Payroll tags in Cloud Payroll - reference guide – Ciphr

This reference guide explains what each coloured payment tag in Cloud Payroll means and what action, if any, it needs.

Overview
Reading the colours (severity levels)
Where you'll see tags
Key rules and expectations
Limitations
Summary

Overview

Payment tags are the small coloured badges that appear on an employee's payment in a pay run. Each tag is a short message from the system about that payslip - something it calculated, something it changed automatically, or something it wants you to check before you complete the pay run.

Tags are added automatically while the payment is calculated - you don't create or edit them.
Each tag has a colour that tells you how urgent it is (see the legend below).
Tags update live: when you fix the underlying issue and the payment recalculates, the tag disappears on its own.
Most tags are informational. A few (the red ones) usually mean the payment needs attention before you pay the employee.

Key takeaway: You can scan a pay run and immediately see which payments are routine and which need a closer look - without opening every payslip.

Reading the colours (severity levels)

Colour	Severity	What it means
Raspberry	Neutral / status	Status information only (e.g. "New starter"). Nothing to do.
Light grey	Info	The system did something automatic or is explaining a calculation. Worth knowing, no action needed.
Green	Success	A positive confirmation (e.g. "Enrolled in a pension").
Orange	Warning	Review recommended. Often legitimate (a leaver's final payment, zero pay for an unpaid period) but worth confirming it's expected.
Red	Error / Action needed	Something is wrong or incomplete. Check the payment before completing the pay run.

Where you'll see them

On each payment card in the pay run list - small badges under the employee's name.
On the payment detail view - the same tags shown next to the payment title when you open a payslip.

Tags appear, change, and disappear as payments recalculate - for example, when you change a pay element, update employee details, or the pay run refreshes.

Most tags are read-only labels. One is clickable: Deduction order missing received date takes you straight to the employee's deduction orders page so you can fix it.

An example payment card in a pay run, with its tags under the employee's name:

Payment Tags.png

The payment detail view with the tag row visible next to the payment title

Tag definitions

Pay amount checks

These tags flag unusual totals on the payslip. They're recalculated every time the payment changes.

Pay amount checks.png

Tag	Severity	When it appears	What to do
Negative gross	Warning	The payment's gross pay is below zero - deductions or negative adjustments are greater than the employee's earnings.	Check the pay elements. A negative gross usually means a correction or backpay reversal has overshot.
Zero gross	Warning	Gross pay is exactly zero.	Often fine (e.g. unpaid leave for the whole period), but confirm the employee genuinely shouldn't be paid.
Negative net	Error	The final take-home amount is below zero - the employee would owe money.	You can't pay a negative amount. Reduce deductions, spread a recovery over more periods, or adjust the payment.
Zero net	Warning	The final take-home amount is exactly zero.	Confirm it's expected - for example, deductions that exactly consume the pay.

Salary calculation

These tags appear when the calculated salary for the period doesn't match what the system expected from the employee's normal salary.

Salary calculation.png

Tag	Severity	When it appears	What to do
Low salary	Error	The pro-rata salary calculated for the period is less than the employee's normal salary, even though their salary record covers the whole period.	Check the employee's salary records and working pattern - something is reducing pay that shouldn't be.
Salary capped	Info	The pro-rata calculation came out higher than the normal per-period salary, so the system automatically capped it back to the normal amount.	Nothing - the cap is applied for you. The calculation log on the payslip shows the detail.
High salary	Error	The calculated salary is higher than the normal salary and the system could not safely cap it (the employee has more than one salary record in the period).	Review the overlapping salary records and correct the amounts or dates.
High deductions	Error	Salary deductions in the period add up to more than the salary itself.	Check the deduction amounts - the employee's salary can't cover them.
Multiple net-to-gross	Error	More than one net-to-gross pay element was assigned to the same payment. The system can only solve one net target at a time, so none of them were applied.	Remove the extra net-to-gross elements so only one remains, then let the payment recalculate.

Statutory absence pay (SSP and parental pay)

These tags explain why statutory pay was reduced or not paid. The payslip's calculation log lists the exact dates affected.

Statutory payment tags.png

Tag	Severity	When it appears	What to do
Absence AWE missing	Error	A parental absence (maternity, paternity, adoption, etc.) has no Average Weekly Earnings figure, so statutory pay could not be calculated.	Enter the employee's Average Weekly Earnings on the absence record.
Absence AWE under LEL	Info	The employee's Average Weekly Earnings are below the Lower Earnings Limit, so they don't qualify for statutory parental pay.	Nothing to fix - this is the statutory rule. Consider whether the employee needs an SMP1/equivalent form.
Under LEL for SSP	Info	Statutory Sick Pay wasn't payable for one or more sick days because the employee's Average Weekly Earnings were below the Lower Earnings Limit.	Nothing to fix - this is the statutory rule. The employee may need an SSP1 form.
SSP 28-week allowance limit	Info	The employee has reached the 28-week maximum Statutory Sick Pay entitlement, so SSP stopped for the remaining sick days.	Nothing to fix. The employee may need an SSP1 form to claim other benefits.

Tax and National Insurance

Tag	Severity	When it appears	What to do
NI number not set	Warning	The employee has no National Insurance number recorded.	Add the NI number to the employee's record as soon as you have it. The payment still calculates using their NI category.
NI Category updated from … to …	Info	The employee's NI category was invalid for their age or circumstances (for example, still on a young-person's category after turning 21), so the system corrected it automatically. The tag shows the old category, the new one, and the reason.	Nothing - the correction is applied to both the payment and the employee record.
PAYE regulatory limit	Warning	The tax due this period was more than 50% of the employee's earnings, so it was capped at 50% as HMRC's regulatory limit requires. The uncollected tax carries forward.	Nothing to fix - this is a statutory cap. Expect higher tax in following periods.
Minimum wage	Warning	A pay rate on this payment is below the National Minimum / Living Wage for the employee's age (or apprentice status).	Review the hourly rate. The payslip note shows the rate the system compared against.

HMRC submission

HMRC Submission.png

Tag	Severity	When it appears	What to do
(Message describing the problem)	Error	The payment could not be included in the Full Payment Submission (FPS) to HMRC. The tag text is the specific reason - commonly missing employee details that HMRC requires.	Fix the detail named in the message (e.g. complete the employee's address or personal details), then let the payment recalculate.

Starters and leavers

Starter and Leaver tags.png

Tag	Severity	When it appears	What to do
New starter	Neutral	This is the employee's first ever payment in the system (not shown for employees migrated with prior-year history).	Nothing - it's a helpful marker for checking starter details like tax code and starter declaration.
Final payment	Warning	The employee has a leaving date and this is their final payment. Their P45 is produced when the pay run completes.	Confirm the leaving date and that everything owed (holiday pay, outstanding balances) is included.
Payment after leaving	Warning	This payment is dated after the employee's final payment - a payment to someone who has already left.	Confirm it's intentional (e.g. a late bonus or correction). HMRC-specific rules for payments after leaving apply automatically.

Pension auto-enrolment

The pension tag shows the employee's auto-enrolment status. One badge per payment - it appears when the employee's pension status changed in this pay period, or while action is still required.

Tag	Severity	When it appears	What to do
Pension evaluation postponed	Info	Auto-enrolment assessment has been postponed for this employee (within the allowed postponement window).	Nothing now - the system re-assesses at the review date.
Should be enrolled in a pension	Error	The employee meets the auto-enrolment criteria but isn't enrolled yet.	Enrol them (or check your company's enrolment settings). This tag stays until it's resolved.
Enrolled in a pension	Success	The employee was enrolled in a pension this period.	Nothing - confirmation that enrolment happened.
Left the pension	Info	The employee opted out or left the pension scheme this period.	Check whether a contribution refund is due (it's usually handled in the same payment).
Employment ended	Info	Pension assessment stopped because the employee's employment has ended.	Nothing.
Not eligible to join a pension	Info	The employee doesn't meet the auto-enrolment criteria (earnings, or aged under 16 / over 74).	Nothing - they may still be able to join voluntarily.
(Error message)	Error	Automatic enrolment was attempted but failed - the tag shows the reason.	Fix the issue described (e.g. missing scheme or group setup) and recalculate.

Reducing balances

These relate to reducing-balance pay elements - recurring payments or deductions that run until a total balance is used up (e.g. a loan repayment).

Reducing balance.png

Tag	Severity	When it appears	What to do
Reducing balance capped	Info	The amount applied this period was reduced so the payment stays valid (for example, so a deduction doesn't push net pay negative). The remaining balance carries forward.	Nothing - the balance continues in later periods.
Reducing balance not applied	Warning	One or more reducing balances could not be applied to this payment at all.	Check the payment - there may not be enough pay this period to take the deduction. The balance remains outstanding.
Outstanding balances	Error	This is the employee's final payment and they still have reducing balances that aren't fully repaid.	Decide how to settle the remainder before completing the pay run - adjust the final payment or write the balance off.

Deduction orders

Deduction order tag.png

Tag	Severity	When it appears	What to do
Deduction order missing received date	Warning	The employee has two or more deduction orders that can only be prioritised by their received date - and at least one has no received date recorded, so the system can't be certain it applied them in the right order.	Click the tag - it takes you to the employee's deduction orders page. Enter the missing received date(s).

Manual adjustments

Calculation override.png

Tag	Severity	When it appears	What to do
Calculation override applied	Warning	One or more calculated values on this payment (tax, NI, etc.) have been manually overridden and no longer come from the automatic calculation.	Nothing if the override is intentional - the tag is a permanent reminder that this payslip contains manual figures.

NEST pension integration

Shown only if your company uses the NEST integration. These badges use NEST's own orange styling.

Nest integration.png

Tag	Severity	When it appears	What to do
Uploaded to NEST	Info	The enrolment/contribution details for this payment were successfully uploaded to NEST.	Nothing - confirmation of a successful upload.
NEST upload failed	Error	The upload to NEST failed.	Check the error details on the employee's pension record, fix the issue (often a mismatch with the NEST account), and retry.
NEST OptOut	Info	A NEST opt-out was processed in this payment, and the contribution refund was included in it.	Nothing - the refund is handled automatically.

Note: The set of tags described here is built into the system. API integrations can set their own additional tags, but those come from the integration - not from anything you configure in the system.

Key rules and expectations

Tags are fully automatic

You can't add, edit, or dismiss a tag manually. The only way to clear one is to resolve the condition that caused it - the tag disappears the next time the payment recalculates.

One badge per topic

Each topic (net pay, pension status, salary, and so on) shows at most one badge at a time. If the situation changes - for example, a "Zero net" payment becomes "Negative net" - the new badge replaces the old one.

Orange doesn't always mean something is wrong

Warning tags flag things worth confirming, not necessarily problems. "Final payment" on a leaver, or "Zero gross" for someone on unpaid leave, are expected - the tag is there so you notice and confirm.

Red tags deserve attention before you complete the pay run

Error tags ("Negative net", "Multiple net-to-gross", "Outstanding balances", FPS errors) indicate the payment as it stands is incomplete or can't be processed correctly downstream.

Limitations

Tags don't block anything. A pay run can still be completed with warning or error tags showing - they inform, they don't enforce.
Tags aren't shown to employees. They appear in the payroll view only - never on the employee's payslip document.
Tags reflect the latest calculation only. Once the underlying condition is resolved and the payment recalculates, the tag is gone - there's no history of past tags on the payment.

Summary

Payment tags are your at-a-glance review layer for every pay run.

Coloured badges on each payment tell you what the system calculated, corrected, or wants you to check.
Yellow, light grey, and green tags are informational; orange means "confirm this is expected"; red means "look at this before you pay".
They cover pay totals, salary checks, statutory pay, tax and NI, starters and leavers, pensions, reducing balances, deduction orders, and NEST uploads.
When the underlying issue is resolved, the tag automatically disappears after recalculation - no manual tidy-up needed.

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Payroll tags in Cloud Payroll - reference guide

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