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Administrator Guide
Last Updated: 2025-03-14
Calculate On-Cycle Payroll

Calculate On-Cycle Payroll

  • Complete the prior pay period.
  • Enter or load payroll input for the current period.
  • Calculate payments for any retroactive changes.
  • Ensure that no retro payroll processes are running for any pay groups.
  • Security:
    Process: Run Batch Calculations (Pay Calculation)
     domain in the Core Payroll functional area.
You can run a pay calculation and review the calculation results at any point during your payroll processing. Running a pay calculation creates both gross-to-net and accounting results.
You can use the
Smart Calculation
 options to limit calculations to workers with payroll-impacting events. Excluding workers whose results haven't changed can speed up calculations and recalculations. For greater control, you can use the
Configure Smart Calculation Event Processing
 task (secured to the
Set Up: Payroll
 domain in the Core Payroll functional area) to exclude specific events for each country in which you use Workday Payroll.
While the Smart Calculation options limit the workers processed, the payroll result for an included worker reflects all payroll-impacting events.
You can use these web services to start a pay calculation process and then retrieve the status of the process:
  • Get Run Pay Calculation
  • Put Run Pay Calculation
  1. Access the
    Run Pay Calculation
     task.
    For most tasks in Workday with the
    Period
     or
    Pay Run Groups and/or Pay Group Details
     prompts, you can refine your search for periods and pay groups by month, year, period schedule name, or run category.
  2. As you complete the task, consider:
    Option Description
    Employees to Calculate
    Select:
    • Smart Calculation
       to include only workers whose pay results have changed. Workday recommends this option for most calculations and recalculations. This option includes all workers with statuses:
      • Not Yet Started
      • Requires Recalculation
      • Waiting to Pick Up Retro Difference
      It also includes workers with payroll-impacting events with statuses:
      • In Error
      • In Progress
      • Pending Completion of Prior
      • Pending Completion of Retro
    • Smart Calculation Based on Events
       to focus on 1 or more specific payroll-impacting event types. This option includes workers who have payroll-impacting events in a category you select, with statuses:
      • In Error
      • In Progress
      • Requires Recalculation
      • Waiting to Pick Up Retro Difference
    • Based on Results Status
       to include only workers with one or more selected pay result statuses. Example: Select
      Not Yet Started
       to limit the calculation to midperiod new hires and exclude all other workers.
    • Workers
       to include only selected workers. Enter the name or ID of one or more workers who are in, or have a pay result in, the selected pay group or pay run group. You can't select workers whose Pay result is
      Not Yet Started
       when the pay group is
      Completed with Exceptions
      .
    Workday doesn't consider configuration changes as selection criteria, but does include them in payroll calculations for included employees. To include midperiod configuration changes for all employees, select
    In Progress
     from the
    Based on Result Status
     prompt.
    Limit Accounting Population Based on Calculation Criteria
    Select the check box to optimize calculation times by only processing accounting results that meet your calculation criteria. When you're ready to complete payroll, clear the check box to include recent costing allocation changes and refresh accounting for the entire population.
    Example: As a payroll administrator, you use
    Run Pay Calculation
     to calculate regular pay for 100 workers. The results are 95
    In Progress
     and 5
    In Error
    . After fixing the errors, you want to recalculate only the 5 results that were in error. You select
    Error
     from the
    Based on Results Status
     prompt. You also select the
    Limit Accounting Population Based on Calculation Criteria
     check box.
    When all 5 results are
    In Progress
    , you want to run the pay calculation for all workers. You use
    Run Pay Calculation
     and clear the
    Limit Accounting Population Based on Calculation Criteria
     check box to refresh accounting for all 100 workers.
  3. (Optional) To run the payroll at a specified time in the future, or on a recurring schedule, click
    Schedule a Pay Calculation
    .
    To get an idea of how long your calculation could take, compare the
    Current Processing Time
     and the
    Average Processing Time
    .
    Average Processing Time
     displays only if there were calculations within the last 90 days with the same
    Calculation Criteria
    .
    Pay Groups
     and
    Pay Run Groups
     aren't considered an exact match, even if the pay groups within the pay run group are a match.
Workday automatically runs these jobs:
  1. Run Pay Accounting
  2. Persist Payroll Balance Data
The
Persist Payroll Balance Data
 job enhances data retrieval by grouping result lines by worker and year to create a worker result line group. When the job process runs, Workday queues other jobs and tasks for the same pay group and period. You can view the job processes on the
Process Monitor
 report.
The payroll status is
In Progress
 when at least 1 worker has gross-to-net results.
Correct errors (if any) and recalculate payroll as needed before you complete the period. You can recalculate:
  • An individual payroll result. Select
    Re-Calculate
     from the
    Pay Calculation
     related actions menu.
  • Only the payroll results with a specific calculation status. Select the status from the
    Based on Result Status
     prompt, and select
    Limit Accounting Population Based on Calculation Criteria
    .
  • Only the payroll results of employees with payroll-impacting events. Select the event category from the
    Based on Events
     prompt and select
    Limit Accounting Population Based on Calculation Criteria
    .
  • The entire payroll. Select all statuses from the
    Based on Result Status
     prompt and clear the
    Limit Accounting Population Based on Calculation Criteria
     check box.
If you recalculate a payroll result with a payroll third-party payable item, it displays as a changed payroll result, even if you didn't make any changes to it. This behavior does not occur when you enable Smart Calculation options. For more information, see Concept: Payroll Third-Party Payable Items.
If you identify operational journals with errors, correct any posting, ledger period, or other accounting entries. Then rerun the accounting process. See Concept: Reviewing Payroll Accounting.
For Payroll for Canada, the UK, and the U.S., if you manage grants and multicompany awards, review the
Grant Multi Company Audit for Pay Calculation Results
 report. The report displays worker payroll results for grants where the award line company is different from the company on the pay result line.