Need Help W/ Setting Up Database

Hi, I'm working on this huge project and would like to see if anyone has any advice on how to structure and
build my database. This is for the Accounting of Payroll for Staff, Contractors, and Per Diems (untaxed travel and
housing exp) for a theater company about to do a major production.

The problem is there are several categories of Staff (Directors, Producers, Actors, Orchestra, Sound / Light, Costume, etc.) and each one gets paid differently. Some may get a weekly salary, a per diem, or paid contract in installments throughout the performance (e.g. 500 on openining night, 500 on closing night). Some get paid a combination of the above. The hard part is some get processed through an online payroll, while others are paid through manual check (yet in this case, certain deductions must be made). That's what made this so complicated as some will require a % of gross paid to their agent, a % to union, and balance to them.

I thought I had this figured out w/ a massive spreadsheet showing who gets what and in what period, To further complicated it, payroll is bi-weekly, so then my data within a spreadsheet became just too much to even make sense of although the data is correct.

So my question is, what tables should I create? Pay Periods / Actors / Agents / Pay Type / Contractors / or all of these in one table? I don't expect anyone to reply to this as it is asking so much and not clearly defined. But if anyone has had a similar experience I'd appreciate your help.

Thanks