Payroll Accounting and Compliance
Gross-to-net, withholdings, journal entries and filings.
Taught by Manisha Bhattarai · ACCA, Finance Manager
What you'll learn
- Calculate gross pay from salary, hourly, overtime and allowance components and derive net pay through each deduction
- Distinguish employee withholdings from employer contributions and compute the true cost of employment
- Post the payroll journal, the payday bank entry and each remittance so every liability account clears
- Reconcile the payroll register to the general ledger, the bank and year-to-date filings every pay period
- Account for leave accruals, bonuses, benefits in kind and termination pay in the correct period
- Build a compliance calendar, retain the right records and apply controls that prevent ghost employees and unauthorised changes
About this course
Payroll is often a business's largest expense and the one with the least tolerance for error, because every mistake lands on a real person's payslip or a tax authority's penalty notice. This beginner course is for bookkeepers, HR administrators, office managers and small-business owners who run or oversee payroll and need to understand the accounting and compliance behind the software. You will calculate gross pay and net pay, separate employee withholdings from employer costs, post the payroll journal and the remittances, reconcile payroll to the general ledger and the bank every period, account for leave, bonuses, benefits and terminations, and build a compliance calendar and control checklist that survives an audit. Examples use generic tax and contribution names so the method transfers to PAYE, PAYG, FICA or any other system; you apply your own jurisdiction's rates. Basic debits and credits are assumed.
Course content
6 lessons- 1Payroll Fundamentals: From Gross Pay to Net PayThe components of a pay run, the order of deductions, and a worked gross-to-net calculation you can reproduce.Preview
- 2Withholdings, Contributions and the True Cost of EmploymentSeparate what is withheld from employees from what the employer pays on top, across the main payroll systems.
- 3Payroll Journal EntriesThe three entries every pay run needs: the payroll journal, the payday bank entry and the remittances.
- 4Reconciling Payroll Every PeriodAgree the payroll register to the general ledger, the bank and the year-to-date filings, and clear every liability account.
- 5Leave, Bonuses, Benefits and TerminationsRecognise the cost of leave as it is earned, time bonuses and benefits correctly, and get final pay right.
- 6Compliance Calendar, Records and ControlsNever miss a filing, keep the records inspectors ask for, and apply the controls that stop payroll fraud.