3 Key Differences Between Semi-Monthly vs Bi-Weekly Payroll

The bridge payment will be paid automatically to affected employees. This will end the confusion surrounding regular pay on one paycheck and overtime on another. This change will result in a clearly defined two-week work period that includes both regular and exception pay. Exception pay includes overtime, vacation time, sick time, etc. When setting up payroll for your small business, one of the things you’ll have to set up is a payroll schedule.

If you want to keep your budget consistent and put the same amount of money into payroll each month, a semi-monthly payment model would be a no-brainer. Just be sure to keep your employees updated on any advanced or delayed payments you will be making and everything will be just fine. Knowing the difference between biweekly vs. semimonthly payroll can prevent financial setbacks, keep your business legally compliant, and more.

Pay schedule differences for hourly employees

A bi-weekly pay period delivers checks to your employees every other week on the same day . A bi-weekly schedule can be a good choice for businesses with a mix of employee types so you can easily keep up with both hourly wages and salary checks. However, it can also introduce a little complexity to your back office. So, an employee may get paid on a Friday and Tuesday that month.

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How Horizons Can Help You Manage Your Global Payroll

You’ll also have different amounts for benefits calculations in some months. However, the extra accounting work for bi-weekly payroll is not significant and might be worth it to maintain employee morale. An exploration into some of the key differences between a bi-weekly and a semi-monthly payroll schedule. The business may consider choosing a provider that allows unlimited payroll runs, regardless of frequency.

Biweekly employees usually receive 26 paychecks per year; semimonthly employees receive 24. Receiving up to two additional paychecks per month compared to a semi-monthly pay schedule is certainly a bonus for employees. For months where additional planning was not put in place, a small business may not have sufficient funds for a three paycheck month compared to a two paycheck month.

What pay periods do different industries use?

Meanwhile, bi-weekly paychecks are rolled out two weeks apart on a particular day of the week, for example, on a Friday. Running semimonthly payroll can also be difficult to track when weekends and holidays come into play. If a pay day falls on a weekend or holiday, you have to decide to either advance or delay payroll for that pay period, which adds another responsibility to your plate. Understanding the difference between biweekly vs. semimonthly payroll can prevent financial setbacks, keep your business legally compliant, and more. However, the example for bi-weekly given (“This magazine is published bi-weekly, on the 1st and 15th of the month.”) is I think incorrect.

It can be on every fifteen days, that is, on the 15th and the last day of the month. A semi-monthly payroll schedule pays employees twice a month, totaling 24 cheques for the whole year. This type of payroll is more suited towards companies who pay their employees a high salary and don’t need to worry about missed days due to bank holidays. Because you must run payroll on a different day of the week, you could lose track of your responsibility.

You don’t pay a cent until we’ve slashed your monthly bills

Compared to a bi-weekly payroll, semi-monthly has significantly fewer pay periods. Which equates to reduced employee paychecks and company savings. A bi-weekly payroll schedule may work better for some businesses than others. It is also possible for employers to change their payday to a different day or change how often they pay their employees. It can be easy to confuse bi-weekly and semi-monthly payroll schedules, however, the key difference between the two lies in how often payment occurs. The biweekly payroll is when the payment is processed every two weeks.

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Since some months have 31 days and others have 30, a semimonthly hourly employee may sometimes receive payment for different number of days. In a biweekly pay period or schedule, the employee is set to receive a paycheck every other week. Usually, the employers distribute pay checks on Fridays sticking to the same day every pay week. Thus, in this pay period, the employee receives 26 pay checks annually.

Either way, the full paycheck will be delayed for many new employees on a semi-monthly payroll cycle. With a bi-weekly payment schedule employees are paid every other week, whereas a semi-monthly payment schedule pays employees twice a month on two specific dates each month. This means employees will be paid twice a month, or 24 times per year rather than 26 times per year. Semi-monthly employees receive a paycheck 24 times a year , whereas bi-weekly employees are paid 26 times in a calendar year . In the most practical terms, that means employees who are paid bi-weekly receive more paychecks than employees who are paid semi-monthly. This is an important consideration for workers who would rather get paid more often.

On ‘Biweekly’ and ‘Bimonthly’

Every paycheck has the same amount of money, making payroll processing much simpler because there are no half period payments to be made. If the time is not properly recorded for hourly workers, it may have an impact on your budget and available funds. You can easily budget when you receive bi-weekly pay because you can predict the payday.

That leaves semi-anything to mean intervals of one-half units. That is the problem though; it doesn’t matter to enough people and the people for whom it does matter are seen as odd, compulsive or arrogant. I get paid semi-monthly, on the 5th and 19th of each month. This magazine is published bi-weekly, on the 1st and 15th of the month.

• She received her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota.
• Companies that use semimonthly pay give employees 24 paychecks per year.
• In these paychecks, there will be no deduction for flexible benefit flat rate premiums.
• You will need to have an additional $15,000 on hand both months that have three paychecks in them.
• Employees who are paid semimonthly always receive two paychecks per month.

Some organizations settle upon a combination of payrolls, using the semimonthly approach for salaried workers and a biweekly payroll for hourly employees. From an efficiency perspective, the main point is to avoid weekly payrolls in favor of either of the methods presented here, thereby cutting the total number of payrolls in half. Payroll is a major expense that you must budget properly. For example, biweekly pay schedules may not work on tight budgets during three-paycheck months.

The number of days in the last half of the month will usually either be 15 or 16. Next, let’s compare the benefits and drawbacks of monthly and semi-monthly pay periods as well as how each of these approaches works. With more than 30 years in the payroll business, we know there’s no single approach that works for everyone. There are advantages and disadvantages to different pay frequencies, and what’s easiest for you may not jive with your employees’ needs. To make sure you make an informed decision, here’s a breakdown of common pay periods, along with the pluses and minuses for each approach. The examples in the blog equated biweekly and semimonthly because that is how they are defined in the dictionary.

Some state laws prescribe payment schedules to employers. However, if the law allows you to choose, you should weigh the pros and cons to see which favors you. While employees will be paid more often, their paychecks will be smaller than on a semi-monthly schedule. It’s pretty simple to calculate an employee’s biweekly pay per hour. They’ll need to start by looking at their pay stub to get their total pay amount.

So, if you paid your employees biweekly, they’d receive their paychecks every other Friday. To calculate biweekly pay for an hourly employee, multiply the number of hours worked in a two-week period by the hourly rate. If employees want to check their hourly rate based on their gross pay, they simply divide the payment amount by the total number of hours worked. Nonexempt staff members will receive their last semi-monthly paycheck on July 29th. The first regular biweekly pay will occur on August 26 (for hours worked during the period of 8/1 through 8/13). The bridge payment will help lessen the impact of not having a regular paycheck during this time.

Getting two additional checks results in extra savings and better management of various expenses. There are some important differences when it comes to semi-monthly vs. biweekly payroll. Let’s first look at the unique attributes and benefits of the biweekly pay schedule. Deciding between biweekly vs. semimonthly payroll can be a difficult decision, especially because federal pay laws state that businesses must keep the same frequency throughout the year. Before choosing, keep in mind that states regulate how often employees must be paid and some states may not allow ceretain pay frequencies.