The Margin · Payroll operations

Payroll approval is not payment settlement.

An approval records what an authorized person decided. It does not, by itself, prove that workers received funds, tax deposits reached the government, or a return was accepted.

See the payroll lifecycle Check Runbook status

One payroll, several different facts.

A green approval state should not make later external work disappear.

Prepared

The payroll inputs, calculations, changes, cash requirement, and exceptions are ready for review.

Approved

An authorized person records the decision to proceed with the reviewed payroll facts.

Instructed

A payment, deposit, filing, or remittance instruction is created for an external system.

Accepted

The external party acknowledges the instruction or submission. Acceptance still may not prove final settlement.

Settled—or returned

Funds settle, or a return, rejection, reversal, or other exception creates additional work.

Reconciled

The payroll liability, cash movement, external evidence, and any remaining difference are matched.

Evidenced

The record retains the facts needed to show what happened without turning a screenshot into the source of truth.

Why employers should care.

Outsourcing payroll work does not make the employer's need for visibility disappear.

QuestionInsufficient answerUseful record

Was payroll approved?“The run is green.”Who approved which facts, when, with which unresolved exceptions?

Were workers paid?“A direct-deposit file was created.”Which instructions were accepted, settled, returned, reversed, or reissued?

Were taxes handled?“Taxes were included in payroll.”Which liability was calculated, when was a deposit submitted, and what receipt or trace supports it?

Is the books entry final?“The journal exported.”Which liabilities remain open after settlement, returns, corrections, and filing outcomes?

The IRS explains that employers generally remain responsible for federal employment tax obligations even when they use a payroll service provider or reporting agent. It advises employers to use EFTPS visibility to monitor deposits made on their behalf. Nacha's description of ACH shows why the payment record also needs stages: payroll Direct Deposit moves through an Originator, an originating bank, the ACH Network, and a receiving bank before the employee sees the result.

What to ask a payroll provider.

The answers should distinguish authority, instruction, external outcome, and evidence.

Can I see who approved the payroll and exactly what changed before approval? Can I distinguish a prepared payment from an accepted or settled payment? Can I see returned or reversed entries without losing the original instruction? Can I match federal tax deposits to an EFTPS confirmation or trace? Can I see whether a return was merely prepared, submitted, accepted, or rejected? Can my accountant reconcile open payroll liabilities without rebuilding the story from exports? Can a correction preserve the approved past and add the new fact?

Sources and boundaries.

Operational vocabulary is not a claim that Runbook currently performs these external actions.

Runbook's public Status page controls current availability. Live payroll processing, direct deposit, tax payments, and tax filing are not yet generally available. This article is educational and is not tax, legal, accounting, financial, banking, or ACH-compliance advice.

Ask what happens after approval.

Tell Runbook—without sending sensitive payroll records—where your current payroll process loses visibility between decision and outcome.

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