If you’re preparing to run payroll for the first time, this guide will walk you through what to review beforehand and what happens once it’s processed. A few quick confirmations now can help your first run feel straightforward.

Before you run your first payroll, take a moment to review your approval window. A quick check here helps you avoid rushing at the last minute.

When a payroll deadline is less than 24 hours away, the countdown shows hours and minutes instead of rounded hours. This gives you a more accurate view of exactly how much time you have left to approve before cutoff.
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Keeping an eye on this timer is especially helpful during your first run, when you may want a little extra time to review totals before submitting.
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Payroll cannot run for anyone who is not assigned to a pay schedule, so this is one of the most important things to double check before your first run. If you only use one pay schedule, all staff are automatically assigned to it. There’s nothing additional you need to do there.

If you use multiple pay schedules, take a moment to confirm that everyone is assigned correctly. On the Payroll dashboard, look at the Actions needed section. If any staff members are missing a pay schedule, you’ll see it listed there. This is your first signal that something needs attention.
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You can also scroll down to the Pay schedules section on the same page. Each schedule shows the number of staff currently enrolled. Compare those numbers to your total staff count. If the numbers don’t add up, someone is likely missing an assignment.
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Before approving payroll, make sure every staff member appears under a schedule and that the totals make sense. Catching it here prevents delays later.
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Before you approve payroll, take a quick look at everyone’s pay rates to make sure they’re accurate. You can do this in the Daily Staff Hours report. Set the date range for your payroll period and turn on the Pay Rate column. From there, you can scan down the list and see each person’s rate next to their hours.

If anything looks off, open that staff member’s profile and update the rate before you run payroll. It’s much easier to fix it now than to correct earnings after payroll has already been submitted.
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In that same Daily Staff Hours report, use the Times column to look through everyone’s hours for the pay period and make sure they look right.

Turn on the Missing clock out column so you can quickly spot any missed punches. If you see a “Yes,” go in and fix it before approving payroll.
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This is especially important if your team clocks in and out to track hours for payroll.

Before you run payroll, ask your staff to review the bank account listed for direct deposit and make sure everything is correct. If someone entered the wrong account or routing number, it can delay their payment and create extra follow up after payroll is processed.

One easy way to handle this is by sending a message through Feed to all staff. You can include the Help Center article that explains how they can review or update their bank account information.

Any changes to direct deposit details must be made before payroll is submitted in order to apply to that run. If a staff member updates their bank account after payroll has already been approved, the change will not affect the current payroll.

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Before you approve payroll, take a quick pass through any post tax or miscellaneous deductions you’ve added for staff, especially anything you added recently.

In the Add deduction window, the dates are based on pay dates. That means the start date you choose matters. If you forgot to add a deduction and you’re adding it right before payroll, do not set the start date to the same day you’re approving payroll. Set the start date to the day before so it actually applies to the upcoming paycheck.
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If you’re trying to run a one time deduction, avoid setting the start date and end date to the same day. When the dates match, the deduction will not run. For one time deductions, you have two good options:

Set the amount per pay period, then set a Deduction cap for the total you want to collect. The deduction will stop automatically once that cap is reached.

If you prefer using dates, set the end date to the next day instead of the same day, so the deduction has a window to apply.

Either way, the goal is the same: make sure the deduction has a valid start date and a real stopping point, so it runs when you expect it to.
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If you’re trying to submit payroll and the button is disabled or you’re seeing an error, it usually means something in your setup still needs attention.

The most common reasons are:

• A staff member is not assigned to a pay schedule
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• Your bank account information is incomplete or not fully verified
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• Your company details haven’t been fully completed

If the issue is related to your company or bank setup, go to Settings on the dashboard and open the Payroll tab. From there, click Edit company details to review and complete any missing information.
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Once everything is updated, return to the Payroll dashboard and try submitting again.
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If you miss the approval cutoff, you can still run payroll. You’re not locked out of paying your staff.

Once you submit payroll, you’ll have two options. You can move the payday to a later date so direct deposit can process on the new schedule, or you can keep the original payday and pay your staff manually instead of through direct deposit.

Most providers choose to pay manually so staff are still paid on time.

If this happens, follow the steps in our guide on how to run a late payroll to walk through the process.
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