> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.flowpayroll.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Key concepts

> The building blocks of Flow Payroll — and how they fit together across a pay cycle.

Flow Payroll is organised around a few core ideas. Understanding how they connect makes everything else easier.

## Organisation

Your **organisation** is the top-level account that everything belongs to — your people, pay schedules, settings, and submissions. All data is scoped to your organisation, and your HMRC references live here. If you run payroll for several companies, see [clients](#client) below.

## People

**People** (your employees and workers) are the individuals you pay. Each person has personal details, employment details, a tax code, an NI category, and pay information. People move through a lifecycle: you onboard them, pay them each period, and eventually process them as a leaver.

<Card title="Manage your people" icon="users" href="/guides/people/managing-people">
  Add employees, keep details current, and handle leavers.
</Card>

## Pay run configuration

A **pay run configuration** (or pay schedule) defines *how* and *how often* you pay a group of people:

* **Pay frequency** — weekly, fortnightly, four-weekly, or monthly.
* **Pay day** and the periods that follow from it.
* Defaults that apply to everyone on that schedule.

Each person is attached to a pay run configuration. Most organisations have one; you can have several if different groups are paid on different cycles.

## Pay run

A **pay run** is one execution of a pay schedule for a specific period — for example, "Monthly, June 2025". In a pay run you enter or import each person's hours and adjustments, Flow Payroll calculates gross-to-net pay (tax, NI, pension, and other deductions), and you review and approve the results.

You can **preview** a pay run at any time to see calculated figures on real data. Once you **lock** the period, final payslips are generated and the pay run is ready to report to HMRC.

<Card title="Run a pay run" icon="money-check-dollar" href="/guides/pay-runs/running-a-pay-run">
  The full step-by-step walkthrough.
</Card>

## Payslip

A **payslip** is the per-person, per-period statement of pay. Before a period is locked, payslips are previews based on the latest data. After locking, they're final and can be shared with your team.

## RTI: FPS and EPS

**Real Time Information (RTI)** is how you report payroll to HMRC. There are two submissions:

* **FPS (Full Payment Submission)** — sent **on or before** each pay day. It tells HMRC what you paid each person and the tax and NI deducted.
* **EPS (Employer Payment Summary)** — sent monthly when you have something to report at the employer level, such as statutory pay recovery or a nil-payment period. Due by the 19th of the following tax month (the 22nd if you pay electronically).

<Card title="HMRC & RTI" icon="building-columns" href="/guides/compliance/hmrc-rti">
  Submit FPS and EPS and handle resubmissions.
</Card>

## Statutory payments

**Statutory payments** are amounts you must pay employees in certain circumstances, set by law:

* **SSP** — Statutory Sick Pay
* **SMP** — Statutory Maternity Pay
* **SPP** — Statutory Paternity Pay
* **SAP** — Statutory Adoption Pay
* **ShPP** — Statutory Shared Parental Pay
* **SPBP** — Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay
* **SNCP** — Statutory Neonatal Care Pay

Flow Payroll calculates eligibility and amounts, includes them in pay runs, and reports them via RTI.

## Pensions and auto-enrolment

UK employers must **automatically enrol** eligible workers into a workplace pension. Flow Payroll assesses each worker every pay run, enrols those who qualify, applies contributions, and produces the files and letters your pension provider needs.

<Card title="Auto-enrolment" icon="piggy-bank" href="/guides/pensions/auto-enrolment">
  Assess, enrol, and contribute.
</Card>

## Court orders

A **court order** (attachment of earnings) requires you to deduct money from an employee's pay and send it to a third party — for example a CMS DEO, AEO, DEA, or CTAEO. Flow Payroll applies the right calculation, respects protected earnings, and tracks the outstanding balance.

## Client

If you run payroll for more than one business — for example as a staffing agency or bureau — each business you serve is a **client**. Clients let you separate people, pay runs, and reporting per business, and invoice them for your services.

<Card title="Clients & invoices" icon="briefcase" href="/guides/bureau/clients">
  Manage multiple clients and invoice them for payroll.
</Card>

## Tags

**Tags** let you classify people and pay data — by department, cost centre, project, or any category you choose — so you can group and report on them flexibly.

## How it fits together

A typical monthly cycle ties these together:

<Steps>
  <Step title="People are up to date">
    New starters added, leavers processed, pay and tax codes current.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Run the pay run">
    Enter hours and adjustments; statutory pay, pensions, and court orders apply automatically.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Lock and generate payslips">
    Final payslips are produced for the period.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Report to HMRC">
    Submit the FPS on or before pay day; submit the EPS at month-end if needed.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pay and share">
    Pay your people and send their payslips.
  </Step>
</Steps>