When you receive an offer letter from a company using OnPay payroll services, you can read and sign your offer online, then log into your employee portal, where you can:
- Complete your tax forms and onboarding paperwork (W-4 and I-9)
- Securely enter your bank account information to set up direct deposit paychecks
- Split your paycheck across multiple bank/savings accounts, if needed
- Sign up for company benefits, like health insurance or retirement savings (if offered)
- Get lifetime access to pay stubs and year-end tax forms (W-2 / 1099-NEC)
Signing your offer letter
Check your inbox for an email from OnPay, and click View Offer Letter.
Your web browser will open to your offer letter. Click Sign to add your signature.
After reading your offer and adding your signature, click Accept and Enroll to view your signed offer, and Begin Enrollment.
- Enrolling in your company account is how you gain free access to OnPay payroll services. This allows you to read and fill out new-employee forms and paperwork online, and at your own pace. Some forms are legally required, such as W-4 and I-9 tax forms, but may also include other documents and agreements provided by your new employer. As an employee of a company using OnPay, you will not be charged for these services.
Enrolling in OnPay
OnPay will walk you through creating your password, turning on multi-factor authentication, and entering your personal information for tax forms.
Create a password
Your login credentials are your email address (where you received your offer letter), and a password you create.
Your password must contain
- 12 characters total (************)
- At least one letter (abcdef)
- At least one symbol (*?!$#@) or one number (123456)
Enable multi-factor authentication
Because you'll be using OnPay to enter your bank account information, and see paychecks and tax forms, it's important to add a layer of security so no one but you can access your account.
When you log in with MFA enabled, you'll enter a one-time-use, 6-digit code that's generated by a secure authentication app like Duo, Authy, or Google Authenticator.
It's an easy way to protect your account.
Employee enrollment
Once you've set up your OnPay login credentials, you can begin entering your personal information to create your employee profile, and to get a head start on filling out tax forms.
Personal information
Enter your personal information, including your name, social security number, and birthday.
Contact information
Enter the phone number(s) where you can be reached. You can add up to three numbers.
Home address
Enter your home address where you live. The address you enter here is used to determine tax obligations.
Employment eligibility
You must verify your eligibility to work in the U.S. Your options are:
- Citizen
- Noncitizen national
- Lawful resident
- Noncitizen authorized to work
Emergency contact
Provide your employer with your emergency contact information.
When you've finished entering this information, click Save & Continue.
Tax withholding allowances
You'll find links to instructions for help completing your W-4 under "Federal Withholding", but we'll cover the basics here.
Filing status
Filing status is used to indicate whether you'll be filing as single (or married and filing separately), jointly, or as the head of a household.
"Only 2 jobs"
Only select True if you have two or more jobs. If this is your only job, choose False.
Dependents amount
There are generally two types of dependents that an employee can claim:
- A child under the age of 17
- An individual, related or otherwise, that relies on you financially
How to do the math
Multiply the number of dependents who are under the age of 17 by $2,000. Then, multiply the number of other dependents (qualifying relatives who are 17 and older) by $500. add these two amounts, and enter the total under "Dependants Amount - Box 3".
For help qualifying dependents, refer to IRS Publication 501.
Other income
If you have additional income that isn't from another job, and taxes are not being withheld (such as interest, or dividends) you may choose to have your employer withhold additional dollars from your pay, to cover any taxation you might face at the end of the year.
Deductions
Record any itemized deductions here. If you plan to use the standard deduction, leave this blank.
Extra Withholding
If you're expecting a tax change later in the year, or if you just want a bigger refund, you may choose to have a fixed amount of additional taxes withheld.
State Withholding
These fields will vary by state. If you live in a different state than you work, whether you're a remote worker, or just commuting across state lines, you'll see fields for multiple states.
Click Save & Continue to begin setting up direct deposit.
Payroll deposit preferences
Entering your bank account information lets your employer pay you by direct deposit, so you can access your pay as soon as possible on payday. Works for checking or savings accounts.
Click Add Account.
After adding your first account, you can add more checking and savings accounts to split your paychecks. You can split your check by percent, or dollar amount.
More about splitting your paychecks→
Required Documents
There are two documents the government requires all employers to collect from new-hires:
- Form W-4
- Form I-9
Click Sign to get started.
Your tax forms are already filled out using the information you entered in previous steps. All you need to do is click sign. You can also preview your information on your form before you sign.
For Form I-9, you'll need to indicate whether you did or did not use a preparer or translator.
After completing your required forms, click Save & Continue to access your employee portal.
Logging into your employee portal
In My Profile, you'll see the name of your employer. If you work for multiple companies who use OnPay, you'll see them listed here. Click Enter to log into your employee portal.
In your employee portal, you'll see a menu of options on the left. You can click your profile photo placeholder to add your photo, or update your personal information.
More employee help articles
Learn more about your portal and using OnPay in our "Employees only" section of Help Center→