The first page of the document DocMake makes from the sample values on this page.
Finance
Payslip
A payslip has one job: show how gross pay became net pay. Earnings on one side, deductions on the other, the arithmetic visible in between, and enough identifying detail that an employee can match the document to the money that arrived in their account.
What has to appear differs by country and sometimes by state, so the lines are data rather than fixed wording. One employee carries overtime and a shift allowance, the next carries a bonus and a wage garnishment, and the same template covers both because earnings and deductions are separate repeating lists.
Year to date columns are what people hand to a mortgage broker or copy into a tax return, which is why they belong on the slip instead of behind a portal login.
Payroll produces the whole cycle in one pass: one payload per employee, one PDF per employee, filed against the pay date and reproducible years later if anyone asks.
Blanks to fill
| payslip_number | Payslip number |
| pay_period | Pay period |
| pay_date | Pay date |
| employer_name | Employer |
| employer_address | Employer address |
| employee_name | Employee |
| staff_number | Staff number |
| job_title | Job title |
| tax_code | Tax code |
| payment_method | Payment method |
| gross_pay | Gross pay |
| total_deductions | Total taken off |
| net_pay | Net pay |
| year_to_date_gross | Gross this tax year |
| year_to_date_deductions | Taken off this tax year |
| year_to_date_net | Net this tax year |
| leave_balance | Paid leave left |
| queries_contact | Contact for questions |
| notes | Notes |
| earnings[] | One per item, so a row is added for every item in the list |
| deductions[] | One per item, so a row is added for every item in the list |
The data behind the preview
This is the exact JSON that produced the document above. Change the values, POST them to the API, and you get your version back as DOCX or PDF. Lists grow and shrink with your data; the layout adapts.
- 01 Sign up free and duplicate this template into your workspace.
- 02 Adjust the wording and branding in the visual editor.
- 03 Fill it in the app, share it as a form link, or call the API.
{
"employer_name": "Northwind Software Inc.",
"employer_address": "1200 Harbor Way, Seattle, WA 98101, United States",
"payslip_number": "PS-2026-08-0412",
"pay_period": "August 1 to August 31, 2026",
"pay_date": "September 3, 2026",
"employee_name": "Priya Raman",
"staff_number": "EMP-0412",
"job_title": "Senior Support Engineer",
"tax_code": "WA-1257L",
"payment_method": "Bank transfer, account ending 4471",
"earnings": [
{
"description": "Base salary",
"hours_or_units": "160.00",
"rate": "$36.00",
"amount": "$5,760.00"
},
{
"description": "Overtime, weekend on call",
"hours_or_units": "9.00",
"rate": "$54.00",
"amount": "$486.00"
},
{
"description": "Certification bonus, one off",
"hours_or_units": "1.00",
"rate": "$400.00",
"amount": "$400.00"
}
],
"gross_pay": "$6,646.00",
"deductions": [
{
"description": "Federal income tax",
"basis": "Withholding table, married filing jointly",
"amount": "$1,043.20"
},
{
"description": "Social security",
"basis": "6.2 percent of gross",
"amount": "$412.05"
},
{
"description": "Medicare",
"basis": "1.45 percent of gross",
"amount": "$96.37"
},
{
"description": "Retirement plan",
"basis": "5 percent of base salary",
"amount": "$288.00"
},
{
"description": "Health plan, employee share",
"basis": "Flat monthly rate",
"amount": "$145.00"
}
],
"total_deductions": "$1,984.62",
"net_pay": "$4,661.38",
"year_to_date_gross": "$52,908.00",
"year_to_date_deductions": "$15,721.44",
"year_to_date_net": "$37,186.56",
"leave_balance": "12.5 days of paid leave left of the 25 days for this year, and 2 days carried over from last year that lapse on December 31, 2026.",
"queries_contact": "payroll@northwind.example, or call 206 555 0188",
"notes": "Keep this payslip. You will be asked for it if you apply for credit, a tenancy or a visa, and it is the record of what was taken off your pay."
}Generate this document via the API
One template plus changing data is the whole point. The list of blanks above is the contract, and every new set of values comes back in the same layout: fill it in the app, hand someone a form link, or POST the JSON and get the file straight back.
The request below carries this page's own values, so it runs as soon as the template exists in your workspace. Swap the values for yours and the response is your document.
curl -X POST https://app.docmake.io/api/v1/render \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $DOCMAKE_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "Accept: application/json" \
--output payslip.pdf \
--data-binary @- <<'JSON'
{
"template_id": "tmpl_your_template_id",
"format": "pdf",
"data": {
"employer_name": "Northwind Software Inc.",
"employer_address": "1200 Harbor Way, Seattle, WA 98101, United States",
"payslip_number": "PS-2026-08-0412",
"pay_period": "August 1 to August 31, 2026",
"pay_date": "September 3, 2026",
"employee_name": "Priya Raman",
"staff_number": "EMP-0412",
"job_title": "Senior Support Engineer",
"tax_code": "WA-1257L",
"payment_method": "Bank transfer, account ending 4471",
"earnings": [
{
"description": "Base salary",
"hours_or_units": "160.00",
"rate": "$36.00",
"amount": "$5,760.00"
},
{
"description": "Overtime, weekend on call",
"hours_or_units": "9.00",
"rate": "$54.00",
"amount": "$486.00"
},
{
"description": "Certification bonus, one off",
"hours_or_units": "1.00",
"rate": "$400.00",
"amount": "$400.00"
}
],
"gross_pay": "$6,646.00",
"deductions": [
{
"description": "Federal income tax",
"basis": "Withholding table, married filing jointly",
"amount": "$1,043.20"
},
{
"description": "Social security",
"basis": "6.2 percent of gross",
"amount": "$412.05"
},
{
"description": "Medicare",
"basis": "1.45 percent of gross",
"amount": "$96.37"
},
{
"description": "Retirement plan",
"basis": "5 percent of base salary",
"amount": "$288.00"
},
{
"description": "Health plan, employee share",
"basis": "Flat monthly rate",
"amount": "$145.00"
}
],
"total_deductions": "$1,984.62",
"net_pay": "$4,661.38",
"year_to_date_gross": "$52,908.00",
"year_to_date_deductions": "$15,721.44",
"year_to_date_net": "$37,186.56",
"leave_balance": "12.5 days of paid leave left of the 25 days for this year, and 2 days carried over from last year that lapse on December 31, 2026.",
"queries_contact": "payroll@northwind.example, or call 206 555 0188",
"notes": "Keep this payslip. You will be asked for it if you apply for credit, a tenancy or a visa, and it is the record of what was taken off your pay."
}
}
JSON tmpl_your_template_id is
a stand-in: build this template in the visual editor and copy the id it shows, or create one with POST /api/v1/templates. Keys, formats, strict mode and batches are in the API reference.
Or let an AI assistant do it
The DocMake MCP server lets Claude and other assistants make this document the same way. Install it once:
claude mcp add docmake \
--env DOCMAKE_API_KEY=dm_your_api_key \
-- npx -y @docmake/mcp@latestThen ask for the document in plain words:
Make a PDF from my Payslip template with payslip number "PS-2026-08-0412" and pay period "August 1 to August 31, 2026".
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