Employees who are paid semi monthly always receive two paychecks per month. On this schedule, employers pay employees less frequently, and paydays are inconsistent. And determining your pay frequency can impact your business’s financial health. With that in mind, here’s what you need to know to choose a payroll schedule that’s right for your business. This does not happen with a semimonthly payroll, which always happens 24 times per year. Payroll processing for biweekly hourly employees is straightforward; however, processing for semimonthly hourly employees can get confusing.

If you are paid semi-monthly, you will be paid $1,750 per paycheck before taxes (your salary divided by 24 checks per year). If you’re paid bi-weekly, you will receive $1,615.38 per paycheck before taxes (same salary divided by 26 checks). Although your total annual earnings will be $42,000 with either option, this is definitely a factor that is worth noting — especially when you’re creating your monthly budget. A biweekly schedule does require some more attention in order to keep track of when you’re paid, as the pay dates shift. However, the amount that you’re paid won’t vary (assuming you work consistent hours), making keeping track of your hours and overtime easier.

What are the pros and cons of semi-monthly vs bi-weekly pay?

Remember, a semi-monthly payroll requires less processing, as it happens 24 times a year rather than 26 times a year, and so can save the company money. In semi-monthly frequencies, payroll is processed fewer times than biweekly, so employees’ paychecks are larger. Furthermore, biweekly paychecks are smaller, but employees will receive two extra paychecks to make up the difference. Bi-Weekly pay is when employees are paid every other week on a specific day.

This may be on the 1st and 15th or the 15th and 30th of every month. The payday for a semi-monthly pay period happens twice a month on a fixed date. Depending on the company, it could be on the 15th and 30th of each month.

The Advantages of Payroll Every Other Week

Because of this, it’s important to note that there will be some months where you’ll actually be required to issue three paychecks—depending on how the calendar shakes out. Say the pay periods in a month are the 1st through the 15th and the 16th through the last day of the month. Semi-monthly usually means that two payments are made each month. Many people stick with the traditional 1st and 15th but it’s possible to choose other dates if they make more sense for you financially. 1) It’s easier for the average employees to understand the payment schedule. If your employee worked 12 days for the first pay period, and then 13 days for the next period, each paycheck would be for different amounts.

For example, an employee with a fixed salary of $50,000 will earn $1,923.08 on a  bi-weekly basis. Further discussion into some of the advantages and disadvantages of employing a bi-weekly payroll schedule both from an employer’s and an employee’s perspective. If your place of work mainly consists of hourly employees, then operating a bi-weekly payroll will be less of a burden on those who run payroll. As an employee, one of these pay periods isn’t technically better than the other. You won’t make more or get taxed less by choosing one or the other. However, some people do have personal preferences on these pay frequencies.

Differing Pay Periods

This is because it is difficult to calculate overtime and work hours. Also, when payday is on a weekend or holiday, you’ll wait until the next business day to process. With a weekly pay schedule, you can essentially avoid this problem, since most new hires start on a Monday—the beginning of a new pay period. Also, a weekly pay schedule may be able to help with employee engagement and retention.

Depending on the month, payday may happen on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday. Full-time salaried employees are typically paid for 2,080 work hours yearly, and this must https://www.vizaca.com/bookkeeping-for-startups-financial-planning-to-push-your-business/ be delivered to employees regardless of the pay frequency. The difference is that full-time biweekly salaried employees will be paid for 80 hours each payday.

Employees who are paid semi-monthly have specific dates for their payment schedule, such as the 15th and last business day of each month. Therefore, the days are different; an employee may get its paycheck on a Monday and Thursday. A bi-weekly payroll occurs every other week, such as every other Friday. A semi-monthly payroll occurs twice each month on specific dates, such as the 15th and 30th. In February, the end-of-the-month pay date would need to be moved forward for semi-monthly paychecks, in addition to those that fall on a weekend.

This practice can be risky if the employee quits and doesn’t repay the estimated hours. Further, making adjustments can be time-consuming and prone to errors. I will use each of these words in a few example sentences to demonstrate how they should appear in context. Rachel Blakely-Gray is a writer for Patriot Software, a provider of payroll and human resources management solutions for small businesses. Make sure your business gets the most out of payroll performance and stay compliant by keeping track of your payroll performance.

What Is Semi-Monthly Pay and How is it Different from Bi-Weekly?

Whether a business’s employees are salaried or hourly, it will likely make sense for them to choose one pay frequency over the other. For example, it can be more difficult to process the paychecks of hourly employees on a semi-monthly basis than on a bi-weekly basis. Because hourly wages are easier to calculate on a bi-weekly basis, as each paycheck accounts for the same number of days. Conversely, semi-monthly paychecks will vary in the number of days they include, making it more challenging for whoever handles the company’s payroll.