A pay group is a set of employees who are paid on the same schedule and under the same payroll rules, such as weekly hourly staff or semi-monthly salaried staff. Getting groups right keeps pay dates, overtime and state rules straight.
| Pay group | Who | Frequency | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly weekly | Warehouse staff | Weekly | Many hours and overtime; workers prefer weekly pay |
| Hourly biweekly | Store staff | Biweekly | Aligns with two full workweeks |
| Salaried semi-monthly | Office and managers | Semi-monthly | Fixed pay, simple to divide |
| State-specific | Employees in a state with its own rules | As that state requires | Pay frequency and timing laws |
For hourly staff, a semi-monthly schedule splits workweeks across periods, which makes overtime harder to track. See pay period types.
To total hours with breaks and overtime, use our time card calculator.
A home services company pays all 50 technicians biweekly from one pay group. It opens a branch in a second state and hires 12 technicians there.
Payroll checks the second state’s rules on pay frequency, timing and final pay, and sets up a separate pay group for that branch, with its own state tax setup and the same biweekly schedule, which meets the new state’s rules. Timesheet approval deadlines stay the same for both, so managers have one routine.
When a technician transfers from the first branch to the second in June, payroll ends his time in the old group at a period boundary and starts him in the new group the next period, so no hours are paid twice or missed.
Every extra pay group adds deadlines, reports and room for mistakes. Before creating a new one, ask whether an existing group can meet the rules for the new employees. Groups are usually needed when the pay frequency must differ, when a state’s rules require it, or when a separate legal entity runs its own payroll.
Write down each group’s calendar and the managers whose approvals feed it. When two groups share a pay date but have different approval deadlines, managers who supervise both need a clear reminder, or one group’s timesheets will be late.
A restaurant’s hourly kitchen staff are paid biweekly and its salaried managers semi-monthly. A cook is promoted to salaried kitchen manager effective the 16th of the month.
Payroll pays her final hourly period through the 15th on the biweekly schedule, including any overtime, and starts her salary in the semi-monthly group from the 16th. She gets a written note with both dates, so a slightly unusual pay timing that month does not look like an error.
A set of employees paid on the same schedule with the same payroll settings, such as frequency, period dates and pay date.
Different frequencies for hourly and salaried staff, different state rules, or different legal entities.
Yes, if the schedule suits both and state rules allow it, but many employers separate them.
Close their time in the old group at a period boundary and start them in the new group the next period.
As few as possible. Many have one or two, and add a group only when frequency, state rules or a separate entity requires it.
Not always. Groups can share a pay date while using different period dates or approval deadlines.
Approved hours, breaks and missed-punch corrections come together in signed reports, ready to export to PDF or Excel.