Understand the outcome

Payroll calculates and explains pay; your provider still pays people and files taxes.

Payroll collects Fire/EMS time, applies your pay rules, and calculates gross and net pay using FLSA §7(k) work periods and the correct regular rate, showing the arithmetic behind each figure. Runs are reviewed, approved, and finalized, members read published statements under My Pay, and you export a file for the provider that pays your people. Station Clipboard does not move money, file taxes, or ship tax tables.

What this procedure is for

This guide focuses specifically on “Set up pay groups and run payroll.” Complete it from an account with the appropriate Payroll access, verify it from the affected member or operational view, and preserve existing records rather than repurposing historical configuration.

Before you begin

Make the decision before changing the screen. Record the current configuration when the department already uses this feature, and use a test record or test account when the change can affect active members.

Enter and confirm this year’s tax figures.
Know each group’s pay frequency and work period.
Know your provider’s import layout.

If a control is missing

Do not work around it from another member’s account. Confirm that Payroll is enabled, its dependencies are active, and your role grants the exact management action required for this task.

Where to work and what access you need

Start from the portal destination named in the procedure. Administrators normally need permission to view Payroll plus the specific create, edit, manage, approve, report, or all-record action used by the task. Visibility alone does not grant management access.

Overview/modules/payroll/overview
My Pay/modules/payroll/my-pay
Time/modules/payroll/time
Runs/modules/payroll/runs
Run detail/modules/payroll/runs/:id
Employees/modules/payroll/employees
Pay Calendar/modules/payroll/calendar
Exports/modules/payroll/exports
Imports/modules/payroll/imports
Settings/modules/payroll/settings

Required foundation

Core must be enabled and correctly configured before this workflow can operate reliably.

If your department uses custom roles, test the procedure with that role—not only with a full administrator account. This confirms the people responsible for daily operations can complete the workflow without receiving unrelated access.

Complete the task

Step 1Create pay groups
Set frequency and workweek or 7(k) period, start time, and overtime threshold.
Step 2Add employees
Add them or import them with rates and year-to-date balances, reviewing before saving.
Step 3Generate the calendar
Create pay dates and deadlines.
Step 4Collect and approve time
Pull completed Time Clock entries or enter time, then approve it.
Step 5Calculate and approve
Create the run, clear blocking exceptions, check gross and net, and approve (with a second approver if required).
Step 6Finalize and export
Finalize, publish statements, and download the CSV/TSV export.

Operational safeguards

Apply these module-level controls while completing the procedure. They prevent a technically saved configuration from becoming an operational or access problem later.

Control point
Enter and confirm each year’s tax figures before the first run.
Control point
Confirm §7(k) period length, start time, and threshold for each pay group.
Control point
Simulate pay rules before using them.
Control point
Require a second approver if policy calls for it.
Control point
Build an export profile that matches your provider’s layout.
Control point
Keep your existing provider for payment and tax filing.

Verify the result

Do not consider the setup complete merely because the save action succeeded. Confirm the behavior from the user-facing or operational view, then retain evidence of the test when department policy requires it.

Each line shows its formula.
Members see statements under My Pay.
The export downloads and is logged.

If any verification fails, return to the source configuration and correct it there. Do not edit a report or downstream record to conceal an incorrect setup.

Troubleshooting

Time is missing

Only approved time is paid; approve it.

Overtime looks wrong

Check the pay group’s 7(k) period and threshold, and premiums in the regular rate.

Provider rejects the file

Adjust your export profile to their layout.

Related Payroll capabilities

This task sits inside a larger module workflow. These related capabilities may affect the result or provide the next administrative step:

Effective-dated pay rates that never overwrite history
Pay groups: weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly, on a workweek or a 7–28 day §7(k) period
Pay calendar with time, supervisor, payroll, and funding deadlines
Fire/EMS pay codes with tax and overtime treatment
Pay rules for holiday, callback minimum, shift differential, and reclassification, which you can simulate first
Gross-to-net with pre-tax deductions, federal, FICA, and state withholding, garnishments, and post-tax deductions, each line with a formula
Published PDF statements with year-to-date totals under My Pay
Export Center with custom CSV/TSV profiles, stored files, and a download log
Reviewed imports of employees, rates, and year-to-date balances

Use the module hub to open the dedicated procedure associated with any capability listed here.

Connected modules and downstream effects

A change here can alter what members see, what data appears in reports, or how another module completes its workflow. Review the connected areas below before making a department-wide change.

Time ClockPortal and kiosk clock-in with password, PIN, or face, plus corrections and reports.

After deployment, test one complete workflow from the originating module through every connected destination your department uses. Document the final configuration so another administrator can audit or reproduce it later.

Continue in Payroll

Return to the Payroll module guide for connected workflows, dependencies, portal destinations, and additional procedures.