Architecture Overview
Overview
The calendar framework sits between organizational design and element resolution. In practice, Global Payroll works through three pillars: organization, elements, and processing.
Three Pillars
Organization
Organization defines population boundaries. Pay entities capture the legal and country context, pay groups cluster payees with common frequencies and processing rules, and eligibility groups decide which element groups can resolve for a payee.
Elements
Elements are the calculation vocabulary. Primary elements such as earnings and deductions produce values; supporting elements such as formulas and variables provide logic and data; system elements inject runtime context like dates and segmentation state.
Processing
Processing is controlled through run types, period IDs, calendars, calendar groups, and process lists. These objects turn static setup into executable payroll and absence runs.
Core Application And Extensions
Core architecture is shared across countries, but country extensions layer in statutory rules, localized elements, and delivered process list content. A stable design separates enterprise modeling decisions from country-specific calculation logic.
How Global Payroll Differs
| Aspect | Global Payroll |
|---|---|
| Rule engine | PIN-based element resolution with formulas and recursive dependencies |
| Runtime unit | Calendar and calendar group |
| Effective setup | Strong use of effective dating and segmentation |
| Result storage | Dedicated GP result tables by result type |
Key Takeaways
- Organization, elements, and processing must be designed as one operating model.
- Country extensions do not replace the core framework; they plug into it.
- The batch engine follows configuration order, not page order.