Prerequisites
You must have the Admin role. This feature is not available to HR users.
Your payroll must be set up before you can run an off-cycle payroll.
If a previous payroll (regular or off-cycle) exists, it must be in Paid status. If it is still unpaid, you will need to complete the payout or mark it as paid before proceeding. If no prior payroll has been run yet, this restriction does not apply.
Step 1 - Navigate to Past Payruns
Click on the Payroll tab in the left navigation bar.
Click on Past Payruns.
You will see a Run Payroll card on the right side of the screen showing the upcoming payroll period.
Step 2 - Select Off-Cycle as the Payroll Type
In the Run Payroll card, locate the Payroll type dropdown (defaults to "Regular Payroll").
Change the selection to Off-Cycle Payroll.
A Process Date picker will appear below the payroll type selector.
Step 3 - Set the Process Date
Use the Process Date picker to select the date on which you want to run the off-cycle payroll.
The date picker is automatically constrained to valid dates within the current payroll period.
Date constraints and limits:
The process date must fall within the upcoming payroll period (between the period start and end dates).
The process date cannot be the same as the last day (end date) of the payroll period — that date is reserved for the regular payroll run. If you select the last day, you will see the error: "Off-cycle payroll date cannot be the same as the end date (DD Mon YYYY) of the regular payroll period it belongs to." Workaround: Choose any date within the period that is before the last day.
If you have already run one or more off-cycle payruns in the same period, the process date must be later than the most recent off-cycle payroll date. The date picker's minimum date is automatically set to the day after the previous off-cycle run.
If the off-cycle option is greyed out with the message "Off Cycle for the last day of payroll period has been run, kindly run the Regular Payroll", it means every available date in the period has been used up. Workaround: Run the regular payroll for that period to close it out and move to the next cycle.
Click Run Payroll once you have selected the process date.
Step 4 - Select Employees
You will be taken to the Run Off-Cycle Payroll page. The first step is to select which employees should be included.
Use the search bar to find employees by name, ID, department, or designation.
Use the filters at the top to narrow down by department, designation, or employment status.
Select the employees you want to include by checking the checkboxes next to their names.
At least one employee must be selected to proceed.
Click Select [N] Employee(s) and Add Earnings to move to the next step.
Note: Only employees who are active, have a date of joining on or before the process date, have an active salary structure set up, and whose exit date (if applicable) falls after the payroll period are shown.
Step 5 - Add Earnings
On the Add Earnings screen, enter the pay components for each selected employee.
Available pay components:
Bonus — one-time bonus payout
Commission — commission earned
Adjustments — use a positive value to add pay; use a negative value to deduct
Expense Reimbursements - Advances — auto-populated when you sync expenses or travel advances (see below)
Any active custom variable earnings components configured in your account will also appear as columns
To enter inputs manually:
Type the amount directly into the relevant field for each employee.
All fields except Reimbursements, Adjustments, and TDS After Cess must be non-negative numbers.
Every selected employee must have at least one non-zero pay input. If any employee has no inputs, you will see: "Some employees are without any payroll inputs, please provide inputs to proceed."
To upload inputs via CSV:
Click Download payroll inputs template file to get a pre-filled CSV with the selected employees.
Fill in the earnings amounts for each employee and save the file.
Click Upload Inputs and select your filled CSV to import the data.
To sync approved expenses or travel advances:
Click Sync Expenses and Travel Advances (available on the VIP plan).
A dialog will show all approved, unreimbursed expense claims and uninitiated travel advances for the selected employees.
Select the items you want to include and confirm. The reimbursement amounts will be populated automatically in the Expense Reimbursements - Advances column.
To add internal or external comments:
Click the comment icon in the Comments column for any employee.
Internal Comment (up to 1,000 characters) — for your own reference; not shown on the payslip.
External Comment (up to 500 characters) — visible on the employee's payslip.
Click Save to store the comment.
To override TDS After Cess:
TDS is calculated automatically by the system at the next step based on the earnings entered.
If you need to set a fixed TDS value for a specific employee, you must use the Upload Inputs CSV method. In the template, fill in the TDS_AFTER_CESS column with your desired value and the TDS After Cess Comments column with a reason. A comment is mandatory whenever TDS is overridden; without it, you will see: "A comment is required for any TDS override."
To view key payroll settings per employee:
Click the View button in the Key Settings column to see an employee's PF, ESI, PT, LWF, and Tax Regime settings.
Once all inputs are entered, click Process Inputs and Review to proceed.
Step 6 - Review the Payroll
The Review screen shows a summary of the off-cycle payroll:
Number of employees paid
Gross Salary total
Net Salary total
Review the figures carefully. If you need to make corrections, click Edit Earnings to go back and update the inputs.
When satisfied, click Confirm Payroll to finalize.
Step 7 - Confirm and Initiate Payout
Once confirmed, you will see a success screen showing that the payroll has been processed. Your payroll is now saved and can be found under Past Payruns.
Note: Payslips are generated for off-cycle payrolls only after payments have been initiated.
From the success screen you can:
Click View Details to review the individual employee breakdowns.
Click Initiate Payout to transfer salaries to employees through Asanify (requires a virtual account to be set up).
Additional Information
How off-cycle TDS is calculated
Off-cycle payroll uses an incremental TDS model. The system looks at the cumulative taxable income for the financial year (from all prior payruns), adds the new taxable components from the off-cycle run (Bonus, Commission, Adjustments, and any taxable custom components), and recomputes the full-year TDS. The difference between the new full-year TDS and the previously deducted TDS becomes the TDS for this off-cycle payrun. If the incremental TDS would be negative (i.e., earlier payruns already deducted more than required), TDS for this run is set to zero.
Running multiple off-cycle payruns in the same period
You can run more than one off-cycle payroll within a single payroll period. Each run must use a process date that is strictly after the previous off-cycle run's date. Once all available dates in the period are exhausted, the off-cycle option is disabled and you must run the regular payroll.
What happens if a previous payroll is unpaid?
Before running a new off-cycle payroll, the most recent payroll (regular or off-cycle) must be in Paid status. If it is still showing as unpaid, either complete the payout or mark it as paid before attempting to run the off-cycle payroll.
Relationship to regular payroll
Off-cycle payruns are always linked to a specific payroll period (month/year) and run within that period before the regular payroll. The off-cycle payroll date must belong to the next upcoming payroll period — you cannot run an off-cycle for a period that has already been closed or that skips a period. If you try to do so, you will see: "Off-cycle payroll cannot be run for a date that is not the next regular payroll period."
Editing or deleting an off-cycle payroll
You can edit the earnings of a confirmed off-cycle payrun from Past Payruns as long as the payrun has not been paid. You can also delete an off-cycle payroll from Past Payruns, but this action is permanent and will remove all off-cycle payroll data and payslips for those employees. Download a CSV backup before deleting.