Payroll API

Overview

If you're building or integrating with a payroll system, this template gives you a structured starting point. It includes pre-defined endpoints for managing payroll runs, employee profiles, salary calculations, and deductions—all organized to mirror how real-world payroll systems operate.

Use it as a reference for designing your own payroll API, mocking endpoints for integration, or jumpstarting internal tools that need access to employee pay data.

What is a payroll API?

A payroll API allows systems to securely access, calculate, and manage payroll-related data—like employee info, salaries, taxes, and deductions. It enables internal apps, finance systems, or HR platforms to integrate with payroll workflows through standardized endpoints.

Common use cases include:

• Automating payroll runs

• Syncing employee data between systems

• Calculating gross/net pay or applying deductions

• Auditing salary changes or tax rules across pay periods

What’s in the payroll API template?

• Payrolls Endpoints to manage payroll runs, payment breakdowns, and tax calculations

• Employees Endpoints for storing and updating employee details tied to payroll, such as job titles and payment settings

• Salaries Endpoints for salary-related calculations—base pay, bonuses, incentives, overtime, etc.

• Deductions Logic for handling tax, benefits, insurance, and other deductions that affect take-home pay

The structure reflects what most HR/payroll platforms support—and can be easily adapted to match your internal model or third-party provider.

🛠️ How to use the payroll API template

• Explore the structure Fork the collection, read the documentation, and send a few sample requests to see how endpoints are organized.

• Customize for your use case Add endpoints, fields, or calculations specific to your business logic or local compliance requirements.

• Implement auth Apply appropriate authorization (e.g. OAuth, API key) to protect sensitive payroll data.

• Run and validate Use Postman’s Collection Runner (or Newman for CI/CD) to test workflows like salary generation or deduction logic across edge cases.

• Use as a mock or integration stub Share this with frontend or integration teams to unblock parallel work before the real service is built.