Payroll Locking and Finalization
Lock finalized payroll periods to protect approved salary values and maintain audit control.
After payroll is approved and payslips are generated, HR locks the payroll period to protect finalized salary data.
How to Lock a Payroll Period
- Ensure payroll is Approved
- Generate payslips for all employees
- Export all required reports
- Go to the payroll run
- Click Lock Payroll Period
- Confirm the action
What Locking Does
| Protection | Description |
|---|---|
| Salary Values | Approved amounts cannot be changed |
| Payslips | Generated payslips remain consistent |
| Reports | Exported data matches locked payroll |
| Audit Trail | All actions before locking are preserved |
What Locking Prevents
- Accidental changes to approved salary data
- Retroactive variable input modifications
- Unauthorized payroll edits after disbursement
- Payslip discrepancies after employee download
Unlocking Payroll
In exceptional cases, System Admin can unlock a payroll period with proper authorization. Every unlock action is recorded in the audit trail.
Payroll Audit Trail
HRORA maintains a complete activity history for every payroll action:
| Event | Tracked |
|---|---|
| Salary component created | ✅ |
| CTC template changed | ✅ |
| CTC quote approved | ✅ |
| Employee salary updated | ✅ |
| Payroll input modified | ✅ |
| Payroll run created | ✅ |
| Payroll approved | ✅ |
| Payroll rejected | ✅ |
| Payslip generated | ✅ |
| Payroll locked | ✅ |
Always export all required reports — bank transfer statement, PF, ESI, PT, LWF, and payslip reports — before locking the payroll period. Locked periods cannot be modified without admin authorization.