> ## 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.

# Payroll overview

> Paying your people in Bumara — setup, the monthly cycle, payslips, loans and statutory returns.

<Warning>
  **Rates, thresholds and deadlines change.** The figures on this page reflect the rules Bumara
  applies today and are given as a guide. The regulator's current published position always
  governs. Bumara applies the rate in force when your filing is calculated — always check the
  figures shown on your actual filing rather than relying on this page, and take professional
  advice on how the rules apply to your business.
</Warning>

Payroll handles everything about paying employees: their records, what they earn, what is deducted,
what they take home, and what you owe ZRA, NAPSA and NHIMA as a result.

Getting payroll right in Bumara means three of your monthly compliance filings are largely done
before you open them.

## What is here

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Employees" icon="users" href="/payroll/employees">
    Personal details, employment terms, regulatory numbers and bank details.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Pay elements" icon="sliders" href="/payroll/pay-elements">
    Allowances and deductions — what is added to and taken from pay.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Monthly inputs" icon="keyboard" href="/payroll/monthly-inputs">
    Absence, overtime, advances and ad-hoc deductions for the period.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Running payroll" icon="play" href="/payroll/running-payroll">
    Preview, process, approve, pay and reconcile.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Payslips" icon="file-lines" href="/payroll/payslips">
    Generating and distributing payslips to your staff.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Loans" icon="hand-holding-dollar" href="/payroll/loans">
    Staff loans with automatic repayment from pay.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Statutory returns" icon="landmark" href="/payroll/statutory-returns">
    PAYE, NAPSA and NHIMA return files from your pay run.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## The monthly cycle

<Steps>
  <Step title="Collect monthly inputs">
    Absence, overtime, advances, ad-hoc deductions — everything that varies month to month.
    Due by your **cutoff day**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Preview">
    See the calculated payroll without saving anything. Check gross, deductions and net for every
    employee.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Process">
    Run it properly. Payslips are generated and the run enters **Draft**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Approve">
    A second person authorises it for payment.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pay">
    Transfer the net pay to employees.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Distribute payslips">
    Email individually or all at once.
  </Step>

  <Step title="File the statutory returns">
    PAYE by the 10th, NAPSA and NHIMA per their schedules.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Reconcile and lock">
    Match against your bank statement, then seal the period.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What gets calculated

For every employee, every month:

| Step                    | What happens                                                     |
| ----------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Daily rate**          | Salary divided by your configured working days                   |
| **Basic pay**           | Salary, adjusted for any absence                                 |
| **Allowances**          | Housing, transport, meal, leave pay, and anything custom         |
| **Overtime**            | Hours multiplied by rate multiplied by the applicable multiplier |
| **Gross pay**           | Everything above, added together                                 |
| **NHIMA**               | 1% of basic salary                                               |
| **NAPSA**               | 5.5% of gross, capped at the statutory ceiling                   |
| **PAYE**                | Progressive tax bands applied to chargeable emoluments           |
| **Employee deductions** | Advances, loan instalments, and anything custom                  |
| **Net pay**             | What the employee actually receives                              |

Note the different bases: NHIMA on basic salary, NAPSA on gross. This is not an inconsistency in
Bumara — it is how the two schemes are defined.

## Pay run statuses

| Status         | Meaning                       | Who moves it on       |
| -------------- | ----------------------------- | --------------------- |
| **Draft**      | Calculated, under review      | Payroll officer       |
| **Approved**   | Authorised for payment        | HR manager or finance |
| **Processed**  | Payslips finalised            | Automatic             |
| **Paid**       | Transfers made                | Finance               |
| **Reconciled** | Matched to the bank statement | Finance               |
| **Locked**     | Permanently sealed            | Automatic             |

<Warning>
  A processed pay run is difficult to reverse. Always preview first — previewing saves nothing and
  costs nothing, and it is the only cheap place to catch an error.
</Warning>

## Who can see what

|                        | HR / Payroll | Finance | Dept manager | Employee |
| ---------------------- | ------------ | ------- | ------------ | -------- |
| Names and departments  | Yes          | Yes     | Own dept     | Own only |
| NRC, passport, TPIN    | Yes          | No      | No           | No       |
| Bank details           | Yes          | Yes     | No           | No       |
| Salaries and payslips  | Yes          | Yes     | Own dept     | Own only |
| Export data            | Yes          | Yes     | No           | No       |
| Run payroll            | Yes          | No      | No           | No       |
| File statutory returns | No           | Yes     | No           | No       |

The split at the bottom is deliberate: the person who runs the pay run is not the person who files
the returns. See [Team and roles](/account/team-and-roles).

## What feeds your compliance filings

| Pay run produces          | Which fills                                      |
| ------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| Per-employee PAYE figures | Your [PAYE return](/regulators/zra/paye)         |
| NAPSA contributions       | Your [NAPSA return](/regulators/napsa-and-nhima) |
| NHIMA contributions       | Your [NHIMA return](/regulators/napsa-and-nhima) |
| Payroll summary document  | The required upload on the PAYE filing           |

## Key dates

| Date                             | What                                                               |
| -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Cutoff day**                   | Monthly inputs must be in. You configure this — the 20th is common |
| **Payment day**                  | When staff are paid. The 25th is common                            |
| **10th of the following month**  | PAYE return due                                                    |
| **Monthly, per their schedules** | NAPSA and NHIMA returns due                                        |

<Note>
  New to payroll in Bumara? Start with [Setting up payroll](/payroll/setting-up) — five steps to
  complete before your first run.
</Note>