How to structure your pay cycle, approvals and postings so month-end closes without surprises.
Trust usually breaks in the reconciliation, not the pay run. Numbers change between preview and posting, cost centers do not match the general ledger, and the CFO learns about variance from a spreadsheet a week later. The fix is to give finance a preview that matches the posted number and a variance view they can defend before payslips go out.
Every pay cycle needs three checkpoints, not one. HR closes changes, payroll runs the preview, finance signs off on variance. If any of those is implicit, the cycle will surprise someone.
Posting logic drifts when it is spreadsheet-driven. Codify cost center mapping in the payroll system and post journals directly to the general ledger with the same schema every cycle.
Variance analysis belongs in the payroll system, not a workbook downloaded after the run. The team that owns pay should be the team that answers questions about it.