How to Set Up Payroll for Staff in Onsite

How to add Office Staff and Site Staff in the Payroll module, configure their salary structure using salary templates and individual components, upload face photos for attendance verification, and assign Site Staff to projects.

Before You Start

• You need Admin or a role with Payroll access
• Create Salary Templates in Settings before adding staff — if multiple staff share the same salary structure, a template saves significant time
• Have each staff member’s phone number ready — it is used as their login credential for the Onsite app

Office Staff vs Site Staff

Feature	Office Staff	Site Staff
Typical roles	Managers, engineers, admin, accountants	Foremen, supervisors, site-based workers
Salary type	Monthly	Monthly or daily wage
Attendance tracked at	Company level (Payroll, Attendance)	Project level (Project, Attendance tab)
Project assignment	Not required	Required before project attendance can be marked
Salary expense created in	Company-level Finance tab	Each project’s Transaction tab

Where to Find Payroll

Click Payroll in the left sidebar.

The Payroll module has two sub-tabs: Office Staff and Site Staff.

Part 1 — Adding Office Staff

Step 1: Open Office Staff

Click the Office Staff sub-tab and click + New Office Staff.

The New Office Staff form opens.

Step 2: Fill in Staff Details

Field	Required	What to Enter
Name	Yes	Full name of the staff member
Phone Number	Yes	Mobile number used as their Onsite login credential
Designation	No	Select from configured designations
Cost Code	No	Link salary costs to a budget line for financial reporting
Upload Photo	No	Face photo for AI face recognition in attendance. Upload a clear, well-lit photo.

Step 3: Set Salary

Field	What to Enter
Salary Amount	Monthly salary in Rs
Shift Hours	Working hours per shift (e.g. 8 hours)
Overtime	Overtime rate or rules applicable for this staff member

Step 4: Add Salary Breakup (Optional but Recommended)

Click Add Salary Breakup to configure how the salary is divided into components. This is used to generate accurate salary slips and payroll reports.

Select a Salary Template:

Click Select and choose a template (e.g. “Senior Engineers”). The template pre-fills the component structure. Adjust individual values as needed for this staff member.

If no template applies, configure the components manually:

Basic Salary:

Option	How It Calculates
% of CTC	Basic = the entered percentage of total CTC
Fixed Amount	Basic = a fixed monthly Rs amount

HRA (House Rent Allowance):

Option	How It Calculates
% of Basic	HRA = the entered percentage of the Basic salary
% of CTC	HRA = the entered percentage of total CTC
Fixed Amount	HRA = a fixed monthly Rs amount

Additional Allowances:

Click + New Allowance to add components such as Food Allowance, Travel Allowance, or Medical Allowance. For each:

1. Check the allowance type
2. Set the calculation method (% of CTC, % of Basic, or Fixed Amount)
3. Enter the value

Deductions:

Deductions are pre-filled from the template (e.g. PF at Rs 1,800). To add or edit:

1. Click + New Deduction
2. Select the deduction type (e.g. PF, TDS, Employer PF)
3. Set the calculation method and amount

The Net Amount updates automatically as components and deductions are configured:

Net Amount = Gross Salary minus Total Deductions

Step 5: Save

Click Save. The staff member appears in the Office Staff list.

Part 2 — Adding Site Staff

Site Staff are assigned to specific project sites. Their attendance is tracked per project, and salary expenses are created at the project level.

Step 1: Open Site Staff

Click the Site Staff sub-tab and click + New Site Staff.

Step 2: Fill in Staff Details

Fill in the same fields as Office Staff: Name, Phone Number, Designation, Cost Code, and Upload Photo.

Then set the salary:

Field	What to Enter
Salary Amount	Monthly or daily rate in Rs
Add Salary Breakup	Optional — configure template-based breakup same as Office Staff
Shift Hours	Working hours per shift
Overtime	Overtime rate or rules

Step 3: Assign to Projects

Click + Add to assign this staff member to one or more projects. Select projects using the checkboxes and click Save.

⚠️ Site Staff must be assigned to a project before their attendance can be marked at the project level. A Site Staff member not assigned to any project will not appear in the project Attendance tab.

A Site Staff member can be assigned to multiple projects. Attendance is then tracked separately per project, and a separate salary expense is generated for each project where attendance is marked in a given month.

Step 4: Save

Click Save. The staff member appears in the Site Staff list with their assigned projects listed.

Part 3 — Uploading Face Photos

Face photos are used for AI face recognition during attendance punch-in. The face recognition system compares the live camera image against the uploaded photo.

Best practices for face photos:

Guidance	Reason
Clear, well-lit photo	Poor lighting causes recognition failures
Face directly facing the camera	Side angles reduce matching accuracy
Plain or neutral background	Busy backgrounds affect detection
Upload 2 to 3 photos per person	Different lighting conditions improve accuracy across site environments
No sunglasses or hat	Occlusions prevent the face from being detected

How to upload:

1. Open the staff member’s profile in Payroll
2. Click the photo upload area or the Upload Photo button
3. Select the image file
4. Click Save

💡 Upload face photos in different lighting conditions (indoor, outdoor, morning, afternoon) so the system can recognise the worker accurately across different site environments.

Part 4 — Editing Staff Profiles

To edit any detail after a staff member is created:

1. Click the staff member’s name in the Office Staff or Site Staff list
2. The profile panel opens on the right
3. Click Edit
4. Update the required fields
5. Click Save

To change project assignments for a Site Staff member:

Tips

• Set up Salary Templates before adding staff. If 10 engineers share the same salary structure, create one template and apply it to all. Only the base CTC amount needs to be adjusted per person.
• PF deduction is typically a fixed amount of Rs 1,800 per month (12% of basic salary capped at Rs 15,000). Confirm the rate with your CA and set it as a Fixed Amount deduction in the template.
• Face photos uploaded in Payroll are the same photos used by AI face recognition in Attendance Settings. Upload quality photos before enabling face recognition.
• Site Staff can be assigned to multiple projects simultaneously. When marking attendance on Project A, only Project A’s salary expense is generated for that month.
• If a staff member changes projects, update their project assignment in Payroll immediately. Attendance cannot be marked for a project they are not assigned to.
• The Cost Code field links the salary expense to a budget category in financial reports. If salary costs need to appear in expense reports under a specific category (e.g. Site Labour, Engineering), set the cost code here.

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If Something Goes Wrong

Problem	Likely Cause	What to Do
Cannot find Payroll in sidebar	Role does not have Payroll access	Ask Admin to check role permissions and enable Payroll access
Salary Template not appearing in the dropdown	Template not created in Settings	Go to Settings, then Salary Template, and create the template first
Project not showing in the assignment picker	Project does not exist yet	Create the project first in the Projects module
Staff not appearing in the project Attendance tab	Site Staff not assigned to that project	Open the staff member’s profile in Payroll, click Edit, and assign the project
Face recognition failing for a staff member	Poor photo quality or no photo uploaded	Upload 2 to 3 clear, well-lit face photos in the staff member’s Payroll profile
Net salary amount looks wrong	Wrong calculation type selected for a component	Open the salary breakup, check each component’s calculation method, and correct
Office Staff not appearing in attendance grid	Not added to Payroll	Add them via Payroll, then Office Staff, then + New Office Staff