Glossary

Glossary

Payroll Terms

  • ACC

The Accident Compensation Act 2001 (ACC).  ACC provides accident insurance for all New Zealand citizens, residents and temporary visitors to New Zealand.

  • Active People

The Personal Details for a Person who is currently employed by the organisation. 

  • Backpay

A payment given to a person when they receive a backdated pay increase. 

  • Bank Account

The number identifying the bank, branch, customer number and account number that payments are made to or from. 

  • Bank File

A file containing Direct Credit transactions that is transmitted to your bank to pay your people, deductions, superannuation and processing fees.

  • Bank Schedule

A report produced with every payroll that lists all payments made from the organisation's bank account. 

  • Casual

A person who receives Casual Holiday Pay payments each pay instead of accruing annual leave. 

  • Closed Payroll

A payroll will be closed by us after all processing for that payroll has been completed.  Once a payroll is closed it cannot be changed and is processed into history. You cannot run another payroll until the current payroll has been closed, however this may be "Closed in Advance" by contacting the helpdesk, which will enable another payroll to be processed immediately.

  • Confirm Payroll

A payroll must be confirmed by the customer before it can be processed on your behalf. Once a payroll is confirmed by the customer processing by us will be undertaken, banking completed and then closed once completed. 

  • Cost Centre

Payroll transactions may be charged against cost centres to provide various costing reports to help you manage and analyse payroll costs. 

  • CSD

Child support is money paid by parents to help financially support their children. The scheme is administered by Inland Revenue. 

  • Deduction

An element that defines the rules controlling how deductions are made from a person's pay. 

  • Direct Credit

An entry in a Bank File.

  • Direct Debit Authority

A form signed by your organisation authorising us to debit funds from your bank account to manage your banking on your behalf. 

  • Element

A generic term for a Payment, a Deduction or a Leave code that defines the rules controlling how that element is calculated and paid. 

  • ESCT

A tax deduction taken from a Superannuation Subsidy. 

  • Final Pay

A person is given a final pay when they leave the organisation and their personal details are made inactive. (See Final Pay).

  • Gross Pay

The total dollar value of all payments, including leave, made to a person or included in a payroll. This excludes processing fees and superannuation subsidies. 

  • GST

Goods and services tax (GST) is a tax on the supply of most goods and services in New Zealand. 

  • Inactive Person

The Personal Details for a Person who is no longer currently employed by the organisation and a received a Final Pay. 

  • iPayroll

The Internet-based payroll processing service for New Zealand.

  • ir344

The schedule amendments form required by Inland Revenue to amend historical schedules.

  • ir345

The monthly (or twice-monthly) return to Inland Revenue providing details of the tax payments made to Inland Revenue. Also see ir346. 

  • ir346

For organisations that pay ESCT. The (bi)-monthly return to Inland Revenue providing details of the tax payments made to Inland Revenue. ESCT may be shown on the ir345 from 1-Apr-2008. Also see ir345. 

  • ir348

The monthly (or twice-monthly) return to Inland Revenue providing details of all employee payments and tax deductions. 

  • IRD Number

The Tax Number used by Inland Revenue to uniquely identify every taxpayer. 

  • IRD

Inland Revenue is the government department responsible for administering New Zealand's tax system. 

  • irFile

The electronic return to Inland Revenue providing details of all employee payments and tax deductions. This can also be filed on a paper schedule. 

  • Kiosk

The Employee Kiosk allows people to view their own payslips over the Internet. 

  • Large Employer

(As defined by Inland Revenue). An organisation that paid over $500,000 in tax payments in the previous tax year. A large organisation makes tax payments bi-monthly. 

  • Leave Accrual

A calculation performed in every payroll that calculates the proportion of a leave entitlement that is currently due to a person. The entitlement accrues during the year and is given to the person on their leave anniversary. 

  • Leave Anniversary

The date when a person is given a leave entitlement.

  • Leave Balance

The current amount of leave that a person has available to be taken.

  • Leave Entitlement

A person's allocation of a particular type of leave.

  • Leave in Lieu

Leave given to a person in Lieu of payment for additional time worked, typically out-of-hours or on a public holiday.

  • Leave Liability

The outstanding dollar value of some leave. This is the cost to the Organisation of that leave.

  • Leave Taken

Leave that a person has used.

  • Leave

An entitlement given to people allowing them to take time off work.

  • Nett Pay

Gross Pay less Tax Deductions.

  • Open Payroll

A payroll that is currently being processed. When a payroll is Opened, Timesheet Templates are copied from personal files into the payroll, and then changes can be made. 

  • Organisation

The Company, Organisation, Partnership or other entity that employs and pays the people in the payroll. 

  • Pay Day

The date that the payroll payments are available in people's bank accounts. 

  • Pay To Date

The last date that timesheets are filled in to. Sometimes called the "period end date".

  • PAYE

Income tax for salary and wage earners that is deducted by the organisation each payroll and paid to Inland Revenue as part of the Tax Payment. 

  • PAYE Intermediary

A PAYE intermediary can be a payroll service provider, accountant or other tax professional who provides payroll services and is registered as an intermediary with Inland Revenue. 

  • Payment

Money paid to a person, part of their Gross Pay.

  • Payroll Letter of Credit

An agreement between the Organisation and its bank guaranteeing that payroll funds will be available for direct debiting under the Direct Debit Authority.

  • Payroll

A payroll is collection of timesheets with the same banking date. 

  • Payslip

Advice to a person providing a summary of their Payments, Deductions and other information for a pay period.

  • Person

An employee, contractor, staff member, director or other entity that receives payroll payments. 

  • Personal File

The details stored about a person within iPayroll. 

  • Report

Summary information that can be printed, downloaded into Excel or viewed. 

  • Small Employer

(As defined by Inland Revenue). An organisation that paid less than $100,000 in tax payments in the previous tax year. A small organisation makes tax payments monthly. 

  • SLD

Student Loan Deductions are loan repayments made to Inland Revenue by people who borrowed money to pay for their tertiary education. The repayments are on included in the Tax Remittance and Tax Schedule. 

  • Special Element

An element specific to a particular organisation, as opposed to a Standard Element.

  • Standard Element

An element that is set up and maintained by iPayroll and is common to all organisations. An element set up across all organisations, and maintained by iPayroll, as opposed to a Special Element. 

  • Superannuation Deduction

A deduction from a person's pay that is paid into a superannuation scheme. Also refer to Superannuation Subsidy. 

  • Superannuation Subsidy

A benefit, separate to a person's Gross Pay, that is paid by the into a superannuation scheme. 

  • Take Home Pay

Gross pay less all deductions.

  • Tax Arrears

Outstanding money owed by a person to Inland Revenue. 

  • Tax Code

A code that determines what and how much tax is deducted.

  • Tax Deduction

A deduction made to Inland Revenue. This includes PAYE, SLD, CSD and WT.

  • Tax Payment

Tax money paid to Inland Revenue, (as supported by a Tax Remittance).

  • Tax Remittance

A schedule providing details of a tax payment to Inland Revenue. Printed on an IR 345 or IR 346 form.

  • Tax Schedule

A monthly return to Inland Revenue providing details on individual person's tax deductions. Either printed on an IR 348 schedule or submitted as an ir-File.

  • Timesheet

The collection of individual payroll transactions for a person that determines the payments and deductions to be made.

  • Timesheet Template

The regular/recurring transactions that are stored in a person's Personal details and copied into every payroll. 

  • Transaction

An individual entry on a timesheet that describes the quantity, element, cost centre, rate and amount to be paid or deducted.

  • User Defined Field

An optional feature that lets you choose your own user defined sort field for your people. 

  • WT

Withholding tax is deducted from payments to people who are not employees but work for the organisation on a contract-for-services basis.



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