Payrate Testing
Agree timecard hours to the payroll register and recalculate gross pay from the authorized rate in the personnel file.
Agrees timecard hours to the payroll register and recalculates gross pay from the authorized rate in the personnel file.
Purpose
To verify the accuracy, validity, and authorization of recorded payroll expense by testing a sample of employees from the Payroll Register and confirming that hours worked, pay rates, and employee identifying information are properly supported, authorized, and consistent across underlying source documentation.
Procedures
- Verify that hours worked per the timecard agree to the hours processed through the Payroll Register, supporting the existence and accuracy of recorded payroll.
- Confirm the selected employee is a valid, active employee by agreeing the name from the selection to the timecard and to the Payroll Register, supporting occurrence and validity.
- Agree sample details to the employee's personnel records to confirm the individual is properly authorized to receive compensation.
- Recalculate gross pay using documented hours and the authorized pay rate, and confirm the recalculated amount matches the rate authorized in the employee's personnel file, supporting accuracy and proper authorization.
Engagement Variables
These are set by EBP Plan Analysis and referenced automatically when this procedure runs.
| Engagement Variable | What it provides this procedure |
|---|---|
| Compensation Overview | The plan's definition of eligible compensation. Used to evaluate whether the compensation types in gross wages are plan-eligible and to provide context for the pay rate recalculation and gross wage comparison. |
Your selections
| Selection | What to enter | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Employee Full Name | Full legal name as it appears on the payroll register and personnel records. | Drives document matching across employee records and payroll records. Inconsistent name formats (nicknames, initials) will cause Agentive to return Missing Info. |
| Pay Date | The specific pay date for the period being tested. | Scopes the payroll record extraction to the correct pay period. Use the check or deposit date. |
| Pay Frequency | Bi-Weekly, Semi-Monthly, or Monthly. Enter the value exactly as shown. | Drives the Pay Cycles per Year calculation (Bi-Weekly = 26, Semi-Monthly = 24, Monthly = 12), which is used in the salaried gross wage recalculation. Entry must match the options exactly; this field is case-sensitive. |
Documents to provide
| Document | What to provide | Key data extracted |
|---|---|---|
| Employee Records | HR personnel file, employee authorization form, or rate change authorization. Any document that shows the employee's authorized pay rate with a signature or effective date. | Employee name, date of birth, SSN, hire date, termination date, authorized pay rate, rate effective date, hourly or salary classification. |
| Payroll Records | The payroll register or timecard detail for the selected pay period, showing hours worked and gross wages for the employee. | Regular hours, overtime hours, additional pay items, and gross wages for the selected pay date. For hourly employees, the timecard or pay period detail is required. Salaried employees need the register showing gross wages and any additional pay. |
| Time Card | The time card matching the selected Pay Date for the employee. | Regular hours, overtime hours, additional pay items, and gross wages. |
Don't have these exact documents?
Use Co-Audit to change which documents this request asks for, and to adjust the procedures and calculations that read them, so the workflow matches what your client actually provides.
Testing attributes
| Test | What Agentive confirms |
|---|---|
| Agree employee name: selection to records | Confirms the employee selected from the sample matches the name on the personnel records, supporting that compensation is authorized for a valid individual. |
| Agree sample details to employee records | Ties the identifying details in your selection (name, pay date) to the underlying personnel file. Any discrepancy between the selection and the records surfaces here. |
| Agree employee name: records to Payroll Register | Confirms the same employee name appears consistently across both the personnel file and the payroll record, supporting occurrence and validity of the payroll entry. |
| Agree timecard hours to Payroll Register | Compares hours worked per the timecard (or pay period detail) to the hours processed through the payroll register. Differences indicate a potential input error or unauthorized adjustment between time entry and payroll processing. |
| Confirm recalculated pay matches authorized rate | Recalculates gross pay using the authorized rate from personnel records and hours from the payroll record. For hourly: rate × (regular hours + overtime hours × 1.5) + additional pay. For salaried: annual rate ÷ pay cycles + additional pay. Compares the result to actual gross wages to confirm the authorized rate is being applied. |
Update with Co-Audit
Real client data rarely matches a template exactly. When the documents you receive, the form the authorized rate lives in, or the way gross pay is built differ from what this template assumes, use Co-Audit to retool the request. Describe what is different and it rewrites the document groups, AI Prompt Columns, and calculations to fit.
Situations where Co-Audit helps with Payrate Testing:
- The authorized rate lives in an HRIS export with rate history in a single row rather than a signed authorization form. Have Co-Audit point the rate extraction at that export and read the rate in effect on the selected pay date.
- The client provides an annual payroll detail report instead of individual pay stubs and timecards. Have Co-Audit rebuild the procedures to read that report and recalculate the hours and gross-pay tie-out from it.
- The recalculation needs a different overtime multiplier than the standard 1.5×, or the gross-pay formula has to handle additional pay types (shift differentials, non-taxable reimbursements) differently. Have Co-Audit adjust the gross wage recalculation so it matches how this client pays.
- Pay frequency labels in the source data do not match the case-sensitive options (Bi-Weekly, Semi-Monthly, Monthly). Have Co-Audit add a mapping so the client's labels resolve to the correct pay-cycle count before the salaried recalculation runs.
Describe the difference in the Co-Audit panel
For example: "the client provides an annual payroll detail report instead of individual pay stubs; update the procedures to read it and recalculate the tie-out from that report."
Let Co-Audit update the workflow
It revises the document groups, AI Prompt Columns, and calculations.
Review every change
Watch the columns for red text (a broken reference) and re-check any cell that involves math, where the AI tends to copy a number forward instead of recalculating.
For broader detail on tailoring requests and fixing broken column links, see Tailor a request with Co-Audit in the EBP hub.
Continue your journey
← Compensation Definition Testing
Confirm which pay codes feed plan compensation.
Contribution Testing →
Recalculate deferrals, apply contribution and catch-up limits, and tie amounts across payroll, W-2, pay stub, and trust.
How is this guide?
Compensation Definition Testing
Evaluate each pay code on the earnings listing against the plan's compensation definition and IRC §§415(c)(3) and 414(s), and return Eligible, Ineligible, or Manual Review Required per code.
Contribution Testing
Recalculate deferrals against the election, apply contribution and catch-up limits, and tie pre-tax and Roth amounts across the payroll report, W-2, pay stub, and trust statement.