---
title: Pay Runs
description: "Turn a pay period's hours into earnings, check the warnings, approve and lock the period, and export to your payroll service."
url: "https://theasst.com/docs/pay-runs/"
updated: "2026-10-14"
category: Human Resources (HR)
---

# Pay Runs

A **pay run** turns one pay period's hours into earnings, ready to hand to your payroll service. Find them at HR/Payroll > Pay Runs. Viewing needs payroll view permission; creating and changing needs payroll modify; exporting needs payroll export.

## The life of a pay run

1. **Draft** – the lines are calculated and can be recalculated; you can add lines by hand.
2. **Approved** – the period is *locked*. Nobody can add, change or delete time entries, correct or void clock punches, add punches, or approve leave in that period until the run is reopened.
3. **Exported** – a file has been produced for your payroll service. The period stays locked.

![The Pay Runs list with period, check date, status, employees, and gross](https://theasst.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/pay-run-list.webp)

## Creating a run

Click **New pay run**, enter a name (optional), the period start and end and the check date, and click **Create**. TBA suggests the next two-week period. A run can cover up to about three months, and two runs can't cover the same days.

## How the lines are calculated

- **Hourly employees** – their reconciled hours for the period (clocked, service order and manual time combined) are split by work type and pay code, [overtime rules](/docs/overtime-rules-setup/) are applied, and each hour is priced at the employee's rate for that day. A rate that's set for a specific pay code is used as it is; otherwise the pay code's multiplier is applied to the rate (so overtime pays 1.5 times). Hours before and after a raise are priced separately. Lines are grouped by work type, pay code and rate.
- **Salaried employees** – one salary line per run: the annual salary divided by the pay periods in the employee's pay frequency (52, 26, 24 or 12).
- **Manual lines** – use **Add a line** for bonuses, commissions, per-job pay and reimbursements: choose the employee and pay code and enter an amount, or hours and a rate. Remove one with the red X. Manual lines survive a recalculation.

![A draft pay run with warnings at the top and each employee's lines by work type and pay code](https://theasst.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/pay-run-detail.webp)

## Warnings

A box at the top lists things to check before approving, for example an employee with hours that clock punches don't cover (manual or service-order time, or a missed punch), an employee who isn't set up for payroll, or hours with no hourly rate (priced at $0.00). Fix the cause, then click **Recalculate**.

![The Add a line dialog for a manual line such as a bonus](https://theasst.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/pay-run-add-line.webp)

## Actions

- **Recalculate** (draft) – rebuild the calculated lines from the current hours, rates and rules.
- **Approve (lock the period)** – confirms, then locks the period.
- **Reopen** (approved, not yet exported) – unlocks the period and returns the run to a draft.
- **Export** – choose a payroll interface and click Export. The file downloads and the run is marked Exported. Exporting a run again warns you: importing the same file into a payroll service twice can pay people twice.
- **Delete this run** (draft only).

![An approved pay run, locked, with Export available](https://theasst.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/pay-run-approved.webp)

## Payroll interfaces

An interface turns a pay run into the file a particular payroll service wants. **Generic CSV** produces a plain delimited file; **iSolved** starts from a simple layout. In the export dialog click **Settings...** to choose which columns are included, their order, and optional header text for each column (use the names your service's import template uses), whether there's a header row, and the separator (comma, tab, semicolon or pipe). Settings are remembered for each interface.

The export needs each employee's **Payroll service employee ID** (on the Payroll tab of their personnel record) when that column is included; TBA lists anyone who is missing one. Pay codes are sent using the *Payroll code* from [Pay Codes](/docs/pay-codes-setup/).

TBA does not calculate taxes or deductions. Your payroll service does that and pays the employees.

![The Export dialog, choosing a payroll interface](https://theasst.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/pay-run-export-dialog.webp)

![Payroll interface settings: columns, header row, and delimiter](https://theasst.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/pay-run-interface-settings.webp)