HR

Step-by-step guide

This guide will show you how to update Payments and Allowances in your Paylink
configuration.

Contents

• Disclaimer
• Step 1 - Adding new pay elements to the Ciphr Code Tables
• Step 2 - Creating the Ciphr Paylink module (code)
• Step 3 - Configuring each Payroll with the new Payments or Allowance

Disclaimer

Please carefully consider the implications of adding new pay elements to the Ciphr Paylink configuration. For customers that may have payroll integration (API transfer for example) and even for those who import Ciphr Paylink .csv files directly into the payroll software, making changes to pay elements can in some circumstances cause the transfer / import to fail because the receiving system has not been configured to accept the new pay elements.

Please ensure in all of these circumstances that the payroll provider / system has been notified and/or configured for all new elements to be successfully received and processed.

Step 1 - Adding new pay elements to the Ciphr Code Tables

There may be occasions when your Payments and/or Allowances change and you wish to add new ones to the Ciphr Paylink. In this instance the first step is to create these in the associated Code Tables.

Go to the following area:
• Latest menu: Data Managment > Code Tables
• Pre 2025 menu: System > System Administration > Code Tables

Select the Job and Pay Group > Allowances or Payments

Here is a typical example shown below:

Step 2 - Creating the Ciphr Paylink module (code) 

Once all of the new pay elements have been added to the relevant Code Tables in Ciphr,
they can now be created in the Ciphr Paylink.

Go to the following area:
• Latest menu: Payroll > Paylink Configuration > Paylink Modules
• Pre 2025 menu: System > Payroll Configuration > Paylink Modules

Then select the Payroll Type: This is usually Ciphr Payroll or Ciphr Universal Paylink.

All of the existing Paylink modules will be displayed, so the next step is to Insert New Record. A blank form will appear that allows the user to create a Code and Description for this element and decide whether the field should be set as Text, Date or Number and whether this is going to map (in step 3) to an item in the Base Data, Payments or Allowances.

Typically, the Code will be a number like 001, but it can also be an abbreviation so for example Gym might be the Code and Gym Membership the Description.

If it is just Payments and Allowances to be added to the Ciphr Paylink then the Format will always be a Number, the Length which includes the decimal place, should be set to 10, and the Decimals set to 2.

Finally, the Type should be set to either a Payment or an Allowance as appropriate.

Once all of the new pay elements have been set up as Paylink Modules, the next step is to map these to the actual Payments or Allowances that have just been created in the Code Tables.

Step 3 - Configuring each Payroll with the new Payments or Allowances

The final stage is to add in these Payments or Allowances to each of the Payrolls that may be setup in the system, eg) UK Payroll Monthly, UK Payroll Weekly etc.

Go to the following area:
• Latest menu: Payroll > Paylink Configuration > Paylink Configuration
• Pre 2025 menu: System > Payroll Configuration > Paylink Configuration

Click into the relevant payroll

Click on the tab that is relevant for the new element being added, either Payroll Payments or Payroll Allowances.

Then click Insert New Record when the correct tab has been opened.

For the Code field, click on the magnifying glass and search for the new pay element that has been added to the Paylink Modules, and select it.

Then click on the Payment and select (map) the matching payment from the relevant Code Table.

Finally, decide on whether this is going to output as an Amount or Hours for a Payment, or an Amount or Percent for an Allowance. Typically, Overtime type Payments might be configured to output the Hours, with other elements set up to output an Amount such as Bonus, Commission etc. For Allowances, the majority will be set up as Amounts, but sometimes elements like Pension will be output as a Percentage.

Repeat this process for each of the Payrolls listed that require these new pay elements.

The new pay elements can now be entered against the employee records in the following area:
• Latest menu: Job, Pay & Reward > Payments or Allowances
• Pre 2025 menu: Personal Data > Job, Pay & Reward Information > Payments or Allowances

Next time the Ciphr Paylink workflow is run through the stages, provided the effective date of the Payment or Allowance falls within the date range of the workflow, these new pay elements will now  appear in the Output Files and Reports. Note, that the Output to Payroll? flag will, by default be set to green and should remain so. When the Ciphr Paylink is completed for the monthly / weekly run, this flag will automatically be greyed out to prevent this pay element going out in subsequent pay runs.