The Payroll management was designed to deal with the financial and Human Resources aspects of employees that is, salary, allowances, deductions, leave days accrual and generation of pay slips. Payroll management dates back to the 19th century where the industrial revolution was experienced and in recent years systems developers have developed new and improved Payroll Systems that assist companies in processing their employee’s payroll in a fast and efficient manner.

In recent years Zimbabwe has experienced an increase in the use of payroll systems by companies both small to medium enterprises and large. An example of a payroll system used in Zimbabwe is the Payview Payroll system that encompasses all the employee statutory requirements as it was developed with an understanding and research on the different statutory and regulatory bodies that govern employees, for Example the National Employment Council (NEC) and the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA).

Basic Elements of a Payroll System

Payroll cycle

This is the period between payrolls or length of time between payroll for example months, weekly or fortnightly

Calculating salaries

There is the gross pay, which is calculated by multiplying the rate per day and number of hours worked. The gross pay also includes any other overtime pay earned.

The net pay is the remaining pay to an employee after tax deductions

  • Tax calculation is calculated based on gross profit. In Zimbabwe an employee is subject to PAYE, AIDS levy, Withholding tax
  • Reports which will be generated from all the information that would have been captured based on salaries and number of employees.

Advantages of using payroll

  • Less paperwork- the amount of paperwork needed for filing is reduced because most systems are automated hence there is less printing leading to less storage.
  • Updating of employee information- the payroll being automated, it’s easy to update any information provided by the employee. The HR can access the system, enter the information and the system automatically updates the information
  • Time- using a payroll system serves time as one person does all the capturing of data and it reduces errors unlike when two or more people do the capturing.
  • Accuracy- high levels of accuracy when a few people are assigned to access the system hence reducing errors.