
2

Calculate their final pay

Days worked in the final month, accrued leave, notice pay, and any outstanding loan balance.
3

Settle any loan

An outstanding loan balance is usually recovered from the final payment. See Loans.
4

Include them in the final month's run

They must appear on that month’s PAYE, NAPSA and NHIMA returns.
5

Mark them inactive after that run

Not before — marking them inactive too early removes them from the return they should be on.
6

Issue their final payslip and any certificate they need

Employees frequently need a payslip or earnings statement for their next employer.
Never delete a leaver’s record. Their historical payslips and their inclusion on past statutory returns must remain intact. Mark them inactive.

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Changing a salary

1

Open the employee and update the basic salary

Set the effective date to when the change actually takes effect.
2

Consider whether allowances should change too

A salary review often means revisiting housing and transport allowances as well.
3

Preview the next run

Confirm the new figures before processing.
Historic pay runs are unaffected. A salary increase does not retrospectively change last month’s payslip.

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Keeping records current

An hour spent on record hygiene saves a rejected statutory return, which costs considerably more.
Next: Pay elements and Monthly inputs.
Last modified on August 4, 2026