How to prepare employee payroll, and how Dawmt makes it easier
What a payroll register is, how it differs from a payslip, its link to the Wage Protection System, and how to prepare it and export the WPS file in Dawmt.
In short
- A payroll register brings together all employees' pay, while a payslip gives one employee's salary breakdown.
- Dawmt links attendance, leave and late arrivals to salary and deduction calculations.
- Check bank details and salary amounts before exporting the Wage Protection System (WPS) file for upload to your bank.
Saudi Arabia works to protect employees' rights and to make sure they are paid for their work, and the payroll register grew out of that effort.
In this article you will learn what an employee payroll register is, how it differs from a payslip, and why payroll registers became mandatory in Saudi Arabia. You will also learn about the Wage Protection System and its role in the payroll register, and the problems that preparing payroll by hand can cause.
You will also see how Dawmt links attendance to the payroll register, the steps for exporting the payroll file from Dawmt to your bank, how Dawmt protects payroll data, and finally how Dawmt helps you manage payroll.
What is an employee payroll register?
An employee payroll register is a record that brings together all the pay data for your employees and everything they are owed: basic salary, bonuses and raises, GOSI contributions and any allowances. All of it is recorded in the payroll register.
The register also shows when salaries are paid and every financial detail for a given period. It makes pay accurate and transparent, and lets each employee see the full details of their salary.
This data is submitted to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) through the Mudad platform, and the payroll register is how the Wage Protection System is applied.
Read more: The best HR software for managing employees and running your company efficiently
The difference between a payslip and a payroll register
Some people assume a payroll register and a payslip are the same thing, but they are not. The differences are small but clear, as the table below shows:
Payslip | Payroll register |
|---|---|
A payslip is a document that sets out one employee's salary for a given period, including the deductions made, GOSI contributions and the full salary breakdown. Each employee gets their own, and can use it with banks or anywhere else that needs proof of salary. | A payroll register is one consolidated file for all of a company's employees, showing their pay for a given period. The file is uploaded in WPS format through the bank's payroll service, and the company uploads its wage protection files to MHRSD every month through the Mudad platform. The file helps employees receive the correct pay and keeps the company within the law that protects their rights. |
Why did payroll registers become mandatory in Saudi Arabia?
The payroll register is no longer optional in Saudi Arabia. It is now a basic, mandatory requirement, because the state uses it to achieve several aims:
- Oversight
The payroll register lets the state oversee companies and employee pay, and payroll records support government audits and inspections.
- Transparency
The payroll register sets out every detail of pay: salary, allowances, deductions and GOSI contributions. That builds trust between employees and the company.
- Records
The payroll register creates a detailed record of each employee's pay that you can refer back to at any time and for any reason. Having recorded evidence is one of the main reasons it was made mandatory in Saudi Arabia.
- Protecting rights
One reason for the payroll register is the Wage Protection System in Saudi Arabia. It safeguards employees' rights by recording each employee's pay and entitlements clearly, in records that can be used and checked at any time.
- Better decisions
Saudi Arabia wants companies to make sound decisions, and the payroll register supports that by giving them documented records with every detail they need to make decisions.
See also: The integrated HR system: a guide to running your company well
What is the Wage Protection System (WPS) and what is its role in the payroll register?
The Wage Protection System (WPS) is a system Saudi Arabia introduced to protect employees' rights and make sure companies comply with the law. Under it, companies submit their employees' wage information to MHRSD through the Mudad platform, which sets out what employees are owed and protects their rights.
The system records salary transfers electronically, with payment made through banks and financial institutions into employees' bank accounts. The employer must also upload the employees' wage file to the Wage Protection System every month through Mudad, and the file must contain each employee's wage details accurately and in full.
Under the violations and penalties schedule for the Labour Law and its Implementing Regulations, issued by MHRSD, failing to upload the wage protection file every month, or failing to meet the compliance rate set by the ministry, is a serious violation that carries a fine depending on how many workers the company employs. Failing to pay workers' wages into their approved bank accounts when they fall due is also a serious violation, and its fine is multiplied by the number of workers affected.
The role of the Wage Protection System in the payroll register
Sending payroll details to MHRSD through Mudad is central to the Wage Protection System. The programme covers all private sector companies and was applied to them gradually in set phases. That makes the payroll register essential: it is the core payroll document and holds the details the ministry needs, which is why the Wage Protection System plays a central part in the payroll register.
As noted above, the violations and penalties schedule fines companies that do not comply with the programme, including a company that does not upload its wage protection file every month.
Read more: Employee attendance software for managing your company's working hours
Common problems when preparing payroll by hand
Preparing the payroll register by hand exposes you to several problems:
- Wrong data
Manual work invites human error, such as entering wrong data by accidentally adding or dropping a digit.
- Shift calculation errors
People can find it hard to calculate extra shifts, such as overtime or an additional night shift. A mistake here changes the employee's recorded hours and therefore their pay.
- Lost records
A register kept by hand is hard to protect from damage or loss, because it usually depends on paper copies, and people alone cannot keep the data and records safe enough.
- Missing regulatory updates
People cannot always keep up with changes to laws and regulations, so a register may fall out of line with the rules in force and expose the company to penalties or investigation.
- More time and effort
Doing it by hand takes a lot of time and effort to get right. It wastes company time, wears employees out and needs more people to finish the job.
- Missed deadlines
Manual work can cause delays or slowdowns, and so lead to missing the deadlines set under the Wage Protection System.
Given these problems, use an electronic payroll system to prepare the payroll register, so the work is accurate, fast and within the law.
How does Dawmt link attendance to the payroll register?
Dawmt links attendance to the payroll register by recording clock-ins and clock-outs in several ways, such as fingerprint scanning or the app, to build an attendance record for each employee.
From that data it calculates working hours precisely, taking authorised absences, leave, late arrivals and similar items into account.
With that data in place, the system calculates salaries and deductions.
Finally, the payroll register is prepared automatically from this data. In this way Dawmt uses attendance data to prepare the payroll register accurately and easily, with fewer errors and gaps.
Steps to export the payroll file from Dawmt to your bank
Dawmt lets you export the payroll file to your bank easily, which makes paying salaries simpler. Here are the steps:
Step 1: Confirm the attendance period
Make sure the month's attendance period is closed in Dawmt. The period is set according to your company's policies. Check leave, absences and overtime to confirm that all the data is in.
Step 2: Calculate payroll
Go to the Payroll section of the Dawmt dashboard, choose the month and click "Calculate payroll". Dawmt takes basic salaries from the employee files and applies deductions, GOSI contributions, penalties and salary advances so that each salary is correct.
Step 3: Check the payroll register
Review the payroll register Dawmt produces: check that each employee has a bank account number (IBAN) and the amount to be transferred. Make sure every employee has a salary recorded and none shows zero, and make any corrections needed if something is wrong or missing.
Step 4: Export the file
On the payroll register page, click "Generate bank file" and choose your bank. Dawmt converts the file into the format the bank accepts, which is the Wage Protection System (WPS) payroll file format.
Step 5: Your bank's online services
Log in to your bank's online services and go to the salary transfer section ("Payroll services"). Check that the file meets that bank's requirements, then upload it, and the bank will validate it straight away.
Step 6: Make the transfer
Start the transfer, choose the execution date and confirm. Salaries are transferred to employees and the bank sends a notification.
Step 7: Keep a copy
Keep a copy of the uploaded file and the bank's notification. Dawmt also logs each operation automatically so you can refer back to it whenever you need to.
How Dawmt protects payroll data
Dawmt uses several measures to protect payroll data. The main ones are:
- Data is stored inside Saudi Arabia or Bahrain.
- Permissions are set by each employee's role and tasks: people who work on payroll have access, and other employees cannot open the detailed data.
- Records and documents are kept for each payroll operation, so there is complete evidence to refer back to during an audit.
How Dawmt handles payroll for companies in Saudi Arabia
Dawmt is an integrated HR system that covers HR administration in your company, including payroll. Through HR automation, Dawmt manages payroll accurately, keeps the data safe and completes each process quickly.
Dawmt calculates the full salary, including leave, authorised absences, deductions and GOSI contributions, so the final salary is accurate.
Dawmt also produces complete payroll reports and records that your company can refer back to. It helps you comply with the Wage Protection System by preparing the payroll register and exporting the payroll file in WPS format for upload to the bank, which makes managing payroll in your company easier.
Sources
- Uploading the wage protection file, Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (in Arabic)
- MHRSD stresses that companies must comply with the Wage Protection Program on the Mudad platform (in Arabic)
- The Wage Protection Program: a strategic tool for safeguarding workers' rights (in Arabic)
- Violations and penalties schedule for the Labour Law and its Implementing Regulations (in Arabic)
This information was reviewed in October 2026. Regulations can change, so check the official source before relying on it.
Frequently asked questions
Does Dawmt help you meet MHRSD requirements?
Dawmt includes tools that help you meet the requirements of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD), such as exporting the payroll file in the approved Wage Protection System (WPS) format, end-of-service benefit settings and GOSI deduction calculation, once they are configured to match your company's policies and the Labour Law.
How are salaries transferred to banks through Dawmt?
Dawmt lets you export the payroll file in WPS format and upload it through your bank's payroll service, and the bank then carries out the transfer.
How does Dawmt protect payroll data?
Role-based permissions control who can see payroll. Data is stored inside Saudi Arabia or Bahrain. Payroll operations are logged so you can refer back to them during an audit.