Payroll Calculation Agent
From gross to net - rule-based, traceable, audit-proof.
Calculates gross salary, variable components, deductions, garnishments and continued pay - creates the payroll journal and the posting for the general ledger.
Score Dashboard
What This Agent Does
Payroll is the highest-volume process in payroll accounting. Every month, gross salary, variable compensation, statutory deductions, voluntary benefits and special cases must be correctly calculated for every employee. The complexity lies not in the individual calculation step but in the combination: collective agreement, works agreement, individual contract, statutory limits.
The Decision Layer breaks the payroll into twelve decision steps. Gross salary comes from the contract. Variable components follow the collective agreement. Payroll tax is calculated by the Payroll Tax Agent. Social insurance contributions follow current rates. Garnishments are applied per the statutory table (Paragraph 850c ZPO). Continued pay is checked against the 6-week limit.
The result: a fully traceable payslip from gross to net. The payroll journal and the posting for the general ledger are created automatically. For deviations above 10% from the prior month, a plausibility warning is triggered - the assessment remains with the human.
Micro-Decision Table
Determine gross salary Which gross salary applies per contract or collective agreement? Rules Engine Employee
Contract data and pay grade, deterministic assignment
Decision Record
Challengeable: Yes - rule application verifiable. Objection possible for incorrect data or wrong rule version.
Challengeable by: Employee
Calculate variable components Which overtime, allowances and shift premiums apply? Rules Engine Employee
Collective agreement and works agreement, time recording data
Decision Record
Challengeable: Yes - rule application verifiable. Objection possible for incorrect data or wrong rule version.
Challengeable by: Employee
Apply special payments Is a special payment due (13th salary, bonus, premium)? Rules Engine Employee
Contract and works agreement, date-triggered
Decision Record
Challengeable: Yes - rule application verifiable. Objection possible for incorrect data or wrong rule version.
Challengeable by: Employee
Calculate payroll tax What is the payroll tax including surcharges? Rules Engine Employee
Reference to Payroll Tax Agent, ELStAM-based
Decision Record
Challengeable: Yes - rule application verifiable. Objection possible for incorrect data or wrong rule version.
Challengeable by: Employee
Calculate social insurance contributions What are health, care, pension and unemployment insurance? Rules Engine Employee
SGB and current contribution rates, contribution ceilings
Decision Record
Challengeable: Yes - rule application verifiable. Objection possible for incorrect data or wrong rule version.
Challengeable by: Employee
Calculate net salary What is the payout amount? Rules Engine Employee
Arithmetic: gross minus deductions
Decision Record
Challengeable: Yes - rule application verifiable. Objection possible for incorrect data or wrong rule version.
Challengeable by: Employee
Apply capital formation subsidy Is a capital formation (VWL) subsidy agreed? Rules Engine
Contract data, fixed amount
Decision Record
Challengeable: Yes - rule application verifiable. Objection possible for incorrect data or wrong rule version.
Apply garnishments Is there a garnishment order and what is the garnishable amount? Rules Engine Employee
Statutory table per Paragraph 850c ZPO, deterministic calculation
Decision Record
Challengeable: Yes - rule application verifiable. Objection possible for incorrect data or wrong rule version.
Challengeable by: Employee
Check continued pay Is there entitlement to continued pay (Paragraph 3 EFZG)? Rules Engine Employee
6-week limit, prior illness offsetting
Decision Record
Challengeable: Yes - rule application verifiable. Objection possible for incorrect data or wrong rule version.
Challengeable by: Employee
Create payroll journal Are all positions correctly summarised? Rules Engine Auditor
Summary of all individual positions
Decision Record
Challengeable: Yes - rule application verifiable. Objection possible for incorrect data or wrong rule version.
Challengeable by: Auditor
Create GL posting What is the journal entry for the general ledger? Rules Engine Auditor
Posting logic: personnel expense, liabilities, deductions
Decision Record
Challengeable: Yes - rule application verifiable. Objection possible for incorrect data or wrong rule version.
Challengeable by: Auditor
Plausibility check Does net salary deviate more than 10% from prior month? Human Employee
Warning is rule-based (R), assessment of the cause is human (H)
Decision Record
Challengeable: Yes - via manager, works council, or formal objection process.
Challengeable by: Employee
Decision Record and Right to Challenge
Every decision this agent makes or prepares is documented in a complete decision record. Affected parties (employees, suppliers, auditors) can review, understand, and challenge every individual decision.
Prerequisites
- Payroll system with API access (SAP HCM, DATEV LODAS/Lohn und Gehalt, Sage or equivalent)
- Digitised employment contracts and collective agreements
- Time recording data (interface to Time Recording Agent)
- Current social insurance contribution rates and ceilings
- GL interface for posting transfer
Governance Notes
Nearly fully rule-based (0-1H / 11R / 0A). The only human decision concerns the assessment of significant prior-month deviations. GoBD-compliant: every payslip is archived with all input values, rules and results as an immutable document. Retention period 8 years (BEG IV).
Paragraph 203 StGB highly relevant: salary data is particularly sensitive client information. For tax advisory firm use: client-separated processing, EU data centre. EStG, SGB, EFZG and ZPO as direct legal bases. Not EU AI Act high-risk.
§203 StGB-relevant data is encrypted end-to-end and never passed to AI models in plain text.
Process Documentation Contribution
Infrastructure Contribution
The payroll logic is the core of the Payroll-Finance domain. The Payroll Correction Agent references the original payslip for difference calculations. The Social Insurance Reporting Agent takes the calculated contributions directly. The GL posting logic is reused by all agents that post personnel expense. The plausibility check establishes the prior-month comparison pattern usable for other periodic calculations. Builds Decision Logging and Audit Trail used by the Decision Layer for traceability and challengeability of every decision.
Does this agent fit your process?
We analyse your specific finance process and show how this agent fits into your system landscape. 30 minutes, no preparation needed.
Analyse your processRelated Agents
Payroll Tax Agent
Payroll tax calculation fully rule-based - from ELStAM to social insurance statement.
Payroll Correction Agent
Calculate retroactive payroll corrections - tax and social insurance compliant.
Social Insurance Reporting Agent
Automate social insurance reports - from registration to annual report.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the agent process different collective agreements simultaneously?
Yes. The rule engine maps any number of collective agreements in parallel. Each employee is assigned to the correct rule set via contract and pay grade. Companies with multiple locations and pay regions are fully covered.
How are garnishments prioritised with multiple creditors?
The agent applies the statutory ranking per ZPO. Maintenance garnishments take priority over other garnishments. The garnishable amount is calculated per Paragraph 850c ZPO - considering maintenance obligations.
What happens when the collective agreement changes?
Collective agreement changes are stored as a new rule version. The agent automatically applies the new agreement from the effective date. Retroactive adjustments run via the Payroll Correction Agent.
What Happens Next?
30 minutes
Initial call
We analyse your process and identify the optimal starting point.
1 week
Discover
Mapping your decision logic. Rule sets documented, Decision Layer designed.
3-4 weeks
Build
Production agent in your infrastructure. Governance, audit trail, cert-ready from day 1.
12-18 months
Self-sufficient
Full access to source code, prompts and rule versions. No vendor lock-in.
Implement This Agent?
We assess your finance process landscape and show how this agent fits your infrastructure.