---
title: "List of user guides"
slug: "list-of-user-guides"
updated: 2026-06-10T11:18:59Z
published: 2026-06-10T11:18:59Z
canonical: "help.cintra.co.uk/list-of-user-guides"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.cintra.co.uk/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# List of user guides

Setting up and running a payroll can be daunting, and it is not always obvious where to start. To help, we have created a series of guides. Each one pulls together the links that explain how to set up and use a particular area of Cintra iQ.

If you are new to Cintra iQ, you might find the [tour of the Cintra iQ layout](/iq/docs/tour-of-the-cintra-iq-layout) a useful starting point.

## Setting up Cintra iQ

- [**Implementation form**](/iq/docs/guide-implementation-form): detailed document used during onboarding to collect the key information needed to set up your payroll
- [**Lookup tables**](/iq/docs/guide-lookup-tables): creating and maintaining dropdown lists, such as job or post categories, which can be secured to restrict editing
- [**Record filters**](/iq/docs/guide-record-filters): sorting, displaying, or restricting records by set criteria, used for targeted reporting and access control
- [**Letters**](/iq/docs/introduction-to-letters): creating, managing, and generating standard documents from system data, filed automatically into personnel records
- [**Importing data**](/iq/docs/guide-importing-data-into-cintra-iq): bulk uploading new starter and other data via CSV to speed up onboarding and updates
- [**Conditional numeric functions**](/iq/docs/guide-conditional-numeric-functions): automating pay and deduction adjustments using numeric conditions
- [**Security**](/iq/docs/guide-security-in-cintra-iq): controlling who can access what in Cintra iQ

## Managing employees and other people

- [**New starters**](/iq/docs/guide-new-starters): adding new employees and completing their onboarding records
- [**Managing leavers**](/iq/docs/guide-managing-leavers): processing employees who are leaving and ending their records correctly
- [**Payroll and employee tasks**](/iq/docs/guide-payroll-and-employee-tasks): creating checklists for payroll periods or individual employees to track required actions
- [**Absence and entitlements**](/iq/docs/absence-and-absence-entitlements): recording absences and managing holiday and sickness entitlement balances
- [**Managing documents**](/iq/docs/guide-document-management): uploading, storing, and managing employee-related documents
- [**Policy documents**](/iq/docs/guide-managing-policy-documents): creating and administering policy documents that require employee acknowledgement
- [**Email notifications**](/iq/docs/guide-email-notifications): configuring and sending automated emails triggered by data changes or events
- [**Inputting payroll period data**](/iq/docs/guide-inputting-payroll-period-data-for-an-employee): entering, adjusting, and reviewing payroll inputs for each pay period
- [**Payslips**](/iq/docs/guide-payslips): calculating, reviewing, customising, and publishing payslips
- [**Working patterns**](/iq/docs/guide-working-patterns): setting up and assigning the schedules that define standard working days
- [**Non-working days and excluded days**](/iq/docs/guide-non-working-days-excluded-days): recording non-working days such as bank holidays and attaching them to employee calendars
- [**Voluntary deductions**](/iq/docs/guide-voluntary-deductions): setting up and managing non-statutory deductions such as loans or charity donations
- [**Corrections**](/iq/docs/create-corrections): adjusting or correcting payroll input data for prior periods

### Jobs, posts, and spine tasks

- [**Jobs**](/iq/docs/guide-jobs): setting up and managing job roles within your organisation
- [**Organisation charts and posts**](/iq/docs/guide-organisation-charts-and-posts): recreating your organisation structure and assigning posts to it
- [**Posts and post history**](/iq/docs/guide-posts): assigning posts to employees and maintaining a history of changes
- [**Pay spines, points, and grades**](/iq/docs/guide-pay-spines-points-and-grades): setting up salary structures using pay spines and grade links
- [**Using posts to pay employees**](/iq/docs/guide-using-posts-to-pay-employees): using post assignments for payroll calculations and salary allocation

## Payroll tasks

### Adding payroll information

- [**Inputting payroll information**](/iq/docs/guide-inputting-payroll-information): entering regular and variable payroll data for employees
- [**Batch input of payroll data**](/iq/docs/guide-batch-input-of-payroll-data): uploading or entering payroll data in bulk using templates or CSV files

### Payroll cycle

- [**Payroll cycle**](/iq/docs/guide-payroll-cycle): the end-to-end payroll process, from opening periods to finalising payments
- [**Payroll workflow**](/iq/docs/guide-payroll-workflow): automating and tracking payroll activities in a defined sequence
- [**Pensions**](/iq/docs/introduction-to-pensions): pension scheme setup, assessments, and deductions
- [**Auto enrolment**](/iq/docs/guide-automatic-enrolment): automatic enrolment for workplace pensions and related compliance
- [**Paying third parties**](/iq/docs/guide-paying-third-parties): generating payments for third parties such as pension providers or courts
- [**Payroll membership**](/iq/docs/guide-payroll-membership): assigning employees to a payroll and managing their payroll status
- [**Paying employees**](/iq/docs/paying-employees): generating and approving employee payments
- [**Payslips**](/iq/docs/guide-payslips): calculating, reviewing, customising, and publishing payslips
- [**Paying HMRC**](/iq/docs/guide-paying-hmrc): creating and submitting payments to HMRC for PAYE, NI, and other liabilities
- [**Apprenticeship levy**](/iq/docs/what-is-the-apprenticeship-levy): calculating and submitting the apprenticeship levy
- [**Month end tasks**](/iq/docs/guide-month-end-tasks): checks and reconciliations to close each payroll month
- [**Period end tasks**](/iq/docs/guide-period-end-tasks): final steps and reporting to close out a payroll period
- [**Preparing for year end**](/iq/docs/guide-year-end): final checks and submissions before starting a new tax year

### Benefits, holiday, and sick pay

- [**Mileage schemes**](/iq/docs/guide-mileage-schemes): creating and managing mileage payment schemes for employees using private vehicles
- [**Holiday pay**](/iq/docs/guide-holiday-pay): how holiday pay is calculated and processed for different schemes
- [**Holiday entitlement**](/iq/docs/guide-holiday-entitlement): setting up and managing annual leave allowances
- [**Maternity claims**](/iq/docs/guide-maternity-claims): recording and processing statutory and occupational maternity pay
- [**Occupational parental pay**](/iq/docs/guide-occupational-parental-pay): setting up and administering enhanced parental pay schedules
- [**Managing sick pay**](/iq/docs/guide-managing-sick-pay): setting up and administering occupational and statutory sick pay
- [**Benefits in kind**](/iq/docs/guide-benefits-in-kind): recording and processing taxable benefits in kind
- [**Analysing sickness absence**](/iq/docs/guide-analysing-sickness-absence): reviewing and analysing employee sickness and absence data

## Reporting and compliance

- [**User-defined reports**](/iq/docs/guide-user-defined-reports): creating custom reports using data fields from across the system
- [**Gender pay gap**](/iq/docs/guide-gender-pay-gap): setting up and producing gender pay gap reports
- [**Other payroll reports**](/iq/docs/other-payroll-reports-not-described-in-this-section): payroll-related reports that are documented in other sections rather than under Payroll reports

## Accounting tasks

- [**Accounting process**](/iq/docs/accounting-process): mapping payroll costs and outputs to your accounting structure
- [**Journal output tasks**](/iq/docs/guide-journal-output-tasks): entering and reconciling payroll journals for financial reporting

## Education-related guides

- [**Monthly Contribution Reconciliation (MCR)**](/iq/docs/guide-monthly-contribution-reconciliation-mcr): running monthly contribution reports for teachers' pensions
- [**Further Education Workforce Data (FEWD)**](/iq/docs/guide-further-education-workforce-data): submitting and importing workforce data for FE colleges

## Self-Service related tasks

- [**Self-Service forms**](/iq/docs/guide-self-service-forms): creating and managing forms for employee Self-Service portal actions
- [**Cintra iQ and Self-Service timesheets**](/iq/docs/guide-cintra-iq-and-self-service-timesheets): managing and approving timesheets within the Self-Service portal