Using the Hero AI Pre-Payroll Checker

Before you can use the Pre-Payroll Checker, you need to enable it through the Beta Features panel. This will activate the feature for your entire organisation.

1. Click the Beta flask icon in the top navigation bar.
2. The Beta Features Access panel will open.
3. Locate Pre-Payroll Checker in the list.
4. Click the toggle to turn it on (the toggle will turn purple when enabled).
   

Once enabled, the Pre-Payroll Checker appears as its own card in your Settings page under the Hero AI section.

1. Click the  Settings menu.
2. Locate the Hero AI section.
3. Click Pre-Payroll Checker.
   

From here you will see tabs for Leave and Expenses, where you can view and manage the compliance rules applied to your organisation.

In addition to the standard built-in checks, Pre-Payroll Checker can extract compliance rules from your organisation's own policy documents uploaded as PDFs. This allows you to tailor the checker to your specific policies — for example, a custom travel expenses policy or a leave policy with organisation-specific requirements.

1. From the Pre-Payroll Checker page, click Go to Policy Management. Alternatively, navigate to Policy Management directly from your Settings.
   
2. Click Upload files to upload your policy as a PDF document (for example, a travel expenses policy or a leave policy with organisation-specific requirements).
3. Give the policy a name (for example, Travel Expenses).
4. Click Save.
5. Click Publish to make the policy active.

Once a policy has been published, Hero AI will extract the individual compliance rules from the document and list them in the Pre-Payroll Checker. You can choose which rules are active and applied to submissions.

1. Click the  Settings menu.
2. Under the Hero AI section, click Pre-Payroll Checker.
3. Select the relevant tab — Leave or Expenses.
4. Review the list of extracted rules.
5. Use the toggle next to each rule to turn individual rules on or off as required.

Pre-Payroll Checker comes with a set of standard compliance rules that run automatically as soon as the feature is enabled — no policy documents need to be uploaded for these to work. These built-in checks cover common compliance scenarios across timesheets and leave, and are applied at the point of submission for all employees in your organisation.

Examples of built-in checks include:

• Timesheet entries that overlap with an approved leave period
• Leave requests submitted for dates where leave has already been approved
• Insufficient rest time between shifts
• Team availability conflicts on requested leave dates

When an employee creates a timesheet entry or submits a leave request, Pre-Payroll Checker validates the submission in real time against your active compliance rules. If a potential issue is detected, the employee is notified immediately — before they submit — so they can resolve it on the spot.

The system will display a Needs Review caution banner at the bottom of the submission form, along with a checklist showing which rules passed and which require attention.

Even if an employee submits a timesheet, leave request, or expense with a potential issue, managers receive a clear Pre-Payroll Checker review signal during the approval process. This gives managers the information they need to make an informed decision without having to investigate manually.

1. Navigate to Leave Management (or the relevant Timesheets or Expenses section).
2. Look for submissions flagged with a Pre-Payroll Checker review indicator.
3. Click the submission to view the flagged issue — for example, "Leave may not have enough balance."
4. Review the details and choose to approve, decline, or request more information from the employee.