Pay Cycles and Periods

This section covers the timing vocabulary that shapes payroll operations: pay periods, pay frequencies, approval cutoffs, and the gap between work dates and pay dates.

Use it when the main question is when payroll happens, which dates belong in a run, and how the cycle affects earnings and deductions.

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• Pay Frequency explains how often payroll repeats for a given employee group.
• Pay Period explains which span of work belongs in one payroll run.
• Pay Date explains when employees should actually receive payment.
• Payroll Cutoff explains when changes stop flowing into the current run.
• Payroll Calendar explains how payroll teams connect all of those dates into one operating schedule.

Schedule Patterns

• Weekly Payroll explains a regular once-a-week payroll cadence.
• Biweekly Payroll explains the common every-two-weeks payroll schedule.
• Semi-Monthly Payroll explains twice-a-month payroll tied to calendar dates.
• Monthly Payroll explains a once-a-month payroll schedule.

Exceptions and Timing Edge Cases

• Off-Cycle Payroll explains extra payroll runs outside the normal cadence.
• Partial Pay Period explains payroll treatment when the employee is active for only part of the normal cycle.

In this section

• Biweekly Payroll
  What biweekly payroll means, how it works in payroll operations, and how it differs from weekly and semi-monthly payroll.
• Monthly Payroll
  What monthly payroll means, how it affects payroll timing, and how it differs from more frequent payroll schedules.
• Off-Cycle Payroll
  What off-cycle payroll means, why employers run it, and how it differs from a regular payroll schedule.
• Partial Pay Period
  What a partial pay period means, when it happens in payroll, and why shorter active-period pay often needs closer review.
• Pay Date
  Date payroll payment is issued, distinct from the work period being paid and the deadlines that happen earlier in the run.
• Pay Frequency
  Recurring payroll cadence that determines how often a group is paid and shapes the rest of the payroll schedule.
• Pay Period
  Span of time whose earnings belong in one payroll run, separate from the pay date and other scheduling deadlines.
• Payroll Calendar
  Detailed schedule of pay periods, cutoffs, approvals, and pay dates that turns a payroll frequency into an operating plan.
• Payroll Cutoff
  Deadline after which ordinary time, pay, and deduction changes stop flowing into the current payroll run.
• Semi-Monthly Payroll
  What semi-monthly payroll means, how it works in payroll timing, and how it differs from biweekly payroll.
• Weekly Payroll
  What weekly payroll means, how it affects payroll timing, and why it differs from other pay frequency choices.