Skip to main content
Documentation
Documentation
Administrator Guide
Last Updated: 2026-04-17
Reverse a Completed Payroll Calculation

Reverse a Completed Payroll Calculation

  • The pay calculation that you want to reverse is complete, but not yet reconciled with your bank statement.
  • Security:
    Process: Off-Cycle (Reversal)
     domain in the Core Payroll functional area.
You can reverse a payment for a worker in a completed pay period as long as the pay period:
  • Hasn't been reconciled.
  • Doesn't have payroll accounting adjustments.
  • Doesn't have an escheatment
    in progress
     or
    escheated
     status.
  • Doesn't have associated journals in error.
If you've issued a payment reversal to your financial institution, Workday recommends you wait for confirmation that they've returned the funds before reversing the payroll calculation.
You can't reverse a payment for a worker who has a next period on-demand payment. You'll need to either:
  • Cancel the next period on-demand payment.
  • Wait until the next period becomes the current
    In Progress
     period.
Workday doesn't settle reversals. The original payment and the reversal remain on the books. When you reverse a pay on-demand result, the amount isn't available to request again. To make the amount available to request again, rescind the business process instead.
When the accounting date of the payroll result is in an open ledger period, Workday:
  • Associates the reversal result with the reporting period you select on the
    Reversal Pay Calculation
     related action.
  • Creates reversing journal lines in the Payroll Actual Accrual Journal and uses the accounting date from the original Operational Journal.
When the accounting date of the payroll result is in a closed ledger period, Workday:
  • Associates the reversal result with the reporting period you select on the
    Reversal Pay Calculation
     related action.
  • Creates reversing journal lines in the Payroll Actual Accrual Journal and uses the first day of the next open ledger period as the accounting date.
When you don't use Workday for accounting, you might find discrepancies when you leave accounting periods open. Workday recommends that you configure business processes to include closing accounting periods.
  1. Access the pay calculation that you want to reverse:
    1. Access the
      Pay Calculation Results for Worker
       report.
    2. From the related actions menu of the payroll result, select
      Pay Calculation
      Reversal
      .
  2. As you complete the task, consider:
    Option Description
    Prior Period
    Select to apply the reversal to a prior reporting period.
    You can select any period in the 6 calendar years preceding the current year. Workday determines the current year as the year of
    In Progress
     results or the next period to be calculated.
    Reporting Period
    The reporting period must be in the same calendar year as the original payment date.
    Reporting Pay Group Detail
    When the selected
    Reporting Period
     is:
    • Current period: Use any run category associated with the original payment pay group.
    • Prior period: Use the run category for the original payment or regular run category for the pay group.
    Reversal Date
    Must be on or after the payment date of the period you’re reversing and in the same calendar year.
Workday updates pay accumulation and pay balance results. For balances based on:
  • Period dates: Workday updates the balances for the selected
    Reporting Period
    .
  • Payment dates: Workday updates balances for the period that includes the
    Payment Date
     you reversed.
Create a new off-cycle payment using the details from the original reversed transaction, review the entries, and complete the off-cycle to process the payments.
.