Step 1
Gather data for a specific period of analysis. Most payroll systems should enable you to run a report of actual payroll expenditures for the past fiscal year or the previous 12 months.
Step 2
Use the previous year's data to get a ballpark idea of the total amount of miscellaneous line items and benefits, such as health insurance credits, mileage claims, overtime, allowances, reimbursements and premiums.
Step 3
Compute the specific cost of each unfilled vacancy -- a position that was unfilled for five weeks, for example, would be calculated by multiplying the base weekly salary and benefits cost by five -- then adding the total amount for each position together to get an overall total of salary and benefits savings for the prior year.
Step 4
Use the payroll system to determine the number of unpaid hours taken by employees in the previous year. The system should be able to generate a report with the hourly amounts for each employee and calculate the total amount throughout the company for the prior year.
Step 5
Add the total actual cost of all salaries, benefits and miscellaneous allowances for the prior year, then deduct the vacancies and unpaid time. This will provide you with an actual, exact amount of expenditures.
Step 6
Adjust the amount by any projected salary or benefits increase -- or decrease -- and factor any projected adjustments to positions if, for example, you plan to hire 10 more employees in the upcoming year or promote certain individuals. Some payroll systems have the ability to calculate such projected budgetary scenarios by adjusting positions in a mock environment.