Payroll Software — Layout Summary (Narrative + Key Points)

The payroll software is designed to move through a logical, real-world workflow:​

first setting up the company, then adding employees, running payroll, issuing paystubs,
calculating liabilities, and finally preparing government forms.​
Each stage is represented by its own clean interface section.

1. Dashboard – The Control Center

When the user logs in, they’ll see an intuitive dashboard giving a high-level view of all payroll
activities.​
It acts as the command center of the software.

Main elements:

●​ Quick tiles showing Companies, Recent Payrolls, Upcoming Liabilities, and

Quarter-to-Date totals.

●​ Action buttons to Create New Company, Run Payroll, or Add Employee.

●​ At a glance, the user can view which liabilities (941, RT-6, etc.) are due for the month
and which payrolls are pending approval.

2. Company Setup – Creating a New Company

The first operational step is setting up the company that will issue payroll.​
This section captures the employer’s essential identifying information and default tax rates.

Information collected:

●​ Company Name

●​ Address, City, State, ZIP

 ●​ Email address and phone number

●​ Federal EIN}

Configuration options:

●​ Default pay frequency: Weekly, Bi-Weekly, or Monthly

 ●​ FUTA (Form 940) rate – defaults to 0.6% (for the first $7,000 wages per employee
annually)

●​ Florida RT-6 rate – defaults to 2.7% (can be edited) (for the first $7,000 wages per
employee annually)

●​ Optional toggles for:

o​ Applying the Social Security wage base limit

o​ Adding the Additional Medicare Tax (0.9%)

o​ Enabling state/local payroll modules later

Once saved, the company profile becomes the central record that ties together all employees,
payroll runs, and forms.

3. Employee Management – Adding Workers

After the company is created, the user moves to adding employees.​

Each employee profile stores personal and pay information that persists across payrolls.

Employee fields include:

●​ First name, last name, date of birth, and Social Security number (masked)
●​ Start date and employment status (Active/Inactive)

●​ Pay Category → Hourly or Salary

●​ Pay Frequency → Weekly / Bi-Weekly / Monthly

●​ Hourly rate or Monthly salary amount

●​ Federal withholding override (optional) – percentage, dollar amount, or zero

Features:

●​ Employee master records are permanent and editable later.

●​ YTD totals and historical payrolls automatically accumulate in each profile.

●​ Import/export options allow batch entry or backup.

4. Running Payroll – Step-by-Step Wizard

This is the operational heart of the system. The payroll wizard walks the user through the pay
cycle in four clear stages.

Step A: Select Pay Period

●​ Choose Start Date, End Date, and Pay Date.

●​ The system automatically suggests pay period dates based on the chosen frequency but
allows manual override.
Step B: Select Employees

●​ Active employees appear in a checklist.

●​ The user can include or exclude individuals for that run.

Step C: Enter Pay Details

For each selected employee:

●​ Input hours and rate (if hourly) or monthly amount (if salary).

●​ The system automatically computes:

o​ Gross Pay = Hours × Rate (hourly) or entered salary (monthly)

o​ Employee Social Security = 6.2% × Gross

o​ Employee Medicare = 1.45% × Gross

o​ Federal Withholding = 5% × Gross (default, but editable)

o​ Net Pay = Gross − SS − Medicare − Withholding

o​ Employer SS & Medicare (same rates as employee side, for liability only)
A side panel shows the employee’s YTD Gross Pay, automatically updated from previous runs.

Step D: Review & Approve

●​ The final summary lists all employees, totals, and any overrides (like 0% FIT).

●​ Once approved, the payroll is locked and paystubs are generated.

5. Paystubs & Paychecks

After approval, the system creates paystubs for each employee in a uniform format.

Each paystub includes:

●​ Company details (name, EIN, address)

●​ Employee info (name, last-4 SSN)

●​ Pay period and pay date

●​ Earnings summary (hours/rate or salary)

●​ Deductions: SS, Medicare, and Federal withholding

●​ Net pay

●​ Year-to-Date totals for Gross, SS, Medicare, and FIT

●​ Employer’s matching taxes shown separately for reference

All paystubs can be downloaded, emailed, or printed as a batch.

6. Liability Calculations – Employer’s Perspective

The system automatically tracks how much the company owes in taxes based on each payrun.

Monthly (941 Deposit Liability):

●​ Combines employee and employer Social Security + Medicare taxes

●​ Adds federal withholding from all employees

●​ Gives a total 941 deposit due for the month

Annual (940 FUTA Liability):

●​ 0.6% of the first $7,000 of each employee’s annual gross pay

State (Florida RT-6):

●​ 2.7% (default, editable) of the first $7,000 of each employee’s annual gross pay

These liability summaries are displayed in a clean table with month-by-month totals and caps
shown per employee.
7. Forms & Reports

From all stored payroll data, the system auto-fills standard payroll forms:

●​ IRS Form 941 (Quarterly) → Wages, FICA, and FIT withheld

●​ IRS Form 940 (Annual) → FUTA wages and tax

●​ Form W-2 (Annual) → Employee wage and tax statement

●​ Florida RT-6 (Quarterly) → State unemployment tax report

Users can preview, export, or print the pre-filled forms directly from this tab.

8. Rules, Security, and Behavior

●​ YTD totals reset automatically on January 1 each year.

●​ Pay date determines which quarter/year the payroll belongs to.

●​ Federal withholding can be overridden or set to zero, but a warning displays.

●​ SSN and DOB data are encrypted and masked on the user interface.

●​ An audit log records all edits, approvals, and overrides.

9. Calculation Summary (for clarity)

●​ Employee SS: 6.2% × Gross Pay

●​ Employee Medicare: 1.45% × Gross Pay

●​ Federal Withholding: Default 5% × Gross (changeable)

●​ Net Pay: Gross − (SS + Medicare + FIT)

●​ Employer SS: 6.2% × Gross Pay

●​ Employer Medicare: 1.45% × Gross Pay

●​ 941 Deposit: EE + ER SS/Med + FIT

●​ FUTA (940): 0.6% × first $7,000 per employee annually

●​ RT-6: 2.7% × first $7,000 per employee annually (editable rate)

10. Narrative Summary

In short, this payroll system functions like a streamlined accountant’s toolkit.​

It lets you create a company, add employees, and run payroll in just a few guided screens.​
Each payrun automatically computes employee deductions, employer liabilities, and YTD totals,
while quietly feeding those numbers into IRS and Florida forms in the background.​
Everything is connected — from employee records to paystubs to tax filings — ensuring the
process feels smooth, transparent, and audit-ready at every step.