---
title: Payroll Batches
keywords: payroll batches, payroll batch, advanced payroll batches, payroll processing, payroll export, payroll lines, excel payroll, payroll run, payroll
summary: "Guide to Payroll Batches in Manor: previewing, creating, processing and exporting payroll runs. Explains the batch list columns, the preview options, downloading the Excel document, and the requirement for the 'Enabled with advanced payroll batches' option."
url: /payroll/batch
---

# Payroll Batches

## Introduction

A **payroll batch** is a processed set of payroll data for a firm. Creating a batch collects the logged time, travel and per-diem entries for the payroll-eligible employees in the firm's completed pay periods, processes them into payroll lines, and makes the result available as an Excel document for the payroll run. Batches give payroll administrators a dated, repeatable record of each payroll processing.

> **Requirement:** Payroll batches are only available when **Enable payroll** is set to **Enabled with advanced payroll batches** in Management > Settings > Features. With plain **Enabled**, the **Payroll batches** entry does not appear in the Payroll menu.

![The Payroll batches list](../screenshots/payroll-batches-list.png)

## Accessing Payroll Batches

1. Open **Payroll** in the main navigation.
2. Select **Payroll batches**.

The page lists every batch for the selected firm with these columns:

| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| **No.** | The batch number. |
| **Name** | The batch name you gave it. |
| **Description** | Optional description. |
| **Created** | The date the batch was created. |
| **Users in this batch** | How many employees the batch covers. |
| **Payroll lines** | The number of payroll lines produced. |
| **Processing progress** | The percentage of processing completed. |

Use the **Unit** filter to restrict the list to a department, and **Export** to download the list.

## Previewing a Batch

Before creating a batch, click **Preview** to see what it would contain.

1. Click **Preview** at the top of the Payroll batches page.
2. Choose a **User** to preview that employee's payroll lines. The list includes employees of the firm that are included in payroll processing.
3. Select the **Pay periods** to include:
   - **Only past payroll periods** (default) — batches normally include only completed periods that have not already been processed in a batch.
   - **All periods** — also includes the current pay period in the preview.
4. Click **Download Excel preview** to download a spreadsheet preview.

![The Preview dialog with the User and Pay periods options](../screenshots/payroll-batch-preview.png)

## Creating a Payroll Batch

1. On the Payroll batches page, click **New payroll batch**.
2. Enter a **Name** for the batch (required) and an optional **Description**.

   ![Creating a new payroll batch](../screenshots/payroll-batch-new.png)

3. Click **Submit payroll batch**.

After submitting, the batch is created and processed automatically. You can follow the **Processing progress** column on the list, and open the batch to see the result once processing is complete.

## Viewing a Batch

Click a batch row to open its details.

![Payroll batch details](../screenshots/payroll-batch-details.png)

The details show the batch's **Firm**, **Name**, **Description**, **Payroll batch no.**, **Created** date and **Users in this batch**, along with the list of payroll lines the batch produced. Use **Download Excel document** to download the processed payroll data.

- **Edit** — change the batch's name or description.
- **Delete payroll batch** — remove the batch. A confirmation asks you to confirm before the batch is removed, stating that all entries will become editable by the user unless they have been invoiced.

![Delete payroll batch confirmation](../screenshots/payroll-batch-delete-confirm.png)

Deleting a batch does not delete the underlying time, travel or per-diem entries. It releases them from payroll so they become editable again — unless they have already been invoiced, or they fall in a closed pay period, in which case they stay locked.

## Best Practices

- **Preview before processing** — always run a preview to confirm the right users and periods are included before creating a batch.
- **Review completed periods** — batches normally include only past, unprocessed periods, so review and confirm hours first. See [Confirmations](confirmations.md) and [Pay Periods](pay-periods.md).
- **Name batches clearly** — include the period, for example "September 2026 salary", so the list is easy to audit.
- **Download and archive** — download the Excel document for each batch and store it with your payroll records.

## Related Documentation

- [Payroll](payroll.md) — Overview of the Payroll section
- [Pay Periods](pay-periods.md) — Period dates, work quotas and closing periods
- [Confirmations](confirmations.md) — Confirming employee hours before processing
- [Firm Payroll Settings](../management/firm-payroll-settings.md) — Period dates, working hours and payroll rules