Payroll Overview

About this article: This article explains what the Payroll module does in PickTrace, how it connects to timecards and reports, and which payroll systems it integrates with.

What the Payroll Module Does

The Payroll module is where you generate export files to send to your payroll system. PickTrace collects timecard data — hours worked, pieces picked, job assignments — and can calculate pay values on your behalf. You then download an export file formatted for your specific payroll provider and upload it there.

Where to Find the Payroll Module

Navigate to Payroll in the main menu. From there you can:

• Assign your payroll cost codes and wage types
• Download your pay period payroll file
• Lock or unlock pay periods
  •  Pay period lock and unlock require specific user permissions set at the Users and Roles page
• Edit your payroll export settings

Supported Payroll Providers

PickTrace generates formatted export files for the following payroll systems: Famous, DataTech, ADP, UKG, Paylocity, Compu-Tech, Quickbooks, IDI, Sunview, Ag Star, Bluesky, Redwing, and more. Each provider has its own export format and code structure. For provider-specific setup details, see the Payroll Provider Reference article.

Reconciling Payroll Before Export

Before downloading your export file, we encourage you to have audited your timecards and production records. Further, running a report will help you ensure there are no errors. A good starting point is the General Payroll Report (marked with a blue star in the Reports module). Or, work with your PickTrace rep to create a custom report. See our reporting articles for guides on creating your custom report.

Payroll Code Mapping

This section explains how to map PickTrace fields — jobs, sites, locations, employers, and employees — to your payroll provider's codes.

What Is Payroll Mapping?

Payroll mapping connects PickTrace data to the codes your payroll system expects. For example, a job in PickTrace must be mapped to the correct job code and wage type in your payroll system so that hours and pieces export to the right line items.

The specific code names vary by provider — your provider may call them Phase Codes, ED Codes, DET Codes, or something else. The mapping concepts work the same way regardless of what your provider calls them.

What Payroll Codes You Can Map

Each code type can be mapped to one or more PickTrace objects. The table below shows the most common mapping targets.

Code Type	What It Does	Can Be Mapped To
Earnings / pay type code	Identifies the type of pay (hourly, piecework, OT, DT, break)	Jobs, Employers
Phase / job code	Identifies the job type or work activity	Job
Cost center	Tracks labor cost by location or department	Job, Site, Location, Crew, Employer
Department	Department-level cost tracking	Job, Site, Location, Crew, Employee
GL account	General ledger account	Job, Site, Location, Employer
Workers comp class	Work or risk classification	Job, Site, Location, Crew, Employee
Grower / lot	Identifies grower ownership or location grouping	Site, Location
Crew	Crew-level tracking	Crew

Piecework vs. Hourly Pay Types

Most providers require separate codes for piecework jobs and hourly jobs. You'll have to ensure you assign to corresponding wage type to hourly and piece jobs. For example, see here 'RH' is assigned to the hourly job ("regular hourly") and 'PW' is assigned to the Piecework Job ("Piecework Wage"):

Break Payroll Code Mapping

Users can export Breaks in multiple ways. They can "absorb" the break time into the hourly job the employee was doing, or separate the break as a separate line with a separate earnings code (RR for example for rest and recovery)

Whether breaks appear on a separate line depends on the settings enabled, such as the "Separate Hourly Breaks" setting. You can access these settings by selecting the gear icon on the payroll mapping module. For example: 

Whether this is available and how it behaves depends on your provider. See the Payroll Provider Reference for provider-specific details.

Separate Hourly Breaks:

Setting	Behavior	Typical Use
ON	Hourly employees get a dedicated break line in the export	If you need to separate hourly breaks as a paystub compliance requirement.
OFF	Break hours are absorbed into the regular hours line	If you don't need to separate hourly breaks as a paystub compliance requirement.

Separate Piece Breaks:

Setting	Behavior
ON	PickTrace calculates piece break pay and outputs a separate break line
OFF	Breaks are included in regular hours; your payroll system separates and calculates

Overtime and Doubletime Codes

Depending on your payroll provider, users can display overtime and double-time as distinct line items with their corresponding pay codes.

• Overtime earnings
• Doubletime earnings
• Overtime break pay (if applicable)
• Doubletime break pay (if applicable)

For example:

MWA (Minimum Wage Adjustment) Code

If PickTrace is configured to output MWA (as opposed to exporting raw data and having the payroll provide do the calculations), a separate earnings codes for MWAs must be mapped. This code identifies the makeup pay line in your payroll system. For example:

Filtering Your Payroll Export

When you open the payroll export modal, you can filter the export to include only a specific subset of employees. Directly below the employer selector, you'll see three filter tabs:

• Employee Group – Download payroll for one or more employee groups.
• Crew – Download payroll for one or more crews.
• Employee – Download payroll for one or more individual employees.

You can select multiple values within any tab. If no filter is applied, the export will include all employees for that employer and pay period.

Common use case: If you need to process a termination, use the Employee tab to select only that individual and download their data separately, without generating a full payroll export.

Exporting Payroll: Different Settings

This section explains how to generate and download payroll export files in PickTrace, including common settings, known issues, and troubleshooting steps.

Raw Format vs. Calculated Export

Some providers support a raw format export option. This controls whether PickTrace or your payroll system performs the final pay calculations. We recommend exporting raw format whenever possible. PickTrace reports still makes all calculations, and you can use PickTrace reports to compare with the final pay amounts in your payroll system.

This is set on the settings tab of the payroll export modal, access to this setting can depend on your payroll system:

Famous example:

Datatech example:

Raw Format vs. Calculated Export Summary Table:

Mode	What PickTrace Sends	Who Calculates OT, MWA, Breaks
Calculated (default)	Fully calculated values	PickTrace
Raw format	Hours, pieces, and rates only	Your payroll system

Warning: If PickTrace is set to calculate and export OT and your payroll system is also configured to calculate OT, overtime could be double-counted. If you see inflated OT in your payroll import, check whether both systems are calculating OT simultaneously, and reach out to your PickTrace rep for help

Troubleshooting Common Payroll Export Issues

Wrong earnings type on piecework jobs: If piecework jobs are exporting with an hourly earnings code, check that the job's Pay Style is set to Piece in PickTrace, and that a piecework earnings code is mapped to that job. Also check the piecework job has a piecework wage type assigned to it in the payroll export. Reference the "Piecework vs. Hourly Pay Types" section of this article.

Missing break lines: Confirm that the break job has both an earnings code and a phase or cost center mapped. Without both, break lines may not populate correctly in the export. Further, confirm you have the setting enabled to separate break lines. See the "Break Payroll Code Mapping" section of this article.

Unrecognized codes in export file: If your payroll system flags codes it does not recognize, contact PickTrace support to review your earnings code configuration. You may have missing codes or incorrect codes.

MWA not appearing in export: If MWA lines are missing from your export file, confirm that Output MWA is enabled in your payroll settings and that an MWA code is mapped. If the setting is correct and MWA is still missing, contact PickTrace support.

Changing your pay period cycle or employer name: Changes to your pay period cycle (for example, switching from weekly to bi-weekly) require PickTrace support. This cannot be done self-service in the product.