Articles on: Payroll

How to Run Payroll in FreePayroll

Running payroll in FreePayroll is straightforward. Follow these steps to process your payroll efficiently:

From the Home page, begin by selecting the button labelled **Run Payroll.**

As soon as you click it, you’ll be taken to the page showing all active payrolls, where you can choose the specific payroll you want to run.

Here, each Pay Schedule is displayed with all key details at a glance.

You’ll see the Pay Schedule name, the status (active or inactive), the Pay Period with the start and end dates, the Pay Date, plus the Tax Period and Tax Year.

After selecting the Pay Schedule you want to run, click on "Run Payroll"

Once inside the selected Pay Schedule, the Employees tab will be open by default.

Here you will find:

Employee name
Employee ID
Employment Type (Salaried or Hourly)
If hourly, you can enter the worked hours directly in this screen
Gross Pay and Net Pay
Warnings, if something needs attention
Actions, where you can preview the employee

Inside the employee preview, you can:

Add pay items
Remove pay items

You must click on "Review payroll", you’ll see the complete overview of the pay run.

This page is divided into tabs, allowing you to review each category in detail.

Employee tab:

Base Pay Amount
Additions
Deductions
Net Pay

HMRC tab:

Student Loan
Postgraduate Loan
Income Tax Deducted
Employee NIC Deducted
Employer NIC Deducted
Employer Allowance Claimed

Pension tab:

Employee Pension Deducted
Employer Pension Deducted
Employer Pension Refund
Employee RAS Refund
Employee Salary Sacrifice Refund

Take the time to check every section and ensure the values are correct.

If all information looks accurate, simply click Submit Payroll.

Your payroll run is now complete.

Important Considerations

You can leave the "run payroll" process, by clicking on the Home Icon at any time. Everything is saved automatically.
You can click the "run payroll" button as many times as you want.

Updated on: 11/12/2025

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