--- title: How to Add Pay Allowances & Deductions description: How to Add Allowances --- [Skip to content](https://university.guardhousehq.com/how-to-add-pay-allowances-deductions#main-content) English Show submenu for translations [![Text\_gradient gold-1-2](https://university.guardhousehq.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Text_gradient%20gold-1-2.png?width=225&height=30&name=Text_gradient%20gold-1-2.png)](https://university.guardhousehq.com/?hsLang=en) Open main navigation Close main navigation - English Show submenu for translations - [Contact Support](mailto:support@guardhousehq.com) [Contact Support](mailto:support@guardhousehq.com) How can we help you? - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. 1. [Guardhouse Knowledge Base](https://university.guardhousehq.com/?hsLang=en) 2. [Payroll](https://university.guardhousehq.com/payroll?hsLang=en) 3. [Allowances & Deductions](https://university.guardhousehq.com/payroll?hsLang=en#allowances-deductions) # How to Add Pay Allowances & Deductions You can set up and apply allowances and deductions, using the same mechanism, across the scheduling, timesheet, and payroll workflow. Allowances & Deductions are per unit pay items that add to or subtract from a staff member's total earnings to arrive at their final pay value. Company Navigation 1\. Log into your Guardhouse account & Click "Organization" ![](https://colony-recorder.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/files/2026-09-08/9b8c9721-aa41-4bac-bff2-4b21144661b2/action-04ef50e2af0844429c7e5361d04cc5b8_f4d318b9c7e6490d93eaf07337bdbd60_text_export.jpeg) 2\. Click "Company" ![](https://colony-recorder.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/files/2026-09-08/aaf9900a-21ad-41c7-bb91-0ee7b4aad839/action-db999bdf3f534e438286082c87efa8f7_c1d38832239d4ea682b8e2ca2f714296_text_export.jpeg) 3\. Click "Payrates" ![](https://colony-recorder.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/files/2026-09-08/ec7021d1-c228-4f10-97c6-83e7082ff0f3/action-13f0917850a6430ba93ab6dffaabab0d_7a344d145dc64b8d9442760662e4b632_text_export.jpeg) ### Payrate Configuration 4\. Click "Pay Categories" ![](https://colony-recorder.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/files/2026-09-08/ec5eb15a-f779-43d4-b06a-54cfc0dbf672/action-dd0acdf4b07242dab122a216fff1cc22_c9797ea0ace7426892609c118d7ca88d_text_export.jpeg) ### Pay Category Setup 5\. Click "Add new" ![](https://colony-recorder.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/files/2026-09-08/9860d25a-12bc-403d-93bc-a6ae2f05642b/action-e81131fc05694c11b1332f9a1083b1ad_be10b84382244c0f820a1021c3a6022a_text_export.jpeg) 6\. Add the name of the Allowance in the Pay Category Name field ![](https://colony-recorder.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/files/2026-09-08/84e3e063-a3d3-4c5b-b7df-ac7a2051fee9/action-c5fbf1c9cf6f405ea3d966bdb582de8a_10002838c298433fbd596c36dd83c415_text_export.jpeg) 7\. Select the "Allowance" option in the Category Type dropdown. ![](https://colony-recorder.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/files/2026-09-08/19807ade-a1bf-4e92-a7ef-cc459af25be0/action-27af396e9bb44b488d5ebec12939fd1e_e4e8fcfa2b4d4dbfa8336d547ad2c0f8_text_export.jpeg) 8\. Enter the Unit value in the Rate field ![](https://colony-recorder.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/files/2026-09-08/89b26f6d-cd2e-4f7e-9011-b53c002d01b3/action-b430d0e46d0844338aa94a9ccf660314_b186a6b46f9c41139fee3c3f5747bc65_text_export.jpeg) 9\. Choose Yes if the allowance will export with payroll or No if it is just internally tracked ![](https://colony-recorder.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/files/2026-09-08/77ad632e-f7ea-4fd5-a891-15ccf2147a4b/action-51b3d263ac8348da85e49845bc814241_6484f56631124bdcb23d9bb8b173e41f_text_export.jpeg) 10\. If the Allowance category needs a specific reference ID to feed into an accounting system, add it into the "Reference ID" field. ![](https://colony-recorder.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/files/2026-09-08/5c3a1437-be33-41f5-a982-3167839ad872/action-0f995ebcbd3a410fa4e64d2f7e52d5e1_2f24ce62c4f24ebe9ce30b3a5d89ac53_text_export.jpeg) 11\. 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