Approving and locking is the line between a draft and the official figures. After this step, the payroll becomes the basis for transferring money and for providing explanations.
Conditions for the Approve & lock button to work
The Approve & lock button is disabled as long as the warning banner "N employees need attention" is displayed. You must resolve all rows labeled Review first.
This is the correct design, so don't look for a way around it. A payroll approved while some employees still lack configuration means someone gets paid 0.
Pre-approval checklist
- The four-layer reconciliation in article B9-10 has been completed.
- No cells show formula errors.
- The Variance Report tab has no remaining unexplained anomalies.
- The total cost for the period has been reviewed and agreed to by an authorized person.
- An export of the payroll has been saved before locking, for later reconciliation.
After locking
| What happens | Consequence |
|---|---|
| The period status changes from Processing | The payroll becomes official data |
| Data can no longer be edited directly | Every change requires unlocking and is logged |
| Payslips are ready to publish | Turn off Hide payslips so employees can view them (article B9-12) |
| The transfer file can be exported | See article B9-13 |
Audit log
The pay period's Audit Log tab records who changed what and when. It's the record you need when an employee files a complaint, during an internal audit, or when authorities request an explanation.
The log is only meaningful if each person uses their own account. Sharing one administrator account across the whole HR department completely eliminates traceability. See article B9-15.
Reopening a locked payroll
Reopening should be an exception, not a habit. When you must reopen:
- Document the reason in writing before reopening — who requested it, why, and who is affected.
- Check whether the money has already been transferred. If it has, editing the payroll must come with a plan for handling the difference.
- Unlock, fix the issue at the source, and click Reload payroll.
- Reconcile everything again, not just the row you edited.
- Approve and lock again.
- Notify the affected employees with an explanation, before they discover it themselves.
The last step matters most for trust. Employees who discover their payslip figures have changed without anyone telling them will lose trust in the entire system, including the periods that were calculated correctly.
Three common situations
| Situation | How to handle it |
|---|---|
| An error is found after locking, money not yet transferred | Unlock, fix the source, recalculate, lock again |
| An error is found after money has been transferred | Don't edit the old period. Handle the difference in the next period with a clearly annotated adjustment |
| A request arrives late after locking | Include it in the next period. If it must be handled immediately, follow the first situation |
The approach in the second situation — adjusting in the next period instead of editing the old one — preserves the integrity of payroll records. Editing a period that has already been paid causes the accounting data and the payroll data to diverge.
