Community Learning Series - Personalising your payroll experience using Zoho Payroll

Community Learning Series - Personalising your payroll experience using Zoho Payroll

We all know that employees are the most important asset for any organisation. Organisations spend copious amounts of time recruiting, training, and retaining sufficient employment to maintain their business health and operations. And one of the most important ways that business owners look after their primary assets is timely payroll. In this Community Learning Series post, we will focus on customising some of the crucial elements within the payroll journey.
 
But why even customise? Irrespective of the size of the organisation, payroll plays a huge role in employee morale. While timely payroll is essential, personalising the employee experience is also important. Zoho Payroll helps you out with plenty of customisation options for various stages within the payroll process, so you can deliver a completely custom experience right from the moment your employee joins your organisation to the day they receive their full and final settlement.
 
Here, we will talk about three features of Zoho Payroll and how they can be customised to your needs.
 
  • Email templates
  • Payslip templates
  • Organisation announcements
 
1. Email templates
 
Despite the variety of instant messaging platforms in existence, we still rely on emails for most of our professional communication. The reason is very simple: emails add a professional touch, but still pass on information instantly. In payroll, it's often important for communication to reach your employees in a professional and timely manner. Zoho Payroll helps you personalise this communication experience with templates specific to different scenarios.
 
Has a new employee joined your organisation today? Time to welcome them with a personalised message that reflects your organisation's culture. You can save the voice and tone you've chosen for your message, using a template.
 
Inside Zoho Payroll, go to Settings -> Email templates -> Employee invitation. As you can see in the below image, we have a predefined template set up for your convenience, but you can customise it to suit your brand and voice. You can make changes to the text size and font, and add links, photographs, and placeholders. We even provide the complete HTML code, which you can edit to make the changes you need. 


 
Once you make your changes, click Save. Now whenever an employee joins, they will receive the newly customised email you created specifically to welcome them.
 
You can customise other emails in the same way here. For example, this payslip notification template has been customised by adding a motivational quote, which can be changed every month. Or if you have revised employees' salaries this month, you can mention the change in the email.


 
These are just a few examples of how to utilise this customisation. Now it's your turn.
 
2. Payslip templates
 
Why are payslips so important? A payslip is a proof of the contract that binds any employee to an organisation. Professional-looking payslips will be considered as credible proof for future employment, or for obtaining employee loans. A detailed payslip showcases all the employee's tax liabilities, thus helping them make the right investment decisions, maximise their take-home salary, and plan their savings well in advance.
 
You've probably noticed that we provide a variety of payslip templates, including one specially designed for the full and final settlement. There are various components that should be present within a payslip to prove its credibility. Let's see how this can be easily achieved with our pre-existing templates.
 
Inside Zoho Payroll, click the Settings icon -> Payslip templates. 
 
As you see in the images below, we have 6 templates, and they cover all the necessary information such as the organisation details, employee information, and the breakdown of the salary into earnings, deductions, and reimbursements.
 



 
How can the templates be customised further?
 
Click on the edit icon below any template and you will see different ways to customise it on the left side. Here are a few things you can do:
 
  • The organisation logo can be resized.
  • You can choose the information you want to display on the payslip.
  • You can even add up to 5 custom fields to the payslip.
 
When you're done making changes, click Save.
 
For example, we can add a custom field called Aadhar card to this template. When you come back to view this template again, you'll see the Aadhar card number field appear in it automatically. The full and final settlement payslip can be customised too—for instance, to edit the declaration section.

​
 
And that's how your payslips can be customised to look professional and reflect your brand voice.
 
3. Organisational announcements
 
There are various ways for you to communicate with your employees via Zoho Payroll, whether you're inviting new users or employees, or sending reminders for reimbursement proofs and tax declarations. But emails can be missed easily. So, if you want to make an organisation-wide announcement, how do you ensure that your employees don't miss it?
 
Zoho Payroll has an option for this.
 
You can now add a customisable banner message in the ESS portal. Here's how:
 
  1. Inside Zoho Payroll, go to Settings -> Preferences -> Employee portal.
  2. Under the Banner Message option, type your announcement.
  3. Select the date until which you want this message to be displayed.
 
Here's an example:


 
And this is how the announcement will appear on the ESS portal for your employees:
 

 
So, have you tried out these features yet? If yes, were they useful? Let us know in the comment section below. 

    • Recent Topics

    • Account in Quick View Filter

      I have a report that I often run against a specific Account. Every time, I have to go into the edit menu and change the Advanced Filter. I would prefer to use the Quick View Filter, but it does not allow me to use the one and only field that makes any

    • Collapsible Sections & Section Navigation Needed

      The flexibility of Zoho CRM has expanded greatly in the last few years, to the point that a leads module is now permissible to contain up to 350 fields. We don't use that many, but we are using 168 fields which are broken apart into 18 different sections.

    • Set Display for Numbers/Currency/etc with Client Script/Customization in Canvas List Page

      Is it possible to set a display mask for a number/currency field using Client Script or customization? I have custom fields that I would like to keep the decimal places for calculation purposes, but do not need them displayed to the user. So 101.3568

    • 136.143.188.51 blocked by spamcop

      Zoho mailserver seems to be blocked by spamcop. Cant send mail to my customer. Not sure what to do.

    • 🚀 WorkDrive 5.0: Evolving from a file sharing app to an intelligent content management platform: Phase 2

      Hello everyone, WorkDrive's primary focus has always been to provide an intelligent and secure content management platform, simplify collaboration, and be the central repository of files for all Zoho apps. In our previous announcement, we unveiled the

    • Sync desktop folders instantly with WorkDrive TrueSync (Beta)

      Keeping your important files backed up and accessible has never been easier! With WorkDrive desktop app (TrueSync), you can now automatically sync specific desktop folders to WorkDrive Web, ensuring seamless, real-time updates across devices. Important:

    • I'm unable to send mail pthrough Zoho SMTP programmatically

      This has been working for years, but today it's been offline all day long. I see nothing anywhere on your site about this. I'm not the only one experiencing this. Downdetector has a spike of reports today

    • i keep see there is a connetion issue connecting 3rd party api on zoho when using zia

      hi there , i have set up open ai api to zoho zia (copied and pasted to zoho zia) but I keep getting notificaiton "there is a connetion issue connecting 3rd party api on zoho" when using zia on top when click zia and try to type in word there

    • Can no longer send email via Django site

      This was working fine as of 11/7/25. Now I am unable to send user verification emails from a Django site on a AWS lightsail sever. When a user attempts to register the following error occurs. I have also attempted to send a test email via the shell and

    • Deleting Fields in CRM Deletes Views in Analytics

      Hey friends! I'm having some issues when we modify some fields within ZohoCRM. There are times where we need to sunset a field and eventually completely remove it. In these instances, it seems like a lot of views are removed in Analytics. This ranges

    • Booking outside of scheduled availability

      Is there a way for staff (such as the secretary) to book appointments outside of the scheduled availability? Right now to do this special hours must be set each time. There should be a quicker way. Am I missing something?

    • IMAP error message in Zoho mail

      I cannot send emails today. Everything fine for years until today. Get a message: "You are yet to enable IMAP for your account. Please contact your administrator". Does anyone know how to correct this?

    • unable to send email but able to receive email

      my email address is info@securityforceservices.ca

    • Zoho Desk Android and iOS app update: Access multilingual templates on the IM module

      Hello everyone! We have introduced multilingual templates on the IM module of the Zoho Desk mobile app allowing you to send IM template messages in translated versions. iOS: Android: Please update the app to the latest version directly from the App Store/

    • Login to server failing

      When trying to retrieve my mail, I am getting this error message -- Login to server pop.zoho.com with username (my email address) failed. It gives me the option to retry, enter password, or cancel. Then I get this message -- Sending of username did not

    • Does Zoho offer a full WhatsApp Marketing Platform (like WATI / GallaBox)?

      lm exploring WhatsApp marketing and I’d like to understand what options are available within the Zoho ecosystem. Currently, I see: Zoho SalesIQ has a broadcast option, but it seems very limited — for example, it doesn’t support uploading contacts via

    • IMAP stopped working today

      Hello! I've been a paid customer for more than 10 years, IMAP was always working fine. But today this is the error I've got on my iPhone: I've tried toggling the IMAP for my account (Mail -> Settings -> Mail accounts) off and on again, but that did not

    • Custom buttons

      Getting Error "You can only create 10 custom buttons per module" ! I already have more than 10 for 1 module before trying to create another. Is this a new restriction brought about by the all knowing what's best for businesses Zoho guru ? It would be

    • The Social Wall: October 2025

      Hello everyone, As we head toward the end of the year, we’re bringing you a few updates to help give your social media efforts a strong finish. This month, we’re rolling out new enhancements across both the web and mobile app. Post Preview Have you ever

    • Client Script | Update - Support for List Page (Canvas) and Notes

      Hello everyone! We are glad to announce two exciting updates in Client Script. Client Script support for List Page (Canvas) Client Script support for Notes These open the door to more dynamic and interactive customizations! 1. Client Script support for

    • Trouble Connecting Zoho Mail via IMAP in n8n – Need Help

      Hi everyone 👋, I'm trying to connect my Zoho Mail account to n8n using the IMAP Email Trigger node, but I'm facing issues getting it to work fully. ✅ Here's what I’ve done so far: ✅ IMAP access is enabled in my Zoho Mail settings ✅ I’m using the correct

    • Pincode Based Pricing

      We want to give extra discount to customers within city limits because our shipping and packing costs are less. My proposal is assign list of pincodes to price list and assign the price list to customers whenever they sign up with pincodes. Also show

    • feature question: lookup field in Projects task layout

      Hello, Below we have interface to configure a custom task layout, however, we need a lookup field to let pickup data from other apps, such as Zoho CRM Products module, is that possible or already in your roadmap? or a workaround to achieve it? Thanks in advance.

    • Can we do Image swatches for color variants?

      We want to do something like the attached screenshot on our new zoho store. We need image swatches instead of normal text selection. We want to user to select an image as color option. Is this doable? I don't see any option on zoho backend. Please h

    • What's New in Zoho Analytics - October 2025

      Hello Users! We're are back with a fresh set of updates and enhancements to make data analysis faster and more insightful. Take a quick look at what’s new and see how these updates can power up your reports and dashboards. Explore What's New! Extreme

    • Zoho Analytics & SQL Server - Live connect

      Below are the steps I did Created a fresh database and table in my own virtual server Created a new data source connection with live connect I was able to select the tables and created the data source successfully I am getting the error when I try to

    • Explore the Redesigned Quotes Module in Zoho Billing

      Dear users, We’re excited to introduce a refreshed look for the Quotes details page in Zoho Billing! This update brings you a more efficient user interface experience without changing your existing workflow. We've enhanced layouts with organized tabs,

    • Latest updates in Zoho Meeting | Create departments, Share PDF files

      Hello all,   You can now create departments to group team members within your organization. This will make it easier for you to organize department-level meetings and invite members. In webinars, use the Share material feature to share PDF files directly

    • Unify All Zoho Video Meeting Experiences into One Standardized Platform

      Hi Zoho Team, We would like to share an important user experience concern regarding the current state of video meeting functionality across the Zoho ecosystem. The Problem Within Zoho, there are multiple ways to initiate or schedule a video meeting: Zoho

    • [Free Webinar] Product Updates: Quick Catch-Up Session - Part I - Creator Tech Connect

      Hello Everyone! We welcome you all to the upcoming free webinar on the Creator Tech Connect Series. The Creator Tech Connect series is a free monthly webinar featuring deep-dive technical sessions designed for developers, administrators, and app builders.

    • Project expenses in Zoho Books

      Just the way timesheet is used to calculate labour cost for a particular project, how do i record other expenses against a project such as materials and consumables used for the project? So that under report, I can view the total amount expended on each

    • Blueprint status change

      I want to change the Blueprint status of a workflow. The status is completed automatically when I added the record through API call. But I want to make it active, I don't see any options for this. Even if I draw transition from any stage , it is not visible

    • What is going on with GMail extension.

      Suddenly, it is popping up and saying "Please wait while we work our magic... 10%" and it sits there. Yesterday I waited for an entire hour call and it never got further. Today, it's not resolved. Is there a fix I can do? I've tried all the typical

    • Marketing Tip #6: Cross-sell with related products

      Don’t let customers stop at just one product. Suggesting related or complementary items improves the shopping experience and increases order value. Try this today: Use the Item Recommendations feature in Zoho Commerce and add two to three suggested items

    • i cannot use <b></b> to bold the message in Creator C6!!!!???What?

      Dear experts and friends, Now Creator 6 blocking us from using <b></b> Anyone facing this issue? I faced it on Creator C6 Previously, it used to work. Now failed to work. Faint~ Seek guidance from everyone on how to bold the message. The super simple

    • Zoho Writer - Option to Export as .zdoc format

      I've noticed that it's not possible to export a Zoho Writer Document in the .zdoc format. Isn't zdoc, Zoho Writer's own format? My use case is that I sometimes need to create quite complex documents with floating elements, which sometimes need to become

    • [Announcement] Enhanced Merge APIs of Zoho Writer for automating document generation using Zoho Apps data

      Hi users, With the record_id parameter in Zoho Writer's Merge APIs, fields related to the given record id is automatically fetched from the Zoho app. You don't have to spend time manually mapping the records and fields in the Deluge code. Here is a sample

    • Pin multiple columns and adjust column widths in CRM subforms

      Hello all, Subforms act as secondary forms or tables in which you can associate multiple line items to a primary record and thereby ensure more structured and comprehensive data organization. We've made some recent enhancements to subforms. Here's what's

    • [Webinar] Automate sales and presales workflows with Writer

      Sales involves sharing a wide range of documents with customers across the presales, sales, and post-sales stages: NDAs, quotes, invoices, sales orders, and delivery paperwork. Generating and managing these documents manually slows down the overall sales

    • Automate insurance document workflows with Zoho Writer

      Insurance companies have to deal with creating and managing complex documents and forms, such as policy applications, explanation of benefits documents, brochures, renewals, and claim forms. Handling all of this manually is hugely time and effort intensive,

    • Next Page