How to Prepare Payroll in Excel: A Step-by-Step Guide

payroll automation in excel

Benefits are reflected in column R on each monthly payroll tab, which sums all premiums showing in columns I through L on the “Set Up Employee Data” tab. The amounts should be fixed from one pay period to the next, but you can update the amounts in the “Set Up” tab if they ever change. To help check your employees’ total earnings, look at column M (labeled “Year-to-Date Gross Pay”) in the “Year-to-Date Payroll” tab of the Excel payroll template. Simply deduct all YTD nontaxable income (column I) from this amount to find the taxable gross income. Note that because the Social Security tax rate is 6.2% of wages, the maximum amount any employee will pay annually in 2024 is $10,453.20 ($168,600 maximum x 0.062). Note that we created the “Other Deduction” columns to be easily personalized, so you don’t have to change any other tabs to match.

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payroll automation in excel

However, the gross pay, deductions and net pay will be informed by their respective formulas, which you’ll see in the next step. For example, the total amount of regular and overtime hours may change per pay period and will need to be submitted each time manually. Just think how much more free time you will have when you don’t have to spend all day figuring out payroll. Automating payroll helps you run your business more efficiently, leaves less opportunity for error, and ensures your employees are paid accurately. There are various automated payroll systems out there, depending on the size of your business and what you’re looking for.

Excel Timesheet for Payroll Template

  • Unlike a paycheck calculator, you don’t have to input the data on your own.
  • Note that because the Social Security tax rate is 6.2% of wages, the maximum amount any employee will pay annually in 2024 is $10,453.20 ($168,600 maximum x 0.062).
  • Choose from spreadsheets and forms for Microsoft Excel and Word, PDF, and Google Sheets.
  • Payroll templates typically include basic employee information such as name, hours worked, compensation due, and tax home details.
  • Reconciliations are a common and time-consuming activity for finance and data professionals.

It automatically files new hire paperwork, calculates and files payroll taxes, generates year-end W-2s and 1099s, and pays via direct deposit. Sign up with Gusto today and get one month free when you run your first payroll. Offer will be applied to your Gusto invoice(s) while all applicable terms and conditions are met or fulfilled. You can also use columns M, N, and O for garnishments and other employee deductions.

Why use Excel for your payroll process?

If you’re concerned you’re not entering them correctly, copy and paste the names in. Check how the cells with formulas automatically calculate totals in the monthly payroll tabs once you enter data in columns A through I. If payroll is still taking too much time or you’ve outgrown a spreadsheet, consider using a small business payroll software like Gusto.

  • Creating stunning (Global) Payroll Dashboards with automated data sources can be surprisingly easy, thanks to Excel’s capabilities.
  • Generally speaking, it does not vary as greatly as income tax and is usually quite similar for most workforce.
  • Many automated payroll systems offer employees the freedom to view their paychecks and edit their information.
  • To simplify the process, many companies rely on software like Tally or ADP or even outsource payroll to external service providers.
  • If you have overtime hours listed in column G, there should be a corresponding dollar amount in column L.
  • The amounts should be fixed from one pay period to the next, but you can update the amounts in the “Set Up” tab if they ever change.

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payroll automation in excel

However, you should receive a monthly premium amount due from the insurance fund that creates your policy. Simply enter the monthly premium amounts in column G (“Enter Workers’ Comp Payable”). In column B of the “Set Up Employee Data” tab, enter each hourly employee’s straight-time hourly rate (excluding overtime). Although there are two “Other Deduction” columns in the “Set Up“ tab, the monthly payroll tabs sum them in one column. When adding and deleting columns, consider whether or not you can simply change some of the existing column labels in the payroll Excel template.

  • We now have a Reconciliation query with the data from both the Payroll and Listing queries.
  • Robie also worked as an HR specialist for 10 years where she managed various facets of HR—from payroll and benefits to employee services and HR systems.
  • Robie Ann Ferrer is an HR expert writer at Fit Small Business, focusing on small business HR and payroll software content.
  • An expense report is similar to a timesheet in that it documents work hours and costs on a daily basis.
  • You can pay your employees automatically and approve their hours worked online without having to update spreadsheets.
  • We have provided a downloadable payroll template in Excel for your better understanding.
  • Here are the items you should review, including how the Excel template for payroll computes each.

This page offers a wide variety of free payroll templates that are fully customizable and easy to use. Choose from spreadsheets and forms for Microsoft Excel and Word, PDF, and Google Sheets. You see, manual payslips are equally time-consuming as manual payroll. Not https://www.bookstime.com/ to mention they are also prone to high levels of inaccuracies and human errors on a large scale. With this software, all you have to do is enter values from your collated Excel data. You will receive an instant payslip within seconds along with your company logo.

Simultaneously, you can also get more simplified reports which provide all the information related to gross salary, deductibles, and net pay in a single report. Automating your payroll process is truly one of the best business decisions you will make. In addition to the automated calculations, software like Asanify can also organize annual reports and make tasks efficient. To calculate the Income Tax, you must know the tax percentage your employee pays on their total gross pay. In this example, let’s assume only one tax rate of 15% for all employees. Alternatively, you can store the static data on another spreadsheet, tab or database and import it where needed, to maintain updated information and automate processes.

  • This page offers a wide variety of free payroll templates that are fully customizable and easy to use.
  • This pay stub template offers a contemporary design and ample blank space for an easy-to-read layout.
  • Take control of your business data with insight and in-depth understanding by taking this course.
  • Let us start by calculating the sum of the total hours that all employees worked.
  • By automating this process, you can ensure that your dashboard is always up-to-date and reflects the latest data.
  • For many companies, Microsoft Excel, or similar tools provided by other software (such as OpenOffice, Google Spreadsheets, etc.), are the standard go-to DIY payroll programmes.
  • Filter by employee to instantly see a record of their payment history, or narrow it down by department to get insights into budgeting.

QuickBooks Payroll handles all the tedious tasks for you and allows you to manage everything in one place. Robie Ann Ferrer is an HR expert writer at Fit Small payroll automation Business, focusing on small business HR and payroll software content. She has over eight years of content writing experience, handling different topics.

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To simplify the process, many companies rely on software like Tally or ADP or even outsource payroll to external service providers. However, some businesses prefer to manage payroll on their own because it gives them complete control over their employees’ pay and expenses. While Excel provides a manual approach to payroll, SaaS payroll solutions can offer a more robust and automated process.

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At the same time, it allows for staff collaboration but ensures that data access is limited to certain parties only. The formula calculates the net pay and displays in Cell I2, as shown below. For your use, you will need to personalise it to fit whatever extras your company applies. It is essential to know that within Excel, there are columns, rows and cells. The columns are indicated by letters A-Z, the rows by numbers and the cells by their respective combination of the column letter and the row number (e.g. A1, B2, C3).

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