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Administrator Guide
Last Updated: 2026-06-12
Steps: Process Retro Payroll

Steps: Process Retro Payroll

  • Review setup considerations for retro processing.
  • Set up retro processing.
  • Run retro, cancel the results, and set an initial No Retro Processing Prior To date using the
    Change No Retro Processing Prior To
     web service. This practice reduces the number of unsupported retro events when you first run retro.
You can recalculate workers' earnings and deductions for a supported retro event in completed pay periods. You can then process the differences in the workers' payroll.
  1. (Optional) Access the
    Run Retro Pay Calculation Preprocessor
     task.
    You can use this task to get insights into the number of workers that require a retro pay calculation for a specific pay group. This enables you to anticipate processing times and identify specific workers that might cause performance delays in upcoming retro calculation runs. See Concept: Retro Pay Calculation Preprocessor.
    Security:
    Process: Run Batch Calculations (Retro Calculation)
    domain in the Core Payroll functional area.
  2. Run a retro pay calculation to generate retro differences.
  3. Review retro results.
  4. Recalculate payroll to pay the retro differences.
    When workers have additional retro events after you calculate their regular payroll, you must recalculate that regular payroll.
    You can view the processed retro differences on the
    Gross to Net
     and
    Additional Pay Components
     tabs of the workers' payroll results.
  5. Access the
    Run Retro Pay Complete
    task.
    Complete retro results for pay groups and pay periods with:
    • No payroll process running for any pay groups.
    • No in-progress on-demand replacement payments.
    • No workers with a retro pay calculation status of
      Requires Recalculation
       or
      Error
      . Correct and recalculate retro as needed for those workers. Example: When you complete on-demand additional payments while retro is
      In Progress
      , Workday assigns the
      Requires Re-calculation
       status to the retro result.
    Workday marks retro results as
    Complete
     and you can't rerun retro or suspend the results.
    Security:
    Process: Run Batch Complete (Retro Complete)
     domain in the Core Payroll functional area.
  6. Run your final pay calculation and complete it.
    Complete off-cycle payments with retro before completing on-cycle payments for the same period.