# Set up payroll in Pathshala

> Follow the 7-step "Get payroll ready" checklist — address, TAN, pay day, PF/ESI/PT, salaries, bank details and your first pay run.

Source: https://pathshala.mjxtechnologies.com/docs/payroll/set-up-payroll/

Setting up MJX Payroll takes seven short steps. In Pathshala the **Payroll** screen shows a **Get payroll ready** panel — "Finish these and you can pay everybody in a few taps." — with a progress bar ("3 / 7 done") until every step is complete.

> [!PATH] Apps › Payroll › Payroll

![Get payroll ready checklist with the Do this now button marked on the next step](media/payroll/set-up-payroll-1.jpg "Apps › Payroll › Payroll › Do this now")

Each step has a button. The next step to do shows [[Do this now]]; the others show [[Open]]. A finished step says **COMPLETED**.

## Steps to get payroll ready

1. **Your organisation's details** — the name and address printed on every payslip. Opens **Settings**. If the address is missing you see "Add your address — it is printed on every payslip."
2. **Your tax details** — the TAN that goes on the TDS return and on Form 16. Opens **Filing** › **Your numbers**. Type the **TAN** and press [[Save]].
3. **Your pay day** — which day of the month salaries are paid on. Opens **Pay runs**. Fill in "Which day of the month do you pay on?" and press [[Save]].
4. **PF, ESI and professional tax** — whether they apply to you, and at what rates. Opens **PF, ESI & PT**. Saving with nothing ticked is a valid answer. See [PF, ESI and PT](payroll/statutory-pf-esi-pt).
5. **A salary for everybody** — what each person is paid, and since when. Opens **Payroll** (Salaries). The step shows how many people have a salary, for example "8 of 10". See [salary structures](payroll/salary-structures).
6. **Where the salaries go** — a bank account, or cash, or cheque, for each person. Opens **Where salaries go**.
7. **Run your first month** — draft, approve, record the payment, send the payslips. Opens **Pay runs**. See [run payroll and issue payslips](payroll/run-payroll-and-payslips).

> [!SUCCESS]
> When all seven are done, the panel disappears and the Payroll screen opens straight on **Salaries on file**.

> [!NOTE]
> A step that could not be checked says "Could not be checked just now — open it to see." It is counted in the total but never as done.

## How to add your people first

Payroll pays people who are already on the staff list. Add them on the **People** screen first — see [employees](people/employees). Each person needs a login if they are to open their own payslip or receive it on WhatsApp and email (it goes to the mobile and email on their login).

## How to set where salaries go

> [!PATH] Apps › Payroll › Payroll › Where salaries go

![Where salaries go screen with its tab marked, showing Paid by (Bank transfer, Cash, Cheque) and the account fields for one person](media/payroll/set-up-payroll-2.jpg "Apps › Payroll › Payroll › Where salaries go")

1. Find the person in the list.
2. Under **Paid by**, choose **Bank transfer**, **Cash** or **Cheque**.
3. For a bank transfer, type the **Account number** (9 to 18 digits), the **IFSC**, and optionally **Bank**, **Branch** and **Name on the account** ("Only if the bank has it differently").
4. Press [[Save]]. To clear the details, press [[Remove these details]].

The screen shows counters: **On payroll**, **Ready to transfer**, **No account yet** and **Cash / cheque**.

> [!IMPORTANT]
> The account number is encrypted the moment you save it. From then on every screen shows only the last four digits. The full number appears in one place only: the bank-transfer sheet you download for your bank. To change it, type a new number; leave the box blank to keep the one on file.

Saving bank details needs **MJX Payroll Basic** or above (the same feature as the bank-transfer sheet). On Forever Free you can read the screen but nothing can be saved.

## Pay run settings

> [!PATH] Apps › Payroll › Payroll › Pay runs

![Settings at the bottom of the Pay runs screen — who can approve, pay day, payslip password, signature and seal — with their Save button marked](media/payroll/set-up-payroll-3.jpg "Apps › Payroll › Payroll › Pay runs")

The bottom of the Pay runs screen holds the settings for every month:

| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Who can approve a pay run** | **Anyone in the office can approve** — one press; whoever prepares the month can approve it too (the usual choice). **Two people — whoever prepares it cannot approve it** — an admin prepares, the owner approves. If you are the only person in the office, you can always approve your own. |
| **Which day of the month do you pay on?** | 1 to 31. Leave it empty if there is no fixed day. A shorter month uses its last day — the 31st becomes the 28th in February. |
| **Put a password on each person's payslip PDF** | The password is the first 5 letters of their PAN in capitals, then the day and month of birth. A PAN starting ABCDE and a birthday on 7 December gives **ABCDE0712**. It applies to their download and to the copy sent on WhatsApp or email. Your own printed bundle is never locked. |
| **Print your signature and seal on every payslip** | Uses the same signature and seal your certificates and offer letters print. Upload them in **Settings › Signature & seal**. |

Press [[Save]] after changing any of them.

> [!WARNING]
> Somebody you have no PAN or no date of birth for gets an **unlocked** payslip, not a locked one they cannot open. The pay run screen tells you how many people that is. Add PAN on **Filing › Each person's numbers**.

> [!NOTE]
> Turning the signature and seal on changes how payslips are **printed**, so months you have already issued will print with it too. No figure on any payslip changes.

## Unpaid leave and loss of pay

> [!PATH] Apps › Payroll › Payroll › Payslips

![Unpaid leave & loss of pay card on the Payslips screen, marked](media/payroll/set-up-payroll-4.jpg "Apps › Payroll › Payroll › Payslips › Unpaid leave & loss of pay")

The **Unpaid leave & loss of pay** card on the Payslips screen sets how time off is costed:

- Tick **Deduct for days taken as leave without pay**.
- Choose **What one day is worth**:
  - **One thirtieth of the month** — every day counts, Sundays included.
  - **One twenty-sixth of the month** — the standard six-day working month.
  - **One day out of the days that month had** — a day off in February costs a little more than one in March.
- With **MJX Attendance Pro**, you can also tick **Cut pay for days the attendance register says absent** (a half day costs half), and set "Every __ late marks = half a day's pay". A day nobody marked is never counted, nor a day inside approved leave.
- Press [[Save]].

Days taken beyond a leave policy are not deducted. They show on the **Leave** screen. See [leave](people/leave).

## Who can set up payroll?

| Task | Who |
|---|---|
| Salaries | Owner and admin, or anyone given **Set Salaries** |
| Pay run settings, unpaid-leave policy | Owner and admin, or anyone given **Manage Payroll** |
| PF, ESI & PT, Filing numbers | Owner and admin, or anyone given **Manage Filings** |
| Where salaries go | Owner and admin, or anyone given **Prepare a Pay Run** |

Permissions are set in **Sidebar › Roles & permissions**. See [roles and managers](people/roles-and-managers).

## Questions people ask

### Do I have to finish every step before I can pay anybody?

No. The checklist only shows what is still missing. You can create and approve a pay run at any time, and the pay run lists any gaps under "Worth sorting out first".

### We do not deduct PF, ESI or professional tax. What do I do with step 4?

Open PF, ESI & PT and save with nothing switched on. "None of them" is a valid answer and marks the step done.

### Can I put a password on payslips?

Yes. On Pay runs, tick "Put a password on each person's payslip PDF". The password is the first 5 letters of their PAN in capitals plus their day and month of birth.

### Where do I upload the signature printed on payslips?

In Settings › Signature & seal. Then tick "Print your signature and seal on every payslip" on the Pay runs screen.