Payroll

Track employee wages, deductions, and payroll obligations for "$ARGUMENTS". Calculate gross and net pay, withholdings, and employer contributions.

Arguments. $ARGUMENTS may contain the project name and optional flags. Take the first token as <project> and treat --skip-checks as a flag; never include flags in file paths. All paths below use <project>. If --skip-checks is present, skip the prerequisite check and, before writing any artifact, append one line to .metapowers/bookkeeping/<project>/skip-log.md: - <ISO timestamp> — <skill name> skipped prerequisite check for <artifact file> — reason: <reason or "none given">.

Compute with code. Perform every calculation (totals, balances, ratios, variances, projections) with a script — Bash, Python or a spreadsheet formula written to a file — and include the computation alongside the result. Never do arithmetic mentally.

Prerequisites

None — utility skill, run anytime.

Process

1. Gather employee information:

   • List all employees and contractors
   • Record: name, role, pay type (salary, hourly), rate, pay frequency
   • Note tax filing status and allowances
   • Identify any special deductions (benefits, garnishments, retirement)

2. Calculate gross pay:

   • Salaried employees: annual salary / pay periods
   • Hourly employees: hours worked x rate
   • Include overtime, bonuses, commissions as applicable
   • Track paid time off and sick leave balances

3. Calculate deductions:

   • Employee withholdings: income tax, social security, medicare
   • Employee contributions: health insurance, retirement (401k/pension), union dues
   • Employer obligations: employer share of payroll taxes, insurance, workers' comp
   • Other: garnishments, loan repayments

4. Determine net pay:

   • Gross pay minus all employee deductions
   • Verify against minimum wage requirements
   • Calculate employer total cost per employee

5. Write the artifact to .metapowers/bookkeeping/<project>/payroll.md with sections:

   • Payroll Summary — table with gross, deductions, and net per employee
   • Withholdings Detail — breakdown of each deduction type
   • Employer Costs — taxes and contributions paid by employer
   • Totals — aggregate payroll cost for the period
   • Upcoming Obligations — tax deposits and filing deadlines

Output

The payroll report written to .metapowers/bookkeeping/<project>/payroll.md. Present a summary highlighting:

• Total payroll cost (employee + employer)
• Net pay distributed
• Upcoming tax deposit deadlines

End the artifact with this paragraph, verbatim:

Not financial or tax advice. This artifact is generated analysis for review by a qualified accountant or financial professional before any filing, reporting or decision relies on it.