Pay schedules
Choose a pay frequency, set your first pay period and payday, and understand how your schedule drives approval deadlines.
Your pay schedule sets how often your team is paid, what each pay period covers, and when payday falls. Set it at Team → Payroll → Payroll Settings → General Settings.
Pay frequency
Four options:
| Frequency | What it means | Pay periods per year |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly | Paid once a week | 52 |
| Biweekly | Paid every two weeks, every other Friday for example | 26 |
| Semi-monthly | Paid twice a month | 24 |
| Monthly | Paid once a month | 12 |
State law sometimes sets a minimum pay frequency, and it can differ for hourly versus salaried workers. Check your state's rules before choosing.
Your first pay period
Two dates get you started:
- First period end date. The last day of your first pay period, meaning the timeframe your team is being paid for.
- Pay date. When your team is paid for that first period. It has to be a future date.
For example, a biweekly schedule with a first period ending August 26 and a pay date of September 1. After that, pay periods and paydays continue on your frequency automatically, so you set this once.
Approval deadlines follow your payday
You don't need to count business days yourself. Each run on the Run Payroll page shows its pay period, its approval deadline, and its payday.
A payday of Monday August 31 shows an approval deadline of Wednesday August 26, which is three business days ahead. See Run payroll for the deadline rules and how bank holidays shift them.
Other payroll settings
Payroll Settings has four tabs. General Settings holds your pay schedule. Organization Details, Tax Documents, and Authorization Documents hold the business and filing information collected during onboarding.
Changing your pay schedule
Pay frequency, first period end date, and pay date can all be updated in General Settings. Click Save changes when you're done.
Changing frequency mid-year is supported. Before you do it:
- Check your state's rules. Some states set a minimum pay frequency, and some restrict how and when you can change it.
- Tell your team first, including the date it takes effect and what it means for when they're paid.
- Expect withholding to change. Federal, state, and local withholding is recalculated for the new frequency, so per-paycheck amounts shift even where annual totals don't.
- Review recurring deductions. A post-tax deduction set as a per-paycheck amount now comes out more or less often, which changes the monthly total.
Contact Arketa Support if you'd like a second pair of eyes on year-to-date withholding before your first payroll on the new schedule.