Payroll Processing and Reports

20-25 minutes

Tutorial 9.6: Payroll Processing and Reports

Introduction

Processing payroll? Luminate calculates base pay, commission, and tips for your team. This guide covers running payroll reports, viewing the full pay breakdown for each staff member, verifying calculations, finalising payroll periods, and exporting data for your payroll provider.

Who this is for: Salon owners and admins responsible for paying staff.

What you'll learn:

Navigating the payroll report
Understanding pay type calculations
Reading the payroll breakdown (hours, revenue, base pay, commission, tips)
Verifying payroll entries
Recalculating payroll when needed
Finalising and exporting payroll data

Time to complete: 20-25 minutes

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

A Luminate account with Owner or Admin role
Staff members set up with compensation types and rates (see Tutorial 4.1)
Commission rates configured for service and product sales
Completed transactions for the payroll period

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Navigate to the Payroll Report

Log in to Luminate
Click Reports in the sidebar menu
In the Staff Reports category, click Payroll
The report loads showing the current payroll period

Step 2: Understanding Payroll Periods

Payroll in Luminate works on a monthly basis:

Each month is a separate payroll period
Periods start on the 1st and end on the last day of the month
You can view past periods using the month selector

Period Status:

Status	Meaning
Draft	Period is open, figures are still being calculated and can change
Finalised	Period is closed, figures are locked and cannot change

The current month is always in Draft status until you finalise it at month end.

Step 3: Selecting a Payroll Period

To change which month you're viewing:

Click the month selector at the top of the report
Choose the month and year you want to view
The report updates to show that period

Tip: When processing payroll, select the previous month (which should now be complete) rather than the current month.

Step 4: Understanding the Summary Cards

The summary cards show totals for the selected period:

Card	What It Shows
Total Staff	Number of staff with payroll entries
Total Revenue	Combined revenue generated by all staff
Base Pay	Sum of base salaries and hourly wages
Commission	Sum of all commission earned
Tips	Sum of all tips attributed to staff
Total Gross Pay	Combined gross pay for all staff (base + commission + tips)

Step 5: Understanding Pay Types

Luminate supports different pay structures:

Pay Type	How It Works
Hourly	Base pay = Hours worked × Hourly rate
Salary	Fixed weekly/monthly amount regardless of hours
Commission Only	No base pay, 100% commission
Salary + Commission	Base salary plus commission on top

Each staff member's pay type is set in their profile (see Tutorial 4.1).

Step 6: Reading the Payroll Table

The main table shows each staff member's pay breakdown:

Column	Description
Staff Member	The team member's name
Type	Their compensation structure (Hourly, Salary, Commission Only, Salary + Commission)
Hours	Scheduled hours / Actual hours worked (displayed as "X.X / Y.Y")
Revenue	Total revenue generated by this staff member
Base Pay	Salary or hourly earnings before commission
Commission	Combined commission earned on services and products
Tips	Tips attributed to this staff member
Adjustments	Manual adjustments (positive or negative)
Gross Pay	Total: Base pay + Commission + Tips + Adjustments

Note: The Hours column shows both scheduled and actual hours. Scheduled hours (shown in grey) are calculated from the roster. Actual hours default to scheduled but can be adjusted if needed.

Step 7: Verifying Payroll Calculations

Before finalising payroll, verify the figures are correct:

For Hourly Staff:

Check hours match the Hours Worked report (Tutorial 9.7)
Verify: Base Pay = Actual Hours × Hourly Rate
Confirm commission matches the Staff Performance report

For Salaried Staff:

Verify the base salary is correct (prorated for the month)
Check commission calculations
Account for any unpaid leave (which may reduce salary)

For Commission-Only Staff:

Verify total commission against the Staff Performance report
Ensure all their transactions are included

For Tips: Tips are distributed proportionally based on each staff member's service revenue on transactions. Check the Staff Performance report (Tutorial 9.3) for detailed tip breakdowns.

Step 8: Recalculating Payroll

If transactions were added, edited, or refunded after payroll was initially calculated:

Click the Recalculate button (top right of the report)
Luminate recalculates all figures based on current transaction data
Review the updated totals

When to recalculate:

After recording late transactions
After processing refunds
After correcting transaction errors
After adjusting staff commission rates

Note: You can only recalculate Draft periods. Once a period is finalised, figures are locked.

Step 9: Finalising the Payroll Period

When you're satisfied the figures are correct:

Ensure you're viewing the correct month
Verify all figures have been checked
Click the Finalize button
Review the confirmation dialog showing the period, total gross pay, and staff count
Click Finalize Period to confirm

What happens when you finalise:

The period status changes from "Draft" to "Finalised"
Figures are locked and cannot be changed
You can still view and export the data
The next month becomes the active draft period

Important: Only salon Owners can finalise payroll periods. Admins can view and recalculate but cannot finalise.

Warning: Finalising is permanent. Make sure all figures are correct before finalising. If you discover an error after finalising, you'll need to make manual adjustments outside Luminate.

Step 10: Exporting Payroll Data

To export payroll for your payroll provider or accountant:

Select the period you want to export
Click the Export button (CSV icon)
A CSV file downloads containing:
- Staff Member name
- Compensation Type
- Scheduled Hours
- Actual Hours
- Service Revenue
- Product Revenue
- Total Revenue
- Base Pay
- Commission
- Tips
- Gross Pay
- Adjustments
- Net Pay

Using the export:

Import into your payroll software
Send to your accountant
Keep as records for tax purposes
Use for HMRC reporting

Common Pitfalls

"Commission figures don't match the Staff Performance report"

The Payroll report only includes transactions from the specific calendar month. The Staff Performance report may show different dates if you've changed the filter. Ensure you're comparing the same date range.

"A staff member's hours seem wrong"

Hours come from the roster (scheduled) and default to that for actual hours. If hours look incorrect, check:

Their shifts in the Roster
Any leave taken during the period
Break times recorded (breaks reduce working hours but not scheduled hours)
Whether actual hours were manually adjusted

See Tutorial 9.7: Staff Hours Worked Report for detailed hour tracking.

"I finalised the wrong month"

Unfortunately, finalisation cannot be undone. You'll need to make manual adjustments when processing actual payroll. Keep a note of what needs correcting.

"Commission rates changed mid-month"

Commission is calculated using the rate that was set when each transaction was completed. If you changed rates mid-month, some transactions use the old rate and some use the new rate.

"A new staff member has no payroll entry"

Staff members must be active and have completed transactions to appear. If they haven't started taking clients yet, they won't have any payroll entries to show.

"Base pay shows as zero for a salaried staff member"

Check that their compensation type is set correctly in their staff profile. Also verify their base salary amount is entered correctly.

"Tips aren't showing for a staff member"

Tips are distributed proportionally based on service revenue. If a staff member has no service revenue for the period, they won't receive any tips. Product sales don't contribute to tip allocation.

Tips and Best Practices

Process payroll in the first week of the new month - This gives time to catch and correct errors before payment deadlines
Run the Hours Worked report first - Verify hours before processing payroll
Keep a payroll checklist - Check the same things each month systematically
Export before finalising - Keep a copy of draft figures in case you need to reference them
Set calendar reminders - Schedule payroll processing for the same time each month
Communicate with staff - Let them know when to expect pay calculations to be complete

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I finalise each month's payroll?

Finalise after all transactions for the month are recorded, typically in the first few days of the following month. Don't finalise until you've verified all figures.

Can I edit finalised payroll?

No, finalised periods are locked. If you discover an error, make manual adjustments in your actual payroll system and keep documentation of the discrepancy.

How is commission calculated?

Commission = Revenue × Commission Rate. Each staff member can have different rates for services and products. The rates are set in their staff profile.

Does Luminate handle tax calculations?

Luminate calculates gross pay (before tax). Actual tax withholding, National Insurance, and pension contributions should be handled by your payroll provider or accountant.

What about tips?

Tips are included in the payroll calculations and appear as a separate column. Tips are distributed proportionally to staff based on their service revenue on each transaction. Tips are added to gross pay but are not included in commission calculations.

Can staff see their own payroll information?

Staff can see their own performance metrics (revenue, commission earned) in the Staff Performance report but cannot access the full payroll report. The payroll report is only visible to Owners and Admins.

What's the difference between scheduled and actual hours?

Scheduled hours are calculated automatically from the roster. Actual hours default to scheduled hours but can be adjusted if a staff member worked more or less than rostered. The Hours column shows both values in "scheduled / actual" format.

How far back can I view payroll periods?

All historical payroll data is retained. You can view any past month's payroll report, whether draft or finalised.

Last Updated: January 2026