Line Item Adjustments

Occasionally, payrolls may contain incorrect values that need to be corrected in a future period. Adjustments allow you to issue a correction by creating a new line item that offsets the original error on a future draft pay stub. This is useful for cases like:

A bonus amount was entered incorrectly
An incorrect benefit value was deducted
An earning line item was overstated

Adjustments ensure that corrections are processed transparently and legally through the payroll system, and are traceable to the original line item.

How Adjustments Work

To create an adjustment, you specify:

The source_line_item_id: the original line item that had an incorrect amount
The expected_amount: the amount the line item should have been
The correction_pay_stub_id: a draft pay stub on the same work assignment where the adjustment will appear

A new line item is created on the correction pay stub:

It is of the same type as the original (e.g. earning, benefit, allowance)
Its value is calculated as the difference between the original amount and the expected amount
If the expected amount is less than the original, the adjustment will be a negative amount

⚠ Adjustments can only be made between pay stubs that belong to the same work assignment.

Adjustment Attributes

Field	Type	Required	Description
`correction_pay_stub_id`	string (Nmbr ULID)	✅ Yes	The ID of the draft pay stub where the correction line item will be added. Must belong to the same work assignment as the original.
`source_line_item_id`	string (Nmbr ULID)	✅ Yes	The ID of the original line item to be corrected. Can be any line item type (earning, benefit, deduction, etc.).
`expected_amount`	number	✅ Yes	The correct amount the line item should have been. The adjustment will be calculated as the difference from this value.
`is_company_amount`	boolean	❌ Optional	Only for benefit line items. Set to `true` if the correction is for the company contribution. Defaults to `false`.
`admin_note`	string	❌ Optional	Optional note, this is not shared on the Employees pay stub.

Example Request

    curl --request POST \
         --url https://sandbox.nmbr.co/services/payroll/adjustments \
         --header 'Authorization: Bearer <access_token>' \
         --header 'accept: application/json' \
         --header 'content-type: application/json' \
         --data '{
               "correction_pay_stub_id": "<nmbr_ulid>",
               "source_line_item_id": "<nmbr_ulid>",
               "expected_amount": 1234.50
            }'

The new line item is added directly to the correction pay stub and can be reviewed or edited like any other manually added line item.

Deleting Adjustments

Deleting an adjustment will remove the correction line item from the correction pay stub, effectively undoing the correction. Adjustments can only be deleted if the correction pay stub is on a draft payroll. Once the payroll has been approved, adjustments cannot be deleted.

⚠ Correction line items can not be deleted directly, you must delete the Adjustment to remove the correction line item.

Viewing Adjustments

When requesting a line item of any type, you may expand the source_adjustment relation to view the Adjustment that created that line item.

curl --request GET \
     --url https://sandbox.nmbr.co/services/payroll/earning_line_items/<line_tem_id>?expand=source_adjustment \
     --header 'Authorization: Bearer <access_token>' \
     --header 'accept: application/json'

Sample Response

{
  "id": "ernli_01JV2S0C0FPZ1BS4KVGAR8CJVC",
  "object": "earning_line_item",
  "data": {
    "pay_stub": {
      "id": "payst_01JN4M4HP7YX74CZC26K0PKT9A",
      "object": "pay_stub",
      "links": {
        "self": "https://sandbox.nmbr.co/services/payroll/services/payroll/pay_stubs/payst_01JN4M4HP7YX74CZC26K0PKT9A"
      }
    },
    "amount": 500,
    "managed_amount": null,
    "custom_amount": 500,

    // ...

    "source_adjustment": {
      "id": "adjst_01JV2S0C06SV5VGNRA3D3KCMKT",
      "object": "adjustment",
      "data": {
        "source_line_item": {
          "id": "ernli_01JNM9C74KHMEEANYGBWJD78M5",
          "object": "earning_line_item",
          "data": {
            "pay_stub": {
              "id": "payst_01JN4M4HP38T0TWSJBGAC028WB",
              "object": "pay_stub",
              "links": {
                "self": "https://sandbox.nmbr.co/services/payroll/services/payroll/pay_stubs/payst_01JN4M4HP38T0TWSJBGAC028WB"
              }
            },
            "amount": 5500,
            "managed_amount": 5500,
            "custom_amount": null,
            "is_managed": true,
            "line_item_type": "earning",
            "earning_type": {
              "id": "salary",
              "object": "earning_type",
              "data": {
                "type": "salary",
                "label": "Salary",
                "supported_payroll_types": {
                  "regular": true,
                  "historical": true,
                  "off_cycle": false
                },
                "created_at": "2023-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z",
                "updated_at": "2023-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z"
              },
              "links": {
                "self": null
              }
            },
            "hours": 82.33,
            "managed_hours": 82.33,
            "custom_hours": null,
            "accrued_vacation_pay": 220,
            "recurrence": {
              "id": "payrt_01JN4M4MQFXRFBAMP5QBWM6GBW",
              "object": "pay_rate",
              "links": {
                "self": "https://sandbox.nmbr.co/services/payroll/services/payroll/pay_rates/payrt_01JN4M4MQFXRFBAMP5QBWM6GBW"
              }
            },
            "overtime_rate": null,
            "title": "Location Asst. Manager",
            "business_preset": null,
            "adjustment": null,
            "component_settings": {
              "attributes_locked": false
            },
            "created_at": "2025-03-05T23:13:43.000000Z",
            "updated_at": "2025-03-05T23:13:43.000000Z"
          },
          "links": {
            "self": "https://sandbox.nmbr.co/services/payroll/services/payroll/earning_line_items/ernli_01JNM9C74KHMEEANYGBWJD78M5"
          }
        },
        "correction_line_item": {
          "id": "ernli_01JV2S0C0FPZ1BS4KVGAR8CJVC",
          "object": "earning_line_item",
          "data": {
            "pay_stub": {
              "id": "payst_01JN4M4HP7YX74CZC26K0PKT9A",
              "object": "pay_stub",
              "links": {
                "self": "https://sandbox.nmbr.co/services/payroll/services/payroll/pay_stubs/payst_01JN4M4HP7YX74CZC26K0PKT9A"
              }
            },
            "amount": 500,
            "managed_amount": null,
            "custom_amount": 500,
            "is_managed": false,
            "line_item_type": "earning",
            "earning_type": {
              "id": "salary",
              "object": "earning_type",
              "data": {
                "type": "salary",
                "label": "Salary",
                "supported_payroll_types": {
                  "regular": true,
                  "historical": true,
                  "off_cycle": false
                },
                "created_at": "2023-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z",
                "updated_at": "2023-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z"
              },
              "links": {
                "self": null
              }
            },
            "hours": null,
            "managed_hours": null,
            "custom_hours": null,
            "accrued_vacation_pay": 0,
            "recurrence": null,
            "overtime_rate": null,
            "title": null,
            "business_preset": null,
            "adjustment": {
              "id": "adjst_01JV2S0C06SV5VGNRA3D3KCMKT",
              "object": "adjustment",
              "links": {
                "self": "https://sandbox.nmbr.co/services/payroll/services/payroll/adjustments/adjst_01JV2S0C06SV5VGNRA3D3KCMKT"
              }
            },
            "component_settings": {
              "attributes_locked": false
            },
            "created_at": "2025-05-12T17:34:43.000000Z",
            "updated_at": "2025-05-12T17:34:43.000000Z"
          },
          "links": {
            "self": "https://sandbox.nmbr.co/services/payroll/services/payroll/earning_line_items/ernli_01JV2S0C0FPZ1BS4KVGAR8CJVC"
          }
        },
        "correction_pay_stub": {
          "id": "payst_01JN4M4HP7YX74CZC26K0PKT9A",
          "object": "pay_stub",
          "links": {
            "self": "https://sandbox.nmbr.co/services/payroll/services/payroll/pay_stubs/payst_01JN4M4HP7YX74CZC26K0PKT9A"
          }
        },
        "expected_amount": 6000,
        "admin_note": null,
        "created_at": "2025-05-12T17:34:43.000000Z",
        "updated_at": "2025-05-12T17:34:43.000000Z"
      },
      "links": {
        "self": "https://sandbox.nmbr.co/services/payroll/services/payroll/adjustments/adjst_01JV2S0C06SV5VGNRA3D3KCMKT"
      }
    },
    "component_settings": {
      "attributes_locked": false
    },
    "created_at": "2025-05-12T17:34:43.000000Z",
    "updated_at": "2025-05-12T17:34:43.000000Z"
  },
  "links": {
    "self": "https://sandbox.nmbr.co/services/payroll/services/payroll/earning_line_items/ernli_01JV2S0C0FPZ1BS4KVGAR8CJVC"
  }
}

​How Adjustments Work

​Adjustment Attributes

​Example Request

​Deleting Adjustments

​Viewing Adjustments

​Sample Response