---
title: "Approve a Payroll Journal Entry"
slug: "approve-a-payroll-journal-entry"
description: "Approve a payroll JE to finalize labor clearing. Covers prerequisites, Payroll Estimate Clearing tab, Distribution variances, and job title mapping."
updated: 2026-02-10T01:16:23Z
published: 2026-02-10T01:16:23Z
canonical: "docs.restaurant365.com/approve-a-payroll-journal-entry"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.restaurant365.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Approve a Payroll Journal Entry

Approving a payroll journal entry is the final step in matching POS labor estimates to actual payroll costs in the General Ledger.

- Approved daily labor accruals are combined into one reversing entry on the last day of the payroll period in the Payroll Estimate Clearing tab.
- That reversing entry is compared to the actual payroll entry from the payroll provider on the Distribution tab so labor-related GL accounts show the difference between estimated and actual labor.
- Before approval, all Daily Sales Summaries for the payroll period **must be** reviewed and approved, and any labor data updated in the POS must be in place so the system can calculate the reversing entry correctly.

---

## Security

The following permission is required to approve a payroll journal entry:

- General Ledger → Payroll Journal Entries → Approve Payroll JEs

> This article references the [new journal entry experience](/doc/docs/journal-entry-update-2025), which will be enabled for all customers in 2026.
> 
> At that time, the classic payroll journal entry experience will no longer be supported.
> 
> See [classic payroll journal entry documentation](/doc/docs/classic-payroll-journal-entries).

---

## Approve a Payroll Journal Entry

To approve a payroll journal entry, hover over **Approve** in the top ribbon and select the desired approval option.

![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/5c9d1111-0c69-4e96-8910-d7f2750fdc9d/Images/Documentation/image-S0RJDOF9.png)

Once approved, the **Payroll Estimate Clearing** tab calculates and displays the total of all approved labor accrual entries created by the POS Integration (via the DSS) between the payroll period's start and end dates. This acts as a single reversing entry recorded on the final day of the payroll period.

The **Distribution** tab then shows the difference between this reversing entry and the actual payroll entry from the payroll provider, representing the net impact to labor-related GL accounts.

### Best Practices for Accurate Approvals

Before approving a payroll journal entry:

- Ensure all [**Daily Sales Summar**](/doc/docs/daily-sales-summary-dss-classic)**y (DSS)** records for the pay period have been approved.

If labor data is later updated in the POS:

- **Unapprove** the journal entry.
- Then **re-approve** it to recalculate the reversal based on the latest approved accruals.

### Troubleshooting Differences in Distribution

Smaller values on the **Distribution** tab indicate accurate accrual percentages and alignment between accruals and actual payroll. Large or unexpected values may suggest:

- Accrual percentages on the [**Location record**](/doc/docs/legal-entities-location-record) need adjustment.
- [Job titles](/doc/docs/job-titles) are assigned to incorrect GL accounts.
- Default accounts for the location are misconfigured.

Example: If the "Cook" job title is mapped to FOH Labor in R365, but payroll data allocates those wages to BOH Labor, the Distribution tab will show the full Cook labor amount both debited from FOH and credited to BOH.

Review and align job title mappings and GL account assignments to ensure consistency between accruals and actual payroll.

Journal entry (JE) Record posted to the General Ledger to document financial activity.

POS (Point of Sale)

A system used by businesses to process sales transactions and manage customer payments. Connected to R365 through a [POS integration](/doc/docs/pos-integration-overview).

The process of connecting different systems or software applications to work together seamlessly.

Restaurant365

Financial account used to record specific transactions in the general ledger.