(CA) Run off-cycle payroll

Establish payroll dates

1. Paygroup — Select the paygroup for which to run the off-cycle payroll and click “Next.” If you have just one paygroup, it is automatically selected.
   
   

2. The payroll dates for your regular pay period will automatically be populated based on your payroll frequency and your prior payroll. 
   
   

3. Off-cycle (default: No) — Set the toggle to "Yes" and the last day of the pay cycle will automatically roll back by a day.
   

   Notes:

   • No two payrolls can have the same cycle end date.
   • If you require multiple off-cycle runs, each run should have the same "First day of pay cycle", with the "Last day of pay cycle" increasing by one day, subsequently. For example, your first run would have a "Last day of pay cycle" of September 1; your second run would have a "Last day of pay cycle" of September 2, and so on.
     
     

4. Pay date — Use the date picker to adjust the suggested pay date, if needed.

   Notes:
   • You need to approve payroll three (3) business days prior to the desired pay date by 12pm ET if employees are paid using direct deposit.
   • If you are paying or have already paid your employees by cheque, you'll want to ensure direct deposit has been turned off. Go to SETTINGS > ACCOUNT SETTINGS and change the EMPLOYEES PAID BY DIRECT DEPOSIT setting to NO > SAVE at the bottom. (You will turn this setting back to YES once the payroll has been finalized and you have seen the final payroll reports.)
     
     

5. Select deductions — Add or remove any applicable deductions by clicking the orange "Select deductions" link. Note: Deductions are automatically withheld on regular payrolls. However,  you must manually indicate if you need any deductions withheld within an off-cycle payroll. 
   
   

6. Click “Next.”

Pay hourly employees

1. Hours — Enter or import the hours worked for your hourly employees. 
   
   

2. Add/remove income types — Add any applicable earnings, like commission, overtime or time worked on holiday by clicking the orange "Add/remove income types" link. Note: Earnings that are set to be paid out with each pay cheque will automatically be included and displayed.
   
   

3. Basic exemption (default: Yes, until changed.) — Uncheck the orange box if you do not want to apply the annual basic Canada Pension Plan (CPP)/Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) exemption for the desired employee. 

   Notes:

   • The exemption should be applied if you are running off-cycle payroll to make up for an employee’s missed payroll, or if you are running a prorated off-cycle payroll for a mid-cycle hire or a mid-cycle termination. 
     
     
   • Running an off-cycle payroll, in addition to a regular payroll with the Basic Exemption box checked in both payrolls, can result in the employee underpaying CPP/QPP. 
     
     
   • CPP/QPP contributions for eligible employees will still be calculated when the Basic Exemption box is unchecked. However, the annual exemption amounts will not be applied.
     
     For example, if an employee is paid weekly, the annual basic CPP exemption amount of $3,500 will be divided by 52 pay periods, totalling $67.30 per pay period. Based on a sample gross pensionable income of $1,000, the employee’s CPP contributions per pay period will be calculated as follows:
     
     

     Gross pensionable income	Basic exemption	CPP rate	CPP contribution for the period*
     $1000	$67.30	5.70%	$53.16
     $1000	$0 (if you uncheck the box)	5.70%	$57.00

     
     

     *CPP contribution = (Gross pensionable income - Basic exemption per period) x CPP rate of 5.70%
     
     

4. Pay? (default: Yes, until changed) — Set the toggle to "No" if you want to exclude an employee from the current payroll. Note: Once changed, the current setting will be the new default, which means you will need to set the toggle back to "Yes" when you run payroll next, including auto-runs.
   
   

5. Click “Save/next.” 

Pay salaried employees

1. Hours — Enter the hours worked. If left blank, the Expected hours per week value or the default 40 hours per week, divided by the number of pay periods in the selected frequency, will be used. For example, a bi-weekly employee's paystub will display 86.66 hours if left blank.
   
   

2. Normal pay — Gross regular wages will be calculated and displayed using the salaried employee's annual rate of pay divided by the number of pay periods in the selected frequency. 
   
   

3. Current pay — Same as Normal pay; however, you can edit the Current pay amount if you want to make adjustments for employees who were hired or terminated in the middle of the pay period. Note: You will need to manually adjust this amount for salaried employees who accrue vacation pay when they take vacation. The accrual balance will then need to be drawn down. 
   
   

4. Add/remove income types — Add any applicable earnings like commission, overtime or time worked on holiday by clicking the orange "Add/remove income types" link. Note: Earnings that are set to be paid out with each pay cheque will automatically be included and displayed.
   
   

5. Basic exemption (default: Yes, until changed.) — Uncheck the orange box if you do not want to apply the annual basic Canada Pension Plan (CPP)/Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) exemption for the desired employee. 

   Notes:

   • The exemption should be applied if you are running off-cycle payroll to make up for an employee’s missed payroll, or if you are running a prorated off-cycle payroll for a mid-cycle hire or a mid-cycle termination. 
     
     
   • Running an off-cycle payroll, in addition to a regular payroll with the Basic Exemption box checked in both payrolls, can result in the employee underpaying CPP/QPP. 
     
     
   • CPP/QPP contributions for eligible employees will still be calculated when the Basic Exemption box is unchecked. However, the annual exemption amounts will not be applied.
     
     For example, if an employee is paid weekly, the annual basic CPP exemption amount of $3,500 will be divided by 52 pay periods, totalling $67.30 per pay period. Based on a sample gross pensionable income of $1,000, the employee’s CPP contributions per pay period will be calculated as follows:
     
     

     Gross pensionable income	Basic exemption	CPP rate	CPP contribution for the period*
     $1000	$67.30	5.70%	$53.16
     $1000	$0 (if you uncheck the box)	5.70%	$57.00

     
     

     *CPP contribution = (Gross pensionable income - Basic exemption per period) x CPP rate of 5.70%
     
     

6. Pay? (default: Yes, until changed) — Set the toggle to "No" if you want to exclude an employee from the current payroll. Note: Once changed, the current setting will be the new default, which means you will need to set the toggle back to "Yes" when you run payroll next, including auto-runs. 
   
   

7. Click “Save/preview.”

Review and approve payroll

1. Click "View" to review the payroll details for each employee or "View all" to see the pre-payroll register report. 
   
   

2. Employees with an active bank account in the system will be indicated by a green checkmark. They will be paid using direct deposit, unless direct deposit has been disabled in the company settings. Note: You will need to write paper cheques to employees who are not set up for direct deposit. 
   
   

3. Click the checkbox to confirm that you have reviewed the details.
   
   

4. Click “Approve payroll” to finish processing your payroll.
   
   

5. Payroll approved email notice — If enabled, you will get an email confirmation that payroll has been approved for the current pay period and is pending finalization.
   
   

6. Reports available notice — If enabled, you will get an email confirmation that payroll has been finalized and payroll reports are available to review. 

Paying employees and remitting taxes

1. Navigate to the Reports > Payroll invoices tab once you have confirmation that the payroll has been finalized.
   
   

2. The total amount indicated on the payroll invoice will be collected from your company bank account on the date that payroll is finalized. Ensure you have sufficient funds in your company bank account to avoid any penalties due to insufficient funds (NSF). 
   
   

3. Funds for net pay — This is the total amount of funds that will be collected from your company bank account to pay employees who are set up for direct deposit. This will match the "Deposit summary" report. Note: You will need to write paper cheques to employees who are not set up for direct deposit or if you have disabled direct deposit in your company settings.  
   
   

4. Source deductions — This is the total amount of funds that will be remitted to the CRA/RQ on your behalf. This will match the "Receiver general" report, where you can find a detailed breakdown of the taxes withheld. Note: You will need to remit taxes to the government manually if you have disabled tax remittances in your company settings. 
   
   

5. Wagepoint processing fees — This is the total amount of fees collected for using Wagepoint to run your payroll.  
   
   

6. GST/HST sales tax — The total amount in sales tax that is calculated on the processing fees. 

If applicable, the payroll invoice report will also include collections for Workers' Compensation, Employer Health Tax (EHT) and/or Health Services Fund (HSF).