Payroll software from EARNIE - the payroll people

Payroll FAQs

Why are some employees not appearing on my BACS report?

This can be for many reasons:

  • Have you entered their bank details on the Employee Record card?
  • Were they flagged as being paid by BACS before the payroll was ran?
  • Have you entered all the company bank details on the Company Details card?
  • Has the employee been issued with a p45?

More info iconIf none of the above apply please contact Support or call 0844 815 5671 (Option 1) as some of the debug figures may need re-setting.


How many times can I re-run my payroll?

You can re-run or undo and run the current payroll as many times as you need to. Until you are satisfied it is correct. You would not be able to do this once you have started running a payroll for the next period, i.e.

You can re-run payroll week 8, hundreds of times if you want to. However, if you then run payroll for week 9, you can no longer undo and re-run the payroll for week 8. This is employee specific. If the week 9 payroll you ran was only for one employee you can still undo or re-run week 8 for all other employees except that one.


How do I set up a salary sacrifice?

These are our recommendations for setting up a salary sacrifice in EARNIE. We would advise that you seek clarification on how HMRC want you to deal with your scheme before going ahead.

There are two ways on EARNIE to set up a salary sacrifice:

  1. Reduce the amount of the employee's normal salary. If required, include the amount sacrificed on the payslip by setting up a "display only" payment/deduction.
  2. Leave the employee's salary as it is.  Deduct the sacrificed amount as a before tax and NI deduction.

The method you choose will depend on what is in your employees' contracts - you should only use the second option when an employee's contract contains details of the salary sacrifice scheme. If you do not have anything in the contract about the salary sacrifice you should reduce the employee's salary.

The main difference between the two methods relates to any pay elements based on the employee's salary (e.g. pension). Using the first method, any such elements will be based on the reduced salary (so, for example, the pension contributions will be smaller). Using the second method, such pay elements can be based on the original salary, so there would be no change in the amount of the payments.

Statutory payments (SPP, SMP etc.) will be the same in either case, because these are based on the Niable gross, which will be reduced correctly using either method.

Method 1:

Salaried Employees

Amend the salary on the employee's details screen, on the Salary tab.

Hourly-Paid Employees

The hourly rate is reduced, based on the standard weekly pay and the amount to be sacrificed. For example, if an employee earns £7 per hour and normally works a 40 hour week, the weekly pay would be £7 x 40 = £280.  If the salary sacrifice amount is £20 per week, the weekly pay must be reduced by that amount: £280-£20 = £260 per week. So the new amount per hour will be £260/40 = £6.50.

To alter the hourly rate, just amend the £/hour figure on the rates tab.

Important notePlease note: The hourly rate cannot be reduced below the National
Minimum Rate.

If you want to include the sacrificed amount on the payslip, create a display item only payment/deduction although there is no requirement for this to show on the payslip.

Method 2:

Set up a before tax and NI deduction to deduct the sacrificed amount.  This applies whether the employee is salaried or hourly paid.


A student has joined my payroll over the Christmas period. What should I do about Tax/NI?

Provided they have filled out a P38S, students should be set to a tax code of NI and A rate NI. If they haven't completed a P38S they have to fill in a P46 and be coded accordingly. We recommend you double check any new tax codes or NI rates with your tax office.


I have advanced an employee on the payroll, so why is the NI still being calculated over one period?

This employee may be flagged as casual in the Employee Status option. In this case NI should be calculated over one period.  If you want to spread the NI over more than one period, you will need to:

  • Undo the payroll for that employee
  • Edit the employee and change the Status Flag to Normal
  • Run the payroll for that employee
  • Once you're happy with the calculated NI and reports, edit the employee to change the status back to casual

Does the payroll link to Astro?

Astro is a clocking system sold by Blick National. It will link to EARNIE but the file created has to be the same as Atmos. You can get advice on doing this from Blick National. Blick can be contacted on 01793 692401.

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