Payroll reviewers sign off pay that lands in people's accounts on a fixed day, so onboarding has to finish before a pay run, not during one. This checklist covers access and red lines on bank details and own pay, shadowing on held changes, reviewer training and exam, a practicum spanning a full pay cycle, a drill and sign-off.
What does a payroll reviewer approve?
A payroll agent calculates the routine changes: hours, overtime from approved timesheets, allowances, deductions, starters' first pay and leavers' final pay. Calculations sit at depth 3 within bounds. It holds changes to bank details, pay above set thresholds, off-cycle payments, and anything where its sources disagree, such as a timesheet that does not match the rota. Releasing the pay run itself is depth 4 and stays with a named person.
Three risks dominate. Bank detail fraud: an email from an "employee" asking to update their account before payday is a classic attack, and the email is an external claim. Errors at scale: a wrong rule applied to one employee is a correction; applied to 500 it is a crisis on payday. And conflicts of interest: a reviewer must never approve changes to their own pay or a close colleague's.
How do you use the checklist?
The payroll manager owns it. Start at least five weeks before a pay run, so the practicum includes a full cycle from cut-off to payment. Sign each item. No approval rights until stage 5. The idea of onboarding is the same as elsewhere; the calendar is what changes. For the teaching method, see how to train the payroll team to review AI agent decisions. For the overall training order, see the guide to training teams for AI agents.
The checklist
| Stage | Item | Owner | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Set-up | Read-only access to payroll records and the held queue | Payroll manager | |
| 1 | Conflict rule configured: reviewer cannot approve items for themselves or listed colleagues | IT and manager | |
| 1 | Agent capabilities read: routine calculations (3), starters and leavers (3), held bank changes, held pay above threshold, held off-cycle payments, pay run release (4, person only) | Reviewer | |
| 1 | Red lines signed: no bank detail change without a call-back to a number on file or a request through the verified employee portal; no off-cycle payment without the line manager's approval; no pay run release with unresolved held items | Reviewer and manager | |
| 2. Shadowing | Two days with a certified reviewer, one of them at cut-off | Buddy | |
| 2 | Seen a bank change request refused or verified | Buddy | |
| 3. Training | Shared foundation complete; test passed | Learning lead | |
| 3 | Reviewer modules complete; written exam passed | Learning lead | |
| 4. Practicum | Two weeks including a full pay cycle, each decision confirmed by a buddy | Buddy | |
| 4 | Coverage: a bank change, a timesheet mismatch, a leaver's final pay, an off-cycle request | Manager | |
| 4 | Incident drill completed | Manager | |
| 5. Sign-off | Assessor sign-off; no missed red line | Assessor | |
| 5 | Approval thresholds recorded; renewal date set | Manager |
Worked example
An illustrative care provider with 1,200 staff on monthly pay brings Sample Reviewer FF into payroll. The agent calculates overtime from approved timesheets and holds any change over 500 or any timesheet that does not match the rota.
Two days before cut-off, during shadowing, an email arrives from a carer's name asking to switch her pay to a new bank "because of a problem with my old account". The agent holds it. The buddy calls the carer on her number on file; she has sent nothing. The request is refused and reported. Later, the agent holds 14 overtime claims because a rota upload failed; the buddy checks with the scheduling team and approves 12, holding two that were not on any rota.
Sample Reviewer FF's practicum spans the next cycle. She approves 160 held items, catches a leaver's final pay that included holiday already taken, and refuses an off-cycle payment request that lacked the line manager's approval. The drill, as in how to run an AI agent incident drill for the payroll team, simulates the agent's certificate lapsing two days before payday. She is signed off with a threshold of 2,000 per item.
How does payroll onboarding compare with other teams?
Payroll shares bank-detail fraud with accounts payable and verification habits with customer onboarding. The reviewer onboarding checklist for the onboarding team goes deeper on evidence and provenance, and compliance staff who sample payroll decisions follow the reviewer onboarding checklist for the compliance team.
Questions people ask
Can a new reviewer release the pay run?
Not in their first cycles. Release should rest with the payroll manager or a senior reviewer, with the new reviewer's approved items included only after a buddy has checked them.
What if a held bank change is genuine but cannot be verified before payday?
Pay to the existing account, and tell the employee. Paying a day late to the right account beats paying on time to the wrong one.
How often should payroll reviewers calibrate?
After each pay cycle, briefly, using the items that were held or corrected. A longer session each quarter keeps the team's thresholds consistent.