The AMBA payroll framework.

Payroll is the single largest recurring expenditure for most institutions. It is also the transaction most likely to attract audit attention. And the most damaging when done wrong. AMBA's payroll design prioritises correctness and traceability.

Every step in the payroll workflow has a named accountable role and a named audit artefact. Nothing happens because someone said so verbally. Nothing happens without a database row that says who, when, and why.

The steps in order: (1) Budget Authorisation, (2) Payroll Computation, (3) Budget Validation, (4) Variance Review, (5) Variance Acknowledgement Gate, (6) HR Certification, (7) Authorised Approval, (8) Bank Payment File, (9) Payment Confirmation, (10) Payslip Distribution.

Certification and approval are HR Admin or Super Admin actions. Payment confirmation is a Finance or Super Admin action.

The competition demo uses a Ghana payroll preset with progressive PAYE bands. Payroll uses the stored bands for the selected period. Review the preset against your organisation's requirements before use; it is not a claim of compliance for every organisation or jurisdiction.

Historical payrolls always use the bands that were in force at the time of the run. An audit of a 2024 payroll uses 2024 rates. The bands table is versioned with an effective_from and effective_to date; the payroll computation picks the band version whose effective range covers the payroll period.

Confirm any required tax reliefs and additional statutory rules before rollout. An editable tax-band table alone does not implement every jurisdiction's payroll requirements.

The current Ghana demo calculation applies 5.5% employee and 13% employer contributions to basic salary. Both amounts are stored on the payroll line. These are the demo's implemented calculations, not universal pension rules.

Review any additional pension schemes, earnings bases and contribution rules required by your organisation. Confirm support before adopting a payroll preset.

Payroll uses the employee's recorded salary components, including basic salary, housing, transport, medical and other allowances. Review these values before generating a run.

The Ghana demo calculation includes employee pension contributions and PAYE. Review each payroll record and supporting information before approval.

After computation, AMBA compares each employee's net pay with the previous run. A change of 10% or more is flagged for review.

Flagged variances must be acknowledged before the run can be certified or approved. Each acknowledgement is recorded in the audit log.

Auditors reviewing a payroll run will expect to see: the budget authorisation record for the period (with authoriser identity and timestamp), the payroll computation output (frozen at computation time), the variance report with per-line acknowledgements, the HR certification record, the authorised approval record, the bank payment file, the payment confirmation with bank reference, and the payslip distribution log.

Export templates are available for GCB Bank, Ecobank, Stanbic Bank, Standard Chartered and Absa Bank, plus a generic format for other banks.