A complete payslip template has six blocks: the employer and employee header, the earnings that make up gross pay, employee deductions, employer contributions, net pay and the year-to-date totals. The payslip template below can be copied into a spreadsheet or a word processor; it is filled in with a worked example for an employee in Senegal, followed by the lines that change in Ivory Coast, Morocco and Cameroon. Updated 8 November 2026.
In short:
- what changes from one country to another is the contribution lines, their ceilings and the tax on salaries;
- each pay item must appear with its cause and its calculation base;
- employer contributions are not deducted from the employee, but they show the true cost of the job;
- an Excel template works for a handful of employees; beyond that, ceilings, year-to-date totals and rate updates become a source of errors.
Payslip template to copy: the worked example
Illustration: a fictitious SME in Dakar pays October 2026 to a non-managerial employee, single with no children (one tax share): base salary of 380,000 FCFA and a performance bonus of 20,000 FCFA. The IPM rate (institution de prévoyance maladie, the company health insurance scheme) is assumed to be 3% on each side and the work accident rate 1%: in practice, both depend on the company’s IPM and risk class. Replace the brackets with your own data.
Block 1: the header
| Item | To fill in |
|---|---|
| Employer | [Company name], [address], NINEA [tax ID], IPRES employer no. [number], CSS no. [number], IPM [name] |
| Employee | [First name Last name], staff no. [number], job [title], category [grade], hire date [date], IPRES no. [number] |
| Tax status | Single, no children, 1 share |
| Period | 1 to 31 October 2026, paid on [date], by [bank transfer or mobile money] |
| Working time | 173.33 hours, of which overtime: 0 |
Blocks 2 to 5: earnings, deductions, employer contributions and net pay
| Line | Base | Employee rate | Employee amount (FCFA) | Employer rate | Employer cost (FCFA) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary | 173.33 h | 380,000 | |||
| Performance bonus | Target met | 20,000 | |||
| Gross salary | 400,000 | ||||
| IPRES general scheme (pension) | 400,000 | 5.6% | 22,400 | 8.4% | 33,600 |
| IPM health (including AMO) | 250,000 (ceiling) | 3% | 7,500 | 3% | 7,500 |
| CSS family benefits | 63,000 (ceiling) | 7% | 4,410 | ||
| CSS work accidents | 63,000 (ceiling) | 1% | 630 | ||
| Income tax | Annual scale, 1 share | 74,500 | |||
| TRIMF | Annual flat rate | 1,000 | |||
| CFCE (flat employer contribution) | 400,000 | 3% | 12,000 | ||
| Total deductions and charges | 105,400 | 58,140 | |||
| Net pay | 294,600 | ||||
| Total employer cost | 458,140 |
Block 6: year-to-date totals, January to October 2026
| Total | Amount (FCFA) |
|---|---|
| Gross salary | 4,000,000 |
| Employee contributions (IPRES and IPM) | 299,000 |
| Income tax | 745,000 |
| TRIMF | 10,000 |
| Net paid | 2,946,000 |
| Leave | [days earned], [days taken], [balance] |
The totals assume the same salary every month. For income tax, 4,800,000 FCFA gross per year, less the flat 30% allowance capped at 900,000 FCFA (Article 182 of the Code général des impôts, the General Tax Code), gives 3,900,000 FCFA of taxable income. The Article 173 scale (0% up to 630,000, 20% up to 1,500,000, then 30%) gives 174,000 + 720,000 = 894,000 FCFA a year, or 74,500 FCFA a month; with one share, the family reduction is zero (Article 174). The TRIMF (taxe représentative de l’impôt du minimum fiscal, a minimum flat tax) is 12,000 FCFA a year for gross income between 2,000,000 and 6,999,999 FCFA (Article 282), or 1,000 FCFA a month.
This payslip template is an illustration, not a calculation of your situation. To convert gross to net on a real salary, use the gross-to-net salary simulators; for the detail of each line in Senegal, see our guide to the payslip in Senegal.
The six blocks of the payslip template, explained
- Header: with a wrong registration number, contributions are not credited to the right employee; the category determines the minimum wage under the collective agreement.
- Earnings: one item per line. In Senegal, each item shows its cause and how it was calculated; a payment that is not itemised is presumed to be base salary (Article 203 of the 2026 Labour Code). No “miscellaneous” line.
- Employee deductions: for each contribution, the base (often capped), the rate and the amount, then the tax and other deductions (advance, loan, garnishment).
- Employer contributions: they do not reduce net pay; they are added to gross pay to give the cost of the job.
- Net pay: gross pay less employee deductions, identical to the amount transferred or paid by mobile money.
- Year-to-date totals: gross, contributions, tax, net and leave since January, to check the annual tax.
Country variants: the lines that change
The header, earnings, net pay and totals stay where they are; the bodies, rates, ceilings and taxes change. The rates below are those published by CLEISS, the French public body for social security liaison.
| Country | Employee deductions | Employer contributions | Tax and levies on salaries |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senegal (rates at 1 January 2026) | IPRES 5.6% (ceiling 432,000 FCFA a month); IPRES managers 2.4% between 432,000 and 1,296,000 FCFA; IPM 2% to 7.5% (ceiling 250,000 FCFA) | IPRES 8.4%; IPRES managers 3.6%; IPM; CSS family benefits 7% and work accidents 1%, 3% or 5% (ceiling 63,000 FCFA); CFCE 3% | Income tax, TRIMF |
| Ivory Coast (rates at 1 January 2025) | CNPS pension 6.3% (ceiling 3,375,000 FCFA); CMU 500 FCFA a month | CNPS pension 7.7%; family benefits 5%, maternity 0.75%, work accidents 2% to 5% (ceiling 70,000 FCFA); CMU 500 FCFA; employer tax levies | ITS (tax on salaries), less the family tax reduction (RICF) |
| Morocco (rates at 1 January 2024) | CNSS 4.48% (ceiling 6,000 MAD a month); AMO 2.26% with no ceiling | CNSS 8.98% under the ceiling; family allowances 6.40%; AMO 4.11%; vocational training tax 1.6% | IR (income tax), after deduction of professional expenses |
| Cameroon (rates at 1 January 2024) | CNPS pension 4.2% (ceiling 750,000 FCFA); housing levy (CFC, Crédit foncier) | CNPS pension 4.2%; family benefits 7% (general scheme); work accidents 1.75%, 2.5% or 5% with no ceiling; CFC and FNE | IRPP (personal income tax), CAC (municipal surcharge), RAV (broadcasting fee), TDL (local development tax) |
Adapting the payslip template to your country
- Ivory Coast: CNPS (the social security fund) and CMU (universal health cover) replace IPRES, IPM and CSS; the ITS is reduced by the RICF according to the number of shares.
- Morocco: amounts in dirhams, CNSS and AMO (compulsory health insurance), IR after professional expenses; do not forget the statutory seniority bonus.
- Cameroon: CNPS replaces IPRES; the tax splits into IRPP, CAC, RAV and TDL, plus the employee share of the CFC.
Our general guide to the payslip in French-speaking Africa explains how to read each of these lines and links to the country detail.
Mandatory items under the law
| Country | Text | What it requires |
|---|---|---|
| Senegal | 2026 Labour Code (Law No. 2026-18), Articles 202 and 203; national inter-professional collective agreement, Article 48 | Paper or electronic payslip, certified by the employer, issued at payment; each item broken down with its cause; name, category, pay rate, normal and overtime hours, company name, detail of deductions. A ministerial order is to complete the list. |
| Ivory Coast | Labour Code, Article 32.5; inter-professional collective agreement, Article 46 | Individual payslip issued at the time of payment; the agreement sets thirteen mandatory items. |
| Morocco | Labour Code, Article 370; Order No. 346-05 | Payslip issued with each payment, items set by the order. |
| Cameroon | Labour Code, Article 69 | Individual payslip issued at the time of payment, its layout set by ministerial order. |
In these countries, accepting a payslip without reservation does not waive amounts due; in Senegal, the words “in full and final settlement” (pour solde de tout compte) cannot be used against the employee (Article 204). The 2026 text is available in the Official Journal of Senegal of 17 September 2026.
Excel payslip template: mistakes to avoid
A spreadsheet suits a small, stable workforce, but the same mistakes keep coming back:
- Rates hard-coded in formulas: every change means finding each cell, in each tab.
- Forgotten ceilings: applying the IPM, CSS or Moroccan CNSS rate to the full gross pay overstates the deduction.
- Monthly tax without a method: in Senegal, the allowance and the scale are annual.
- Broken totals after a copy-paste or an inserted row.
- Confidentiality: a file sent by email exposes salaries and registration numbers.
When to move from a payslip template to software
The template becomes risky when these situations add up:
- overtime, variable bonuses or absences to include every month;
- several categories, sites or countries, hence several sets of funds and tax scales;
- monthly returns to prepare from the payslips;
- electronic payslips to issue and archive securely.
Software applies the year’s rates, keeps the totals and distributes the payslips. In Dakar, our payroll software for Senegal produces payslips that comply with Senegalese rules; Socium also covers Ivory Coast, Morocco and Cameroon.
Frequently asked questions about the payslip template
Where can I find a free payslip template?
The tables on this page form a complete template: copy them, then replace the brackets and the contributions with those of your country.
Is an Excel payslip template valid?
Yes, the format is free: what matters is the mandatory items and correct calculations.
What must appear on a payslip?
The identity of employer and employee, the category, the period, the earnings with their base, each deduction with its base and rate, and net pay. The exact list depends on the country: collective agreement in Senegal and Ivory Coast, ministerial order in Morocco and Cameroon.
Can the same payslip template be used in every country?
The structure, yes. The contribution lines, ceilings and tax must be replaced with those of the country where the employee works.
Should employer contributions be shown on the payslip?
The texts cited focus on the detail of deductions. Showing the employer share is still good practice for checking returns.
Is an electronic payslip valid?
In Senegal, yes: Article 202 of the 2026 Labour Code allows it, provided its availability, integrity, confidentiality and data protection are guaranteed.
How long must the employer keep payslips?
It depends on the country. In Senegal, payroll documents are kept until the end of the eleventh year following the year of the deductions (Article 184 of the General Tax Code); in Cameroon, like accounting records (Article 69).
Key takeaways
- A complete payslip template has six blocks: header, earnings, deductions, employer contributions, net pay, year-to-date totals.
- Each line shows its base, rate and amount; no “miscellaneous” line.
- From one country to another, only the bodies, rates, ceilings and taxes change.
- Beyond a handful of employees, software avoids errors on ceilings and totals.
To produce compliant payslips in each country and share them through the employee mobile app, book a Socium demo: it is arranged within 24 hours.
Want to go further?
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