PayFit: setting up your payroll step by step (small-business guide)

Quick answer. Setting up payroll on PayFit follows six steps: create the company file (with the right collective agreement, identified by its IDCC code), set up employees and their contracts, configure the variables (leave, absences, bonuses), produce the first payslip, check its consistency, then file the monthly social declaration (DSN). The sensitive point is the collective agreement: it drives minimum pay and many payroll rules. For reference, the minimum wage stands at €12.31 per hour from 1 June 2026 (€1,867.02 gross per month for 35 hours).

Payroll software does not remove the employer's responsibility: it equips it. French payroll remains among the densest in the world, and an initial configuration error repeats on every payslip. Before comparing solutions — which our payroll-tools comparison does — the priority is to lay the file's foundations correctly.

At Hayot Expertise, we see two profiles succeed at payroll on their own: those who take time over the initial configuration, and those who get support on the first payslips before flying solo. This guide applies to PayFit as to the general logic of setup, already covered for a first hire.

1. Create the company file. Company number, legal form, establishment and above all the applicable collective agreement, identified by its IDCC. This is the decisive step: choosing the wrong collective agreement distorts minimum pay, bonuses and payroll rules.
2. Set up employees and contracts. For each: contract, pay, working time, start date. Check the pre-hire declaration and supplementary pension affiliation.
3. Configure the variables. Leave, absences, overtime, bonuses and benefits, plus the recurring items of each payslip.
4. Produce the first payslip. Generate a payslip, then check the gross pay, contributions, net to pay and the displayed net social amount.
5. Check consistency. Compare the payslip with the contract and the agreement, check the minimum wage and agreement minimums before release — the same rigour as a first-payslip checklist.
6. File the social declaration. Check then file the monthly social declaration on time, and keep payslips for the legal retention period.

Setup is only a starting point. Once the file is configured, payroll becomes a regular monthly cycle: collect the variables (absences, leave, overtime, bonuses), generate the payslips, check their consistency, release them, then file the social declaration on time. The strength of a well-tuned tool is to make this cycle predictable; its weakness, if the initial setup is shaky, is to repeat the error every month.

Two reflexes secure the routine. First, a systematic check before release: compare each payslip with the contract and the agreement minimums, and spot unusual gaps. Second, tracking the social calendar: the social declaration has a monthly deadline, and events (joining, leaving, sick leave) trigger specific filings. It is the same cycle rigour described for the payroll of a first hire.

Three mistakes come up regularly. The first is the wrong collective agreement, already mentioned: it is the costliest, because it distorts every payslip. The second is forgetting a recurring pay element (an agreement bonus, a benefit in kind), which creates a lasting gap. The third is the lack of a check before release: blindly trusting the automatic calculation lets variable errors (a wrongly entered leave, a forgotten absence) flow straight onto the payslip and into the social declaration. Keeping an eye on these three points avoids most corrections.

Once setup is done, payroll becomes a regular monthly cycle, paced by a few deadlines.

2026 reference. Minimum wage at €12.31/hour (€1,867.02 gross per month for 35 h), monthly social-security ceiling at €4,005, net social amount shown on the payslip: all reference points to check before each release.

A first hire. Setting up payroll is part of a wider hiring process: pre-hire declaration, health cover, occupational medicine. Our administrative and social management service covers the whole.

A growing startup. Headcount changes fast and variables multiply (equity, benefits, remote work): wire a clean setup early, as in our startup support.

Switching tool or firm. Beyond a certain headcount, the question is no longer the tool but the split of roles: equipped autonomy, outsourcing, or a hybrid model. Our note on choosing payroll software for a small firm helps decide.

• The collective agreement first. This is the costliest mistake: a wrong IDCC leads to back pay and incorrect minimums across all payslips.
• The net social amount must be right. Shown on the payslip since 2023 and reported in the social declaration, it serves as a reference for some benefits: an error has consequences beyond payroll.
• Declaration deadlines are strict. The monthly filing has a cut-off; a delay risks penalties. Check the calendar from the setup stage.
• The employer stays responsible. The software calculates, but legal responsibility for payroll and filings remains the employer's. Human control is not optional.

Recently, a young services company came to us after producing its first payslips alone: the chosen collective agreement was the wrong one, and the minimums applied were below the agreement minimums. The fix involved corrections over several months. Nothing irreparable, but a loss of time and peace of mind avoidable with a verified initial setup.

The lesson is constant: a tool like PayFit makes calculations reliable, but it faithfully applies the settings it is given, right or wrong. As chartered accountants registered with the Ordre, our value is not to press buttons for you but to secure the structuring choices — agreement, options, handling of special cases — and to check the first payslips.

Hayot Expertise tip. Invest in the initial setup and have your collective agreement and first payslips checked before release. Once the foundations are laid, monthly production becomes smooth and you stay in control. Always keep a consistency check before filing the social declaration: it is the safety net that avoids cascading corrections.