Welcome to Playground Payroll, where you can seamlessly pay your employees. Replace your current payroll provider to consolidate your systems into one place.
Currently, payroll is available to everyone except the following:
Non-profits outside of California, Texas, New York, & Florida
Businesses with multiple locations
Join Playground Payroll today and enjoy benefits like
Automatic tax filing with local, state, and federal agencies
Built-in time tracking
Automatic W2s & 1099s
Employee direct deposit payment with automatic deductions and tax calculations
Free migration of previous provider payroll data
401k and Workers Compensation integrations
Getting Started
Payroll is located on the left sidebar. Click the blue Get Started button on your Payroll tab to purchase the subscription and begin onboarding.
💡The subscription must be purchased with a credit card. Your credit card will not be used to fund payroll. You will add your payroll banking information in Step 2.
Enter your company details by clicking the blue Start Onboarding button. The next two steps, which take less than 10 minutes to complete, are essential for initiating the onboarding process.
Step 1: Confirm Authorization
Here you will enter your company's legal name and address.
🚨 Be sure to type this information exactly as it is registered with state and federal agencies.
Choose your first payroll date.
This is the first date that your employees will receive pay. Note that the soonest possible date is three weeks from the date you finish steps 1 and 2 in this guide.
Select your payroll history.
You have three options for payroll history. Review the explanations below to determine which one applies to your business. It's crucial to accurately identify your previous payroll process because our team will migrate your historical payroll data for the year.
I have never run payroll before | Select this if you're a new company that hasn't paid employees yet. It also applies if your business has only used 1099 contractors and will now pay its first W2 employee through Playground Payroll. |
I currently use another payroll software | Select this if you currently pay your employees using payroll software such as Gusto, ADP, Quickbooks, or another provider. |
I currently run payroll manually | Select this option if you run payroll without the assistance of payroll software. |
Step 2: Complete Profile
Select the blue Complete Profile button at the top right corner of your Payroll screen. You will enter your company details, payment method, and tax setup, and you will sign filing authorizations on this screen.
Below is a brief description of the steps required in each section.
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.
Payment method
Authorize check to debit payroll funds from your account and then connect the bank account that you will use to fund payroll. You can connect your account by logging into your bank account via Plaid. 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.
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're a non-profit exempt from Unemployment Insurance, please email [email protected] to bypass this step. While you wait for a response, you can continue with the onboarding flow.
If you just started your business, you will need to 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.
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.
Step 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, click the blue Create Pay Schedule button on your Payroll home screen.
💡 As a reminder, the earliest possible pay date is three weeks from the date you finish the first two onboarding steps. If you're following along, that'll be three weeks from today.
First, choose your pay frequency. See below for a description of the pay frequency options.
Weekly | Employees are paid on the same day each week, such as every Friday. |
Every other week (bi-weekly) | Employees are paid every other week on a specific day, commonly every other Friday. |
Twice a month (semi-monthly) | 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. |
🚨 Be sure to confirm that your pay schedule is compliant in your state.
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 will also need to designate your second payday. Typically, this will be 15-16 days after your first payday.
Step 4: Migrate Data from your Previous Payroll Provider
Your onboarding is almost finished. Contact [email protected] or your designated contact to start migrating data from your previous payroll provider. If it's your first time running payroll or if you have been running payroll by hand, we will review the data you entered for approval.
Step 5: Employee Enrollment
Enrolling your employees in Playground Payroll will look a little different depending on whether you have run payroll before.
Regardless, once you've added your staff, they will need to confirm their payroll information in Playground Payroll.
See the drop-downs below for more information on your specific situation.
I am currently running payroll with another payroll provider (Gusto, ADP, Quickbooks, etc)
I am currently running payroll with another payroll provider (Gusto, ADP, Quickbooks, etc)
The embedded setup initiated in Step 4 will migrate your employees' data from your previous payroll provider to Playground. If your employees are missing any required data, the Playground Payroll team will contact you.
If you hire a new employee after the embedded setup is initiated, please enroll the employee using the instructions detailed in the tab below "I have never run payroll."
I have never run payroll
I have never run payroll
If you are inviting staff to Playground using the add single staff tool, you can select add to payroll. When this checkbox is selected, you will be prompted to add the employees' rate, rate type (hourly/salary), start date, and date of birth.
If you are inviting staff to Playground using the upload multiple staff via roster tool or if you have already added your staff to Playground, navigate to your Payroll home screen and select the white manage button at the top of your screen. Then manage employees. Add the employees' start date, employment type, pay type, and amount.
On the next screen, review and confirm the staff enrollment. Note that your pricing will be based on the number of employees paid each month, not the total number of employees on this screen.
Confirming this list will allow your employees to sign up for payroll, add their direct deposit information, and update their withholding settings.
Step 6: Run your first Playground Payroll!
The Playground Payroll team will contact you to let you know that your Payroll onboarding is complete and that you are ready to run your first Payroll.
On or before your payroll deadline, select the blue Create Payroll button in the top right corner of your Payroll home screen. Then select run next payroll!