Clients can now automate their entire payroll process from submission to funding.

This article explains how Global Payroll clients can enable automatic payroll report submission and package approvals. 

The policies can be set individually (i.e., report submission can be automated, but package approval can be manual). Auto-approval can be used with or without auto-submission.

Note: Auto-submit is not currently available for USP managed clients

How to Create a Payroll Automation Policy

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Step 1 - Open entity details

You can create a new policy policy from Org Settings > Entity > select the entity >  Payroll policies tab.

Or, you also follow the prompt that appears at the end of the payroll submission flow (if shown to you)

Step 2 - Create new policy

Click the Create a policy button

Step 3 - Name and configure policy details

After you name and describe the policy, you must choose what to automate, as each can be set independently:

• Report submission: Automatic or Manual
• Package approval: Automatic or Manual (auto-approval works with or without auto-submission)

Step 3a - If any step is Manual, add approvers and levels

• Same level = any order (optionally set # approvals required)
• Multiple levels = sequential notifications

Approvers can be set by name or role

Note: At least one approver is required for manual report submission or manual package approval.

Step 3b (If automatic policy is enabled) - 

Set a cost variance threshold (%) vs the previous cycle.

If this threshold is exceeded, a manual review is triggered and routed to your designated approvers (levels supported). The threshold is calculated based on gross payroll cost, not net amounts.

Optional: add substitutes and notification preferences

Step 4 - Payroll will auto-submit/auto-approve in the next cycle

If auto-submit and/or auto-approve is enabled, the automation will run on the due date when thresholds are met.

If thresholds aren’t met, the payroll is routed to the configured approvers and moves into an “awaiting review/approval” state.

[ACCORDION] If auto-submission is not triggered

If auto-submission is not triggered, the approval flow starts for the payroll submission report

If automatic report submission is not enabled (or submission conditions aren’t met), payroll submission is routed to the configured approvers instead of proceeding directly to processing.

• Approvers receive notifications, and the submission appears in their Global Payroll task view.

• Pending approvals can also be accessed from the Global Payroll overview page or the Home page via the cycle tracker.

• If the user is an assigned approver, they’ll see an Approve submission action.

• If multiple approval levels are configured, approvals happen sequentially by level: the next level is notified only after the previous level completes.

• While the cycle is awaiting review, the user who submitted can still edit the report.

[ACCORDION] If auto-approval is not triggered

If auto-approval is not triggered, the approval flow starts for the payroll package

If automatic package approval is not enabled in the policy (or the approval conditions aren’t met), the payroll will not proceed directly to funding. Instead, it will be routed to the configured approvers.

• Approvers receive notifications, and the payroll package appears in their Global Payroll task view.

• Approvers can also access pending approvals from the Global Payroll overview page or the Home page via the cycle tracker.

• If the user is an assigned approver, they’ll see a Review approval action.

• If multiple approval levels are configured, approvals happen sequentially by level: the next level is notified only after the previous level completes.

• The next phase of the payroll cycle is unlocked only after the required approvals are completed (based on your level setup).

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Video Demonstration - Payroll experience

Remember, auto-approval and auto-submission run independently and have independent thresholds, even if they use the same percentage value in the policy. Either step can fail and then trigger manual intervention.

FAQ

[ACCORDION] How do I edit or update a policy?

Once a policy is active, changes must be made through Entity Settings → Payroll Policies. Policy changes may require resubmission.

You can disable or adjust a policy directly from your Entity Settings:

1. Go to Entity Settings → Global Payroll
2. Find the policy you want to change
3. Click the three dots (⋯) on the right side of the policy

From there, you can:

• Delete the policy to turn it off completely
• Edit the policy to:
  - Switch between Manual and Automatic, or
  - Update the threshold for an automatic policy

Changes are saved as soon as you confirm the update.

[ACCORDION] I am clicking submit payroll, but nothing is happening. Why?

If you're clicking "submit payroll" and nothing happens, there might be a multiple approvers policy for the organization, and the payroll has been sent for additional, mandatory approvals

[ACCORDION] What’s the difference between adding approvers at the same level vs. different levels?

When you add multiple approvers at the same level, all of them are notified at the same time, and you can set how many approvals are required before moving to the next level.

When you create different approval levels, the process becomes sequential — the second level is only notified once everyone (or the required number of approvers) from the previous level has approved.

[ACCORDION] What if an approver is out of the office?

If an approver is out of office, sick, or otherwise unavailable, you cna follow the on-screen prompts during the policy creation to nominate substitutes for approvers.

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