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Payroll reporting often feels like information overload. You’re handed dozens of reports, but no clear direction on what to do with them. Some are helpful. Others are just noise. And most business owners are never taught how to use them effectively.
This creates a frustrating cycle. You run reports because you’re supposed to, not because they give you clarity.
But that’s not how it should be.
Most small to mid-sized businesses don’t need more payroll reports. They need the right ones. And they need to understand what those reports are telling them.
In this article, we’re breaking down the 7 best payroll reports that actually support business decisions, help you catch mistakes, and keep your team compliant. Whether you’re doing payroll yourself or working with a provider, these are the reports you need to know and how to use them.
How We Chose the “Best” Payroll Reports
These reports made our list based on four key criteria:
- Compliance Importance – Does it help you avoid IRS, DOL, or state issues?
- Operational Value – Does it help catch errors before payroll runs?
- Decision Support – Can it help with budgeting, headcount planning, or benefits management?
- Frequency of Use – Is it something you’ll use regularly, not once a year?
With the right reports in place, payroll becomes less about guessing and more about clarity. Each of the reports below plays a specific role in helping you stay accurate, compliant, and in control. Let’s take a look at how they work and when to use them.
1. Payroll Summary Report
This is your big-picture overview of every payroll cycle. It shows total gross pay, taxes, deductions, and net pay across your entire team.
It’s also where small details can reveal big problems. One of the most helpful features is the Employee Counts Comparison box. It compares how many employees are active versus how many were actually paid that cycle. 
If those numbers don’t line up, it could point to missed timecards, incorrect terminations, or outdated employee records that need cleanup.
The high-level view you should never skip
Business owners and bookkeepers use this report to confirm payroll totals before approval. It's quick to scan, easy to interpret, and incredibly effective for spotting obvious issues.
Use it every time you run payroll.
2. Payroll Register Report
While the Payroll Summary gives you totals, the Payroll Register breaks down each employee’s paycheck line by line. It includes hours worked, earnings, taxes, and deductions—all the details you’d need to audit or explain an employee’s pay.
Where errors hide and how to find them
This is the go-to report for payroll processors and accountants because it highlights outliers fast. For example, if an employee shows 0.00 net pay or unusually high gross wages, this report lets you trace it back to a specific issue like missed hours or a benefits miscalculation.
It’s smart to run this report both before and after payroll to verify that everything lines up with expectations.
3. Exceptions Audit Report
No matter how good your system is, things slip through. The Exceptions Audit Report catches them before they become a problem.
Your built-in error detector
It flags common issues like:
- Deductions without enough wages to cover them
- Employees scheduled to be paid with 0.00 net pay
- Mismatches in benefit or garnishment setup
- Inactive employees who are still showing up on payroll
Not every exception is a mistake (some might be expected based on configuration), but this report helps you catch the ones that aren’t. It gives you a second set of eyes before payroll is finalized, and helps you avoid surprises that could lead to re-runs or compliance headaches.
Make this part of your pre-approval checklist every single cycle.
4. Employee Earnings Report
The Employee Earnings Report gives you a running total of what each employee has earned. It includes base pay, overtime, bonuses, commissions, and any other compensation.
Full compensation visibility over time
This report is particularly helpful for performance-based roles. It can reveal trends in bonus payouts, overuse of overtime, or departments with higher compensation drift. HR teams use it to review equity across roles, and it’s a go-to reference when planning merit increases or promotions.
It’s also helpful when planning raises or bonuses since it shows the full scope of what an employee has earned during a period.
Run this monthly or quarterly, especially during budgeting and review cycles.
5. Payroll Tax Liability Report
The Payroll Tax Liability Report shows how much your business owes in payroll taxes, including federal, state, and local, along with what’s been withheld from your employees.
Know what you owe before it’s a problem
This report helps you avoid compliance issues and also acts as a cash flow forecasting tool. If your workforce changes, benefits shift, or you hire in new states, your liability can move quickly. You can stay ahead of due dates and reduce the risk of late fees or missed payments.
Make it a habit to review this after every payroll.
6. New Hire & Change Audit Report
Employee data is always changing. Pay rates, department moves, deductions, benefit elections, and other adjustments can all affect payroll.
Small changes can cause big problems. This catches them.
This report shows a history of changes by employee, including:
- Start dates and terminations
- Salary or wage rate updates
- New deductions or benefit enrollments
If you’re onboarding multiple people, running open enrollment, or auditing pay across departments, this report keeps your setup clean and consistent.
It’s especially valuable for HR and compliance teams, since it helps prove due diligence during audits or disputes.
This report isn’t needed every week, but it’s essential when change is happening quickly.
7. General Ledger (GL) Report
The General Ledger Report translates your payroll data into accounting entries. It maps earnings, deductions, and taxes to your chart of accounts, making it easier to close books and keep payroll aligned with your financial statements.
The missing link between payroll and your books
For accounting teams, this report is essential. It helps with journal entry prep, audit readiness, and variance tracking across departments or locations. If you’re syncing data into a platform like QuickBooks or Xero, this is what keeps everything clean and categorized correctly.
It also makes month-end reconciliation faster, cleaner, and more accurate. It helps financial leads understand the real cost of labor by department or cost center.
If you’re serious about keeping clean books and planning for growth, run this alongside each payroll cycle or at month-end to make reconciliation faster and more accurate.
Don’t Drown in Reports. Use the Right Ones.
You don’t need a dozen reports to feel like you’re doing payroll right. You need the ones that show you what’s happening, what needs your attention, and what’s coming next.
The reports in this list do exactly that. They help you spot mistakes before they turn into problems, stay aligned with tax deadlines, and get a clearer picture of your biggest expense: your people.
But reports alone aren’t always the problem.
Still feeling like payroll is more painful than it should be? The 5 Biggest Payroll Pains for Small Businesses helps you uncover what’s really slowing things down and how to start fixing it.Let's Ch
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