Edits, adjustments and overpayments (Early release)

Edits and adjustments are both ways to manually update a payslip, depending on where you’re at in the payroll process. These updates are applied on an individual payslip level. 

If you need to make bulk changes (such as adding allowances or deductions for multiple employees), it is best to do so via import.

  Please note: Because these are manual updates, they won’t appear in pre-payroll reporting or when using Award Test.

Review each tab below to see the key differences between these processes. 

Pay rates on payslips are automatically calculated by foundU using a combination of your platform configuration and approved payroll data, including:

• Award settings and position pay rules
• Approved shifts and leave applications
• Employee work patterns

  Hot tip: If you’re unsure why certain rates, penalties, or overtime values are appearing on a payslip, it’s recommended to review the result using the Award Test to confirm your platform automations and award configuration are working as expected before updating your payslip. 

While most earnings will calculate automatically, there are still situations where manual updates to line items may be required, such as:

• Adding one-off bonuses
• Paying additional hours to salaried employees
• Managing permanent employees transitioning between positions mid-pay period

  Please note: Changes made within the edit or adjustment screen are not automatically saved as you go. Refreshing or leaving the page before saving may result in your updates being lost.

Payslip details

When accessing the Edit or Adjustment screen, the first section at the top of the page will display the payslip details for the employee.

This includes:

• Employee name
• Office code
• Pay period
• Employee income type (SAW, WHM, FEI)
• Payment date 

These fields are automatically populated based on the employee profile and the operation for which the employee is being paid for that pay period.

  Please note: These fields are system-generated and cannot be edited on the payslip screen, except for the payment date.
 

Add a new position

A new position should be added when an employee needs to be paid:

• At a different pay rate or classification (e.g, Level 3 in addition to Level 2), and/ or
• From a different operation within the same pay period 

Once the position has been added, you can then apply the required line items against it.
 

To add a new position:

1. Locate and select + Add position.
2. Complete the following fields:
   • Position – Select the position and pay rates to be paid.
   • Position operation – Select the operation the position should be costed against.
   • Position state – Select the state associated with the position (used to identify the relevant rates book).
3. Select Save position. Once saved, you can begin adding line items to the position.

  Hot tip: For labour hire platforms, if the position should not be invoiced to the client, enable the 'No charge' toggle.

Add or edit a line item

Line items can be added or updated when you need to manually adjust earnings on a payslip. This may include increasing quantities, overriding pay rates, updating cost codes or purchase orders, or adding additional earnings items.
 

To add a new line item:

1. From the relevant position, select + Add.
2. Choose the type of line item to add:
   • Pay rate - Ordinary time earnings (OTE) and overtime (OT) pay rates. 
   • Allowance / Pay item - Includes overtime allowances and shift penalties. 
     
       Hot tip: You don’t need to create separate allowances or pay items for things like shift penalties or overtime meal allowances. Once configured in the position pay rules, they can be added directly from the payslip screen.
3. Once selected, the line item will be added to the relevant section of the payslip. From here, complete the following fields:
   • Type – Select the specific pay rate, allowance, or pay item to be applied. 
     
       Hot tip: Ordinary time earnings (OTE) rates are highlighted in grey, while overtime (OT) rates are highlighted in amber.

     • Method A and B allowances – If the allowance tax calculation method is configured as Method A, Method B (i), or Method B (ii), an ATO badge will display next to the line item. Select the badge to update the allowance's STP category and financial year.

       

   • Quantity – Specify the quantity to be paid (e.g, hours or units for allowances). Selecting this field will open a breakdown drawer, where you apply your updates with the following options:

     • Unallocated – Apply the total quantity without assigning it to a specific day. This will appear in the payslip breakdown summary rather than against an individual date. Comments can also be added for unallocated entries and will display on the payslip.

       
        

     • Specific date – Allocate quantities against individual days within the pay period. These will be displayed against the selected dates in the payslip breakdown. You can use a combination of unallocated and quantities assigned to specific dates; these will be totalled together for the line item.

     • Clear breakdown – Removes the existing breakdown so it can be re-entered.

       

   • Rate – Automatically populates based on the selected type; this can be manually overridden if required.
   • Amount – Displays the calculated total based on the entered quantity and rate. This field cannot be edited directly.
   • Cost code / Purchase order – Select the required cost code or purchase order for the line item.
4. Repeat this process for any additional line items required.

To edit a current line item:

1. Navigate to the relevant position and locate the line item you want to update.
2. From here, you can apply updates using the available actions:
   • Edit – Select the Quantity, Rate, or Purchase order/Cost code fields and apply your updates. 
     
       Hot tip: For an adjustment, there is no need to delete and re-add the line item; just edit the quantity to the required amount. 
      
   • Delete – Select the bin icon to remove the line item.
   • Reset – If you’ve made a change, use the reset option to reverse it. This will not undo a deletion for a payslip edit.  

Leave will automatically flow through to payslips when a leave application is approved or when leave is added to a shift in Approve Shifts. As part of your pre-payroll checks, it’s recommended to regularly review both areas to ensure no leave has been missed before generating payroll.

  Please note: TOIL and RDO balances cannot be redeemed through leave applications and must instead be managed directly via payslip edits. For more information on these processes, refer to the relevant RDO and TOIL articles.

Leave payments

While the preferred process is to manage leave through leave applications, there may be situations where leave needs to be updated or added directly to a payslip instead.

Some use cases include:

• Cashing out leave
• Retrospectively applying leave for salaried employees
• Correcting or updating leave amounts before or after payroll is generated
   

Add a leave payment to a payslip:

1. From the relevant position, select + Add, then Entitlement.
2. Once selected, the line item will be added to the relevant section of the payslip. From here, complete the following fields:
   • Type – Select the leave entitlement to be paid.  
   • Method - This is the payout method you can choose from 3 options:
     • Cash-out - Used when the employee requests a leave payout.  
     • Redeem - This is the default, and is used for leave applications. 
     • Termination - This is the default for leave processed using the termination workflow. 
   • Quantity – Enter the number of hours to be paid. Selecting this field will open a breakdown drawer, where you apply your updates with the following options:

     • Unallocated – Apply the total quantity without assigning it to a specific day. This will appear in the payslip breakdown summary rather than against an individual date. Comments can also be added for unallocated entries and will display on the payslip.

       
        

     • Specific date – Allocate quantities against individual days within the pay period. These will be displayed against the selected dates in the payslip breakdown. You can use a combination of unallocated and quantities assigned to specific dates; they will be totalled.

     • Clear breakdown – Removes the existing breakdown so it can be re-entered.

       

   • Rate – Automatically populates based on the selected entitlement type. If applicable, leave loading will display separately based on the loading percentage. Rates can be overridden if required.
   • Amount – Displays the calculated total based on the entered quantity and rate. This field cannot be edited directly.
   • Cost code / Purchase order – Select the required cost code or purchase order for the leave entitlement. 
3. Repeat this process for any other leave entitlements required. 

  Please note: Multiple line items cannot be added for the same leave entitlement, even when using different methods. These will need to be paid across separate payslips instead. This is most common when processing unused leave during terminations. 

Edit a leave payment on a payslip:

1. Navigate to the Entitlements section and locate the leave entitlement you want to update.
2. From here, you can apply updates using the available actions:
   • Edit – Select the Method, Quantity, Rate, or Purchase order/Cost code fields and apply your updates.

     • Weekend leave loading – If your award has been configured with different leave loading percentages based on the day worked (e.g 50% on Saturdays instead of 17.5%), these values will only appear for leave that has been submitted through a leave application or approved via Approve Shifts. They cannot be manually added from the edit/ adjustment screen.

       Once applied to your payslip, if you need to update the total amount being paid, edit the quantity on the leave loading line item itself rather than the total quantity on the leave entitlement. The related leave totals will then automatically recalculate.

   • Delete – Select the bin icon to remove the line item.
   • Reset – If you’ve made a change, use the reset option to reverse it. This will not undo a deletion for a payslip edit.  

Leave accruals

There are 2 ways leave accruals can be updated in foundU:

• Editing the balance directly on the employee profile
• Adjusting the accrual value through a payslip edit or adjustment

This article focuses on managing leave accruals through the payslip edit and adjustment process.

To adjust a leave accrual:

1. Navigate to the Accruals section and locate the leave accrual you want to update.
2. From here, you can apply updates using the available actions:

   • Adjust – Select the adjustment field and enter the value to apply.

     • Enter a positive value (e.g. 2 hrs) to increase the accrual.
     • Enter a negative value (e.g. -2 hrs) to decrease the accrual.
   • Comment – Select the speech icon to add a comment.
   • Reset – If you’ve made a change, use the reset option to reverse it. 

Deductions provide a quick way to apply amounts that need to be taken from an employee’s pay. You can also set up ongoing and instalment deductions directly from the payslip page, as well as apply one-off changes to a single payslip. This makes it easier to manage deductions without needing to navigate away to other areas of the system.

Common use cases include:

• Last-minute updates before generating payroll
• Editing the amount being redeemed for a single payslip only
• Recouping funds during the final payments

  Hot tip: Before you begin, make sure the deduction type is set up correctly in the system so it can be applied to the payslip. 
 

To apply a new deduction:

1. Navigate to the Deductions section and select + Add. This will open a drawer where you can set up your deductions details. 
2. Select your deduction method and make your selection from the following:
   • One-off - Total amount paid from the current payslip. Available for both edits and adjustments. 
   • Instalments - A total amount paid over multiple payslips. Available only for payslip edits.
   • Recurring - No total amount repeats over a timeframe. Available only for payslip edits.
3. Complete the deduction details:
   
     Please note: Depending on the deduction type you choose, some of the fields below may not appear. This includes the start date, as any instalment or ongoing deduction will commence from the current payslip. 
   • Deduction type - Select from your configured deductions and salary sacrifices. 
   • Account name - Name of the account to which the deduction is to be sent.
   • BSB - Account BSB for the deduction recipient. 
   • Account Number - The number of the external account to which the deduction will be sent.
   • Recur until - The period ending the deduction will end on. If no date is specified, the deduction will recur indefinitely. 
   • Total Amount - The total amount to be deducted.
   • Instalments - The instalment amount is to be deducted per payslip.
   • Deduction per payslip - The recurring amount to be deducted per payslip. 
   • Reference - A reference number or some detail for the deduction (e.g. reference number for child support, date of overpayment, etc). 
   • External reference - Used as a reference for external systems. This is not visible to the employee. 
   • Comments - Notes and details are visible only to the admin. 
4. If a threshold is required, select the Include threshold checkbox. 
   • Threshold Amount - This amount of gross income must be earned on the payslip before the deduction is applied.  
5. Select Save.

To edit an existing deduction:

1. Navigate to the Deductions section and locate the deduction you want to update.
2. From here, you can apply updates using the available actions:
   • Edit – Select either the Percentage (for percentage-based deductions) or the Amount field, then enter your updated value.
   • Delete – Select the bin icon to remove the deduction.
   • Reset – If you’ve made a change, use the reset option to reverse it. This will not undo a deletion for a payslip edit.  

  Hot tip: If you’ve added a comment or set a threshold for a deduction, the relevant icons will be highlighted next to it. You can also hover over them to view the details.

Reimbursements may need to be added manually by an admin when they haven’t already been submitted through Approve Shifts by an employee or entered by another admin user. This ensures that any eligible out-of-pocket expenses remain included on the employee’s payslip.

On payslips with reimbursements, each reimbursement will appear in the relevant section of the employee's payslip, listed as a separate line. 

The image below shows that the reimbursement amount does not affect the employee's Gross or Net Pay because it is not technically part of wages. 

  Hot tip: Before you begin, make sure the reimbursement type is set up correctly in the system so it can be applied to the payslip. 

To add a reimbursement to a payslip:

1. Navigate to the Reimbursements section and select + Add. 
2. Complete the following details:
   • Type - Choose the reimbursement type from the list. 
   • Amount - The value to be reimbursed. 
   • Cost Code / Purchase Order - Where the reimbursement should be costed. 

To edit an existing reimbursement:

1. Navigate to the Reimbursements section and locate the deduction you want to update.
2. From here, you can apply updates using the available actions:
   • Edit – Select any field, including Type, and update its details. 
   • Delete – Select the bin icon to remove the reimbursement.
   • Reset – If you’ve made a change, use the reset option to reverse it. This will not undo a deletion for a payslip edit.  

Tax and superannuation are automatically calculated on payslips based on the employee and platform setup.

Tax is calculated using the employee’s TFN declaration details, while superannuation is calculated from earnings configured to contribute towards Qualified Earnings (QE).

When creating an edit or adjustment, these fields will automatically recalculate as payslip updates are made. Calculations can also consider multiple payslips within the same pay period, where applicable.
 

Tax

When creating an edit or adjustment, you can manually override the tax amount for an employee by entering a new dollar value for that payslip.

This is commonly done when:

• Additional tax needs to be withheld for a pay period
• A different tax treatment needs to be applied for a specific pay run
• An employee’s TFN declaration details or exemption status are incorrect or outdated

Where possible, any ongoing tax changes should be managed by the employee by updating their TFN declaration in the app. Employees can also update their details if they would like additional tax withheld from future payslips.
 

To override tax on a payslip:

1. Navigate to the totals bar at the bottom of the screen and select Tax.
2. Update the relevant fields by entering the new total to be applied to the payslip. Available fields may include:
   • PAYG - Total amount of tax to be paid. 
   • Foreign tax - Available for employees with the FEI income type. 

Once updated, the override will be identified by an amber dot. If needed, you can remove the override by selecting reset, which restores the original calculated total.

Superannuation

Superannuation values can also be manually updated during an edit or adjustment where additional contributions or corrections are required for a payslip.

Common reasons for overriding superannuation include:

• Applying a one-off additional super payment.
• Updating salary sacrifice amounts.
• Manually increasing superannuation for payments such as backpay, bonuses, or commissions, where additional super is being provided.

  Hot tip: Before adding additional employer contributions or salary sacrifice amounts, make sure these settings have been enabled in both Superannuation Settings and the employee profile before proceeding. 
 

To override superannuation on a payslip:

1. Navigate to the totals bar at the bottom of the screen and select Super.
2. Update the relevant fields by entering the new total to be applied to the payslip. Available fields may include:
   • Super guarantee
   • Super salary sacrifice
   • Employer additional contribution (percentage or dollar-based, depending on the setup)
   • Employee additional contribution (percentage or dollar-based, depending on the setup)

Once updated, the override will be identified by an amber dot. If needed, you can remove the override by selecting reset, which restores the original calculated total.

Once you’ve finished making updates to the payslip, the next step is to review and apply your changes. A number of features are available throughout the page to help you confirm the updates being applied and understand the impact on the payslip totals.

We will look at each of these below.
 

Totals bar 

The totals bar remains fixed at the bottom of the page while scrolling, making it easy to track the impact of your changes as you work through the payslip.

Totals will automatically update whenever changes are made. Any difference between the original payslip total and the updated total will display beneath the relevant field:

• Increases will display in green

• Decreases will display in red

This allows you to quickly review how edits or adjustments are affecting the employee’s pay, tax, and superannuation totals.

Previewing the payslip

You can review a copy of the draft payslip at any time by selecting Preview. This will open the payslip in a side drawer, allowing you to review how your changes will appear before saving and generating pay.

  Please note: Adjustment payslips will only display items that have changed from the original payslip. Any added, edited, or removed items will appear, while unchanged items from the original payslip will not be displayed.

Comments

When saving changes, it’s recommended to leave comments explaining why the payslip was updated.

There are 2 types of comments available:

• Payslip comment – Visible to the employee on their payslip.
• Audit history comment – Internal only and visible within the payslip history for auditing and business record purposes.

Using comments helps provide clarity for both employees and payroll administrators when reviewing payslip changes later.

Applying your changes

Changes made to a payslip are only saved at the end of the process, rather than automatically as you go. Because of this, it’s important not to refresh or leave the page while making updates, as any unsaved changes may be lost.

Before finalising, it’s recommended to review your updates using the preview and totals features to ensure all changes have been applied correctly.

The process for applying changes differs slightly depending on whether you’re working with an edit or an adjustment.

This section relates to adjustments only. Edits are completed on draft payslips before payroll is generated, so there’s no need to manage payment differences or ABA impacts at that stage.

When updating a generated payslip using an adjustment, there are two key things to consider:

• Is the adjustment creating an underpayment or an overpayment?
• Has the original ABA already been paid to the employee?

The sections below cover how underpayments and overpayments are managed through adjustments, including what happens with ABA files in each scenario.

  Please note: If there is no monetary difference on the adjustment (e.g, only updating cost codes or purchase orders), creating the adjustment will simply apply the update with no additional payment actions required.