Pay dates in SmoothPay operate on a period end and a pay day. Understanding the difference is important for accurate payroll processing.
Period end vs pay day
Period end
The last day of the pay period. This is the date that determines which pay period transactions belong to.
Pay day
The date employees are paid. This is usually on or after the period end. Paying employees before the period end is technically possible, but it is best avoided because any changes to hours or leave worked after the pay day may require corrections in the next pay period, due to hours of work and leave changing after the pay day.
⚠️ Pay dates are NOT a from and to date. The beginning of the pay period does not need to be established - it is assumed by each employee's pay cycle setting in their contract.
Using pay dates as a from and to date will create problems.
How pay dates work
Pay dates are intuitive based on when employees were last paid and what their pay cycles are.
Once a regular pattern has been established, the system will offer dates in chronological order of when they occur.
Setting pay dates
Click Pay Dates on the blue navigation bar.
Set the current period end date.
Set the pay day date.
Save the changes.
The system will use these dates for the current pay run and automatically advance them for the next pay period after you process pays.
When to manually adjust pay dates
You may need to manually adjust pay dates when:
Processing an off-cycle pay
Processing a missing pay for a previous period