diff --git a/core/templates/base.html b/core/templates/base.html
index d5b6c1c..f92b245 100644
--- a/core/templates/base.html
+++ b/core/templates/base.html
@@ -404,7 +404,11 @@
 
 {# === WORK LOG PAYROLL MODAL — click handler + safe DOM builder === #}
 {# Builds the modal body from JSON via createElement + textContent. #}
-{% if user.is_authenticated and user.is_staff or user.is_superuser %}
+{# staff-or-superuser matches the server-side is_admin() helper. The old #}
+{# "is_authenticated and is_staff or is_superuser" parsed as "(auth AND #}
+{# staff) OR superuser" — template `and` binds tighter than `or`. Both #}
+{# flags are False on AnonymousUser, so this simpler form is exact. #}
+{% if user.is_staff or user.is_superuser %}
 <script>
 document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() {
     var modalEl = document.getElementById('workLogPayrollModal');
@@ -636,7 +640,11 @@ document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() {
 {# === WORK LOG PAYROLL MODAL (admin-only) === #}
 {# Hidden by default. Any element with data-log-id anywhere in the app #}
 {# triggers this modal. Fetches JSON and builds the DOM safely. #}
-{% if user.is_authenticated and user.is_staff or user.is_superuser %}
+{# staff-or-superuser matches the server-side is_admin() helper. The old #}
+{# "is_authenticated and is_staff or is_superuser" parsed as "(auth AND #}
+{# staff) OR superuser" — template `and` binds tighter than `or`. Both #}
+{# flags are False on AnonymousUser, so this simpler form is exact. #}
+{% if user.is_staff or user.is_superuser %}
 <div class="modal fade" id="workLogPayrollModal" tabindex="-1" aria-labelledby="workLogPayrollModalLabel" aria-hidden="true">
     <div class="modal-dialog modal-lg modal-dialog-scrollable">
         <div class="modal-content">
diff --git a/core/templates/core/attendance_log.html b/core/templates/core/attendance_log.html
index 717aa69..33afaa5 100644
--- a/core/templates/core/attendance_log.html
+++ b/core/templates/core/attendance_log.html
@@ -216,6 +216,10 @@
 </div>
 
 <!-- === JavaScript: Team auto-select + Cost estimator === -->
+{# Worker day-rates as a safe JSON island (house json_script pattern — #}
+{# never |safe-render data into a <script> block). Admin-only, matching #}
+{# the cost-estimator block below that consumes it. #}
+{% if is_admin %}{{ worker_rates_json|json_script:"workerRatesData" }}{% endif %}
 <script>
 document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() {
 
@@ -241,7 +245,9 @@ document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() {
 
     {% if is_admin %}
     // === ESTIMATED COST CALCULATOR (Admin Only) ===
-    const workerRates = {{ worker_rates_json|safe }};
+    // Rates come from the #workerRatesData json_script island above —
+    // parsing JSON is XSS-safe regardless of what the data contains.
+    const workerRates = JSON.parse(document.getElementById('workerRatesData').textContent);
     const startDateInput = document.querySelector('[name="date"]');
     const endDateInput = document.querySelector('[name="end_date"]');
     const satCheckbox = document.querySelector('[name="include_saturday"]');
diff --git a/core/templates/core/payroll_dashboard.html b/core/templates/core/payroll_dashboard.html
index 7400177..e441aa6 100644
--- a/core/templates/core/payroll_dashboard.html
+++ b/core/templates/core/payroll_dashboard.html
@@ -1413,8 +1413,13 @@ document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() {
     const workerChartData = JSON.parse(document.getElementById('workerChartJson').textContent);
 
     // === HELPER: Format currency ===
+    // en-ZA = space-separated thousands (R 1 234.56) — matches the server's
+    // `money` filter and the formatMoney/formatRand helpers further down.
+    // The old comma regex was the one outlier on the page.
     function fmt(val) {
-        return 'R ' + parseFloat(val).toFixed(2).replace(/\B(?=(\d{3})+(?!\d))/g, ',');
+        return 'R ' + Number(val).toLocaleString('en-ZA', {
+            minimumFractionDigits: 2, maximumFractionDigits: 2
+        });
     }
 
     // === HELPER: Create a table cell with text ===
diff --git a/core/templatetags/format_tags.py b/core/templatetags/format_tags.py
index 95dd1e5..bc10a31 100644
--- a/core/templatetags/format_tags.py
+++ b/core/templatetags/format_tags.py
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 # Number formatting filters for South African currency display.
 # Usage: {% load format_tags %} then {{ value|money }}
 
+from decimal import Decimal, InvalidOperation
+
 from django import template
 
 register = template.Library()
@@ -16,10 +18,13 @@ def money(value):
         22500   → 22 500.00
         400.0   → 400.00
         -300.00 → -300.00
+
+    Formats via Decimal (not float) so money values are never coerced
+    through binary floating point — exact at any magnitude.
     """
     try:
-        num = float(value)
-    except (ValueError, TypeError):
+        num = Decimal(str(value))
+    except (InvalidOperation, ValueError, TypeError):
         return value
 
     # Python's :, format gives comma separators — swap commas for spaces
diff --git a/core/views.py b/core/views.py
index cd7c205..27cc800 100644
--- a/core/views.py
+++ b/core/views.py
@@ -3245,7 +3245,11 @@ def payroll_dashboard(request):
         key = (row['project_id'], row['month'].year, row['month'].month)
         if key not in project_month_wage:
             continue
-        daily = Decimal(salary) / Decimal('20.00')
+        # Decimal(str(...)) — on SQLite (local dev) .values() returns a
+        # float here, and Decimal(float) keeps the float's binary noise;
+        # str() round-trips cleanly on both backends (MySQL already
+        # returns Decimal, where this is a no-op).
+        daily = Decimal(str(salary)) / Decimal('20.00')
         project_month_wage[key] += daily * row['worker_count']
 
     # --- 4. Per-project × per-month paid-adjustment net (ONE GROUP BY) ---
@@ -4189,7 +4193,12 @@ def price_overtime(request):
             rate_pct = Decimal(pct)
 
             # Calculate: daily_rate × overtime_fraction × (rate_percentage / 100)
-            amount = worker.daily_rate * worklog.overtime_amount * (rate_pct / Decimal('100'))
+            # Quantize to cents explicitly — 875.00 × 0.25 × 1.5 gives
+            # 328.125, and without this the DB engine rounds the extra
+            # decimal place silently (engine-dependent half-up/half-even).
+            amount = (
+                worker.daily_rate * worklog.overtime_amount * (rate_pct / Decimal('100'))
+            ).quantize(Decimal('0.01'))
 
             if amount > 0:
                 PayrollAdjustment.objects.create(
@@ -4824,7 +4833,10 @@ def preview_payslip(request, worker_id):
     unpaid_logs.sort(key=lambda x: x['date'])
 
     log_count = len(unpaid_logs)
-    log_amount = float(log_count * worker.daily_rate)
+    # Keep the running totals in Decimal — float() happens only at the
+    # JsonResponse boundary below, so the preview math is bit-identical
+    # to what _process_single_payment will actually record.
+    log_amount = log_count * worker.daily_rate
 
     # Find pending adjustments — include ID and date for split payslip
     pending_adjs = worker.adjustments.filter(
@@ -4832,10 +4844,10 @@ def preview_payslip(request, worker_id):
     ).select_related('project')
 
     adjustments_list = []
-    adj_total = 0.0
+    adj_total = Decimal('0.00')
     for adj in pending_adjs:
         sign = '+' if adj.type in ADDITIVE_TYPES else '-'
-        adj_total += float(adj.amount) if adj.type in ADDITIVE_TYPES else -float(adj.amount)
+        adj_total += adj.amount if adj.type in ADDITIVE_TYPES else -adj.amount
         adjustments_list.append({
             'id': adj.id,
             # 'type' keeps the raw DB value so any JS that uses it as an
@@ -4893,10 +4905,10 @@ def preview_payslip(request, worker_id):
         'worker_id_number': worker.id_number,
         'day_rate': float(worker.daily_rate),
         'days_worked': log_count,
-        'log_amount': log_amount,
+        'log_amount': float(log_amount),
         'adjustments': adjustments_list,
-        'adj_total': adj_total,
-        'net_pay': log_amount + adj_total,
+        'adj_total': float(adj_total),
+        'net_pay': float(log_amount + adj_total),
         'logs': unpaid_logs,
         'active_loans': loans_list,
         'pay_period': pay_period,
@@ -4929,18 +4941,20 @@ def worker_lookup_ajax(request, worker_id):
         if worker.id not in paid_worker_ids:
             unpaid_log_count += 1
 
-    log_amount = float(unpaid_log_count * worker.daily_rate)
+    # Decimal accumulation — float() only when the value enters the JSON
+    # response, so the report card matches the payment engine's numbers.
+    log_amount = unpaid_log_count * worker.daily_rate
 
     # Net adjustment total: additive types increase pay, deductive types decrease it
     pending_adjs = worker.adjustments.filter(payroll_record__isnull=True)
-    adj_total = 0.0
+    adj_total = Decimal('0.00')
     for adj in pending_adjs:
         if adj.type in ADDITIVE_TYPES:
-            adj_total += float(adj.amount)
+            adj_total += adj.amount
         elif adj.type in DEDUCTIVE_TYPES:
-            adj_total -= float(adj.amount)
+            adj_total -= adj.amount
 
-    amount_payable = log_amount + adj_total
+    amount_payable = float(log_amount + adj_total)
 
     # === OUTSTANDING LOANS ===
     # Total remaining balance across all active loans and advances