Before your first payroll in Thailand, confirm the employer and employee setup, prepare a complete payroll draft, review each employee’s calculation and approve the exact version that will be paid. Keep proof of the salary transfers and the applicable filings. A calculated payslip, an employer’s approval and a successful payment are three separate records.
This checklist is for a company preparing its first employee pay run. It focuses on the decisions and checks needed to release that payroll. If you need help preparing the calculations, payslips and filing work, see YPN’s payroll services in Thailand.
Agree who prepares, approves and pays
Start with a short payroll calendar for the actual pay date. Record the deadline for employee information and variable pay, when the draft will be ready, when the employer will approve it and when the authorised person will release the payment. Allow time for the bank’s processing cut-off and for corrections.
Assign a named person to each responsibility:
| Responsibility | What the person confirms |
|---|---|
| Employee inputs | The employee list, start dates, contracts, bank details and approved changes are complete. |
| Payroll preparation | The draft reflects the agreed inputs and the rules applicable to the payment period. |
| Review | Calculations, exceptions, employee deductions and employer costs have been checked. |
| Employer approval | The identified payroll version, total payment and unresolved items are expressly approved or returned for correction. |
| Payment release | The bank instruction matches the approved version and funds are available. |
| Filing and reconciliation | Applicable returns and payments are completed, evidence is saved and payroll is matched to the books. |
Scroll this table sideways to see all columns.
A small company may have one person covering several roles. Even then, record the preparation and approval as separate steps. When using a payroll provider, confirm whether the engagement covers preparation, filing, bank-file generation or payment execution. Receiving a payment file does not mean salaries have been transferred.
Check the setup before the first calculation
Employer and employee registration
Confirm the company’s Social Security Office registration and the employee registration required for each eligible hire. An employee who has been insured previously still needs their employment information checked for the new employer.
The instructions for the SSO employee registration form, สปส.1-03, require notification within 30 days from the date the employee becomes an insured person. They also distinguish employees who have and have not been registered before. Use the actual start date and confirm the employee’s eligibility; this is separate from agreeing a payroll cut-off. SSO employee registration form and instructions, page 2.
Confirm access to the required filing channels, who is authorised to submit and how the company will fund statutory payments. Include any applicable Workmen’s Compensation Fund and provident fund responsibilities in that setup. If you employ foreign staff, resolve any employment authorisation questions with the responsible adviser before treating payroll setup as complete. A payroll calculation does not establish a person’s permission to work.
One verified employee record
For each employee, prepare a record containing:
- Identity and the identifiers needed for tax and social security reporting.
- Actual start date, employment terms and the agreed pay period.
- Salary, allowances and other agreed pay components, with their effective dates.
- Verified bank details for the salary payment.
- The employee information and supporting evidence needed for the withholding calculation.
- Relevant approved attendance, leave, overtime, commissions or bonuses for the first period.
- Provident fund or other benefit arrangements, where applicable.
Use a restricted, agreed channel for these records. Give access only to the people who need the information, and keep a record of changes. For an initial enquiry, describe your headcount, first pay date and support needed; send employee identity documents and bank details through the channel agreed for the engagement.
Build and test the first payroll draft
The first payroll has no previous month to compare against. Check the draft against the signed employment terms and the approved inputs instead.
If someone starts partway through a pay period, confirm the calculation basis before approving the amount. Do the same for overtime, unpaid leave and benefits: record which rule applies and the input used. Avoid silently applying a software default to a situation that has not been reviewed.
Ask the preparer to show, for each employee:
- Salary and variable earnings for the period.
- The treatment of allowances, benefits and expense reimbursements.
- Employee social security, withholding tax and other applicable deductions.
- Net salary payable.
- Employer contributions and other employer costs shown separately.
Employee salary withholding follows the employment-income rules. The Revenue Code’s section 50(1) sets out a calculation based on income and payment frequency; a percentage used for a supplier’s service invoice is not a default salary tax rate. Have the preparer apply the current rules, employee circumstances and evidence. Revenue Department, sections 40 and 50.
For social security, ask which contribution base, rates and limits apply to this employee and this payment period. Check that the employee’s deduction and the employer’s contribution are recorded separately. A contribution table copied from an older guide is not sufficient evidence for a new payroll setup.
Where reimbursements are transferred with salaries, show them separately in the approval pack and have their treatment reviewed. The bank-transfer total may then differ from the payroll net-salary total; the difference should have a documented explanation.
Review the draft before approving it
Review every employee in the first run. A total that looks reasonable can still contain a missing employee, a duplicate payment or an incorrect bank account.
Use these checks:
- Employee count: does the payroll list match the people due to be paid for this period?
- Dates and earnings: do start dates, salary changes and variable amounts match the approved records?
- Calculation: are the first-period calculation, deductions and net pay supported by the inputs?
- Employer cost: are employer contributions excluded from employee deductions and separately visible?
- Payment details: are bank accounts verified and does the payment list match the payroll list?
- Totals: do employee totals add up to the summary and payment instruction?
- Exceptions: is each unresolved question assigned to someone, with a decision required before release?
Record the correction when an item changes. Replace the draft, check the affected figures and confirm the new total. Keep the previous version as part of the history rather than editing an already approved file without explanation.
Approve an identified version
The employer’s approval should make it clear what has been authorised. Use a record like this for the first run:
| Approval field | What to record |
|---|---|
| Payroll period and version | The pay period, version reference and file date. |
| Employees included | Employee count and any person paid separately. |
| Gross earnings and deductions | Summary totals, with deduction categories visible. |
| Net salary payment | The total net salaries to be released. |
| Separate payments | Approved reimbursements or other amounts transferred alongside payroll. |
| Employer contributions | Amounts the company must fund in addition to employee net salaries. |
| Exceptions | Corrections completed, or a specific item returned for resolution. |
| Approval | Approver’s name, approval date and planned payment date. |
Scroll this table sideways to see all columns.
This is a suggested control record, not a statutory form. The detailed employee calculations should remain available to the authorised reviewer.
If a bonus, bank account or salary amount changes after approval, issue a replacement version and obtain approval again. Keep the bank release tied to that version. An informal instruction to “add it to the payment” can leave payroll, the bank file and the tax records showing different amounts.
Confirm payment, filings and reconciliation
Check that the payment instruction uses the approved payroll version, the correct payment date and the intended employee accounts. After release, verify the bank’s outcome. An uploaded file or scheduled transfer is not proof that every employee received their payment. Assign any rejected transfer for correction and record the final result.
Provide employees with their individual payslips through the agreed channel. Keep the payslip, payment confirmation and any correction linked to the same payroll period.
Track statutory work separately from salary payment. Track filing deadlines independently of salary release, and confirm the treatment of any delayed or corrected payment. For each applicable item, record the period, due date, responsible person, submission confirmation and payment evidence. A return submitted and a tax or contribution paid are separate checks.
For employment-income withholding, the Revenue Department’s calendar lists PND1 and distinguishes ordinary and internet filing dates. Check the calendar for the actual month and filing channel, including applicable extensions and holidays. Your internal document deadline should leave time for preparation and approval. Revenue Department filing calendar.
The annual PND1 Kor summary is another task to prepare for from the first pay run. Its instructions cover reportable employment income, including reporting for employees below the withholding threshold, and state the base filing period as February of the following year. It is separate from the employee’s own personal tax return. Revenue Department PND1 Kor form and instructions. Our Thai tax forms guide explains the related monthly and annual forms.
Finally, reconcile the payroll summary to the salary bank payments, employer costs and outstanding tax or contribution balances. Give the accounting team the approved summary and payment evidence so payroll can be matched to the company’s bookkeeping and reconciliation.
Keep a complete first-payroll file
Before treating the first run as complete, check that you have:
- Verified employee setup and relevant registration records.
- Agreed inputs, calculation assumptions and supporting documents.
- The reviewed payroll draft and completed corrections.
- Employer approval for the version actually released.
- Individual payslips and confirmed salary-payment results.
- Applicable filing confirmations and statutory-payment evidence.
- The payroll summary passed to accounting, with differences explained.
Carry forward only the approved employee setup and recurring pay components. Collect and approve fresh variable inputs for the next run, and investigate corrections from the first payroll before they repeat.
Prepare your first payroll with YPN
YPN provides payroll processing, payslips, bank payment files and support with social security and employee tax filings. Tell us the number of employees, their planned start dates, the first pay date and what setup has already been completed. We can then agree the preparation, employer approval and filing responsibilities for your company.