Payroll handover: a checklist for your accountant

The payroll file has gone to the accountant. Then a corrected timesheet arrives, followed by an absence update and a message asking which attachment was the final version.

A useful payroll handover contains one reviewed set of inputs, a clear account of what changed and a visible list of unresolved questions. Agree the format and cutoff with the person preparing the payroll. Record what you sent and keep later corrections traceable.

The aim is practical: the next person should know which period the file covers, what has been checked and what still needs a decision. Preparing these inputs is separate from calculating final pay, processing statutory deductions or confirming that payment reached someone's account.

Cover: AI-generated editorial illustration made with Higgsfield. The documents are blank; no employee or payroll records are shown.

Agree the handover before collecting the files

Start with a short agreement between the business and the accountant or payroll provider. Confirm the period, the internal cutoff, the expected file format, the transfer channel and the named person who answers questions. Agree what happens to changes that arrive afterwards.

An internal cutoff is a working arrangement. It is not automatically a statutory deadline, and a late item does not automatically belong in the next run. The payroll professional needs enough information to decide how it should be handled.

Ask for the actual import requirements. “A CSV” is not a complete specification. Employee references, columns, date formats and the treatment of pay components may differ. A file that opens in a spreadsheet has not necessarily passed the provider's import checks.

DATEV makes a useful distinction here: its Lohn Vorerfassung supports recording payroll input data for use with LODAS or Lohn und Gehalt. Collecting the inputs and performing the payroll calculation remain different parts of the work.

The payroll handover checklist

Use the checklist to agree your own process. Your accountant determines the specific documents, coding and professional checks needed for your business.

People and changes

1. Confirm the period and employee list. Check who belongs in this run, including joiners and leavers. Match people using the employee reference agreed with the provider, not just similar names.
2. List changes since the previous handover. Identify relevant changes to employment terms, pay, working arrangements or payment details. Record the effective date and the source of the change.
3. Separate a recorded change from an authorised change. A message requesting a bonus is not the same as a confirmed decision. Keep the approver and any unanswered question visible.

Time, absence and variable inputs

4. Confirm the hours. Reconcile time entries and corrections for the period. Mark anything still awaiting review instead of silently treating a draft as confirmed.
5. Check absence records. Make the dates, recorded status and required supporting information available through the agreed channel. Leave the appropriate payroll treatment to the responsible professional.
6. Review variable amounts. Check bonuses, allowances, overtime and other applicable inputs against their source and approval. Use the provider's agreed categories; do not guess a payroll code.

The package itself

7. Give open questions their own list. For each one, record the affected employee reference, period, missing information, responsible person and next action. Do not hide a question in a cell comment that the recipient may never see.
8. Review and identify the version. Confirm who reviewed the inputs and when. Give the handover a clear identifier that distinguishes it from earlier drafts.
9. Send through the agreed channel. Share the necessary records with the intended recipient using the access controls your organisation has agreed. Avoid making another unrestricted copy just to send an update.
10. Record the next person's response. Keep a record of the version supplied, when it was sent and any acknowledgement or rejection. “Export created” and “accountant accepted the file” are separate outcomes.

Keep a short handover note with the export

The export contains the inputs. A short accompanying note explains how to use them. This is especially helpful when the recipient did not participate in the internal review.

Handover field	What the recipient needs
Business and period	Which organisation and pay period the package covers
Version	The exact file or package to use
Review	Who checked the inputs and when
Changes	What differs from the previous supplied version
Open items	Which decisions or documents remain outstanding
Contact	Who can answer questions and who covers their absence
Requested response	Whether you need receipt, an import check or a decision

Request the response you actually need. A receipt tells you that something arrived. An import confirmation tells you something about whether the file could be processed. Neither, by itself, confirms that the final payroll is correct or that money was paid.

Keep the note short enough to read. If an item needs a longer explanation, link to the relevant controlled record and state the question in the note.

When a correction arrives after the cutoff

Avoid silently replacing the file the accountant already has. First establish whether the original handover has been received, imported or processed. Then agree the correction route with the responsible person.

Here is a copy-ready change note. The labels describe the information to supply, rather than a particular software feature:

• Affected period and employee reference: identify the record without repeating unnecessary personal details.
• Original handover: name the version already supplied.
• Changed item: state the previous input, the corrected input and its effective date.
• Reason and source: explain where the correction came from and where the supporting record is held.
• Review: name who checked the correction.
• Decision requested: ask the payroll provider how the item should be processed and which version or supplement to use.
• Outcome: record their response and the next action.

For example, a manager confirms a time-entry correction after the original handover. Record that correction against the employee and period, explain which input it changes and ask the accountant how to submit it. This is an illustrative workflow, not a customer case or a rule for tax treatment.

The important point is that the original file and its correction remain distinguishable. “Latest file” stops being useful as soon as the sender and recipient have different copies.

Let each status say what actually happened

Payroll work crosses several boundaries. Inputs can be prepared while a question remains open. A run can be locked without an export having been created. A file can be exported without the recipient acknowledging it.

The same discipline applies to the final figures. An estimated net amount in a preparation tool is an estimate. A returned payroll result belongs to the payroll provider's calculation. A payment instruction is separate again from confirmation of payment.

Clear states let the owner ask “what still needs my decision?” and the accountant ask “what can I use?” without receiving the same vague answer: “payroll is done.”

Where Office fits in the handover

Office prepares reviewable payroll inputs from its people, time and absence records. Its workflow distinguishes draft, review, locked and exported runs, and it stores payroll export records. A locked or exported run is protected from being recomputed through the preparation workflow. Available export formats still need to be checked against the receiving provider's requirements.

Office's preparation figures do not replace the final payroll calculation. Nor does an exported status prove that an accountant accepted the file or that a salary was paid. The handover note and correction routine above are working practices you can use alongside Office; they are not a claim that Office automatically manages every acknowledgement or correction.

To explore that preparation workflow, see how Office supports payroll preparation. Start with one period and check what the person receiving your export needs.

Put this into practice for the next run

Choose the owner of the handover, agree the provider's format and cutoff, and create the open-items list before the next review. Keep one clearly identified version beside its handover note. If something changes later, give the recipient a traceable correction rather than another unexplained attachment.

The result you are working towards is modest and useful: someone outside the office can pick up the package and understand what is ready, what changed and whom to ask.

Related reading:

• How Office approaches payroll preparation
• Why an extracted value still needs review
• Keeping people records connected