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:
- Open the client and go to Settings.
- Select the Payroll tab.
- Under Pay Schedule, pick the new Pay Frequency.
- 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.
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.