> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bumara.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Employees

> Adding staff, bulk importing, assigning pay elements, and handling joiners and leavers.

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.

## Adding an employee

Open **Payroll → Employees → Add employee**.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Personal information">
    * 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.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Contact details">
    * Email address — where payslips are sent
    * Phone and alternative phone
    * Residential address
    * Emergency contact: name, phone, relationship
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Employment details">
    * 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
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Regulatory numbers">
    * **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.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Banking">
    * 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.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

Bumara generates the employee number automatically, in sequence.

<Note>
  Sensitive fields — NRC, passport, TPIN, bank details — are encrypted, and only roles with
  explicit permission can see them. See [Team and roles](/account/team-and-roles).
</Note>

## Bulk import

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

<Steps>
  <Step title="Download the template">
    Payroll → Employees → **Template download**. Use the current template — an old one may not
    match the expected columns.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Fill it in">
    One row per employee. Follow the format exactly, especially dates and identification numbers.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check it before uploading">
    Every employee has a TPIN, NAPSA number and NHIMA number. Salaries are correct. Bank account
    numbers are right.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Upload">
    Payroll → Employees → **Bulk upload**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Review what was imported">
    Check the count and spot-check several records against your source.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Fix anything that failed">
    Rows are rejected for missing required fields or bad formats. Correct and re-upload only the
    failed rows.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Assigning allowances and deductions

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the employee">
    From the employee list.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Go to the Allowances tab">
    Choose **Add allowance**. Select the type, enter the amount, and set the effective dates.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Go to the Deductions tab">
    Choose **Add deduction**. Select the type, enter the amount, and set the frequency.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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".
  </Step>
</Steps>

See [Pay elements](/payroll/pay-elements) for how each type behaves.

## New joiners

<Steps>
  <Step title="Add them before the cutoff day">
    An employee added after cutoff will not be in that month's run.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the correct hire date">
    It determines whether they are paid for a full month or part of one.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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](/regulators/napsa-and-nhima).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Verify their bank details">
    Against a statement, not from a note.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Assign their allowances and deductions">
    From their start date.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Leavers

<Steps>
  <Step title="Record the leaving date">
    On the employee record.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Calculate their final pay">
    Days worked in the final month, accrued leave, notice pay, and any outstanding loan balance.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Settle any loan">
    An outstanding loan balance is usually recovered from the final payment. See
    [Loans](/payroll/loans).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Include them in the final month's run">
    They must appear on that month's PAYE, NAPSA and NHIMA returns.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Mark them inactive after that run">
    Not before — marking them inactive too early removes them from the return they should be on.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Issue their final payslip and any certificate they need">
    Employees frequently need a payslip or earnings statement for their next employer.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  Never delete a leaver's record. Their historical payslips and their inclusion on past statutory
  returns must remain intact. Mark them inactive.
</Warning>

## Changing a salary

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the employee and update the basic salary">
    Set the effective date to when the change actually takes effect.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Consider whether allowances should change too">
    A salary review often means revisiting housing and transport allowances as well.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Preview the next run">
    Confirm the new figures before processing.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Historic pay runs are unaffected. A salary increase does not retrospectively change last month's
payslip.

## Keeping records current

| Check                                      | How often               |
| ------------------------------------------ | ----------------------- |
| Everyone has TPIN, NAPSA and NHIMA numbers | Before every run        |
| Bank details are current                   | On change, and annually |
| Salaries match contracts                   | At each review          |
| Leavers marked inactive                    | Monthly                 |
| Emergency contacts current                 | Annually                |

An hour spent on record hygiene saves a rejected statutory return, which costs considerably more.

<Note>
  Next: [Pay elements](/payroll/pay-elements) and [Monthly inputs](/payroll/monthly-inputs).
</Note>