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Adding a bonus or commission to a regular payroll

You can add extra payments to a regular payday instead of running an off-cycle. Open the draft, select the pencil icon next to the employee, select Add earning item, and choose the type (Bonus, Commission, and so on) and amount. Name it clearly, for example “September commission,” so it reads well on the paystub and in reports. If the group is on Auto-Pay, adding an earning pauses Auto-Pay for that run, and you will need to approve the payroll manually.

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Running an off-cycle payroll

Use an off-cycle payroll when the payment can’t wait for the next payday, or shouldn’t be mixed with regular wages (e.g. back pay for time already worked, or a one-time payment). From Payroll → Off-cycle, enter:
  • A payment name and reason
  • The pay period start and end dates the payment covers
  • The pay date. Bank holidays are excluded, and the earliest available date reflects your processing period.
  • The bank account
Then add each employee and their earnings. Off-cycle drafts start empty. You enter the amount for each person. For a salaried employee’s partial first period, enter the prorated amount. See the video below for more information on running Off-cycle payrolls.

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Off-cycle options

Off-cycle payrolls have their own approval deadline. An expired off-cycle draft isn’t lost. Change its pay date to a valid future date to revive it.

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Common cases

A new hire started mid-period and was missed. Run an off-cycle for the days worked, with benefits applied if their deductions should start. Severance. There’s no separate severance flow. Run an off-cycle with a Severance or Bonus earning, taxed as supplemental, usually with benefits off. See Terminating an employee. Paying yourself for past periods as a founder. Create a pay schedule and an off-cycle run covering the dates owed, or add the back pay as a one-time earning on the next regular run. If you need wages to land in a specific quarter or tax year, ask support first. Payroll approved after December’s last deadline is taxed in the new year. Taking pay out for unpaid time off. Approve the unpaid leave request before the payroll is drafted and the deduction is applied automatically. For a one-off change to a draft that already exists, edit the employee’s regular earnings in the draft. Paying a US contractor in the same run. US contractors can be added to on-cycle and off-cycle payroll drafts. See Paying Contractors.