Pay Group Deduction Templates in Beanflow Payroll
When to set up a recurring deduction template on a pay group, when to add a per-employee deduction inside a payroll run instead, and the settings that decide how each deduction is taxed.
Last updated August 2026
At a glance
- A deduction template is a recurring default attached to a pay group — for example, group benefits, a group RRSP contribution, or union dues that apply to everyone in the group. It applies automatically to every employee in the group on every payroll run.
- Templates are configured on the pay group detail page, after you create the group. The New Pay Group form intentionally stays minimal.
- For a one-off or employee-specific amount, add the deduction directly on the employee's row inside the payroll run — no template needed.
- For employer-funded group health deductions that require a classification, you must choose the employer portion tax treatment (taxable or non-taxable) before saving that configuration. Payroll calculation also fails closed if the classification is missing.
Why templates live on the detail page
Creating a pay group covers its basic payroll setup — including the group name, pay frequency, employment and compensation type, province, and initial payroll dates. Deduction policy is a separate decision that depends on your benefits plan documents and employment agreements, so Beanflow keeps it out of the create form. After you create the group, go to Company → Pay Groups and click the group to open it — the Deduction Templates section is on that page.
Template or per-employee deduction?
Use this table to decide where a deduction belongs before you configure anything.
| Situation | Where to configure it |
|---|---|
| The same deduction recurs every pay period for everyone in the group — group health premiums, a group RRSP contribution, union dues for all members | Deduction template on the pay group |
| A court-ordered or CRA garnishment that applies to one employee | Inside the payroll run, on that employee's row. Do not use a group-wide template for an employee-specific order. |
| A one-time amount for one employee — a recovered overpayment, a single charitable donation, an adjustment that will not repeat | Inside the payroll run, on that employee's row |
| An employee-specific exception to a group template for one pay period | Inside the payroll run — edit the deduction on the employee's row; your edited amount is kept when the run recalculates |
| CPP, EI, or income tax | Neither. Statutory deductions are calculated automatically and never appear in the template selector |
How to add a deduction template
- Open the pay group. Go to Company → Pay Groups and click the group. Templates cannot be added from the New Pay Group form.
- Click Add Template in the Deduction Templates section and pick the deduction type. Each type can be added once per group.
- Choose the calculation. A fixed dollar amount per pay period, or a percentage of gross pay. Enter the employee amount and, if you contribute, the employer amount.
- Set limits if the plan has them. Per-period max and annual max are optional — leave them empty for no cap.
- Answer the type-specific questions described below, then save. The template applies from the next calculation onward; approved payroll is never rewritten.
Payroll admins can see a read-only view of the templates that apply to an employee under Employee → Deductions, with a link back to the pay group.
Type-specific settings that matter
Group health benefits: declare the employer portion's tax treatment
For the generic Group Benefits type, Medical/Dental Insurance, Vision Care, and Paramedical Services, Beanflow asks for the employer portion tax treatment when the employer contributes: a taxable non-cash benefit, or a non-taxable benefit. This is separate from whether the employee portion is pre-tax or post-tax, and it feeds the year-end reporting snapshot. You must choose the classification before saving an enabled employer-funded configuration. If the classification is still missing when payroll is calculated, the run stops with a visible error rather than guessing.
Life insurance is handled separately. Employer-funded LTD and STD depend on the underlying wage-loss or disability plan arrangement, so this group-health selector does not determine their tax treatment and Beanflow does not infer it.
Employer-paid group life premiums are taxable benefits
The employer-paid portion of group life insurance is a taxable benefit under CRA rules, so the Beanflow group-life template does not offer a taxable/non-taxable choice for that employer portion.
RRSP: withdrawal restrictions change EI treatment
An RRSP template asks whether employer contributions are restricted or non-restricted for withdrawal. Under CRA T4130, employer RRSP contributions are pensionable for CPP. They are generally EI-insurable, but they are not insurable when employees cannot withdraw the amounts from a group RRSP before retirement or leaving employment, apart from Home Buyers' Plan or Lifelong Learning Plan withdrawals. Choose the option that matches the actual plan agreement. The deduction types catalog lists the CPP, EI, and T4 treatment for every deduction type.
Union dues: pick the reporting arrangement
Two precise types replace the old generic option: union issues the receipt, or employer reports dues on the T4. Use the employer-reported option only when the employer and union have agreed that the union will not issue receipts for those dues; otherwise, use the union-receipt option. That arrangement determines whether Beanflow reports the deduction in T4 Box 44.
Charitable donations are post-tax
Beanflow treats ordinary payroll charitable donations as deductions from net pay. They do not automatically reduce the remuneration used to calculate source income tax. By contrast, a qualifying RRSP contribution withheld through payroll can reduce that remuneration when the employer has reasonable grounds to believe the employee can deduct the contribution for the year, as described in CRA T4001. The earnings and deductions guide explains the pre-tax vs post-tax distinction across deduction types.
One-off and employee-specific deductions
If an amount should not repeat every period, skip templates entirely. In the payroll run, expand the employee's row and add the deduction there. The same tax-treatment questions apply — a group health deduction added on the row still asks for the employer portion's treatment. Amounts you enter or edit on a row are treated as deliberate input: they are preserved when the run recalculates, while untouched template amounts follow the current template. Once a run is approved, its amounts are frozen for good.
How templates behave over time
- Editing a template affects the future. Draft runs pick up the new template when they recalculate; approved runs keep their historical amounts.
- Disabling a template stops it from applying without deleting its configuration — useful when a benefit is paused mid-year.
- Deleting a template removes the deduction for every employee in the group.
- Year-end reporting uses confirmed facts, not current template state. T4 dental coverage (Box 45), for example, is confirmed per employee in the T4 workflow — editing a template later does not rewrite an issued slip.