Welcome to Playground Payroll! We’re excited to help you run your first payroll of 2026 on Playground. The start of the year is the smoothest time to switch payroll providers.
This article will guide you through six simple steps to get your account ready before your payroll onboarding call. Please complete this set up before you meet with your onboarding specialist.
Prefer to watch a video? Click here.
💡 Don't have a payroll subscription yet? Reach out to [email protected] to confirm your eligibility and check availability for a 2026 start date.
1. Confirm Authorization
From your admin dashboard, click the Payroll tab and then click the Get Started sub tab. Next, click the Start Onboarding button in the center of your screen.
The Enter company details window will open.
2. In the "Your information" section, add the contact information for an individual at your company who is authorized to sign tax documents.
3. Next, in "Company information," you will enter your company's legal name and address. Please note that the state field must be selected from the dropdown.
🚨 Be sure to type this information exactly as it is registered with state and federal agencies.
4. Next, you will enter your "Payroll information." In the First payroll date field, enter your first payday of 2026.
5. In the Payroll history field, select "I have never run payroll before" because you are running your first payroll of the year on Playground.
6. Finally, enter your expected employee count and expected contract count and click the blue Continue button.
2. Payroll Setup
The payroll onboarding window will open as soon as you complete the first step.
Note: If you took a break between these steps, simply navigate to Payroll Home and then click the blue Complete Profile button in the top right corner of your screen (pictured below).
In this step, you will enter your company details, payment method, and tax setup and sign filing authorizations. Below is a brief description of the steps required in each section.
To get started, review and agree to Check Payroll User Service Terms and click the blue Get Started button.
1. Company Details
Enter your company's industry, company type, legal name, and legal address.
🚨 Be sure to enter your company's legal name and address exactly as it is registered with the state/IRS.
💡 If you do not remember your company type (Sole proprietorship, Partnership, LLC, C-corporation, S-corporation) you can reference your most recently filed tax return or your articles of incorporation/organization.
2. Payment Method
Authorize Check to debit payroll funds from your account and then connect the bank account you will use to fund payroll. You can connect your account by logging into your bank account via Plaid (recommended), or you can provide the account details manually.
💡 Plaid is an online payment processing platform known for its robust security measures, making it a safe choice for online payments.
3. Tax Setup
Enter your company's Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) and local/state agency account numbers. Be sure to double-check that you are entering the correct numbers.
🚨 Incorrect tax account numbers can result in late filings and penalties.
If you just started your business, you must apply for state and sometimes local payroll taxes. If you have applied for the taxes, but have not received your account information yet, select "I have applied for an account number but have not received it yet". You will be able to go back and add this information later.
4. Filing Authorizations
Sign the forms on this screen to grant Playground authorization to process your payroll and submit tax filings and payments on your behalf.
3. Create Your Pay Schedule
The first two steps of onboarding are now behind you! You're all set to create your pay schedule. To do so, scroll down and click the white Create Pay Schedule button on your Payroll home screen.
💡 As a reminder, you will be entering your first payday of the 2026 calendar year. It may be helpful to reference the pay schedule you have on your current system.
The Create Pay Schedule window will open (pictured below).
First, name your payroll and choose your pay frequency from the drop-down. See below for a description of each pay frequency:
Weekly | Employees are paid on the same day each week, such as every Friday. |
Bi-weekly (every other week) | Employees are paid every other week on a specific day, commonly every other Friday. |
Semi-monthly (twice a month) | Employees receive their wages on two specific dates each month, typically on the 15th and the 30th. |
Monthly | Employees receive their wages on a specific date each month. This is uncommon and may not be compliant with labor laws in some states. |
Next, you will choose your first payday and your first-period end date. The payday must be at least five days after the period end date. It is common to have a one-week delay between the period end date and the payday. For example, if your period ends on Friday, your employees will receive pay the following Friday.
If you selected a semi-monthly (twice a month) pay schedule, you must also designate your second payday. Typically, this will be 15-16 days after your first payday.
🚨 Your first payday of 2026 may fall on a holiday! Payroll cannot be paid out on bank holidays. However, when creating your pay schedule, you may select the holiday, and the system will automatically adjust your first payday to be paid the business day before the holiday.
4. Invite Your Staff to Payroll
From your Admin Dashboard, navigate to Payroll and then click Home.
Click the white Manage button in the top right corner of your screen, then click Enroll Staff.
The Enroll Staff page will open. Toggle on any employees that you would like to add to payroll. (Note: you must have already added staff to Playground to continue to this step.)
Enter the employment type, pay type, amount, date of birth, and start date for all staff that you are adding to payroll.
Click the blue Next button in the top right corner of the screen.
Review and confirm that all information is correct.
Click the blue Finish button and then press Continue to acknowledge that this action will allow your staff to sign up for payroll.
The employees added will now be able to complete their payroll onboarding by following the instructions in this article.
5. Add Benefits, Deductions and Garnishments
Playground allows you to configure benefits, deductions, and garnishments to be deducted from payroll. This can include health insurance, child care tuition, child support garnishments, and more!
💡 Playground also offers several integrated deductions such as health insurance and 401k. With these integrations, deductions will be automatically configured for you and contributions will be processed automatically. Click here for more information.
Benefit | Pre-tax deductions, often called benefits, are amounts subtracted from an employee's gross pay before taxes are applied. These deductions reduce the employee's taxable income, thereby lowering the amount of taxes owed. Common pre-tax deductions include contributions to retirement plans like 401(k), health insurance premiums, and contributions to flexible spending accounts (FSAs) or health savings accounts (HSAs). |
Deduction | A post-tax deduction is an amount subtracted from an employee's paycheck after taxes have been applied. |
Garnishment | A payroll garnishment is a legal process in which an employer withholds a portion of an employee's earnings to pay off a debt, as ordered by a court or government agency. This deduction continues until the debt is fully repaid and can be applied to obligations such as child support, unpaid taxes, student loans, or creditor judgments. |
Benefits, deductions, and garnishments can be configured by clicking the Deduction sub-tab under Payroll. Click here for a detailed walk through.
You're Done!
Congratulations on completing your payroll setup. Please reach out to your account manager or onboarding manager to let them know that the required steps have been completed. Your account manager will follow up to book your onboarding call and first payroll approval. Yes, you read that right, we will run your first payroll with you to make sure that everything goes to plan!
💡 Are your staff tracking their hours in Playground? Payroll is used best when compared with staff time tracking. Click here to learn more about employee timesheets.