September Product Updates
Payroll
A clearer view of employee events in payroll runs
Remote is introducing a clearer employee events experience in payroll runs, helping admins understand changes that may affect payroll before approval. A new summary banner brings together approved changes, pay breakdown details, and uploaded documents, while the updated view highlights new joiners, leavers, salary changes, and time off or leave of absence.
Customers can also compare employee details across periods and see clearer explanations of gross pay variance, giving them earlier visibility into the events behind each payroll run so they can spot potential issues sooner and reduce back and forth during payroll review.
Pivot payroll reports by pay item
Report Builder now supports pivoting reports by pay item name and type, either through AI assistance or by selecting fields manually. Customers can reshape a report to see pay data the way they need it, without exporting to a spreadsheet first.
This makes payroll reporting more flexible for finance and people teams that need different cuts of the same data.
Plain-language explanations for payroll warnings
Payroll warnings now come with an AI explanation. Instead of reading a technical message, admins can select the AI icon next to a warning to see what it means for that payroll run, what happens if it is ignored, and how to resolve it.
This makes it easier to judge which warnings need action before approval and which do not. Teams can clear blockers on their own, with less guesswork and fewer delays in the approval process.
Test XML bank files without setting up a payroll run
UK customers on Remote's new payroll engine can now generate, test, and download XML bank files on demand, without first creating a payroll run. If the test file works with their bank, they can start using the format for payroll straight away, and share feedback directly in the platform.
This removes a common blocker during setup. Teams can validate bank file formats early, across the range of UK banks that use XML, instead of discovering issues in the middle of their first payroll cycle.
Self-serve time off reports in Report Builder
Customers on Time Off 2.0 can now view and download time off balance reports directly in Report Builder, with two ready-to-use reports available out of the box. Previously, these reports had to be requested through a support ticket.
This gives HR and payroll teams immediate access to the balances they need for planning, accruals, and payroll checks. Availability follows Time Off 2.0, and will expand as more customers are migrated.
Platform
Rehire former team members in a few clicks
Employers can now rehire a former team member directly from their existing profile, with their details pre-filled. When starting a new hire form, admins can type the person's name and select them even if the old profile is inactive, and Remote flags when an email address is already used by another account.
This keeps work history linked to a single record instead of creating duplicates, and removes the need to re-enter details Remote already holds. Rehiring becomes faster and the employee record stays accurate.
Build custom apps directly with your Remote Agent
Users can ask the Remote Agent to build custom apps tailored to their needs—from dashboards and reports to trackers and guides—directly in chat, with no developer required. These interactive apps can be saved for repeated use, shared securely with teammates while respecting access and permissions, and revisited anytime for further updates.
This gives users more flexibility in how they work with Remote’s data, allowing them to create tailored views of their workforce data in minutes based on how they prefer to work.
Export bulk upload data to Excel
The Bulk Uploader can now import and export Review-step data as an Excel file (.xlsx) instead of CSV only. Columns stay exactly as they appear on screen, avoiding the shifting caused by locale and delimiter differences, and the file includes formatting guidance with required fields highlighted.
This makes fixing errors offline far easier, especially for large uploads. Teams can correct data in a familiar format and re-upload with fewer failed attempts.
Sign employment contracts with more than two parties
Employment contracts in Remote now support multi-party signing. When an agreement needs signatures from more than two people — for example a company signatory, a team lead, and the employee — the full signing flow can be completed in Remote, with no limit on the number of signers.
This removes the need to move contracts into a separate signing tool when internal approvals are involved, keeping the document, the signatures, and the audit trail in one place.
Rich formatting for contracts and templates
Contracts and contract templates now support rich formatting. Admins can choose from 26 font styles, including five that support non-Latin scripts such as Arabic and Simplified Chinese, set text size between 6 and 96 pixels, and apply colors from a 15-option palette. Formatting works alongside tables and logo uploads, and carries through to the signed PDF.
This lets companies send contracts that look like their own documents rather than plain text, using a familiar toolbar-based editing experience. The result is more professional, recognisable agreements without extra design work.
Remote Agent is easier to work with
Remote Agent picked up a few usability improvements. Files can now be dragged straight from the desktop into the chat, in both the sidebar and full screen, instead of going through the paperclip icon. Wide tables in the agent's responses use the full width of the screen, so columns are no longer hidden behind a horizontal scrollbar, and tables that already fit are left as they are. Tables also gained "Copy as image" and "Download as image" options.
Together these make it faster to get information in and out of the agent, particularly when sharing results in tools that would otherwise break the table formatting.
