> ## 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.

# Monthly inputs

> Entering absence, overtime, advances and ad-hoc deductions before your cutoff day.

Monthly inputs are the figures that change each period. Everything else — salary, fixed allowances,
loan instalments — is already on the employee record. Inputs are what varies.

They must be in by your **cutoff day**.

## What you enter

| Field                | Meaning                                                    |
| -------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Days absent**      | Working days missed — unpaid leave or unauthorised absence |
| **Overtime hours**   | Regular overtime worked                                    |
| **Holiday overtime** | Holiday or weekend overtime, paid at the higher multiplier |
| **Leave days pay**   | Leave days being paid out                                  |
| **Advance**          | A salary advance taken this period                         |
| **Other deductions** | Any ad-hoc deduction for this period                       |

Anything not entered is treated as zero. An employee with no inputs is paid their normal salary
and allowances.

## Entering them

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Payroll, then Monthly inputs">
    Select the period you are entering for.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enter figures against each employee">
    Only for employees who have something to record. Leave the rest blank.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check as you go">
    Days absent cannot exceed working days in the month. Overtime hours should be plausible.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    Inputs are saved against the period and used when the run is processed.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Bulk entry

For a larger workforce, use the CSV template.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Download the template">
    It comes pre-populated with your active employees.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Fill in the figures">
    One row per employee. Leave blank anything with nothing to record.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check it before uploading">
    Look for figures in the wrong column — overtime hours entered as days absent is a costly
    mistake in either direction.
  </Step>

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

  <Step title="Review what was imported">
    Spot-check against your source before processing.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## The cutoff day

Your cutoff is set in [payroll settings](/payroll/setting-up), commonly the 20th.

Inputs received after cutoff mean re-running payroll, which is disruptive. Have a policy and hold
to it:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Remind managers a few days before cutoff">
    Attendance and overtime come from them, and they will not remember unprompted.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Chase on the day">
    Silence usually means nobody has looked.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Close at cutoff">
    Late inputs go into next month unless there is a genuine exception.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Handle exceptions deliberately">
    An advance the employee genuinely needs is an exception. Someone forgetting to send overtime
    hours is not.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Where the figures come from

| Input            | Source                                       |
| ---------------- | -------------------------------------------- |
| Days absent      | Attendance records or the department manager |
| Overtime hours   | Approved timesheets — approved, not claimed  |
| Holiday overtime | The same, flagged as holiday or weekend      |
| Leave days pay   | Your leave records                           |
| Advance          | The approved advance request                 |
| Other deductions | Whoever authorised the deduction             |

<Warning>
  Overtime should come from approved timesheets, not from what employees tell you. Unapproved
  overtime paid because it was claimed is money you cannot recover.
</Warning>

## How inputs affect pay

| Input            | Effect                                                         |
| ---------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Days absent      | Reduces basic pay by the daily rate for each day               |
| Overtime hours   | Adds hours × hourly rate × 1.5 (or your configured multiplier) |
| Holiday overtime | Adds hours × hourly rate × 2.0 (or your configured multiplier) |
| Leave days pay   | Adds the leave pay allowance                                   |
| Advance          | Deducts the advance amount                                     |
| Other deductions | Deducts the amount, subject to the deduction cap               |

The daily and hourly rates come from the employee's salary and your configured working days per
month.

## Checking before you process

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Anyone with unusually high overtime">
    Check it against approved timesheets. A misplaced decimal or a duplicated entry is easier to
    catch now than after payment.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Anyone with high absence">
    Is it unpaid absence or paid leave? Paid leave should not be entered as days absent — that
    deducts pay the employee is entitled to.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Advances">
    Every advance should have been approved. Check the total against your approvals.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Employees with no inputs at all">
    Is that right? A whole department with nothing recorded usually means their manager did not
    submit.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Leavers">
    Their final month's figures should reflect their actual leaving date.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## After the cutoff

<Steps>
  <Step title="Preview the payroll">
    Nothing is saved. See [Running payroll](/payroll/running-payroll).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check the figures per employee">
    Anything that looks wrong is usually an input error.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Correct inputs and preview again">
    Repeat until the preview is right.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Process">
    Only once the preview is correct.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Late input after processing

If an input arrives after processing:

| Situation                 | What to do                                                     |
| ------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Not yet approved          | Correct the input and re-run                                   |
| Approved but not yet paid | Reverse the approval, correct, re-run                          |
| Already paid              | Adjust in the following month rather than unwinding a paid run |

<Warning>
  Once employees have been paid, correcting in the following month is almost always better than
  reversing. Reversing a paid run affects payslips, statutory returns and bank reconciliation
  simultaneously.
</Warning>

<Note>
  Next: [Running payroll](/payroll/running-payroll).
</Note>