How to use the Payroll Variance Report

The Payroll Variance Report helps payroll administrators compare two payroll periods or runs to quickly spot discrepancies and ensure accuracy. This tool allows you to analyze differences at multiple levels from individual team members to overall department or cost center totals.

You can use it to:

• Compare payroll amounts between months or runs
• View detailed variances at the employee level
• Filter by department or cost center
• Export results for audits or internal reviews

This feature is available for customers using Remote’s Global Payroll product. Only users with salary permissions can view employee-level details.

Accessing the Payroll Variance Report

To open the report:

1. Login in to Remote and go to All reports > Payroll
2. You’ll see two versions of the variance report:

   • Variance – employee detail: A detailed breakdown at the individual level

     Note: Only visible to users with salary permissions.

   • Variance – by department: Summary grouped by department

How to run a new variance report

1. Select Run report to create a new comparison
2. Click on Calculated Variance
3. Choose how you want to compare:
   • By month:
     • Select the legal entity
     • Choose Variance period 1 and Variance period 2
   • By payroll run:
     • Select Variance payroll run 1 and Variance payroll run 2

💡 Tip: Comparing payroll runs is useful when you’ve made last-minute adjustments and want to confirm their impact.

Filtering the report

You can filter the report to focus on specific groups:

• Select Filter and choose the department or cost center you want to view.
• You can only filter by these fields if they are already assigned to employees.

Example: To compare salary changes in the Finance department only, first make sure all Finance team members are tagged correctly with that department.

Viewing and downloading results

Once your report is ready:

1. You’ll land on the results screen after running the report
2. To download it:
   • Select the three dots ⋯ next to the report
   • Choose your preferred file format to export

Reviewing past reports

• Select Previous reports to access reports you’ve already run
• These reports cannot be deleted, they’re stored automatically for auditing purposes

Example: Comparing payroll runs for discrepancies

Let’s say you finalized your March payroll run but later realized a few updates were made before reprocessing. To make sure nothing was missed:

1. Run a Variance – employee detail report
2. Select Variance payroll run 1 as the original March run
3. Select Variance payroll run 2 as the reprocessed run
4. Apply a department filter if needed
5. Review the report to check for unexpected differences in net pay or bonuses

This approach helps you spot issues early and maintain compliance across pay cycles.