---
title: "Architecture Intergration"
space: "NL Piece Rate Pay"
url: "https://docs.navari.co.ke/nl-piece-rate-pay/architecture-intergration"
updated: "2026-06-09"
---

> How the app fits into ERPNext/Frappe HR, what it adds to standard doctypes, and how access is split across roles.



## Where the app sits in the system

NL Piece Rate Pay is not standalone. It is a thin, opinionated layer that complements **existing ERPNext and Frappe HR doctypes**:




| It relies on (from ERPNext / Frappe HR) | How it uses them                                    |
| --------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| **Activity Type**                       | The work category                                   |
| **Item**                                | The unit of work being priced                       |
| **Attendance**                          | Source of who was present, by date + shift          |
| **Shift Type**                          | The filter that isolates casual workers             |
| **Employee Checkin**                    | Source of check-in / check-out times for the record |
| **Salary Structure**                    | The structure assigned for the pay period           |
| **Salary Component**                    | Used to route deductions (e.g. NSSF)                |
| **Salary Structure Assignment**         | The final output — how casual pay enters payroll    |
| **Employee**                            | The worker being paid                               |


Because of this, the app declares **ERPNext as a required app**, and in practice **Frappe HR must also be installed** (Salary Structure, Salary Component, Attendance, Shift Type and Salary Structure Assignment all come from Frappe HR / Payroll).



Everything the app adds lives under its own module, **NL Piece Rate Pay**, and surfaces in the Desk through a dedicated **"Casual Piece Rate"** workspace, nested under the **Payroll** section, with quick shortcuts to the three doctypes an operator touches day to day.



## What the app adds to standard doctypes

NL Piece Rate Pay is mostly self-contained, but it makes a few deliberate touches to core doctypes:

- **Custom field on Salary Structure Assignment** is a link field, *Casual Weekly Pay*, pointing back to the Casual Salary Structure Assignment Tool. This is shipped as a **fixture**, so it installs automatically with the app and gives full traceability from a payroll assignment to the casual run that produced it.
- **Button on Activity Type**: the *Casual Item Cost* shortcut.
- **"Casual Piece Rate" workspace**: a Desk workspace under Payroll with shortcuts to the Activity Item, the Salary Structure Assignment Tool, and the daily payout.



## Roles and permissions

Permissions are split across three different roles, reflecting the three responsibilities:




| Document                                                 | Role with access   |
| -------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------ |
| Casual Activity Item (pricing)                           | **Projects User**  |
| Casual Payroll Payout (daily)                            | **HR Manager**     |
| Casual Salary Structure Assignment Tool (period roll-up) | **System Manager** |


> **Worth knowing:** the three doctypes that make up one continuous workflow sit behind three different roles. In a small team this is usually fine because senior staff hold several roles, but if you're setting up least-privilege access for a larger HR/payroll team, plan the role assignments deliberately — a user who can run the daily payout (HR Manager) cannot necessarily run the weekly roll-up (System Manager) without additional rights.