Collaborate without compromising on payroll security using Zoho Payroll

Collaborate without compromising on payroll security using Zoho Payroll


Welcome to the next session of our Community Learning Series

Today we will throw some light on how Zoho Payroll lets you collaborate with your distributed workforce and stay in control of payroll operations without compromising on the security of your employees' data. 

As a Zoho Payroll user, your organisation will possess all the crucial information about your employees like bank account details, personal information, and salary details. Therefore, it is critical that this information stays secure. If it falls into the wrong hands, it can lead to identity theft or worse. This in turn can have adverse effects on your employees' trust and might damage your organisation's reputation. 

To show how you can take control of your payroll operations in a secure way, we'll look at the below organisational hierarchy as an example.

                                        




The following table lists the responsibilities for each role as part of the payroll processing team.  


                                                

From the table above, you can see that only the CEO requires complete access to all the modules. The remaining users need access only to specific modules based on their roles. 

As the payroll admin of the organisation, the CEO can set up multi-level access in Zoho Payroll and allow the users in the organisation to access only selected data and functions. This way the CEO can maintain centralised control yet present the same user interface for all of the staff to get their work done. Distinctive user roles help cross-department staff can work in synergy without compromising the security of payroll data. 

As your organization's CEO or payroll admin, here's how you can assign access for each of your user roles.

Log in to Zoho Payroll.

Under Settings, select Users and Roles


                                                     

Refer to our self-help resources for step-by-step guidance on creating multiple distinct user roles.

Once you have created all the roles within your organisation, let's define the permissions for each of the roles. 

Payroll staff:

Let's assume that the responsibility of your payroll staff will be to maintain and update payroll records, validate payroll inputs, and get the pay run ready. 

Your payroll staff will need to collect employee details and payroll inputs submitted through various sources, and then create a pay run with all the information collected. 

They will need access to the following modules:
  • Employee module to maintain employee records.
  • Pay run module to create and edit pay runs. 
  • Preferences module to collect employee reimbursement and POI data 
   
                                               
   
Here you can allow the payroll staff to only view the basic employee details, but not create or edit them. This will ensure they cannot tamper with the employee data. 

In the pay run module, you can decide that they can only create and edit the pay runs, not approve or pay them. When you move on to setting the permissions for the other roles, you'll probably give the payroll admin approval access for any pay run and give the finance team permission to make payments to the employees. Each role has a unique set of permissions based on its duties and position in the hierarchy. 

                                

Now that the different roles have been set, the admin can invite users into the payroll organisation. 

Select Users under Users and Roles and start adding your employees under the different roles you have curated. All they have to do is accept the invitations they receive via email and create a Zoho account using the same email, and they are good to go.

Here's how the users will be seeing Zoho Payroll based on the roles that they've been assigned. 

HR staff:

Can add new employee details while onboarding new staff to Zoho Payroll.



Payroll staff:

Can enter payroll inputs of employees, create and edit pay runs.



HR manager:

Can approve salary revisions, reimbursements and proof of investments. Has access to all reports.



Finance manager:

Can create, edit and delete employee loans and record salary payments. 



External auditor:

Can access payroll, statutory and tax reports. 




So the roles have been created, the users are added, and the admin knows which actions each user can perform. We haven't mentioned user tracking yet, but that's another kind of accountability that's available. If a discrepancy occurs in the payroll system, the payroll admin can check the activity log report to see exactly which actions each user has performed. All of this helps you keep your payroll data safe with Zoho Payroll.

Do let us know in the comments below how you have customised the roles in your payroll organisation. 

Also, check out our previous post on a checklist to follow before hitting pay run here.

Until next time!







    Access your files securely from anywhere







                          Zoho Developer Community






                                                • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                • Digest


                                                • Functions


                                                • Meetups


                                                • Kbase


                                                • Resources


                                                • Glossary


                                                • Desk Marketplace


                                                • MVP Corner


                                                • Word of the Day


                                                • Ask the Experts





                                                          Manage your brands on social media



                                                                Zoho TeamInbox Resources



                                                                    Zoho CRM Plus Resources

                                                                      Zoho Books Resources


                                                                        Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                                                                          Zoho Projects Resources


                                                                            Zoho Sprints Resources


                                                                              Qntrl Resources


                                                                                Zoho Creator Resources



                                                                                    Zoho CRM Resources

                                                                                    • CRM Community Learning Series

                                                                                      CRM Community Learning Series


                                                                                    • Kaizen

                                                                                      Kaizen

                                                                                    • Functions

                                                                                      Functions

                                                                                    • Meetups

                                                                                      Meetups

                                                                                    • Kbase

                                                                                      Kbase

                                                                                    • Resources

                                                                                      Resources

                                                                                    • Digest

                                                                                      Digest

                                                                                    • CRM Marketplace

                                                                                      CRM Marketplace

                                                                                    • MVP Corner

                                                                                      MVP Corner







                                                                                        Design. Discuss. Deliver.

                                                                                        Create visually engaging stories with Zoho Show.

                                                                                        Get Started Now


                                                                                          Zoho Show Resources


                                                                                            Zoho Writer Writer

                                                                                            Get Started. Write Away!

                                                                                            Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                                                                                              Zoho CRM コンテンツ




                                                                                                Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


                                                                                                    ご検討中の方




                                                                                                          • Recent Topics

                                                                                                          • Introducing Version-3 APIs - Explore New APIs & Enhancements

                                                                                                            Happy to announce the release of Version 3 (V3) APIs with an easy to use interface, new APIs, and more examples to help you understand and access the APIs better. V3 APIs can be accessed through our new link, where you can explore our complete documentation,
                                                                                                          • Rotate an Image in Workdrive Image Editor

                                                                                                            I don't know if I'm just missing something, but my team needs a way to rotate images in Workdrive and save them at that new orientation. For example one of our ground crew members will take photos of job sites vertically (9:16) on his phone and upload
                                                                                                          • Resume Harvester: New Enhancements for Faster Sourcing

                                                                                                            We’re excited to share a set of enhancements to Resume Harvester that make sourcing faster and more flexible. These updates help you cut down on repetitive steps, manage auto searches more efficiently, and review candidate profiles with ease. Why we built
                                                                                                          • WIDGET in related record list ZOHO CRM; how to get and put data to subform custom fields?

                                                                                                            he need: Read and write two custom subform line-item fields on Quotes: Segment_wyceny (picklist/text) and W_pakiecie (number). Write works; read does not return these fields via SDK. Environment Zoho CRM Widget Zoho Embedded App SDK v1.2 Module: Quotes
                                                                                                          • Cliq iOS can't see shared screen

                                                                                                            Hello, I had this morning a video call with a colleague. She is using Cliq Desktop MacOS and wanted to share her screen with me. I'm on iPad. I noticed, while she shared her screen, I could only see her video, but not the shared screen... Does Cliq iOS is able to display shared screen, or is it somewhere else to be found ? Regards
                                                                                                          • Zoho CRM Tracking Google Enhanced Conversions

                                                                                                            Can anyone @Zoho, consultants, or users help me understand if Zoho CRM is going to support Google's Enhanced Conversions? I included some information from Google below about it. We use Google Adwords for our pay per click advertising for lead generation,
                                                                                                          • zoho click, and nord VPN

                                                                                                            Unfortunately, we've been having problems with Zoho Click, where essentially the line cuts off after about a minute's worth of conversation every time we are on VPN. Is there a way we can change this within the settings so it does not cut the line off
                                                                                                          • Connecting Portals from different Zoho apps

                                                                                                            Hi, I note that Zoho has functionality for customer portals for several of the Zoho apps, like CRM, Projects, Desk etc. Is there any way to connect these portals?  It would be great if we could give our customers access to a portal in which they could
                                                                                                          • Billing Management: #5 Usage Billing

                                                                                                            After understanding the nuances of Advance Billing and Retainers, we will explore one of the booming billing models. Long ago, villagers drew water from a shared well in a small village. The well was a lifeline for the entire community. Ravi, the well
                                                                                                          • Function #10: Update item prices automatically based on the last transaction created

                                                                                                            In businesses, item prices are not always fixed and can fluctuate due to various factors. If you find yourself manually adjusting the item rates every time they change, we have the ideal time-saving solution for you. In today's post, we bring you custom
                                                                                                          • Inventory Adjustments

                                                                                                            Hi, How to transfer the material from one head to another ? Like materials purchased for manufacturing the laptop need to transfer from consumption inventory (Quantity of raw materials reduced) to destination inventory ( Quantity of Laptop increased)
                                                                                                          • Zoho CRM Community Digest - Aug 2025 | Part 1

                                                                                                            Hey everyone! The first half of August went by, and we have a few announcements and some good noteworthy discussions. So, let's take a look at them! Product Updates: Introducing Connected Records feature: Zoho CRM’s Next-Gen UI now includes Connected
                                                                                                          • Problems with email templates (HTML - Outlook)

                                                                                                            Hi there, I've been trying to create a newsletter from the template "Business 4". Everything looks great in the preview, but when I send it to my Outlook inbox, the layout doesn't seems to stick. More particularly: - The line-height is way more reduced, even though I used the line-height tool from the template - Columns but they are sometimes misaligned - Font size is not always the one I've selected. Could you help? Thanks!
                                                                                                          • Please make it easier to Pause syncing

                                                                                                            right now it takes 3 clicks to get there. sounds silly, but can you make it just 2 clicks to get it done instead? thats how dropbox does it, 2 clicks to pause instead of 3.
                                                                                                          • How to create a Zoho CRM report with 2 child modules

                                                                                                            Hi all, Is it possible to create a Zoho CRM report or chart with 2 child modules? After I add the first child module, the + button only adds another parent module. It won't let me add multiple child modules at once. We don't have Zoho Analytics and would
                                                                                                          • SalesIQとPageSenseの利用について

                                                                                                            初めての投稿で場違いだったらすいません。 弊社ではSalesIQを運用しているのですが、追加でPageSenseの導入もしたいと現場からの声があります。 両サービスともクッキー同意バナーが必要なサービスなのですが 弊社では同意無しに情報はとりませんという方針なので 2つ入れると2つバナーを出す必要がでてきます・・・ 両サービスを運用されてる方があれば運用状況とか教えてほしいです。 PageSenseについては詳細まで機能を理解してないなかでの質問です。
                                                                                                          • How to integrate Zoho Forms with Zoho CRM on Standard Plan

                                                                                                            Hello Zoho Support Team, I am using the Standard Zoho Forms plan (USD 30/user) and I would like to integrate Zoho Forms with Zoho CRM so that certain fields in my forms can be automatically prefilled using data from Deals in CRM. Specifically, I want
                                                                                                          • CRM : Function to add user name to text field

                                                                                                            I have a lookup field in a module that is linked to the CRM users so we can assign a Project Lead to the customer. Sadly Zoho Marketing Automation doesn't sync Lookup fields so I need to extract information from the lookup to text fields: Lookup field
                                                                                                          • Export PDF File Name

                                                                                                            Is it possible to change the default Zoho .pdf naming scheme for inventory items like quotations? Would like to use the the Subject as the default quote name. Is this possible?
                                                                                                          • How to change the from address from 'no reply' for an email template in CRM

                                                                                                            Hi, We have our CRM set up with the from field as sales@XXX. I have just created a series of email templates and sent a test and they are sending from noreply@zoho I have tried searching for how to change the email template but don't have the options
                                                                                                          • Zoho CRM Client Script - SetCriteria in lookup Field

                                                                                                            Hello All One More Zoho CRM Client Script Tips & Trick. Now you can Set the Criteria on Your lookup in zoho CRM, It Comes With a Create Page, Edit Page, and Details Page (Standard). Example:- We have a Room Module that includes Room Name, Status, Campus,
                                                                                                          • Kaizen #71 - Client Script ZDKs for Detail (Canvas) Page

                                                                                                            Hello everyone! Welcome back to another interesting Kaizen post. In this post, we can discuss Client Script ZDKs support for Detail (Canvas) Page. What is Detail (Canvas) Page? A Detail(Canvas) Page allows you to customize the record detail page to your
                                                                                                          • Add Custom Reports To Dashboard or Home Tab

                                                                                                            Hi there, I think it would be great to be able to add our custom reports to the Home Tab or Dashboards. Thanks! Chad
                                                                                                          • Rich-text fields in Zoho CRM

                                                                                                            Hello everyone, We're thrilled to announce an important enhancement that will significantly enhance the readability and formatting capabilities of your information: rich text options for multi-line fields. With this update, you can now enjoy a more versatile
                                                                                                          • Zoho Reports Duplicating Entries

                                                                                                            I have a custom costing tab with a table where we entre invoices. These are under a Heading (PO Subject) and notes added in the form with different line items. In the reports, I have organised the report to group per PO Subject, with the total of the
                                                                                                          • Validation Rule Not Working for Mandatory Field in Zoho Blueprint

                                                                                                            As a Zoho user, we created a validation rule for a specific field. However, we noticed that when we made the same field mandatory within a Blueprint, the validation rule we defined did not work. When we reported this issue to Zoho Support, they stated
                                                                                                          • Notes Issues

                                                                                                            Been having issues with Notes in the CRM. Yesterday it wasn't showing the notes, but it got resolved after a few minutes., Now I have been having a hard time saving notes the whole day. Notes can't be saved by the save button. it's grayed out or not grayed
                                                                                                          • Export from Contacts module to Products module in Zoho CRM

                                                                                                            Good afternoon, I would like to send a number of contact info from the Contacts module into the customized module (tickets to an event) in one operation. I have selected several contacts in the Contact module (people who I have labelled as people I want
                                                                                                          • Zoho Commerce

                                                                                                            Hi, I have zoho one and use Zoho Books. I am very interested in Zoho Commerce , especially with how all is integrated but have a question. I do not want my store to show prices for customers that are not log in. Is there a way to hide the prices if not
                                                                                                          • Can’t receive emailI c

                                                                                                            I have generated a basic for but when I submit it I don’t get a email, I’ve been in the settings and tested me email, all appears correct, can you please help me
                                                                                                          • Data Capture for Historical Activity (Especially One Lead Downloading Variois reports without Overwriting the info)

                                                                                                            Is there a better way in Zoho CRM to capture and archive a lead’s historical activity—specifically whenever they download reports—so that the data is stored without being overwritten?”
                                                                                                          • Client Script - Updating Field Value in Detail Page of a Lead

                                                                                                            Hello, I'm trying to use Client Script To enrich some data of the Lead when one of my User fill the "City" field in the detail page of the Lead. This is my Script: log (value); var response = ZDK.Apps.CRM.Functions.execute("getInfoCitta", { "nomeCitta":
                                                                                                          • Auto shapes in Zoho sheet.

                                                                                                            Does Zoho sheet supports inserting auto shapes (rectangle, circle...). I did not see any option to do so.  If its not supported currently, is there any plans on bring in this features. Any timelines ?
                                                                                                          • I Can't Clone Webinar that I Co-Organize

                                                                                                            How do i get our account admin to give me permission to clone our webinars? I am a co-organizer
                                                                                                          • I want to Make the due date of the project appears automatically

                                                                                                            hello everyone I want to know if the zoho projects app can add automatically the END DATE of the project I added the duration, start after dates of each tasks in the project template & the starting date of the project itself and the end date of it doesn't
                                                                                                          • Introducing Profile Summary: Faster Candidate Insights with Zia

                                                                                                            We’re excited to launch Profile Summary, a powerful new feature in Zoho Recruit that transforms how you review candidate profiles. What used to take minutes of resume scanning can now be assessed in seconds—thanks to Zia. A Quick Example Say you’re hiring
                                                                                                          • How to get the call recording external ID via desk API

                                                                                                            I have enabled phonbridge integration with Zoom Call. I am trying to access the call recording in Zoom by calling Zoom API. I have built a Desk workflow to trigger on a new call, to call a custom function. when calling the API, the response doesn't contain
                                                                                                          • Can't View Project Names in Mobile App

                                                                                                            I can't view project names on PO's in the app, nor can I add that as a viewable PDF field in inventory on the computer. I've attached screenshots showing that in the mobile version whether you are on the PO, editing the PO, or viewing the PO line items,
                                                                                                          • How do you print a refund check to customer?

                                                                                                            Maybe this is a dumb question, but how does anyone print a refund check to a customer? We cant find anywhere to either just print a check and pick a customer, or where to do so from a credit note.
                                                                                                          • Notebook

                                                                                                            I have purchased the monthly pro subscription of Notebook. But it does not support my XP-Pen to write something in it. So it is not useful to me. Hence I am requesting you to help me to discontinue this subscription.
                                                                                                          • Next Page