Change a client's pay frequency

This guide covers: change the pay frequency, what happens to existing payrolls, and why the schedule changes the withholding on each check.

Change the pay frequency

What it does: Sets how often the company pays — weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly. The choice drives pay-period dates and how each paycheck's taxes are calculated.

Where: Client → Settings → Payroll tab → Pay Schedule → Pay Frequency.

Steps:

1. Open the client and go to Settings.
2. Select the Payroll tab.
3. Under Pay Schedule, pick the new Pay Frequency.
4. Click Save changes. Because changing the frequency affects future pay periods, you'll get a quick confirmation — choose Yes, change settings.

That's it — the new frequency applies to all future payroll cycles.

Set a custom pay-period start day and pay date

What it does: Controls which day each pay period begins and when the check date lands — so you're not locked to a Monday–Sunday week.

Where: Client → Settings → Payroll tab → Pay Schedule.

Steps:

1. Set Pay Period Start Date to the day your period begins. For weekly, pick any weekday (e.g. a Sunday for Sunday–Saturday weeks); for biweekly, pick the day that starts the two-week cycle. Periods advance automatically from there each cycle — no need to re-enter dates.
2. Set Days Until Payday — the check date is the period end plus this many days. Use 0 to pay on the period-end date itself (for example, a weekly period ending Friday that pays that same Friday).
3. Save. The Current Pay Period preview shows the resulting start, end, and check dates.

(Weekly used to always run Monday–Sunday; you can now start the week on any day.)

Set exact dates for a single run

When you run a payroll, you can also set the Period Start, Period End, and Pay Date directly on the Run Payroll screen for that one run. Enter the period-ending date and the start date and pay date fill in automatically (and vice-versa) — handy for off-cycle runs or companies that pay by hand.

What happens to payrolls you've already run

Changing the frequency only affects future pay periods. Payrolls you've already processed are never modified. The pay-period dates and check dates recalculate on the new schedule from here forward.

Why the schedule changes withholding

Income-tax withholding is figured by annualizing each paycheck — the amount is multiplied by the number of pay periods in a year, the annual brackets and standard deduction are applied, then it's divided back down. The same check amount annualizes very differently by schedule:

• Weekly → ×52
• Biweekly → ×26
• Semimonthly → ×24
• Monthly → ×12

So a $625 check withholds much more federal tax on a weekly schedule (≈$33) than on a biweekly one (≈$0.58) — both correct, because the weekly employee earns twice as much over the year. If you're comparing Payrollix to another system and the numbers differ, check that both are set to the same frequency first.

For the full explanation, see our blog post How Pay Frequency Changes Your Tax Withholding.