Keep a record of who you pay, the hours they work and the leave they take. You can also work out UK PAYE pay for regular weekly or monthly wages.
The calculator makes a draft for you to review. It does not pay anyone and it sends nothing to HMRC.
⚠️ Warning: The payroll calculator does not submit a Full Payment Submission or an Employer Payment Summary. Keep your existing HMRC reporting arrangements, and check the services table in Settings before you change them.
⚠️ Warning: This article explains how the screens work. It is not payroll, tax or accounting advice, and NeroPay is not your tax agent, accountant or payroll adviser. A wrong tax code, National Insurance category or opening balance produces the wrong deductions, and putting that right stays with you as the employer — check them against the HMRC notice or with your payroll adviser.
The People register
Everything payroll starts here, at People → People.
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Name / description | their name — required |
| where the payslip goes — required; use an address only that person can read | |
| Worker Type | employee, contractor or director — required |
| Start Date | when they started — required |
| Director Appointed On | directors only — the verified appointment date |
| Notes | anything you want kept with the record |
💡 Note: A director's appointment date matters. The directors-only National Insurance method only works where a verified date is on the record.
⚠️ Warning: These records hold personal information about real people. Only enter what you need and are allowed to keep, and give payroll access only to those who need it.
Time and leave
| Register | What you record | What it does not do |
|---|---|---|
| Time entries | a description, the person, the date, minutes and a note | hours for a pay calculation go on the calculator itself |
| Leave requests | a description, the person, dates, hours and type | it does not work out entitlement or reduce pay |
⚠️ Warning: Leave records can show why someone was absent. Sickness information is health data under UK data protection law, and needs a lawful basis and tighter access than ordinary records. Keep notes to a minimum and limit who can see them.
Working out pay
At People → Payroll records, Calculate payroll works out PAYE, National Insurance and student loan deductions for regular weekly or monthly employee pay.
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Employee | from your People register |
| Earnings period from / to | what the pay covers |
| Actual pay date | when you pay it — the tax week or month comes from this |
| Pay frequency | monthly or weekly |
| Gross pay | ordinary cash earnings, taxable and subject to NI |
| HMRC tax code | as issued, including any S or C prefix |
| Tax basis | cumulative, or Week 1 / Month 1 if the code says so |
| National Insurance category | the HMRC letter for this person |
| Student loan plan | none, or plan 1, 2, 4 or 5; postgraduate is separate |
| Opening PAYE balances | pay and PAYE already recorded this tax year |
| Pension and other deductions | employee pension after tax, employer pension, other fixed post-tax deductions |
| Pay basis | salary, or hourly with hours paid |
Two ticks follow: that this is a supported regular case, and that you have checked the tax code, NI category, loan notices and opening balances. Calculate and create draft then makes a draft pay record.
Opening PAYE balances
Needed for the first calculation you run for someone in a tax year, including pay from a previous job that year. Only enter zero if you have confirmed it is zero. Later calculations reuse the last finalised figures, and these do not post to your accounts.
Directors
Directors can use the standard annual National Insurance method. It needs a director record with a verified appointment date, an NI category of A, B, C or J that does not change during the year, and an annual or pro-rata annual earnings period.
When not to use it
The calculator covers supported regular pay. Use your usual payroll route for any of these.
- Directors on the alternative NI method, or a category that changes mid-year
- Irregular pay, or more than one payment in a tax period
- Week 53
- Statutory pay of any kind
- Benefits in kind and salary sacrifice
- Net-pay pension schemes — only relief at source is supported
- Attachment orders and protected earnings
- Corrections to payroll already finalised
💡 Note: Pension eligibility, minimum contributions and automatic enrolment assessment are not done anywhere in NeroBooks.
Pay records by hand
＋ Add payroll record stores amounts you worked out elsewhere and checked yourself. Fields cover gross, PAYE, employee NI, pension, student and postgraduate loan, other deductions, employer NI and employer pension, plus the period and pay date.
Payslips
Finalising a pay record schedules a payslip email to the address on that person's record. The delivery card lists recipient, time and status, in UTC. Set an accent colour and footer note in Settings.
⚠️ Warning: Scheduling a payslip does not pay the employee and reports nothing to HMRC. Paying the money is a separate step you do yourself.
Frequently asked questions
Does finalising payroll pay my employee?
No. It creates the record and schedules a payslip email. You make the payment however you normally do.
Do time entries feed into pay?
Hours for a calculation are entered on the calculator itself. The time register is a separate record of hours worked.
I do not know someone's opening PAYE balances.
Get them from their P45 or your previous payroll records. Entering zero when it is not zero produces the wrong tax.
Can I calculate pay for a contractor?
The calculator is for employee pay under PAYE. Contractors can sit in the People register, but how you pay them is separate.
My situation is on the unsupported list.
Use your usual payroll route for that run, then record the result with Add payroll record so your books stay complete.
This article explains how NeroBooks works. It is general information about the software, not accounting, tax or financial advice. Nero Panda Ltd, trading as NeroPay, is not a tax agent, accountancy firm or financial adviser.
Still need help? Contact us at support@neropay.app or create a ticket.