Run your first payroll

Ready to run your very first payroll? You're in the right place! This guide will walk you through each step of the process in Wagepoint—simple, clear, and stress-free.

Before you begin

Let’s make sure you’re set up for success! Before running payroll, double-check that the following info is ready to go:

• Employees: All employees have been added, and their details are accurate.
• Banking info: Your business bank account is set up and verified.
• Tax information: Your company’s tax details are fully set up.
• Pay groups: Your pay groups are created and assigned to the right employees.

Once you’ve got that covered, you’re all set to dive in!

Step 1: Set up your pay cycle

Our first step is to set up our first payroll cycle and pay date.

1. In your navigation bar, go to Payroll.
2. Select the relevant pay group, then click Next. If you only have one pay group, it will be automatically selected for you.

3. In the table, enter the key dates for this pay run:

   • First day of pay cycle: The first day of this pay period.
   • Last day of pay cycle: The last day of this pay period.
   • Pay date: The date employees will receive their pay. You can’t select a past date. Only upcoming dates are available when selecting your pay date.

   
    

   Important: When paying employees by direct deposit, payroll must be approved at least three (3) business days before the pay date by 12 PM EST (example: Tuesday for a Friday pay date). This is also when we withdraw the funds from your account. Be sure the funds are available at this time to avoid an NSF.

   Tip: If a Statutory holiday falls within the processing time, payroll must be run one business day earlier to keep your original pay date. You can find a list of Canada bank holidays and processing deadlines here. 

4. Once these dates are set, they’ll also be used to establish your payroll schedule for future pay runs. When you're happy with the dates you've selected, click Next.

Step 2: Pay hourly employees

Now it’s time to enter pay details for your hourly employees.

If all of your employees are salaried, this section will be blank. Click Save/Next to move on to the next step.

1. Enter hours worked: Enter the hours worked for each hourly employee in the fields provided.
2. Add or remove income types: If you need to include extra earnings like commissions, overtime, or holiday pay, click the Add/Remove Income Types to select any additional pay types that apply. Earnings set to be paid automatically with each pay will already be included and shown.
3. Exclude employees (Optional): Use the Pay? toggle to exclude an employee from this payroll run.
   • By default, the toggle is set to Yes (meaning the employee will be paid).
   • Any changes to this setting will remain in place for future payrolls. If you wish to make a one-time change, you'll need to switch the toggle setting back next time you run payroll.
4. Once everything looks good, click Save/Next to continue.

Step 3: Pay salaried employees

This section is where you’ll review and adjust pay details for your salaried employees.

If all of your employees are hourly, this section will be blank. Click Save/Preview to go to the next step.

1. Enter hours worked (Optional): Manually enter the hours worked for each salaried employee. If left blank, the app will automatically calculate hours based on:
   • The Expected Hours per Week entered in their employee profile, or
   • The default 40 hours per week divided by the number of pay periods. For example, if you're running a semi-monthly payroll, the default hours shown on the pay stub will be 86.67 hours (40 hours per week x 52 weeks in a year / 24 pay periods per year).
2. Normal pay: This is the standard gross pay, based on the employee’s annual salary divided by the number of pay periods.
3. Current pay: This field matches the Normal Pay amount by default. However, you can Edit the field to adjust the pay (for example, to accommodate new hires, mid-cycle terminations, or manually reduce pay for vacation time).
4. Add or remove income types: Click Add/Remove Income Types to include extra earnings like commissions or holiday pay. Income types set to be paid automatically with each payroll will already be listed.
5. Exclude employees (Optional): Use the Pay? toggle to exclude an employee from this payroll run.
   • By default, the toggle is set to Yes (meaning the employee will be paid).
   • Any changes to this setting will remain in place for future payrolls. If you wish to make a one-time change, you'll need to switch the toggle setting back next time you run payroll.
6. Once everything is reviewed and ready, click Save/Preview to continue.

Step 4: Review and approve payroll

You're almost there! Before you approve your payroll, it’s important to carefully review all the details to ensure everything is accurate.

1. Review payroll details:
   • Click View next to an employee’s name to review their individual payroll information.
   • Click View all to open the pre-payroll register report and see a full overview of this payroll run.
   • Employees who have a valid bank account set up will be marked with a green checkmark.
     • These employees will be paid by direct deposit unless it has been disabled in your company settings.
     • Employees not set up for direct deposit will need to be paid manually.
2. Confirm and approve: Once you're confident everything is correct, check the box to confirm you've reviewed the payroll. Then, click Approve Payroll to finalize the process.
    

Please note:

It is your responsibility to review payroll thoroughly before approval. Always double-check hours, pay amounts, dates, and income types to avoid errors.

Tip! Your gross payroll amounts may not reflect the total funds that will be withdrawn from your account. For a better estimate, click View all and scroll to the bottom of the report where you'll see the estimated invoice amount for the payroll run. 

Will I receive any notifications when my payroll is processed?

Nice work—your payroll has been submitted! You'll be notified by email of your payroll's progress.

• When your payroll is approved, you'll receive an email letting you know that your pay run is now pending finalization.
• Once the payroll has been finalized, you'll get a second email letting you know that your payroll reports are available to view.

What does it mean when my payroll is "finalized"?

• Payroll finalization happens automatically on your processing deadline. This is also the date we withdraw the funds from your account.
• If a payroll is still pending finalization in a pay group, you won’t be able to run another payroll in that group until the pay run is finalized. If you need to run another payroll in the same pay group, reach out to our support team by email at [e-mail].

When is my processing deadline?

Your processing deadline is the date by which you must approve payroll to obtain your pay date. Your processing deadline will always be 12PM Eastern time. If you are unsure about your processing deadline, reach out to [e-mail]. 

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Have a few questions? You’re not alone! Here are some common ones we hear from Wagepoint users:

• Yes! We have tools that allow you to import .CSV files for hours and earnings to save time. Hours ImportEarnings Import
• If you've added an income type and don’t see it right away, try scrolling to the right in your employee list by clicking the blue right arrow halfway down the employee list.
• The Off Cycle option lets you run a payroll outside of your regular schedule. This is especially useful for things like bonuses or final pay for terminated employees.Learn more about off-cycle payrolls [here].
• Yes! Just click Save/Next before you leave—this saves your progress. When you return, you can pick up right where you left off, and all your data will still be there.
• Wagepoint withdraws the funds for your payroll on the date your payroll is finalized, which is also your processing deadline. For direct deposit that means at 12:00 Noon EST three (3) business days before your selected pay date.
• If there’s an issue with the withdrawal from your funding account, for example, a non-sufficient funds (NSF) error, please let us know right away. Email us at [e-mail] so we can help resolve it as quickly as possible and make sure your employees are paid on time.
• An employee must be active to have a payroll run for them. If an employee is terminated, you will either need to undo their termination (if an ROE has NOT been submitted) or rehire them (If an ROE has been submitted) before you can run a payroll for them.
• If you've missed your payroll processing deadline and your payroll is late, or your desired pay date is unavailable, you have three options: 
  1. Change your pay date to accommodate your processing timeline 
  2. Run payroll with direct deposit off and pay your employees while we take care of the taxes.
  3. Run a manual payroll with no money movement. 
  Refer to our manual payroll guide here.
• For most users, payroll with direct deposit needs to be approved by 12:00 Noon EST 3 business days before the pay date.
  Business days are Monday through Friday. 
  Saturday, Sunday and bank holidays are not counted as business days. 
  Below are the general dates, not including holidays: 
  For a pay date of Monday, payroll needs to be processed on the Wednesday before. 
  For a pay date of Tuesday, the payroll needs to be processed on the Thursday before. 
  For a pay date of Wednesday, the payroll needs to be processed on the Friday before. 
  For a pay date of Thursday, the payroll needs to be processed on the Monday before. 
  For a pay date of Friday, the payroll needs to be processed on the Tuesday before.