Quick start for HR and payroll

1. Overview & Business Value#

This comprehensive operational guide details the architecture, business workflows, configuration parameters, and execution steps for Quick start for HR and payroll within SmartERP.

This tutorial is for HR and Payroll Officers. It guides you from zero employee data to a fully computed, verified payslip complying with Ethiopian tax and pension statutes.

{screenshot:quick-start-overview-dashboard}

2. Prerequisites & Security Access Groups#

• Required Modules: hr, hr_payroll, hr_holidays, smarterp_ethiopian_payroll
• Security Groups:
  • Officer: Manage all employees (Technical ID: hr.group_hr_user)
  • Payroll Officer (Technical ID: hr_payroll.group_hr_payroll_user)
  • HR Administrator (Technical ID: hr.group_hr_manager)
• Master Data Dependencies: Company departments, job positions, salary structures, 7-tier Ethiopian income tax brackets, POESSA/PSSPA pension rates, and employee contracts.

3. Step-by-Step Configuration & Execution#

Step 1: Navigating to the Module Interface#

1. Log into your SmartERP instance at https://smarterp.et/odoo.
2. Open the main App Switcher (grid icon in the top-left corner).
3. Select the Employees app icon.
4. From the top navigation bar, open Human Resources → Employees / Contracts / Attendance / Time Off / Payroll.

{screenshot:quick-start-app-switcher-navigation}

Step 2: Creating and Parameterizing Records#

1. Click the New button in the top-left control panel.
2. Complete the mandatory fields in the record form:
   • Employee Name (Mandatory): Legal employee name matching national identity card or passport
   • Department & Job Position (Mandatory): Assigned administrative unit and official role title
   • Contract / Salary Structure (Mandatory): Active employment contract defining basic salary and statutory allowances
   • Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) (Mandatory): Mandatory 10-digit MOR tax identifier for payroll declaration
3. Configure optional operational parameters and localized tags as required:
   • Pension Scheme Number (Optional): POESSA private or PSSPA public pension account number
   • Bank Account Details (Optional): Commercial bank account number for direct net pay credit transfers
   • Work Mobile & Email (Optional): Internal enterprise communication coordinates
4. Click the Save icon in the control bar to commit the record.

{screenshot:quick-start-record-creation-form}

Step 3: Validating and Processing Transactions#

• State Transitions: Execute operational state progression (Draft → Pending Review → Verified → Approved / Running → Closed).
• Ledger & System Impact: Payroll batch confirmation automatically generates composite salary expense, pension payable, and tax withholding journal entries in the General Ledger.
• Audit Verification: Automated recording of author ID, timestamp, and immutable revision history.

{screenshot:quick-start-transaction-processing-state}

Before you start#

You need:

• An active user account with HR Officer and Payroll User permissions.
• Active salary structures and rules installed (smarterp_payroll_et).

Step 1: Create the employee profile#

1. Open Employees → Employees and press New.
2. In Name, enter Abebe Bekele Tessema.
3. In Work Email, enter abebe.bekele@company.et.
4. In Department, select Finance & Administration.
5. In Job Position, select Senior Accountant.
6. Switch to the Personal Information tab:
   • TIN Number: 0012345678 (10 digits).
   • POESSA Pension ID: PEN-2026-9812.
   • National ID / Kebele: AA-KK-08-9841.
7. Press the save icon.

Step 2: Establish the employment contract#

1. On the employee profile, click the Contracts smart button and press New.
2. In Contract Reference, type CNT-ABEBE-2026.
3. In Contract Type, select Permanent.
4. In Grade & Salary Band, select Grade 4 (Professional / Specialist).
5. In Step, choose Step 2. The Wage field populates automatically with 25,000.00 ETB.
6. Under Contractual Allowances, press Add a line:
   • Allowance Type: Transport Allowance
   • Amount: 3,000.00 ETB
7. In Salary Structure, select Ethiopian Commercial Enterprise Structure.
8. Press the save icon and move the status bar from Draft to Running.

Step 3: Compute the individual payslip#

1. Open Payroll → Employee Payslips and press New.
2. In Employee, select Abebe Bekele Tessema.
3. In Period, choose the current month (e.g. 2026-10-01 to 2026-10-30).
4. Press Compute Sheet.
5. Switch to the Salary Computation tab and verify the lines:
   • BASIC: ETB 25,000.00
   • TRANS_EXEMPT: ETB 2,200.00
   • TRANS_TAXABLE: ETB 800.00
   • GROSS: ETB 28,000.00
   • PENSION_EE (7%): ETB 1,750.00
   • PENSION_ER (11%): ETB 2,750.00
   • PAYE_TAX (35% Tier): ETB 7,530.00
   • NET: ETB 18,720.00
6. Press Confirm.

Step 4: Verify the printed payslip#

1. Press Print → Payslip Details.
2. Verify that the printed slip includes:
   • Employee Name, TIN, and POESSA ID.
   • Grade 4 Step 2 designation.
   • Complete itemized breakdown of earnings and statutory deductions.
   • Employer pension contribution note.

4. Advanced Configuration Points#

• Automated Actions & Scheduled Tasks (Crons):
  • HR: Compute scheduled leave accruals (hr_holidays.ir_cron_leave_accruals): Runs bi-weekly to accrue annual leave balances per Ethiopian labor law
  • Payroll: Auto-generate monthly payslip batches (hr_payroll.ir_cron_generate_payslips): Runs on the 25th of each calendar month
  • Attendance: Validate biometric clock-in logs (hr_attendance.ir_cron_sync_attendance): Runs hourly to sync biometric terminal events
• Custom Print Templates & Reports:
  • Official Ethiopian Monthly Payslip
  • POESSA / PSSPA Statutory Pension Contribution Schedule
  • MOR Employment Income Tax (PAYE) Monthly Summary
  • Employee Service & Severance Certificate
• Multi-Company Rules: Record-level security isolation under Company 1 (Ashewa Technology Solutions S.C.), preventing cross-company ledger leakage across parent and subsidiary legal entities.

5. Comprehensive Troubleshooting Matrix#

Next#

• Run a department batch: Process monthly payroll batch.
• Manage biometric attendance: Configure biometric attendance devices.
• Allocate leave: Allocate annual leave entitlements.