Payroll — the number you key

This tab computes each teacher’s pay total for a semi-monthly period. The hint at the top says it plainly: “The PAY THIS number per teacher = base schedule − unpaid leave.” The small flex over/unders are not in it.

Choosing the period

• How to use it — Use ‹ and › to move between months, and the 1–15 / 16–end toggle to pick the half. The two halves each month match QuickBooks semi-monthly payroll.
• Empty state — If nobody is scheduled: “No teachers scheduled in this period. Set a schedule under Staff.”

PAY THIS — the one number to key

• What it is — The big green figure on each teacher card, labelled PAY THIS. It equals base scheduled hours minus unpaid leave. The line under it shows the maths: “base N hr (D days) − unpaid leave N hr”, and the schedule it used.
• How to use it — This is the number you type into QuickBooks for that teacher’s worked hours. (Stat-holiday pay is added separately in QBO — this figure is worked hours only.)

It changes label after a confirmation

Once a period is confirmed or locked, the card shows the frozen attested number, not a fresh recompute. After a locked period is re-opened for a fix, it shows KEY (correction) instead — see Confirmations & locking. If it shows “⏳ re-opened — don’t key yet”, don’t key anything until it’s re-locked.

The warning banners

The card refuses to hide a shaky total. You may see:

• “⚠ No schedule set … this total is not reliable. Set it below.” — no working days / daily hours yet.
• An inactive teacher who still shows paid days — confirm her last day is right.
• “0 working days this period — check her schedule” — likely a wrong schedule or start/end date.
• “N pending report(s) not yet approved — approve them first so this total is final.”

Itemized entries + undo

• What it is — Below the total, each recorded entry for the period is listed and tagged [flex] (banks) or [leave] (reduces pay), with the amount.
• undo — Each entry has a small undo button. It asks “Undo the … on …?” and, on yes, voids the entry. Voiding is how approved entries are corrected — they’re never deleted, so the 4-year record stays intact. Void the wrong one, then re-record the right value.

Record time off / hours (drawer)

• What it is — Opens a form to record something for that teacher. The What menu is split into two groups: Unpaid leave (reduces pay) — Day off — whole day and Leave — part of a day — and Flex (banks, does NOT change pay) — Add flex hours (worked extra) and Deduct flex hours (worked less).
• How to use it — Pick the kind and a date. A Day off can span a range using Through (optional) (one marker per scheduled working day). The other kinds ask for Hours. Add an optional note (e.g. “e.g. sick, doctor”) and tap Record.
• Watch out — Only the office can record day-off / leave — teachers can’t. A day already carrying a deduction is skipped (you’ll see “N day(s) skipped — already had an entry”). And a single flex entry over 2 hours is refused — record it as leave instead.

Schedule (drawer)

• What it is — Sets the teacher’s working pattern: Working days (tap the Mon–Sun chips), Hours per day, and optional Hired on (optional) / Ended on (optional) dates.
• Why it matters — The whole PAY THIS total is built from this. Set “Hired on” for a new hire so she isn’t paid for days before she started. You must pick at least one working day (“Pick at least one working day.”). Tap Save schedule.

Daycare closures (stat holidays)

• What it is — A shared list under the Payroll tab: “A closed day removes that day’s base hours for every teacher whose schedule includes it.”
• How to use it — Add a Date and optional Note (optional) (e.g. “e.g. Canada Day”), tap Add closure. Each closure has a Remove button. Adding a closure changes pay for everyone scheduled that day.

The ⚖ flex line on the card

• What it is — A dashed box showing that teacher’s all-time flex bank — e.g. “⚖ flex: +2.5 hr banked” — with the reminder “(all-time bank — not pay; full roster on the Flex tab)”. It has ledger and settle links.
• Watch out — This number is never keyed into payroll. It lives here only so you can see the full picture; the keyable number is PAY THIS above it.

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Next: Confirmations & locking →