Setup task
Set up payroll and wage rates
Set the pay cadence, currency, and overtime rule, then give each member a wage rate so completed hours turn into a payroll run automatically.
Audience: Owner, admin, or finance
Walkthrough video
Payroll setup walkthrough
Add a walkthrough video showing Payroll defaults in Settings, the per-member wage rates panel, and a recurring deduction.
What to do
Follow these steps in order. Keep it simple — refine after the first real workflow works.
- 1Open Settings → General → Payroll defaults and set the pay cadence — monthly, semi-monthly, bi-weekly, or weekly. Each payroll run covers one cycle.
- 2Set the overtime multiplier (1.5 = time-and-a-half) and the currency used for payroll, wage rates, and invoices, then save.
- 3Open Dashboard → Payroll → Wage rates and give each active member a wage type: hourly, monthly salary, or monthly + hourly incentive.
- 4Enter the hourly rate or monthly salary — a monthly salary is prorated by the number of days in each payroll period.
- 5Leave overtime on the project default, or tick “Custom OT multiplier” to override it for a specific member.
- 6Open Payroll → Deductions and add any recurring deductions — tax, insurance, or pension — as a fixed amount per cycle or a percentage of gross (with an optional cap).
- 7Scope each deduction to all members or a single member, and set an optional start/end date so it only applies to the runs it should.
- 8Complete one test job so hours flow into Timesheets, then generate a payroll run and confirm hours, overtime, and deductions look right before exporting CSV.
You're done when…
Use this quick check before moving to the next setup task.
- Pay cadence, overtime multiplier, and currency match how the business actually pays.
- Every active member who gets paid has a wage type and rate — none show “Not set”.
- Salaried members use Monthly (or Monthly + Hourly); people paid per hour use Hourly.
- Members with a different overtime rule have a custom OT multiplier; everyone else uses the project default.
- Recurring tax, insurance, or pension deductions exist and are scoped to the right members and dates.
- A test payroll run shows the expected hours, overtime, deductions, and net pay before export.
Why this matters
How this task connects to the rest of the product.
- Timesheets
- Payroll runs pull hours from completed jobs via timesheets — no re-keying. Wage rates convert those hours into pay.
- Members
- Wage rates and deductions attach to team members, so staff must be invited before their pay can be configured.
- Pay cadence
- The cadence (monthly, semi-monthly, bi-weekly, weekly) sets each run's period boundaries and prorates monthly salaries by days in the period.
- Overtime
- The project default overtime multiplier applies unless a member has a custom one. Overtime hours are paid at multiplier × the normal rate.
- Deductions
- Recurring deductions auto-apply to every run that overlaps their date range — fixed amounts once per cycle, percentages against gross with an optional cap.
- Leave
- Approved leave and coverage give managers the context to explain attendance before a run is finalized.
- Exports
- A finalized run exports to CSV (defaulting to the current month-to-date) for accounting hand-off.
- Breaks if skipped
- Runs come out with missing or wrong pay: members with no rate contribute nothing, overtime is miscalculated, and tax or insurance deductions never apply.
Expected outcome
Set up payroll and wage rates
Completed jobs turn into an accurate, exportable payroll run — right hours, overtime, and deductions — without re-keying.