Now that you've signed up to get started with OnPay, and created your OnPay password, you're ready to set up your account. We’ll cover the 7-step self-enrollment process here.
What we’ll cover
- Getting started
- Step 1: Company Basics
- Step 2: Owner or Officer Information
- Step 3: Reporting Agent Authorization
- Step 4: Company Bank Account
- Step 5: Pay Schedules
- Step 6: Worksites
- Step 7: Verify Bank Account
What you’ll need:
- Company legal name
- Company phone number
- Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN)
- Owner/Officer information
Note: If you've never set up or run payroll before, we know it can be daunting. Get caught up with this quick guide to setting up payroll for the first time.
Getting started
After setting a password and clicking Sign Up, you’ll see your pending enrollment. Click Launch next to your company name.
Note: If you’re unable to complete your enrollment at any point of the process, that’s okay, your information is automatically saved. You can always resume where you left off by logging back in with your email and the password you created.
7 step setup
The rest of your enrollment will be setting up your account. We’ll do it in 7 steps, as seen below. On the left, you’ll see listed each step of the setup process. You can use this menu to return to previous steps to make changes when needed. If you ever need to step away, or you get interrupted before you’ve finished, that’s fine. Your progress is saved and you can return to this dashboard at any time by logging back in.
If you need help along the way, or just want to learn more about OnPay, visit our Help Center. You can also start a chat here, or just call us at (877) 328-6505, or email us at hello@onpay.com.
Step 1: Company Basics
Company Name and Address
Enter the full legal name of your business as it appears in your tax returns.
Note: If your company also does business under a different name, you can add any DBA (Does Business As) names here.
Federal Tax Information
Enter your Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN). If you don’t have one, you can set one up with the IRS in just a few minutes. When you’re ready, you can return to OnPay and finish getting setup.
Company Classification
Find your registered Entity Type in the provided list. Then, tell us your industry. If you don’t see your exact industry, or you do business in a number of industries, just pick the best overall fit for describing your business. This information helps us better customize your experience, and file accurately on your behalf.
943 For Agricultural Employees?
This form is required if you paid wages to one or more farmworkers and the wages were subject to social security and Medicare taxes or federal income tax withholding. Select “yes” to have OnPay file this form for you.
Company Phone Number
Help us reach you if we have questions about your payroll by giving us the number where you can be reached.
Payroll
If you’ve paid employees this year, even if they no longer work for you, we’ll need reports for their Prior Wages. This is so that we can correctly deduct unemployment tax, and file correctly on your behalf at the end of the year. Sounds like a lot? We understand. That’s why we’ll enter your employees AND their prior wages for you. It’s the fastest way to get set up!
First Check Date
Let us know when you want your employees to receive their first check using OnPay. In order to allow time for our team to implement your account, we recommend choosing a date that is at least one week away.
Click Continue to move to the next step. You can always return to this step later without losing your progress.
Step 2: Owner or Officer Information
Enter the personal information of at least one owner or officer of the company. This is the individual who has the authority to sign legal documents on behalf of the company.
You must include
- Name
- Title
- Email address
- Personal phone number
- Social Security Number
- Birthday
- Home mailing address
If you are the Owner/Officer, get a head start by clicking “Use My Info”.
Click Save to finish adding the Owner/Officer’s information.
Once you’ve entered the Owner/Officer’s information, you can move on to the next step. If there are other Owner/Officers in your company, you’ll need to enter them, too. This can be done at any time during the setup process by returning to this step and clicking +Add Another.
Step 3: Reporting Agent Authorization
We handle all your tax filings so that you can trust that it’s always correct and on-time. But we’re only able to do this if you authorize us by signing Form 8655. In this form, you’ll find that your information is already populated based on the information you’ve provided. To sign electronically, select your title below the document preview, and click Sign.
Need to skip this step?
We know that sometimes the person setting up OnPay isn't the same person who needs to sign Form 8655. If the owner or decision maker responsible for the business isn't available to sign when setting up OnPay, you can skip this step. If this is the case, we'll still need this signature, and so it's important that you email us at hello@onpay.com, and tell us you've skipped Form 8655. Our team will email you a copy of the form that can be signed digitally and returned to us.
Signing this form allows OnPay to:
- Sign and file certain returns
- Make deposits and payments for certain returns
- Receive duplicate copies of tax information, notices, and other written and/or electronic communication regarding any authority granted
- Provide IRS with information to aid in penalty relief determinations related to the authority granted on Form 8655
Click Continue to progress to the next step.
Step 4: Company Bank Account
Your company bank account will be used for all payroll transactions, including the initial credit and debit transactions used to verify the account is open and active.
Enter the account number and routing number for the bank account you would like to use to pay your employees and contractors.
Once you’ve entered and double-checked these numbers, click Save & Continue.
Note: Once you click Save & Continue, you will not be able to change this banking info on your own. This is to secure your account. If you’ve made an error, and need to correct saved banking information, email us at hello@onpay.com.
When you see your banking information has been provisioned, click Continue.
Step 5: Pay Schedules
You'll set up a pay schedule for employee pay frequency and when they should be paid. You have the ability to set up more than one pay schedule in this section.
Schedule name and pay frequency
The simplest and most common 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 weekly schedule could be named simply "Weekly".
Conversely, if you pay different teams in your company with different frequencies, the name could be team based, such as "Management", or "Floor Techs".
Whatever you decide, keep it simple, and to make sure that you, and anyone running payroll for your company can easily pick the right schedule.
Check Date & Period Start/End Date
While your options will vary depending on your chosen pay frequency, but you will always need to choose the first check date (the date you want employees to receive their first paycheck through OnPay), as well as Period Start and Period End Dates (the span of time worked that the first paycheck is for). Remember that the last day of the period should be the day before the start of the next, not on the same day.
Note: Future pay periods and check dates will be scheduled based on this information, and the pay frequency.
Pay schedule preview
Based on this information, we’ll show you upcoming payroll cycles, including pay run deadlines, so you can get an idea of how this schedule works before you finish creating it.
Pay period options explained
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 that check represents.
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, you'll 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.
Learn more about creating a pay schedule.
Click Create when you’ve confirmed the details of your pay schedule.
You should now see your upcoming pay schedule. You can also add another schedule. You may have as many as your company needs.
Step 6: Worksites
Enter the location where your employees will perform their work. If you have multiple worksites, enter the main location here, then you will be able to add others.
Once you click Create, you will be able to add other worksites if needed. Enter all locations where your employees perform work. If you have employees working in another state, or a city where taxation is different than your main location, it’s important to indicate these worksites here. Different states/localities have unique tax implications, so this info helps ensure we get the payroll taxes right for every employee.
Step 7: Verify Bank Account
Almost there! Before you can process your first payroll with OnPay, we'll need to verify your bank account. You can do this instantly and securely using Plaid, or to continue the enrollment and verify the bank account manually at a later time.
Click Continue, then follow the prompts. For detailed instructions in this process, including how to manually verify your bank account, check out this article!
Prior wages
If you answered “yes” to prior wages in Step 1, then we’ll need to get the payroll history of all employees paid this year, even if they no longer work for you. Our team will email you to get this process started, but you can learn how it works in this article.
Congratulations, you’re enrolled!
While we're entering your employees information and their prior wages, start familiarizing yourself with the OnPay dashboard. You can also learn about applying for direct deposit.
To learn more about using OnPay, visit our Help Center, or email us at hello@onpay.com.
Want to talk to an expert? Call us at (877)328-6505, or start a chat by clicking on the question mark at the top of your dashboard.
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