Payroll services
Payroll and general ledger reconciliation
Payroll is usually the largest expense in the financial statements and the most common source of unexplained control account balances. Patuza reconciles payroll to the general ledger every month so salary expense, liabilities and payments agree before the books close.
What is reconciled
- Salary and wage expense per cost centre against the payroll register
- Employer contributions: retirement funding, medical aid subsidies, UIF employer portion, SDL and COIDA provisions
- Payroll liability and control accounts: net pay clearing, PAYE, UIF, SDL and third-party payables
- Payments made after month-end against the liabilities raised
- Leave and bonus provisions where these are carried in the ledger
Why payroll control accounts drift
Balances build up when journals are posted manually, when payments are allocated to the wrong account, when a beneficiary is paid a different amount from the one deducted, or when timing differences between the payroll date and the payment date are never cleared.
The monthly reconciliation routine
The payroll journal is generated from the same register that produced the payslips and imported to your chart of accounts. Each liability account is then agreed to a supporting schedule — the EMP201 for statutory amounts and the beneficiary schedules for third-party payments.
Audit and year-end benefits
A payroll that reconciles monthly makes year-end straightforward: auditors receive supporting schedules that tie to the ledger, statutory declarations agree to expense and liability movements, and there are no clearing balances to explain.
Frequently asked questions
What is payroll to general ledger reconciliation?
It is the monthly process of proving that the payroll register agrees to what was posted in the accounting system: salary expense, employer contributions, payroll liabilities and the payments that clear those liabilities.
Why does our payroll control account never clear?
Typically because of timing differences, manual journals posted outside the payroll interface, or payments allocated to the wrong account. A monthly reconciliation identifies each item and clears the true differences.
Can you post the payroll journal into our accounting system?
Patuza produces the journal mapped to your chart of accounts in an importable format, and can post it where access is provided. Approval of the journal remains with your finance team.
How does this help with the annual audit?
Auditors test payroll expense, liabilities and statutory compliance. Monthly reconciliations with supporting schedules answer most of those tests before fieldwork begins, which shortens the audit.
Patuza reconciles payroll to your general ledger monthly and clears the control accounts that never balance.
Book a consultationRelated services
- Payroll reporting →
Cost, variance, management and reconciliation reporting from every payroll cycle.
- Payroll audits →
Independent payroll audits covering data integrity, statutory accuracy, controls and risk.
- Third-party payments →
Garnishees, medical aid, retirement funds, unions and councils paid from accurate schedules.
Related topics
- Employer cost →
The true cost of employment: contributions, statutory levies and cost beyond the salary line.
- SDL →
Skills Development Levy: who pays, how it is calculated and how it is recovered.
- COIDA →
Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases: registration, return of earnings and assessments.
Related insights
- Payroll to GL reconciliation →
Why payroll control accounts drift and how to clear them for good.
- Payroll reconciliation explained →
What payroll reconciliation means, what it proves and how to run it every month.