Payroll: Structure of a Payroll Scheme

A payroll scheme defines how Helm CONNECT calculates pay for your crew. Each scheme is built from rules that pay out when their conditions are met. Once you understand how a scheme is put together, you'll find it much easier to build rules that pay the right amounts at the right times, and to adjust them as your needs change.

This article walks through how a payroll scheme is organized, what goes into a single rule, and how to manage the items in a payroll scheme. To learn how to set up a new payroll scheme and start adding rules, see "Payroll: Set Up Payroll Schemes."

Sections

Every payroll scheme has five sections, one for each type of rule:

• Rates: Set the base pay for time worked. See "Payroll: Add Rate Rules to Payroll Schemes."
• Extra Pay: Add premiums and one-time amounts on top of rates. See "Payroll: Add Rules for Extra Pay to Payroll Schemes."
• Bank Accruals: Add to a bank. See "Payroll: Add Rules for Bank Accruals to Payroll Schemes."
• Bank Withdrawals: Pay out from a bank. See "Payroll: Add Rules for Bank Withdrawals to Payroll Schemes."
• Bank Transfers: Move balances between banks. See "Payroll: Add Rules for Bank Transfers to Payroll Schemes."

The payroll engine works through the sections in order, from Rates down to Bank Transfers, finishing one before moving to the next. Within the Rates section, the engine triggers only the first matching rule, then moves on. In every other section, all matching rules trigger. So if two situations could each earn pay on the same day, only one rate rule applies, but multiple extra pay rules can apply together. Because of this, we recommend placing base pay in the Rates section and all extras, such as premiums and special payments, in the Extra Pay section. Building your scheme this way keeps the base pay predictable and lets additional payments stack on top, without complicated workarounds.

Groups, Sub-Groups, and Rules

Within each section, your rules are organized into three levels:

• A group is the outermost level. It has an effective date range and holds one or more sub-groups.
• A sub-group is the middle level. It applies shared conditions to one or more rules.
• A rule is the innermost level. It determines what pay is applied when its conditions are met.

When you add your first rule to a section, you start with one group, one sub-group, and one rule already in place. From there, you can add as many groups, sub-groups, and rules as you need.

Groups and sub-groups let you share conditions instead of repeating them on every rule. A condition on a group applies to everything inside it. A condition on a sub-group applies to every rule it holds. The engine works from the outside in: it checks a group's conditions first, and if they don't pass, it skips everything inside without checking further. Sub-groups work the same way for the rules they contain.

You can use groups in a few ways. For example, you might set a date range on a group so all its rules start and stop together, or use a payroll group condition to apply different rules to different payroll groups. If a payroll scheme draws from more than one payroll source, you can also use groups to keep them separate, like one group for crew change rules and another for timesheet rules.

Order matters within a section, too. Where a rule sits affects when it's considered, so it's worth arranging your rules with that in mind.

Parts of a Rule

Every rule has three parts: a payroll source, conditions, and effects. The payroll source is what the rule draws from, the conditions determine when to pay, and the effects determine how to pay once the conditions are met. When you open a rule, you'll see its conditions on the left and its effects on the right.

Payroll Source

The payroll source is where the rule gets its information, such as a crew change or a timesheet entry. You choose it using the tabs along the top of the rule, and the payroll sources available to you depend on the section you're working in.

Conditions

Conditions are how you tell a rule when to apply. For example, a condition might check whether a timesheet entry uses a specific earning code, so the rule applies only to those entries. Each condition has three parts:

• Field: What the condition checks, such as an earning code or a number of hours. You can search the list to find the field you want.
• Operator: How the field is compared, such as "is" or ">". Click the operator to see other options.
• Value: What the field is compared against.

You can add conditions at the group, sub-group, or rule level, depending on how broadly or narrowly the rule should apply. To add one, click Add Condition, then choose a field, an operator, and a value. If a simple field comparison won't capture what you need, you also have the option to choose Formula from the list of fields and write your own formula.

Effects

Effects are where you set what actually happens when a rule's conditions are met. The fields you'll see depend on the type of rule you're building. You may need to click Show all effects to see all the available fields. You also have the option to choose Formula from the list of fields and write your own formula.

Add and Remove Items

You can manage the items in a payroll scheme using the icons on the right side of the header row for each item:

• Edit/Save (pencil/checkmark): Only available on rules, this icon lets you edit existing rules and save your changes.
• More icon: Opens the Actions menu, which includes:
  • Add Above: Adds a blank item above the current one. This option is only available for the topmost item at each level.
  • Duplicate: Duplicates an item, including everything inside it, and places the duplicated item directly below the original.
  • Copy: Places a copy on your clipboard so you can paste it within the same section, including to the same section in a different payroll scheme.
  • Paste: Adds the copied item directly below the item whose menu you open.

    NoteCopy and paste rules only within the same section, or to the same type of section in another payroll scheme. For example, copy a rate rule into the Rates section, not into Extra Pay or one of the bank sections. Or, if you're copying to another payroll scheme, copy a rate rule from one payroll scheme to the Rates section in the other payroll scheme. Don't copy a rule from one type of section to another.

• Add icon (plus): Adds a new blank item directly below the current one, at the same level.
• Remove icon (minus): Removes the item.

Move an Item

If you need to move an item to a new location within the same section, you can copy it, paste it where you want it, and remove the original.

To move an item

1. Click the More icon for the item you want to move, then click Copy.
2. Click the More icon for the item just above where you want to put the copied item, then click Paste. The copied item appears directly below.
3. Click the Remove icon to remove the original item from the payroll scheme.
4. Click Save Changes.