> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bolto.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Glossary

> Plain definitions of pay schedules, payroll groups, invoice schedules, statuses, and tax terms.

Short definitions of the terms you'll see across Bolto. Each links to the guide that covers it.

***

## Payroll

**Pay schedule.** How often employees are paid (weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, monthly) and on which dates. It defines pay periods, paydays, and approval deadlines. [Pay schedules & payroll groups](/payroll/pay-schedules-and-groups)

**Pay period.** The days a paycheck covers, for example the 1st to the 15th.

**Payday.** The date money arrives in employees' accounts.

**Approval deadline.** The last moment you can approve a payroll for it to pay on the scheduled payday. It's the payday minus your processing period, in business days, shown in US Eastern Time. [Running Payroll](/payroll/running-payroll#approval-deadlines)

**Processing period.** The number of business days between approval and payday. From four days down to one, depending on your history with Bolto. It gets longer after a failed payment.

**Payroll group.** A set of employees paid on the same schedule from the same bank account. Bolto drafts one payroll per group per period. [Payroll groups](/payroll/pay-schedules-and-groups#payroll-groups)

**Draft.** A payroll Bolto has prepared that you haven't approved. **Expired** means the deadline passed. [Payroll statuses](/payroll/running-payroll#payroll-statuses)

**Auto-Pay.** A group setting that submits unchanged payrolls automatically. Only for salaried, exempt employees. The first run after turning it on is manual. [Auto-Pay](/payroll/running-payroll#auto-pay)

**Off-cycle payroll.** A payroll outside the regular schedule for bonuses, corrections, or missed pay. [Off-cycle payroll](/payroll/off-cycle-bonuses-commissions)

**Needs attention / blocking.** An employee is missing something (forms, pay rate, bank account, tax details) and the payroll can't be approved until it's fixed. [An employee is blocking payroll](/troubleshooting/employee-blocking-payroll)

**Exempt / non-exempt.** Whether an employee is exempt from overtime under federal law. Salaried professionals are usually exempt. Hourly workers and interns are usually non-exempt. Non-exempt employees log timesheets and can't be in Auto-Pay groups.

**Supplemental earnings.** Bonuses, commissions, and severance, which can be withheld at a flat federal rate instead of the W-4 rate.

## Contractors

**Invoice schedule.** The recurring pay periods for fixed-rate and hourly contractors. Each period Bolto generates an invoice for you to fund, then pays the contractors. Separate from employee pay schedules. [Invoice schedules](/contractors/invoice-schedules)

**On-demand payment.** A one-off contractor payment you create and fund yourself, outside any schedule. [On-demand payments](/contractors/paying-contractors#on-demand-payments)

**Funding invoice.** For international contractors, the invoice Bolto sends you to fund a payment run. Contractors are paid once it's paid.

**Due.** A contractor payment waiting on you. Approve the US run or pay the funding invoice.

**Contractor of Record (CoR).** Bolto engages the contractor on your behalf and takes on the classification risk. [Contractor of Record](/contractors/Contractor-of-Record-Overview)

## Taxes and compliance

**FEIN / EIN.** Your federal employer ID number from the IRS.

**State employer IDs.** Withholding and unemployment account numbers each state issues after you register. [State registrations](/payroll/State-Registrations-and-IDs)

**SUI.** State unemployment insurance, an employer tax with a rate the state assigns you.

**Form 8655.** Federal authorization letting Bolto file and pay federal payroll taxes for you. A **POA** (power of attorney) is the state version. [Filing authorizations](/taxes/filing-authorizations)

**Form I-9.** Employment eligibility verification every US employee completes. [I-9 verification](/hiring/i9-verification)

**W-4.** The federal withholding form employees complete during onboarding. States have their own versions.

**W-2 / 1099-NEC.** Year-end forms for employees and US contractors. Bolto files both.

**W-9.** The form a US contractor gives you with their taxpayer ID. Bolto collects the same information during contractor onboarding.

## Products

**Payroll.** You employ US workers through your own entity. Bolto runs payroll and taxes.

**Contractors.** You pay independent contractors, in the US or abroad, through Bolto.

**EOR (Employer of Record).** Bolto legally employs workers for you in countries where you don't have an entity. [EOR](/eor/overview)


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