Staff Credit
Manage employee loans and store credit accounts, with automatic repayment deductions on each payslip.
Overview
Staff Credit handles two types of financial accounts for employees:
- Loans — cash advances or company loans repaid from the employee's salary over time.
- Store Credit — credit extended for company store purchases, deducted from pay.
Both types are tracked per employee and deducted automatically when payslips are generated. They appear as separate named line items on the payslip ("Loan Repayment" and "Store Credit Deduction"), so the employee can see exactly what is being deducted and why.
Loans
Creating a Loan
- Go to Staff Credit and click New Loan.
- Select the Employee.
- Enter the Principal Amount (the total amount being loaned).
- Choose an Interest Type:
| Interest Type | How It Works |
|---|---|
| None | No interest. The employee repays exactly the principal amount. |
| Simple | Interest is calculated once on the principal and added to the total owed. E.g. R2 000 at 5% simple = R2 100 total. |
| Compound | Interest accrues on the outstanding balance each period. The total repayable grows over time if repayments are small. |
- Set the Interest Rate (if applicable) and the Repayment Amount per Period — the rand amount deducted from each payslip.
- Enter the Start Date from which deductions begin.
- Click Save.
Loan Repayment
Each time a payslip is generated, the system checks for active loans for that employee. It deducts the configured repayment amount from the payslip, subject to one constraint: the deduction cannot reduce net pay below zero. If net pay is insufficient to cover the full repayment, only the available net pay is deducted. The shortfall is not lost — it remains on the loan ledger and will be deducted on the next payslip.
If an employee earns nothing in a period (zero gross), no loan deduction is made. The outstanding balance carries forward. Nothing is written off automatically.
Viewing Loan History
Each loan record shows the full transaction log: original amount, each repayment deducted, the remaining balance, and the expected final repayment date at the current rate.
Adjusting or Closing a Loan
You can change the repayment amount or mark a loan as settled at any time. A settled loan stops generating deductions immediately. If an employee leaves before fully repaying, you can either mark it as settled (writing off the balance) or leave it active — if they return, deductions will resume on their next payslip.
Store Credit
Creating a Store Credit Account
Store credit works like a running tab. You record purchases and the system deducts them from pay:
- Go to Staff Credit → Store Credit.
- Select the Employee.
- Click Add Transaction and enter the amount and a description of what was purchased.
- The balance accumulates until deducted.
Store Credit Deduction
Store credit balances are deducted in full on the next payslip, up to the available net pay. If the balance exceeds net pay, the maximum available is deducted and the remainder carries over to the next period. Like loans, store credit can never push net pay below zero.
How Deductions Appear on Payslips
On any payslip where both a loan repayment and a store credit deduction occurred, they appear as two separate line items. This replaced the earlier single combined "Deductions" line, making it clear to employees exactly what each amount is for. Old payslips generated before this split was introduced show a single "Deductions (loans / store credit)" line — this is normal.
Payslip Deduction Priority
When both loans and store credit are active for the same employee, loans are deducted first, then store credit. If net pay is not enough to cover both, loans take priority. Store credit deductions carry forward automatically.
Communicate clearly with employees before adding store credit or a loan — unexplained payslip deductions are a common source of disputes. The named line items on payslips help, but a conversation beforehand is always better.