The control record controls how a payroll is processed, and every payroll must have one control record created in the system. The control record is defined by navigating to SPRO | Personnel Management | Personnel Administration | Organizational Data | Organizational Assignment | Create control record or via the PA03 T-code.
The control record performs the following functionalities in the system:
Determines the status of the payroll, for example, if it is in released or exit state, and determines the current period for which the payroll is processed
Determines the earliest, retro accounting period
It's important to understand the different statuses and their meaning. We will learn them from the following table: