How SimplePay mapping works

What this guide covers

Before myWork can push payroll inputs to SimplePay, it needs to know which SimplePay item each myWork thing belongs to. That's the job of the SimplePay Export Setup screen — a one-time mapping you set up once (and only touch when something changes). This explains the three maps, the Hours vs Amount choice, and what to leave blank.

Who can do this: payroll administrators (the manage payroll runs permission). Set it up before your first run — see Running monthly payroll.

The idea in one picture

How SimplePay mapping works: Fetch from SimplePay loads its items, leave types and pay frequencies; then fill three maps — 1 Component mapping (each pay component to a SimplePay item, Send as Hours or Amount), 2 Leave type mapping (each myWork leave type to a SimplePay leave type), 3 Default pay frequency (used when creating employees). A blank row means do not export. Hours for overtime/public-holiday (SimplePay derives rand from the basic); Amount for bonuses/allowances/deductions. Leave Basic Salary and PAYE/UIF/SDL blank — SimplePay owns them. Map unpaid leave once.

Step 0 — Discover SimplePay items

At the top, click Fetch from SimplePay. This reads (read-only) your SimplePay account's pay items (split into system and custom), leave types and pay frequencies, and fills the dropdowns below. It runs automatically when the page opens, but click it again any time SimplePay changes.

The three maps

1. Component mapping

For each myWork pay component, pick the matching SimplePay item from the dropdown and set Send as → Hours or Amount. Then Save mapping.

Leave a row blank to not export that component.
Behind the scenes the choice composes the attribute key SimplePay reads, but you only deal with the dropdown + Hours/Amount.

2. Leave type mapping

For each myWork leave type, pick the matching SimplePay leave type, then Save leave-type mapping. This is what lets Send leave to SimplePay post that leave. Leave a row blank to not send that type. (It's the same link the leave sync and the leave Excel export use.)

3. Default pay frequency

Pick the pay frequency new employees should be created on, then Save pay frequency. It's used when you click Create / link in SimplePay on an employee's HR page.

Hours or Amount? (the key decision)

This tells SimplePay what value to take for the component:

Send as	Use it for	What gets sent
Hours	Overtime and public-holiday items	The worked hours. SimplePay works out the rand from the basic salary it already holds.
Amount	Bonuses, allowances and deductions	The rand value directly.

Rule of thumb: overtime → Hours; a once-off bonus or a deduction → Amount.

What to leave blank

Basic Salary and the statutory tax items — PAYE, UIF, SDL — are owned by SimplePay. Don't map them; leave those rows blank.
Any component or leave type you simply don't want exported — a blank mapping = "skip it".
Map unpaid leave only once — either as a leave type (recommended) or as a deduction component, never both, or it'll be counted twice.

Good to know

Set it up once. You only revisit this screen when SimplePay items change, you add a new pay component or leave type, or you onboard staff on a new pay frequency.
A saved mapping you can't see after a re-fetch shows as "(saved — re-fetch to confirm)" — it's still applied; fetch again to reconcile the list.
Mapping is what makes the export accurate — an unmapped item or leave type is the usual cause of an "Unmapped" warning during a run. Set it here and re-run.

Running monthly payroll (myWork → SimplePay) — the monthly run that uses these mappings.
HR Settings — leave types, plans & balances — where myWork's leave types come from.
The employee page (HR): Salary, banking & compliance — linking each employee to SimplePay.