Salary treatment determines how your salaried employees' costs are calculated and displayed in your Cost Control reports. While payroll remains consistent and accurate regardless of your choice, you can select the cost control method that best suits your business reporting needs.
Payroll salary treatment
To ensure payroll salary costs are calculated correctly:
Select the relevant payroll calendar and pay run
Ensure the entire period is signed off, including any sites where cover shifts were worked
Your employees will always be paid accurately based on their annual salary:
Monthly: Annual salary ÷ 12
Weekly: Annual salary ÷ 52
Bi-weekly: Annual salary ÷ 26
Four-weekly: Annual salary ÷ 13
Sometimes, an employee’s pay needs to be adjusted to reflect changes during a pay period, like starting or leaving mid-month, getting a salary change, or working across multiple locations. In these cases, salary is pro-rated based on the actual days or hours worked.
❗️If a salaried employee’s base pay isn’t calculating, it’s likely because the payroll calendar hasn’t been selected, the pay period hasn’t been signed off, or a site associated with cover shifts hasn’t been signed off.
Cost Control salary treatment
Cost Control salary treatment is designed to give employers a clearer picture of how salary costs are distributed across their business. It enables more effective labour deployment, supports staffing level decisions, and helps you manage costs with greater precision.
There are two options available to determine how salary costs appear in your Cost Control reports.
Option 1: Hourly rate
Best for operational reporting and understanding true labour deployment.
How it works:
Converts salaries to hourly rates based on contracted hours
Costs only appear when employees work or take paid leave
You’ll see:
Costs only on working days
Accurate site-level profitability
Total costs vary based on hours worked
Option 2: Fixed daily rate
Best for traditional accounting and budgeting approaches.
How it works:
Spreads salary costs evenly across every calendar day
Costs appear even on non-working days
You’ll see:
Same daily cost throughout the month
Costs on days employees don’t work
Monthly totals vary depending on the number of days in the month
❗️ Cost Control costs will never exactly match payroll costs. This is because Cost Control includes additional uplifts such as holiday smoothing, tax uplifts, pension uplifts, and other individual uplifts. However, it provides the most accurate reflection of how much a period is likely to cost your business and is a powerful tool for managing labour costs effectively. Find out more about how Rotaready calculates wage costs.
To discuss which option is best for your business or to request a change, please contact our support team.