Your Payroll Processing Data Template

Workday Payroll
Your Payroll Processing Data Template

Your Payroll Processing Data Template

This template provides a comprehensive framework for capturing payroll data from Workday Payroll to identify bottlenecks and compliance issues. It outlines the specific attributes required for analysis and the essential activities to track throughout the payroll cycle. By following this guide, you can ensure your event logs are structured for maximum visibility into your disbursement operations.
  • Recommended attributes for payroll records
  • Key process milestones from submission to payment
  • Extraction guidance specifically for Workday Payroll
New to event logs? Learn how to create a process mining event log.

Payroll Processing Attributes

These are the recommended data fields to include in your event log to enable a detailed analysis of your payroll cycle performance.
5 Required 9 Recommended 7 Optional
Name Description
Activity
ActivityName
The name of the process step or event performed.
Description

This attribute captures the specific action or status change occurring within the payroll cycle. Values correspond to the standard Business Process steps in Workday, such as 'Time Sheet Submitted', 'Payroll Record Created', or 'Payment Executed'. This field is the core component for process discovery and variant analysis.

Why it matters

It defines the sequence of events and is mandatory for reconstructing the process map.

Where to get

Workday 'Business Process Transactions' or audit logs.

Examples
Time Sheet SubmittedGross Pay CalculatedBank Transfer File GeneratedAudit Exception Flagged
Payroll Record
PayrollRecordId
The unique identifier for the specific payroll record, combining employee and pay period.
Description

This attribute serves as the central case identifier for the process. It uniquely identifies a single payroll instance for a specific employee within a specific pay period. In Workday, this is conceptually the intersection of the Worker, the Period, and the Pay Group. All activities, from time sheet submission to final payment execution, are grouped under this ID to enable end-to-end process analysis.

Why it matters

It is the mandatory CaseId that binds all disjointed events into a cohesive process trace.

Where to get

Workday Report Writer: Extract from 'Payroll Result' business object, typically a composite key of Employee_ID and Period_Reference.

Examples
PAY-2023-10-US-E10045PAY-2023-10-UK-E99231PAY-2023-11-FR-E44122
Start Time
EventTimestamp
The exact date and time when the activity occurred.
Description

This attribute records the timestamp for when a specific activity was initiated or completed. It provides the temporal dimension necessary for calculating cycle times, durations, and identifying bottlenecks. In Workday, this corresponds to the 'Completed Moment' or 'Effective Moment' of the business process step.

Why it matters

It is required to order events chronologically and calculate all time-based KPIs.

Where to get

Workday Business Process History: 'Completed Date/Time'.

Examples
2023-10-01T09:15:00Z2023-10-05T14:30:22Z2023-10-25T11:00:00Z
Last Data Update
LastDataUpdate
The timestamp of when the data was extracted or last refreshed.
Description

This attribute indicates when the record was last updated in the process mining data model. It is used to manage data freshness and identify potential synchronization latency between the source system and the analysis environment.

Why it matters

It helps analysts understand how current the data is.

Where to get

System time at moment of ETL execution.

Examples
2023-11-01T00:00:00Z2023-11-02T12:00:00Z
Source System
SourceSystem
The system of record where the data originated.
Description

This attribute identifies the software system where the event was recorded. For this process, the value will predominantly be 'Workday Payroll'. It is essential for multi-system environments to track data lineage and ensure the correct context is applied during analysis.

Why it matters

It allows for data lineage tracking in multi-system process mining setups.

Where to get

Hardcoded during extraction or configured in the ETL pipeline.

Examples
Workday PayrollWorkday HCM
Correction Reason
CorrectionReason
The reason code selected when data correction is performed.
Description

This attribute captures the user-selected reason for a 'Data Correction Performed' activity. It provides the granular detail needed for the 'Manual Correction and Rework Analysis' dashboard to understand root causes like 'Retroactive Change' or 'Input Error'.

Why it matters

Key for Root Cause Analysis of rework.

Where to get

Workday: 'Reason' field on the Rescind/Correct business process.

Examples
Retroactive Compensation ChangeTime Sheet AdjustmentBenefit Election Update
Cost Center
CostCenter
The department or cost center associated with the payroll record.
Description

This attribute maps the payroll record to a specific organizational unit. It allows for performance comparison across different departments, enabling the identification of areas that frequently cause delays (e.g., in time sheet approval) or have high error rates.

Why it matters

Essential for 'Time Sheet Approval Performance' and 'Audit Exception' dashboards.

Where to get

Workday Worker Object: 'Cost Center' or 'Supervisory Organization'.

Examples
CC-501 FinanceCC-202 EngineeringCC-101 HR
Country
Country
The country or tax jurisdiction for the payroll record.
Description

This attribute indicates the primary geographic location for the payroll calculation. It is vital for the 'Global Cycle Time Standardization' dashboard, allowing organizations to compare performance across different regulatory environments and isolate region-specific issues.

Why it matters

Supports 'Regional Cycle Time Variance' and global standardization analysis.

Where to get

Workday Worker Object: 'Primary Work Location' -> Country.

Examples
United StatesUnited KingdomFranceGermany
Is Automated
IsAutomated
Flag indicating if the activity was performed by the system.
Description

This boolean attribute determines if a specific step was executed by the Workday system (e.g., scheduled calculation) or a human user. It is essential for calculating the 'ActivityAutomationCost' and identifying opportunities to increase touchless processing.

Why it matters

Critical for automation analysis and cost estimation.

Where to get

Workday Audit: Check if Actor is 'System' or distinct from 'Worker'.

Examples
truefalse
Pay Group
PayGroup
The grouping of employees for payroll processing.
Description

This attribute identifies the logical grouping of employees who share the same payroll period and processing rules (e.g., 'US Monthly Salaried'). It is a fundamental Workday concept used to segment analysis for the 'Payroll Preview Iteration Tracker' and 'Tax Calculation Efficiency Monitor'.

Why it matters

Primary dimension for operational segmentation in Workday.

Where to get

Workday Worker/Payroll Result: 'Pay Group'.

Examples
US Monthly SalariedUK Weekly HourlyFrance Executives
Pay Period
PayPeriod
The specific time interval the payroll record covers.
Description

This attribute identifies the payroll cycle, such as 'October 2023 - Semi-Monthly'. It is used to group records for period-over-period analysis and is essential for the 'Payroll Record' case identifier logic.

Why it matters

Fundamental for grouping cases and temporal analysis.

Where to get

Workday Payroll Result: 'Period'.

Examples
2023-10 Monthly2023-W42 Weekly2023-11 Semi-Monthly
Payroll Run Type
PayrollRunType
The category of the payroll run (e.g., Regular, Off-Cycle, Bonus).
Description

This attribute classifies the nature of the payroll execution. Distinguishing between 'Regular', 'Correction', and 'On-Demand' runs is critical for analysis, as off-cycle runs typically represent rework or exceptions that skew standard performance metrics.

Why it matters

Supports segmentation of standard vs. exception processes.

Where to get

Workday Payroll: 'Run Category' or 'Result Type'.

Examples
RegularOff-CycleOn-DemandYear-End Adjustment
Payroll Specialist
PayrollSpecialist
The user or worker who performed the activity.
Description

This attribute identifies the individual or system account responsible for executing the activity. In Workday, this is the 'Actor' associated with the business process step. It is crucial for analyzing resource productivity, segregation of duties, and workload distribution.

Why it matters

Enables analysis of specialist productivity and resource bottlenecks.

Where to get

Workday Business Process History: 'Actor' field.

Examples
John SmithSystem AccountMaria GarciaPayrollBatchBot
Processing Time
ProcessingTime
The duration of the specific activity instance.
Description

This attribute captures the time taken to complete the specific step (e.g., how long the calculation job ran). It enables the 'Specialist Productivity' and 'Tax Calculation Efficiency' views by identifying slow system steps or manual user lag.

Why it matters

Granular metric for step-level performance analysis.

Where to get

Workday Business Process: Duration between Step Start and Step Complete.

Examples
30000120000500
Audit Exception Type
AuditExceptionType
The category of audit failure flagged during the cycle.
Description

This attribute classifies the specific rule that triggered an 'Audit Exception Flagged' event. Examples include 'Net Pay Negative', 'Variance > 10%', or 'Missing Tax ID'. It drives the 'Audit Exception and Quality Control' view.

Why it matters

Identifies specific data quality issues to target for improvement.

Where to get

Workday Audit Reports or Validation Rule outputs.

Examples
Negative Net PayHigh VarianceMissing SSN
Gross Pay Amount
GrossPayAmount
The total gross pay calculated for the record.
Description

This attribute holds the calculated gross monetary value before deductions. While often sensitive, it acts as a proxy for complexity and risk. In process mining, it can be used to analyze if higher-value records undergo more rigorous audit checks or take longer to approve.

Why it matters

Used as a dimensional attribute for complexity analysis (if security permits).

Where to get

Workday Payroll Result Lines: Sum of Gross Pay components.

Examples
5000.002500.5010000.00
Preview Iteration Count
PreviewIterationCount
The cumulative count of preview steps for this record.
Description

This calculated metric tracks how many times the 'Payroll Result Previewed' activity has occurred for a specific case. A high count indicates difficulty in stabilizing the data and is the primary input for the 'Payroll Preview Iteration Tracker'.

Why it matters

Measures process efficiency and data quality stability.

Where to get

Calculated: Count of 'Payroll Result Previewed' activities per CaseId.

Examples
1312
Region
Region
The broader geographic region (e.g., EMEA, APAC, NA).
Description

This attribute groups countries into broader operational regions. It supports the 'Regional Cycle Time Variance' KPI by allowing high-level comparison of payroll operations across major markets like North America, EMEA, and APAC.

Why it matters

Facilitates high-level geographic performance comparison.

Where to get

Derived from Country or 'Region' field on Worker.

Examples
North AmericaEMEAAPACLATAM
SLA Compliance Status
SLAComplianceStatus
Indicates if the bank transfer was generated on time.
Description

This calculated attribute compares the actual 'Bank Transfer File Generated' time against the 'SLA Processing Deadline'. Values like 'Met' or 'Breached' allow for immediate visualization of performance issues on the 'Bank Transfer and SLA Compliance' dashboard.

Why it matters

Directly populates the SLA compliance KPI.

Where to get

Calculated: If EventTime <= SLAProcessingDeadline then 'Met' else 'Breached'.

Examples
MetBreachedAt Risk
SLA Processing Deadline
SLAProcessingDeadline
The target deadline for generating the bank transfer file.
Description

This attribute defines the contractual or internal deadline by which the 'Bank Transfer File Generated' activity must occur. It is used to calculate the 'Bank Transfer SLA Adherence Rate' and visualize compliance on the dashboard.

Why it matters

Baseline for SLA compliance calculation.

Where to get

Derived from Pay Period End Date + configurable offset (e.g., 2 days).

Examples
2023-10-28T17:00:00Z2023-11-28T17:00:00Z
Tax Filing Status
TaxFilingStatus
The status of the post-payroll tax filing.
Description

This attribute tracks the completion state of the statutory reporting. Used in conjunction with 'Tax Filing Completed' activity to populate the 'Post-Cycle Tax Filing Velocity' dashboard and ensure regulatory compliance.

Why it matters

Critical for compliance and risk monitoring.

Where to get

Workday Payroll: Tax Filing history or integration status.

Examples
PendingCompletedRejected
Required Recommended Optional

Payroll Processing Activities

Capture these essential process steps and milestones in your event log to gain full visibility into your payroll execution and discovery.
9 Recommended 5 Optional
Activity Description
Audit Exception Flagged
The system detects a validation error or smart audit alert on the payroll result. This sets the result status to 'Error' or 'Requires Action'.
Why it matters

Critical for measuring compliance and data quality. Frequent exceptions drive up the cost per pay slip and delay finalization.

Where to get

Workday Pay Result Status field. Identify transitions to 'Error' state or the creation of 'Smart Audit' alert entries.

Capture

Compare status field before/after calculation

Event type inferred
Bank Transfer File Generated
The creation of the bank transmission file (e.g., NACHA, SEPA) containing net pay instructions. This happens during the 'Settlement Run'.
Why it matters

Measures SLA compliance for payment submission. Delays here jeopardize the actual pay date.

Where to get

Workday 'Run Settlement' process logs. Look for the generation of the 'Payment File' or completion of the settlement run event.

Capture

Logged when Settlement Run produces output

Event type explicit
Data Correction Performed
A manual intervention where a payroll specialist modifies input data or overrides calculated values on a payroll result. This indicates the initial calculation was incorrect.
Why it matters

Directly measures rework. Reducing this activity is a primary goal for automation and data quality initiatives.

Where to get

Workday Audit Trail for the Pay Result object. Look for 'Field Edit' events performed by users (not system) after the initial calculation.

Capture

Logged when user commits changes to Pay Result

Event type explicit
Gross Pay Calculated
The execution of the calculation engine that derives gross earnings based on hours, rates, and compensation plans. This activity may repeat multiple times if data is corrected.
Why it matters

High iteration counts here indicate data quality issues. This is the core processing step that consumes the most system resources and time.

Where to get

Workday 'Run Pay Calculation' task logs. Capture the completion timestamp of the calculation job for the specific worker/pay group.

Capture

Logged when 'Run Pay Calculation' job completes

Event type explicit
Payment Executed
The confirmation that funds have been released or the check has been printed. This is the final financial realization of the payroll record.
Why it matters

The absolute end of the employee-facing process. Comparing this to the Bank Transfer File Generated time reveals banking processing latencies.

Where to get

Workday Settlement Status. Look for status changes to 'Completed' or integration acknowledgments from the bank.

Capture

Logged when Settlement Status updates to Complete

Event type explicit
Payroll Record Approved
The finalization of the payroll calculation for a worker. This occurs during the 'Run Pay Completion' process, locking the result from further calculation changes.
Why it matters

The pivotal milestone marking the end of the calculation phase and the beginning of the settlement phase. Essential for measuring cycle time.

Where to get

Workday 'Run Pay Completion' task logs. Identify when the Pay Result Status changes to 'Complete' or 'Final'.

Capture

Logged when 'Run Pay Completion' executes

Event type explicit
Payroll Record Created
The initialization of the payroll result for a worker within a specific period. This often occurs when the Pay Calculation process identifies the worker as eligible for the run.
Why it matters

Marks the official start of the payroll processing specifically within the payroll engine. Useful for distinguishing between HR data prep and actual payroll processing.

Where to get

Workday Payroll 'Pay Result' object creation timestamp or the start of the 'Run Pay Calculation' process for the worker.

Capture

Logged when Pay Result object is instantiated

Event type explicit
Time Sheet Approved
The formal approval of time entries by a manager or HR partner. This status change releases the hours to be picked up by the payroll interface or calculation engine.
Why it matters

Calculates the approval lag time. Unapproved time is a primary cause of retroactive adjustments and rework in subsequent payroll periods.

Where to get

Workday Time Tracking Business Process history. Look for the 'Step Completed' event where the step type is 'Approval'.

Capture

Logged when approval step status changes to Completed

Event type explicit
Time Sheet Submitted
The initial submission of time entry data by an employee or timekeeper within the Time Tracking module. This event marks the entry of raw hours into the system flow before manager review.
Why it matters

Delays in submission trigger downstream bottlenecks in the payroll calculation window. Monitoring this sets the baseline for the entire pay cycle duration.

Where to get

Workday Time Tracking Business Process audit logs. Identify the 'Submit' event timestamp for the relevant Pay Period.

Capture

Logged when 'Submit Time' action is executed

Event type explicit
Benefits Deductions Applied
The application of benefit plans and deduction rules to the gross pay to determine taxable wages. While typically part of the main calculation, this activity isolates the deduction processing phase.
Why it matters

Synchronization delays between HCM Benefits and Payroll often cause errors here. Isolating this helps pinpoint configuration or data flow issues.

Where to get

Inferred from the 'Run Pay Calculation' log details if distinct deduction sub-processes are logged, or derived from updates to the 'Deductions' section of the Pay Result.

Capture

Compare Pay Result deduction fields pre/post calculation

Event type inferred
Incentive Data Imported
The ingestion of external compensation data such as commissions, bonuses, or one-time payments via Enterprise Interface Builder (EIB) or connector. This creates or updates Input/One-Time Payment objects.
Why it matters

Identifies integration latency. Validating that external data arrives before the calculation cutoff is critical for payroll accuracy.

Where to get

Integration System Event logs or Audit Trail for 'Request One-Time Payment' or 'Input' business processes.

Capture

Logged during EIB load or Web Service call

Event type explicit
Pay Slip Published
The availability of the finalized payslip document for the employee to view. Usually triggered after settlement completion or on a scheduled date.
Why it matters

Impacts employee satisfaction. Tracking this ensures transparency and compliance with local labor laws regarding statement delivery.

Where to get

Inferred from the 'Payslip Available Date' configured on the Pay Group or the timestamp of the 'Generate Payslip' process completion.

Capture

Derive from Payslip Available Date configuration

Event type inferred
Payroll Result Previewed
A user views the calculated payroll result or the 'Payslip Preview'. This activity typically precedes approval and signifies the verification phase.
Why it matters

Multiple previews without approval suggest uncertainty or the need for off-system validation. It helps analyze user behavior during the review cycle.

Where to get

User Access Logs or Report Run History. Look for 'View' events on the 'Pay Result' instance or execution of 'View Payslip' reports.

Capture

Logged in System Access Logs (View event)

Event type explicit
Tax Filing Completed
The successful generation and submission of statutory tax reports to government agencies. This occurs post-payment.
Why it matters

Ensures regulatory compliance. Delays in this post-cycle activity can lead to significant penalties.

Where to get

Integration logs for Third Party Payroll providers or completion of manual 'Tax Filing' tasks in the period close checklist.

Capture

Logged when Tax Integration event completes

Event type explicit
Recommended Optional

Extraction Guides

Learn how to extract and prepare your payroll data efficiently from Workday Payroll for your process mining projects.