The UKG payroll close checklist, run every cycle
Most payroll checklists live in a spreadsheet and in people's heads. Here is the sequence a UKG Pro cycle follows, and the parts that can run on their own.
Ten steps from inputs to closed period, the same every cycle.
People decide exceptions and approve; the rest runs and records itself.
Vacations and turnover no longer change how a cycle runs.
Every UKG Pro payroll team has a close checklist, formal or not. It usually starts with chasing files and ends with someone confirming the register looks right. In between are dozens of small steps that depend on the person doing them.
Below is the sequence we see in multi-location UKG Pro payrolls, with the steps PCLnXAI automates marked out. The checklist itself becomes part of the system, so every cycle follows it and leaves a record. Our general payroll close checklist covers the practice beyond UKG.
- Confirm cycle from calendar
- Track every input
- Validate each file
- Reconcile source to load
- Post and read back
- Post-calculation checks
- Complete the cycle record
- Decide exceptions
- Approve each load
- Bring in imports and calculate in UKG Pro
A UKG Pro payroll close sequence
- Confirm the cycle. Pay group, period, and pay date from the UKG Pro calendar. Automated.
- Collect inputs. Every expected time, earnings, commission, and deduction file received and on time. Automated tracking, with late files flagged.
- Validate. Employees, pay groups, codes, duplicates, and plausibility checked per file. Automated.
- Resolve exceptions. Held lines and blocks routed to owners and decided. People decide; routing and records are automated.
- Reconcile. Source to load, by location and code, with variance against prior cycles. Automated.
- Approve. A person reviews the pay group and approves the load. Always a person.
- Load and confirm. Pending pay items posted to UKG Pro and read back. Automated.
- Bring in imports and calculate. Your team runs payroll in UKG Pro as today.
- Post-calculation checks. UKG Pro compared with what was approved; manual changes detected. Automated.
- Close and record. The cycle record is completed when UKG Pro closes the period. Automated.
What changes for the team
The checklist stops depending on who is working. Vacations, turnover, and busy seasons no longer change how a cycle runs, because the steps, the checks, and the evidence are the same every time. Your analysts spend the cycle on the decisions that need them.
- 1Intake
- 2Validation
- 3Reconciliation
- 4Exceptions
- 5Approval
- 6Close
How PCLnXAI handles the close
We document your current checklist pay group by pay group during discovery, including the informal steps. The pipeline runs it, and the cycle record shows that each step happened.
Frequently asked questions
Does this change how we run payroll in UKG Pro?
No. Bring in Time Imports, calculation, and payroll processing stay in UKG Pro with your team. The checklist around them is what gets automated.
Can each pay group have its own checklist?
Yes. Steps and checks can differ by pay group where the process genuinely differs.
Is the checklist visible to the team?
Yes. Each cycle shows which steps are done, which are waiting, and which need a person.
What if a step is skipped?
The cycle cannot be approved while required steps are open, unless a lead overrides with a written reason.