What is a payroll cutoff?
The payroll cutoff is the last point in a pay period when hours, time off and pay changes can still make it into that payroll. After the cutoff, you review, approve and run payroll. Changes that come in late wait for the next payroll or a correction run.
How to set your payroll cutoff
- Pick a fixed day and time, such as the morning after the pay period ends, and keep it the same every period.
- Leave enough time to review hours and fix problems before payday.
- Tell your crew the cutoff and the deadline for missed-punch fixes and time-off requests.
- Check your state’s rules on how often you must pay and how soon after the period ends.
The pre-payroll checklist
- Close open punches. Find missing clock-outs and fix them with the employee. Our guide to fixing missed punches covers how.
- Approve corrections. Clear every pending missed-punch fix and timesheet correction.
- Review overtime by workweek. Check hours over 40 in each workweek, plus any daily overtime your state requires. See how overtime is calculated.
- Check breaks. Make sure meal breaks were taken and recorded, and that short breaks stayed paid. See our guide to employee break laws.
- Confirm time off. Approve PTO and sick time requests and check the balances.
- Add new hires and changes. Make sure new employees, rate changes and role changes are in before you run payroll.
- Handle final pay. If someone left, check your state’s deadline for the final paycheck. Some states require it right away or by the next payday.
- Compare schedule and actual hours. Big gaps usually point to a punch problem, sometimes buddy punching. Approved hours are also the base for your labor cost.
- Approve and export. Lock the approved hours and send them to payroll.
When something changes after the cutoff
If a correction arrives after you run payroll, fix it promptly, either on the next regular payroll or in a separate correction run, and keep a note of what changed. Some states set deadlines for paying wages that were missed, so don’t let corrections sit.
How PunchOutPayroll helps
PunchOutPayroll puts every person’s week, with overtime, breaks, PTO and sick time, on one screen. Before you close the period, a readiness check flags things like missing clock-outs. When everything looks right, you approve the hours and export a payroll-ready file. See payroll-ready hours. You run payroll. See payroll for owner-run businesses or start a 14-day trial.