Zoho Payroll: Product Updates - H1, 2026

Zoho Payroll: Product Updates - H1, 2026

Over the last few months, Zoho Payroll has added updates that make payroll easier to process, review, explain, and manage for businesses. The most important improvements focus on payroll flexibility, gratuity tracking, employee self-service, reporting, regional language support, and payment workflows.

Here's a look at everything that's new:
  1. More precise payroll reporting with Advanced Reporting Tags
  2. Manage payroll by Pay Groups (India, GCC)
  3. Manage contractors in payroll (India)
  4. Support leave salary requests in advance (GCC)
  5. Connect Zoho Payroll with Zoho Analytics (GCC)
  6. Record gratuity accruals in Zoho Books (GCC)
  7. Approve loans with gratuity-based eligibility (GCC)
  8. View a clearer audit trail (GCC)
  9. Use Arabic across payroll and employee documents (GCC)
  10. Import unpaid leaves for gratuity calculation (GCC)
  11. Calculate one-time deductions based on custom formula (India, GCC)
  12. Import previous salary revision history (India, GCC)
  13. Give employees quicker payroll answers with Ask Zia (India, US)
  14. Review negative net pay before approving payroll (India)
  15. Approve eligible direct deposit pay runs closer to payday (US)
  16. Customize semi-monthly pay periods (US)
  17. Edit overtime and double time hours during pay runs (US)
  18. View detailed employee pay summaries (US)
  19. Download pay stubs in bulk (US)
  20. Other enhancements

More precise payroll reporting with Advanced Reporting Tags  

Reporting tags let you classify payroll costs by categories like region, department, or business unit. With standard reporting tags, all options are presented as a flat list, and any option can be selected regardless of other choices made.

Advanced Reporting Tags take this further by letting you structure options in a hierarchy. You can set up tags so that each selection filters what appears next. For example, selecting India as a region can limit the next field to only Indian cities, and selecting a city can then show only the departments within it.

This keeps tagging consistent across your team and ensures payroll costs are always classified in a way that reflects how your organization is actually structured. Reports become easier to filter, segment, and analyse as a result.



Manage payroll by Pay Groups (India, GCC)

Payroll inputs are not always ready for the entire organization at the same time. Attendance may be complete for one location, loss of pay may still be under review for another department, and a specific employee group may have pending inputs while the rest of the organization is ready for payroll.

Pay Groups help payroll teams process payroll separately for specific employees within the same pay schedule. Employees can be grouped by work location, department, employee type, or reporting tag. Once a group’s inputs are ready, payroll can be processed for that group without waiting for every other group to be finalized.

This is useful for organizations where payroll readiness varies across work locations, or departments. It helps payroll teams avoid delaying everyone because one group’s inputs are still pending.



Manage contractors in payroll  (India)

Organizations that work with contractors often need to manage details such as contract terms, pay rate, TDS, payment method, and portal access. Zoho Payroll now lets organizations add and manage contractors along with employees. Contractor profiles can also be synced from Zoho People.

This helps payroll teams maintain contractor details in one place and process payments with the information needed for accurate deductions and records.





Support leave salary requests in advance  (GCC)

Leave salary is the salary paid to an employee during their approved leave period, typically for annual leave. Employees in GCC organizations receive their leave salary before the leave begins so they have access to their salary while on vacation. Zoho Payroll now lets employees request leave salary in advance through the Employee Portal.

Admins can review and approve the request in Zoho Payroll. Once approved, the leave salary can be processed through a regular or off-cycle pay run. Zoho Payroll also adjusts the employee’s salary in the actual leave month so the same leave days are not paid twice. This helps employees receive leave salary when they need it while keeping the later payroll calculation accurate.





Connect Zoho Payroll with Zoho Analytics  (GCC)

Payroll data becomes more useful when teams can analyze it beyond standard reports. You can now connect Zoho Payroll with Zoho Analytics to create custom reports and dashboards. Teams can use this to review payroll trends, study patterns, and bring payroll insights using advanced analytical tools. This is useful for payroll, finance, and leadership teams that need advanced visibility into payroll costs and workforce-related changes.






Record gratuity accruals in Zoho Books  (GCC)

Gratuity is usually paid when an employee exits, but the obligation accrues throughout the employee’s service. When that liability is not tracked in a dedicated account, finance teams may have less visibility into future end-of-service costs.

Zoho Payroll can now calculate the gratuity accrued during each pay run and records it as journal entries in Zoho Books. Organizations can select the gratuity expense and liability accounts to be used, and Zoho Payroll posts the accrual after every approved pay run. This helps organizations stay better prepared for end-of-service settlements instead of treating gratuity only as an exit-time calculation.




Approve loans with gratuity-based eligibility  (GCC)

Zoho Payroll now shows an employee’s eligible loan amount while creating a loan. The amount is calculated based on the employee’s accrued gratuity, after considering any outstanding or already approved loans. This gives admins better context before approving a loan request and helps them understand how much the employee is eligible to borrow.



View a clearer audit trail  (GCC)

Payroll and employee records can change over time. When they do, teams need a clear way to understand what changed. Zoho Payroll now lets admins view different versions of an activity log and compare them. Admins can select two versions and see what was added, modified, or removed. This gives payroll teams better visibility into important updates and makes change review easier.




Use Arabic across payroll and employee documents  (GCC)

Zoho Payroll and the Employee Portal are now available in Arabic. Admins can use Zoho Payroll in Arabic or English, and they can set a preferred language for each employee. Payslips and salary letters can also be generated and sent in both English and Arabic. This helps employees receive important payroll documents in a language format that is easier to read and understand. For GCC organizations with Arabic-speaking admins and employees, this makes the payroll experience more accessible and better suited to daily use.

Import unpaid leaves for gratuity calculation (GCC)

Zoho Payroll now lets admins import unpaid leave details for gratuity-eligible employees while processing a bulk final settlement pay run. During import, admins can map the unpaid leave field, and Zoho Payroll uses those details for gratuity calculation. This helps teams process final settlements in bulk with the leave data needed for gratuity calculations.

Calculate One-Time Deductions based on Custom Formula (IN, GCC)

Custom formulas for salary components already let you calculate earnings using variables. You can build formulas that reference specific components and functions to arrive at the right payout. This is now available for one-time deductions as well, giving you the same flexibility on the deductions side as you have for earnings.
 
To set this up, go to Settings > Salary Components, add a new deduction, set the deduction frequency to One-time, and select Custom Formula as the calculation type.

Info
If you want to try this feature, write to us at support@zohopayroll.com and we'll enable it for you right away.





Import previous salary revision history (India, GCC)

Zoho Payroll now lets admins import previous salary revision history in early access. Admins can choose the year from which they want to import salary history, upload revision details, and maintain a more complete salary record in each employee’s profile. This is useful for organizations that are moving historical payroll data into Zoho Payroll and want employee salary records to include past changes.




Give employees quicker payroll answers with Ask Zia, your AI assistant  (India, US)

Employees often contact HR or payroll teams for routine questions about payslips, leave balances, or other information already available in the Employee Portal.
Ask Zia is Zoho's AI assistant, now available in the Employee Portal. Employees can ask payroll-related questions in plain language and get quick answers based on the information available to them, without having to wait for a response from HR or payroll teams.


Review negative net pay before approving payroll  (India)

Negative net pay needs careful review because it may involve deductions, adjustments, or other pay run changes that exceed an employee’s earnings for the period. Zoho Payroll now gives admins a consent step before approving regular pay runs that include employees with negative net pay. Zoho Payroll lists the affected employees and lets admins review and acknowledge their pay details before approval. This helps admins proceed with pay runs only after reviewing cases that need extra attention.

Approve eligible direct deposit pay runs closer to payday  (US)

If you miss the original approval deadline for an eligible direct deposit pay run, Zoho Payroll will show the available options in the Pending Tasks banner. You can purchase the Next Day Processing Addon to approve the pay run just one business day before the pay date, or switch employees to check payments based on the processing window.  This helps you process payroll at the last minute and pay employees on time without changing the pay date.


Customize semi-monthly pay periods (US)

Not every organization that pays twice a month follows the standard 1–15 and 16–end-of-month cycle. Zoho Payroll now lets US organizations customize semi-monthly pay periods. Admins can choose the start date of the first pay period, and Zoho Payroll automatically calculates the remaining pay period dates. This helps pay schedules match the organization’s actual payroll cycle instead of forcing teams into a standard date structure.



Edit overtime and double time hours during pay runs (US)

Payroll teams sometimes need to correct overtime or double time hours before finalizing payroll. Zoho Payroll now lets admins edit an employee’s overtime and double time hours while processing a pay run. Admins can open the employee’s payroll details in the pay run and override the hours when needed. This helps teams make corrections inside the pay run flow before payroll is finalized.


View detailed employee pay summaries (US)

The detailed Employee Pay Summary report gives admins a pay-period-wise breakdown of each employee’s payroll data. It includes earnings, benefits, time off, taxes, deductions, and net pay.
This makes employee pay details easier to review, explain, and verify across payroll cycles.


Download pay stubs in bulk  (US, CA)

Zoho Payroll now lets admins download pay stubs for multiple employees at once from the Pay Run page. Admins can choose employees based on their portal status, generate the pay stubs, and download them once they are ready. This makes payroll document handling faster for teams that need to access many pay stub records after a pay run.

Other Enhancements

  1. Employees can now download recent payslips through the WhatsApp Payroll Bot. Payslips are shared as password-protected PDF files with a password hint. (India, GCC)
  2. Organizations can now create scheduled earnings with a biennial frequency. This helps automate earnings that are paid once every two years. (India, GCC)
  3. Organizations can now connect Zoho Payroll with Zoho Practice to collaborate with your accountant or practice team directly from Zoho Payroll. Once connected, a dedicated My Accountant tab will be available to manage client requests and continue payroll-related discussions in one place. (India, GCC)
  4. Organizations can now process off-cycle payroll for employees with an annual pay period. (US)
  5. Admins can now select applicable tax exemptions for employees directly in Zoho Payroll. If employees claim exemptions while completing authorization in the Employee Portal, their selections are synced automatically. (US)

That's a wrap for now! We are always eager to hear your suggestions so we can help you do payroll better. Feel free to share them in the comments below. If you need any assistance, please write to us at support@zohopayroll.com, and we'll help you. Stay tuned for more updates from Zoho Payroll.

With a shared purpose,
The Zoho Payroll Team

    • Sticky Posts

    • Zoho Payroll | Quarterly Product Updates For 2024

      As we navigate through the ever-changing payroll landscape, we bring you the latest updates that span the first quarter of 2024, tailored to meet the diverse needs of employers and employees in India, the UAE, and the US. From useful integrations to refined

    • Introducing Academy 🎉: your go-to hub for all things payroll

      Hello! We're thrilled to launch our newest payroll resource hub - Academy by Zoho Payroll [for India] - the information repository where you can go to learn everything about payroll. Introducing Academy by Zoho Payroll Why did we build Academy? Payroll

    • Recent Topics

    • Zoho Cliq 7.0: Built for Uninterrupted Work

      Work today moves fast, but follow-ups, meetings, and coordination still get messy more than we often like to admit. Zoho Cliq 7.0 is all about making everyday work feel a little lighter—better collaboration, smoother workflows, more helpful assistance,

    • Zoho CRM Functions: Redesigned Interface, Rich Analytics, and Multi-Language Support

      Hello everyone! We have given Functions in Zoho CRM a major overhaul with a new interface that makes it easier to build, organize, monitor, and troubleshoot your functions throughout their lifecycle. As part of this revamp, we have also introduced a unified

    • Native SMS and MMS Channel Support

      89% of US consumers say they prefer to communicate with businesses via SMS / MMS (aka "texting"). (link) Unfortunately, Zoho Desk does not currently support the most popular channel for consumer communications in the United States. For those of us in

    • Smarter holiday planning with yearly-specific Holiday Lists

      Hello everyone! Managing holidays and business hours is now easier and more efficient. Holiday Lists now support holidays that fall on different dates every year, while business hours now supports more than one holiday list. This helps businesses manage

    • Api de conversão da Meta

      Como conectar a Zoho com a api de conversão do Meta Ads?

    • Side-panel “Quick Preview & Edit” for Deals and Tasks (Web)

      Hi all, I’d like to submit a feature request to improve record navigation and data entry speed in Zoho CRM. NOTE: This feature exists on Pipedrive, HubSpot, and Bigin by Zoho. Requested Feature: Add a side-panel / slide-in “quick preview” for records

    • Why can't we choose Fixed Asset account for Purchased Items? (eTims issue?)

      Hello, When the company purchase items not for sale and not supposed to be in the inventory stock, like equipment for operational use, there is no way to access the Fixed Asset accounts in the drop down list. Is that an eTims limitation again? Or something

    • "Track Inventory for this item" is forced checked by default for goods items (eTims issue?)

      Hello, Since connecting our Zoho books to eTims (Kenya) the "Track Inventory for this item" is forced checked by default (eTims issue?) in the Item creation page for any type of goods. So when purchasing anything that the company does not intend to sale,

    • Can you import projects into Zoho Projects yet?

      I see some very old posts asking about importing project records into Zoho Projects. But I can't find anything up to date about the topic. Has this functionality been added? Importing tasks is helpful. But we do have a project where importing projects

    • reset password

      Hi I need to reset my password and need help

    • Is it possible to set a value to a field based on certain conditions

      Greetings Say i have a field that i want to set its value based on the value of another field.. for example if "number" field has value greater than 10, i want to set my field's value to X. Or if radio group had option 1 selected, then i want to set my

    • Zoho CRM Layout Rules: Nine New Actions, Profile-Based Execution, and Interactive Preview

      Hello everyone, Availability: This feature is now available for customers in the JP and SA DCs. It is planned to be released for other customers in soon. We’re excited to announce powerful new enhancements to Layout Rules in Zoho CRM - a feature built

    • How to add line breaks in formula with Concat?

      I am trying to combine different fields with a formula field, but want to add line breaks.  I.e. the current code looks like:  Concat(${Contacts.Company_Name}, ' ' ,${Contacts.First_Name}, ' ' ,${Contacts.Last_Name}) And the result should be:  John Doe

    • Introducing spam detection for webforms: An additional layer of protection to keep your Zoho CRM clean and secure

      Greetings all, One of the most highly anticipated feature launches—Spam Detection in webforms—has finally arrived! Webforms are a vital tool for record generation, but they're also vulnerable to submissions from unauthenticated or malicious sources, which

    • Is Zoho Assist Secure Connect even practical for 1 person shop?

      I was gun ho with Zoho Assist to replace my existing Remote Access product I have been using but I need to implement MFA on each unattended connection. Right now each of these connections in my other product has a rotating token that I have enter off

    • Join the Zoho Desk Virtual Classroom Training (VCRT)

      Hello everyone, Have you heard about Zoho's Virtual Classroom Training (VCRT)? Zoho Desk's Virtual Classroom Training offers end-to-end training for Zoho Desk users. Join the VCRT and get hands-on guidance for setting up Zoho Desk and getting your business

    • Zoho CRM's revamped timeline view now extends to 3 years and support notes, filters, and email statuses

      Editions: All DCs: All Release plan: These enhancements are being rolled out to customers in a phased manner. They will be available to most organizations by the end of May. For organizations with huge volumes of data, they will be available by the end

    • Zoho Mail App Unable to connect to server

      Hi all, For the last two weeks, my Zoho Mail App on my iPhone which has worked fine up to this point has been unable to connect to the mail server. I can't access my emails even though I will get notification banners on the screen saying that they have been received. I can open Safari on my phone and then log in that way. This issue happens when I'm connected to wifi and on my phone data.  I've tried deleting the app several times and reinstalling, and have updated to the latest version. But it still

    • Add the Zoom Option to the Camera

      Hi, I use the ZOHO Forms Camera so I can manage metadata, compression, etc. but this doesnt have the zoom parameter activated, so when we have photos in a tight space and want to use 0.5 for example, we can't, can this be enabled please. Thanks Dan

    • Manage booking pages from your Android phone

      Hello everyone! We are happy to announce that users can now add and manage booking pages from their Bigin Android app. It is a multi-step form that users can create for purposes like booking appointments, scheduling calls or meetings, conducting webinars,

    • Automating Employee Birthday Notifications in Zoho Cliq

      Have you ever missed a birthday and felt like the office Grinch? Fear not, the Cliq Developer Platform has got your back! With Zoho Cliq's Schedulers, you can be the office party-cipant who never forgets a single cake, balloon, or awkward rendition of

    • Unbundle feature for composite items

      We receive composite items from our vendors and sell them either individually or create other composite items out of them. So, there is a lot of bundling and unbundling involved with our composite items. Previously, this feature was supported in form

    • Inventory Barcode Creation - Add Picture of Item

      Hi I am trying to set up bar code labels and include a picture of the item on the label - any idea on how to add that field to the barcode generator?

    • CNIL - Suivi de Pixel

      Bonjour à tous, À la suite de la nouvelle recommandation de la CNIL sur les pixels de suivi dans les e-mails, savez-vous si Zoho Campaigns permet : de conditionner le suivi des ouvertures au consentement de chaque contact ; de proposer un lien permettant

    • Protect backed up and exported data using password encryption

      Hello everyone, Protecting live data is crucial for any organization or product, as it contains sensitive customer information. However, protecting data does not end within the platform. Backup and export files often contain sensitive information and

    • Zoho Projects - Cloning a task does not trigger task workflow when created

      Hello! I have a Project where my team uses a set of tasks from a tasklist as templates, so we could simply clone it and drag it to another list in kanban view to avoid creating a new one from scratch. The process works well, but after cloning it the new

    • Best way to setup Inventory bin tracking for products with multiple boxes/crates

      Hi - we need some advice from the community on setting up Items in the Inventory for products with multiple crates. We have large products in our warehouse where the product is delivered as two large (double pallet) crates. We've setup the Items for these

    • not able to access Zoho from home WIFI

      for some reasone i am not able to access Zoho on my laptop or my iphone while i am connected to my home Wifi, i am able to access these sites both on laptop as well as Iphone and associated apps on any other Wifi as well as when I am on my 4G connection

    • Five Guided Conversations Updates in Zoho Desk

      Hello everyone, Guided Conversations is getting updates that make it easier to create more inclusive customer experiences, retain important conversation context, customize your widget, keep track of changes, and connect with external services. Here are

    • An important update for Zoho Cliq desktop users

      The latest version of the Zoho Cliq desktop app (v1.8.0) will no longer be supported on macOS 10.15 Catalina and earlier versions. This is because the framework we use (Electron) no longer supports some older macOS versions. If you’re using macOS 10.15

    • Simplify eSignatures: Automate document workflows with Zoho WorkDrive

      Hello everyone, We’re excited to invite you to our upcoming live webinar, where Zoho WorkDrive and Zoho Sign will come together to show you how to simplify and automate document workflows. From creating and collaborating on documents to approvals, e-signatures,

    • Function #7: Fetch a value from Deal in Zoho CRM to the related Estimate in Zoho Books

      We're here with another function for those using the integration with Zoho CRM. You know that potentials can be linked to transactions in Zoho Books. But if you're including additional details about a Deal (potential) in Zoho CRM and you want to inherit

    • Workflows being applied and the Large unwanted popup

      When a workflow is being applied do to an action, then the Agent is left with a large Window asking if they would like the see the changes this workflow did. Is there any way to disable this prompt from appearing?

    • Maintenance notice for Zoho CommunitySpaces US data centers on August 23, 2026

      Dear customers, We have scheduled a maintenance activity for Zoho CommunitySpaces in our United States (US) data centers on August 23, 2026, from 1:30 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. During this 30-minute maintenance window, Zoho CommunitySpaces will be temporarily

    • Knowledge base: The nitty-gritty of SEO tags

      A well-optimized knowledge base with great SEO can benefit your company by allowing customers to find help articles and support resources using search engines. This enables customers to quickly and efficiently find the information they need without direct

    • zoho desk: Can tickets be created from Microsoft Teams messages?

      I am trying to see if there is a way to integrate Microsoft teams with zohodesk. we have a few customers who prefer to communicate requests through Teams, and it would be great to create tickets when they do.

    • ´´Send Email Reply´´ action does not work when the message body contains placeholders.

      Hi Community, I am working on a workflow where the Customer contact is notified via email when their ticket status goes On Hold. To do that, I chose the Send Email Reply action, and the minute I add a placeholder, the workflow does not work and the ticket´s

    • Zoho ERP | Product updates | July 2026

      Hello users, We're back with another round of updates to help you streamline your operations. This month's release brings new features and enhancements designed to help you work more efficiently. Read on to discover everything that's new in Zoho ERP this

    • Zoho Forms Spam Submissions

      Hello community! It seems that after updating the Recaptcha settings on our newsletter form (Zoho Forms), we keep getting low quality spam emails subscriptions. I first used 0.5 treshold on invisible google captcha, then raised it to 0.7 but to no avail.

    • Migration from Hosted Exchange Server

      I am looking for documentation on how to migrate from a hosted version of Microsoft Exchange to Zoho Mail.  The existing material is very good for non-hosted Exchange or local Outlook account but I have been unable to locate information to move from a hosted Exchange environment. This is complicated by not being able to have access to the Exchange Server (other than login credentials) and the lack of a local PST file (local Outlook uses OST files). I am to the point that all I need to do is migrate

    • Next Page