Documentation › Roles › Payroll Manager
Role guide
| Action | You | Note |
|---|
| Preview payroll | Yes | Any time, as often as you like |
| Import approved hours | Yes | Pulls what location managers approved |
| Initiate and submit payroll | Yes | Before the cutoff |
| Cancel a submitted payroll | Yes | Subject to the payroll provider’s limits |
| Finalize and un-finalize a period | Yes | Records the numbers you’re submitting against |
| Pay period history and paystubs | Yes | All locations |
| Funding information | Yes | What will be debited, and when |
| Export timesheets | Yes | Read-only |
| Approve or edit hours | No | Location manager’s duty; owner in emergencies |
| Add or edit employee records | No | Owner only |
| Company settings and banking | No | Owner only |
| Time and attendance administration | No | Owner only |
You work company-wide. Unlike a location manager, you aren’t tied to a site — payroll is a company-level job and you see every location’s numbers.
- Total — the exact amount debited from the funding account. Not an estimate.
- Employee taxes — withheld from pay, already inside the gross figures.
- Employer taxes — your cost on top of wages, included in the total debit.
- Per-employee lines — gross, net, overtime, deductions and reimbursements.
Figures marked estimated haven’t been confirmed by the provider and can still move. Figures marked confirmed won’t.
Funding
The funding card shows the account to be debited and when. Make sure the balance covers the total before the debit date — a failed debit stops the whole run, not one payment, and recovery is slow.
A location’s hours aren’t approved
Contact that location manager. You can’t approve for them. If they’re unreachable and the cutoff is close, escalate to the owner — the owner can submit with a warning and take responsibility for the gap.
The finalization reverted to draft
Someone re-approved hours after the period was finalized. Review what changed, then finalize again. This is a safety feature.
The hours don’t match what I expected
Import brings in approved hours only. Unapproved punches are invisible to payroll by design. Ask the location manager to approve, then re-import.
An employee is missing from the run
Employees who haven’t finished their own tax and direct deposit forms are left out of the run rather than blocking it. The owner can complete the forms on their behalf.
The screen shows cached data
A banner reading “last known period — actions disabled” means the payroll provider is temporarily unreachable, and BrightBridge is showing the last known good information rather than a wrong one. Wait and refresh. If it persists close to a cutoff, contact support.
| When | Do this |
|---|
| Mid-period | Spot-check that hours are flowing and locations look active |
| Period close | Watch each location complete its approvals; chase stragglers early |
| Before import | Confirm every location’s hours are approved |
| After preview | Compare to last period and confirm funding will clear |
| Before cutoff | Finalize, read the refresh difference, submit |
| After submit | Confirm it appears in pay period history |
