Creating additional pay schedules

IMPORTANT: This article is for existing OnPay clients
If you're still enrolling in OnPay, see this article for Pay Schedules: Account Setup→

Your pay schedule outlines how frequently your workers have a pay day. It also determines the length of the pay period. A pay schedule can be weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, or monthly.

Pay schedule requirements for employers

Many states have pay schedule frequency requirements for employers, which can be dependent on the size of the company and the industry.

To check these requirements, visit the United States Department of Labor.

Identifying your company's pay period needs

Most companies pay everyone at the same time, and only need one pay period. But some companies need more. You may, for example, need a bi-weekly payroll that pays employees every other Friday, and a monthly payroll for company executives on the first of each month.

If you need to occasionally pay workers outside of a regular pay schedule, but not on a recurring basis, you can process these payments as special pay runs, without creating a new pay schedule.

Special or off-cycle pay runs

There's no need to create a new pay schedule just for off-cycle paychecks, annual bonuses, or any other paycheck that is processed outside of the regular pay schedule. When you process a special pay run, it can have the same checkdate as the regular paycheck, or it can be "off-cycle", with its own checkdate. It can also be limited to select employees, and exclude the employee deductions typically included in the regular pay cycle.

More about Processing a special pay run→

Creating a pay schedule

In your dashboard, expand the "Next Scheduled Pay Run" tile.

Click +Add New in the lower right.

Schedule name and pay frequency

The simplest approach to naming your schedule is to use the pay frequency as the name. The pay frequency determines how often your employees will be paid. A bi-weekly schedule (every two-weeks) could simply be named "Bi-Weekly" (left). But if you have multiple pay schedules, the name may need to include details about the schedule such as a team name, or pay date).

Whatever you decide, keep it simple, so you, and anyone running payroll for your company, can easily pick the right schedule.

IMPORTANT
Many states have pay schedule frequency requirements for employers, which can be dependent on the size of the company and the industry.
To check these requirements, visit the United States Department of Labor.

Check date and pay period

While your options will vary depending on your chosen pay frequency, you will always need to choose the first check date, the date that pay period begins, and when it ends.

Pay frequency, pay periods, and which schedule is right for you

Unless you're an experienced time traveler, it's easy to get turned around thinking about check dates, and their pay periods, so here's a few examples of how each pay frequency might be set up, including how to see them on a calendar.

Weekly/Bi-weekly

For both weekly and bi-weekly pay frequency, choose the check date (first pay date), and the start and end dates for the period which that check represents.

Weekly: 7 concurrent days - one week hold - 52 paydays per year

Bi-weekly: 14 concurrent days - one week hold - 26 paydays per year

Always review your pay periods and dates

Once you've entered this info, you'll see your pay schedule in the Pay Periods section on the right. It shows upcoming pay periods, check dates, and pay run deadlines for the next few months. This is a great way to make sure your schedule is just how you want it.

Semi-monthly/Monthly

For a semi-monthly pay frequency, choose the check date (first pay date), and the start and end dates for the period that check represents. Then, set the start and end dates for the second period of each month.

Because every month is a little different, for this second period, you can choose a specific calendar day up to the 28th day of the month, or choose up to 5 days before the end of the month. It will apply to the current and all future months.

Semi-monthly: 2 pay periods per month (one 15-day period, and one period of varying length) - 24 pay periods per year

Note: If your check date falls on a weekend please keep in mind the employee will be paid on the next business day.

Monthly: 1 pay period per month - 12 pay periods per year

Be sure to review your pay periods and dates before clicking Update.

Make a mistake? No worries! You can edit any pay schedule you have already added. However, if you created more schedules than you need, or if you no longer need one of your pay schedules, then you can submit a request asking us archive the pay schedule.

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