Holding a salary

When an employee is leaving, you may need to hold their last pay until clearance and release it with the final pay. A held pay is computed and recorded as usual (payslip, contributions, tax), but it is left out of the payout list and the bank files until it is released.

Before you start

Holding earned wages needs the employee's consent or a written company policy. The screen reminds you of this beside the setting (Labor Code Arts. 103 and 116). Check your own policy before you turn it on.

Hold the last cut-offs automatically

The owner chooses this once for the company.

1. Open Company setup → Payroll settings.
2. Under Hold the pay of separating employees, choose Hold the last cut-off or Hold the last 2 cut-offs. Don't hold (pay as usual) is the default.
3. Save the payroll settings.

From then on, when an employee's separation date is set, Sahora holds their pay in the last one or two periods of their pay group that start on or before that date. The hold appears when the payroll is computed.

Hold one pay by hand

1. Open the payroll period and click the employee's name in the register.
2. In the Payout card, type why (for example "resigned, clearance pending").
3. Click Hold this pay.

You see "Held. It stays out of the payout and is released with the final pay." The register shows the chip "Pay held".

To undo it, type why the hold is taken off and click Take the hold off. You can do this only before the payroll is paid out. Once the payout list or a bank file has been downloaded, the pay stays held and is released with the final pay.

Holding pay by hand is for Owner / Management and payroll officers.

See what is held

Open Payroll → Held salaries. The page shows:

• Employees with held pay, Total held and Due today or overdue.
• Still held: each employee with the periods held, why, whether each payroll is approved, the final pay deadline and how many days are left. A label shows On track, Due soon, Due today or Overdue.
• Released (last 120 days): releases already made.

The deadline follows the final pay release period counted from the separation date. Sahora sends reminders as it comes due.

Release the held pay with the final pay

Finance or the owner releases held pay, once:

• the employee's final pay is prepared (see When an employee leaves), and
• every payroll with a held pay is approved.

Until then the employee's line says "Final pay not prepared yet" or "Final pay prepared; approve the payroll(s) first". When it says Ready to release:

1. Open Payroll → Held salaries.
2. Type a note if you like (for example "clearance signed").
3. Click the release button. It shows the total held and reads Release … with the final pay.
4. Click Payout file for this release (Excel) and pay it together with the final pay.

What can go wrong

• "This payroll has already been paid out; its pay can't be held." The payout list or a bank file for that payroll was already downloaded.
• "Held salaries are released with the final pay: prepare the final pay and approve its payroll first." Prepare the final pay, then approve its payroll.

Good to know

• In the payroll journal, a held pay is credited to "Held Salaries Payable (final pay)" instead of the net pay payable.
• The payroll page's Payout card lists who is held and the total, with a link to Held salaries.