> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.hitaji360.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Salary components > A salary component is a single line that can appear on a payslip β€” one earning (basic pay, housing allowance, transport, a bonus) or one deduction (a loan… A salary component is a single line that can appear on a payslip β€” one earning (basic pay, housing allowance, transport, a bonus) or one deduction (a loan repayment, a voluntary saving, income tax). You define each component once, give it a short **abbreviation**, and then reuse it across as many salary structures as you like. Think of components as the vocabulary of your payroll: structures are the sentences you build from them. Components come in three flavours: ordinary **earnings**, ordinary **deductions**, and **statutory** items (PAYE, NSSF, LST). The first two you control completely β€” a flat amount or a formula. Statutory items are different: you only declare *what kind* they are, and the system computes the figure at run time. This page covers all three. **You'll find this at:** `/settings/erp/finance/payroll-components` > The old link `/payroll/setup/components` still works and redirects here. > πŸ“· *Screenshot: the Salary Components list with the "New Component" button β€” to be added.* > **Multi-business:** components belong to the selected business. Check the business switcher before creating one. *** ## Earnings, deductions and statutory items | Kind | What it is | How its amount is set | | ------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Earning** | Money added to pay β€” basic, allowances, bonuses | Flat amount, or a formula | | **Deduction** | Money taken off pay β€” loan repayments, voluntary savings | Flat amount, or a formula | | **Statutory** | Government-mandated β€” PAYE, NSSF, LST | **Computed at run time by the statutory engine β€” you cannot set an amount or formula** | A component's **Type** is either `Earning` or `Deduction`. Marking it **Statutory** on top of that tells the system the figure is owed to / withheld for the government and must be computed, not typed in. *** ## Creating a component From the list, choose **New Component**. The form (the Salary Component modal) has these fields: | Field | Label | Control | Required | Notes | | -------------------------- | ------------------------------------ | ---------------------- | ----------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Name | **Name** | Text | Yes | e.g. "Basic Salary", "Housing Allowance" (up to 255 chars) | | Abbreviation | **Abbreviation** | Text (auto-uppercased) | Yes | The code other formulas reference β€” e.g. `BASIC`, `HRA`. Must be unique within the business | | Type | **Type** | Select | Yes | `Earning` or `Deduction` | | Statutory | **Statutory component** | Toggle | No | Turn on for PAYE / NSSF / LST | | Statutory kind | **Statutory kind** | Select | Only if Statutory is on | `PAYE`, `NSSF`, `LST`, or `OTHER` | | Tax applicable | **Tax applicable** | Toggle | No | Whether this earning counts toward the taxable base (default on) | | Depends on payment days | **Depends on payment days** | Toggle | No | Pro-rate by days actually paid in the period | | Calculate from a formula | **Calculate from a formula** | Toggle | No | Switches the value between a formula and a flat amount | | Formula | **Formula expression** | Text area | If "Calculate from a formula" is on | e.g. `base * 0.1` | | Fixed amount | **Fixed amount** | Number | If not formula-driven | An optional flat default value for the component | | Income-tax component | **Is Income Tax Component** | Toggle | No | The tax engine writes the computed PAYE onto this deduction line | | Variable on taxable salary | **Variable Based on Taxable Salary** | Toggle | No | Marks a PAYE-style deduction | | Active | **Active** | Toggle | No | Inactive components are skipped (default on) | Choose **Create** (or **Save changes** when editing). Click any row in the list to edit it. ### Flat amount vs formula A non-statutory component can carry **either** a flat amount **or** a formula β€” never both. The flat amount is an optional *default*; in practice the real per-employee figure is usually set on the structure or assignment (see [Salary structures](/hr/user/payroll/salary-structures)). Turn on **Calculate from a formula** when the amount depends on other values. ### Component codes used in formulas Formulas refer to other values by code. The built-in codes are: | Code | Meaning | | -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | | `base` | The employee's base pay (from the structure assignment) | | `gross` | Gross pay accumulated so far in this slip | | `payment_days` | Days actually paid in the period | | `total_working_days` | Total working days in the period | You can also reference **any other non-statutory component by its abbreviation** β€” for example `BASIC * 0.4` or `HRA + TRANSPORT`. Formulas support arithmetic (`+ - * / %`), comparisons, `&&`/`||`/`!`, the ternary `condition ? a : b`, and the functions `min`, `max`, `abs`, `round`, `floor`, `ceil`. They cannot reference statutory components (those are computed afterwards). *** ## Statutory components are computed, not entered This is the most important rule on the page. When **Statutory** is on, the system **rejects** any attempt to give the component a fixed amount, a formula, a "calculate from formula" flag, or a condition. You declare only the **kind** (PAYE, NSSF, LST), and the actual figure is produced at run time by the statutory engine using: * the **income-tax slabs** in effect for the period (for PAYE β€” see [Income-tax slabs](/hr/user/payroll/income-tax-slabs)), and * the configured NSSF / LST rates for the business. If you try to save a statutory component with an inline amount or formula you'll see an error like *"Statutory salary components must not carry an inline amount, formula, condition... they are driven by the statutory registry."* That is by design. The statutory **kinds** map to dedicated payable accounts in your books: | Kind | Posts to (payable) | | ------- | ---------------------------------- | | `PAYE` | PAYE payable | | `NSSF` | NSSF payable (employee + employer) | | `LST` | LST payable | | `OTHER` | Tax payable (catch-all) | > Once a component is created as statutory you cannot later change its kind or turn it back into an ordinary component β€” set it inactive instead. *** ## Editing and removing * **Edit:** click a row. Most fields can be changed; the statutory kind is locked after creation. * **Delete:** a component can only be deleted if no active salary structure still references it, and statutory components can't be deleted at all. The clean way to retire a component is to switch **Active** off β€” it then stays in history but is skipped on new runs. *** ## Permissions | Action | Permission | | ---------------------- | ---------------- | | View components | `payroll:read` | | Create / edit / delete | `payroll:config` | *** ## Behind the scenes β€” the accounting Each component can be mapped to a **GL account** per business (the account it debits or credits when payroll posts). Earnings debit a salary/expense account; deductions credit a liability or asset account; statutory items credit their dedicated payable. If a component has no explicit mapping, the run falls back to a blanket payroll-expenses account (for earnings) or salary-payable (for deductions). The full posting is shown on [Running payroll β†’ Behind the scenes](/hr/user/payroll/running-payroll). *** ## Related * [Salary structures](/hr/user/payroll/salary-structures) β€” combine components into a pay template * [Income-tax slabs](/hr/user/payroll/income-tax-slabs) β€” the PAYE bands behind statutory PAYE * [Running payroll](/hr/user/payroll/running-payroll) β€” where components are evaluated and posted * [Payroll overview](/hr/user/payroll/overview) β€” how the whole chain fits together