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Pay Frequencies

Pay frequencies determine when employees receive payment - specifically which day and how often, such as weekly or monthly. Payment dates (set per pay frequency) should reflect the exact date when your employees receive payment for the period worked.

You will need to add at least one pay frequency during your initial setup.

📚 How-To Guides

Before you start

You'll need to know:

  • How often you need to pay your employees (weekly, monthly, etc.).
  • The last working day of each pay period.
  • When you want to run your first payroll on SimplePay.

How to add a Pay Frequency

  1. Go to Settings > Pay Frequencies > Add Pay Frequency.

  2. Select the relevant frequency from the first drop-down list.

  3. Select the Last day of period.

  4. Select the First payroll period end date.

  5. Specify the payment date by ticking the Pay date is different to the period end date? box. See the heading below for more details.

  6. You will also be able to choose a name for this pay frequency in the field next to Custom name.
  7. Click Save.

How to enable custom names for Pay Frequencies (optional)

  1. Go to Settings > Advanced, and select "General" from the dropdown menu.
  2. Tick the Custom name field for Pay Frequencies box.
  3. Click Save.

How to edit a Pay Frequency

  1. In the left sidebar, click on Settings > Pay Frequencies.
  2. Click on the relevant pay frequency.
  3. Edit the date fields as needed:
    • Last day of period.
    • First payroll period end date.
  4. Click Save.

📌 Quick References

Pay Frequency Settings

Setting Description Notes
Frequency How often employees are paid. Weekly, fortnightly, and monthly options.
Last day of period Last working day employees are paid for. Not the salary payment date.
First payroll period end date End date for your first payroll period. Can be set in the past for historical data.
Custom name Optional. Unique names for pay frequencies. Must be enabled in Advanced settings.

❔ FAQs

Why can't I see Settings > Pay Frequencies?

Only Admins with full access can see Settings > Pay Frequencies. To lift any restrictions, you need to ask an Admin with full access to assist you.

I selected the wrong date when I created my Pay Frequency. What now?

You can change the date only if you have no finalised payslips for this frequency. If you have finalised payslips, unfinalise them first, then change the date. Make sure to download a backup of your existing payslips first.

  1. Go to Settings > Pay Frequencies.
  2. Click on the relevant pay frequency.
  3. Change the Last day of period to the correct date.
  4. Click Save.
Why can't I change the date in my Pay Frequency?

This means that you have finalised payslips for the relevant pay frequency. You'll need to add a new Pay Frequency and assign it to the relevant employees.

Why is there an extra payslip after I've assigned the new Pay Frequency?

When you change an employee's Pay Frequency after payslips have already been finalised, the system automatically creates an extra payslip to account for the gap period between the old and new pay date.

Extra payslip

If an employee moves from being paid up until the 25th of each month, to up until the last day of each month, the system will create an extra payslip to cover the period from the 26th to the last day of the month.

You can handle this in three ways:

  1. Finalise a R 0.00 payslip if no additional payment is needed.
  2. Process the payment for the actual time worked during the gap period, and pay the employee.
  3. Override the payslip end date to the next pay period, which will lengthen the payslip to include the gap period.
Why is my pay date different to the period end date?

This is the date on which you will physically make the payment to employees, and it will be displayed on their payslips.

The options for specifying the payment date depend on your pay frequency:

Monthly pay frequency You can choose from two options by selecting the dropdown next to Pay date type: - "Fixed date" - Choose a specific date when employees get paid, and whether they're paid in the current, previous, or next payslip period. - "Fixed weekday" - Choose a specific weekday when employees get paid, whether it's paid in the current, previous, or next payslip period, and on what day of the month.

Weekly pay frequency You can specify the number of days before or after the payslip end date that the employee gets paid.

Every two weeks You can specify the number of days before or after the payslip end date that the employee gets paid.

/// country | ie Every four weeks You can specify the number of days before or after the payslip end date that the employee gets paid. ///

/// country | sg Twice a month For each of the two payment dates, you can specify: - A fixed date when payment gets made, and whether it's paid in advance, in the payslip month, or in arrears - The number of days before or after the payslip end date that the employee gets paid ///

Payment date settings

The payment date set here applies to all employees assigned to this pay frequency. However, you can change these on an individual basis from the employee's profile or in bulk.

For more information, refer to: - Changing Payslip Dates - Bulk Inputs