Plane is designed to be your single payroll provider for U.S. employees. This article explains what that means and what steps are required if you are transitioning to Plane from another payroll provider within the same calendar year.
One payroll provider at a time
Plane does not support running U.S. payroll alongside another payroll provider. Once you begin processing payroll through Plane, all U.S. employee payroll must be managed exclusively through Plane.
This ensures that tax withholdings, filings, and year-end forms such as Form W-2 are accurate and complete. Running payroll across multiple providers in the same year can result in incorrect tax calculations, duplicate filings, or compliance issues.
There is also a legal reason for this requirement. The IRS only allows one reporting agent to be authorized on an employer's behalf at a time. This authorization is established through Form 8655 (Reporting Agent Authorization), which grants a payroll provider the ability to file returns and make tax deposits on your behalf. When you onboard with Plane, Plane is designated as your reporting agent via Form 8655. Having two reporting agents authorized simultaneously is not permitted by the IRS. Similarly, many states have their own equivalent authorization requirements that also restrict employers to one authorized agent at a time.
ℹ️ Important Information: If you are currently using another payroll provider and plan to switch to Plane, you will need to fully transition — including ensuring the previous provider's reporting agent authorization has been revoked — before running your first payroll on Plane.
Transitioning mid-year
If you switch to Plane partway through the calendar year, your employees' year-to-date (YTD) payroll history from your previous provider must be transferred to Plane. This is required so that:
Tax withholdings for the rest of the year are calculated correctly based on what has already been withheld
Year-end Form W-2 reporting reflects the employee's full earnings and withholdings for the entire year, not just the period processed through Plane
Federal and state payroll tax filings remain accurate and complete
Note: If you are switching to Plane at the start of a new calendar year (January 1 or later), payroll history transfer is typically not required. Reach out to Plane Support to confirm based on your specific situation.
What payroll history information is needed
When transitioning mid-year, you will need to provide year-to-date payroll data for each employee from your previous provider. This typically includes:
Gross wages paid year-to-date
Federal income tax withheld
Social Security and Medicare (FICA) taxes withheld (employee and employer portions)
State and local income tax withheld, where applicable
Other deductions such as retirement contributions, health insurance premiums, or garnishments
Your previous payroll provider should be able to generate a YTD payroll summary report that includes all of this information.
How to transfer your payroll history
Payroll history transfer is handled with the help of the Plane team. To get started:
Export a year-to-date payroll summary from your previous payroll provider for all active employees.
Contact Plane Support or your implementation manager to initiate the transfer process.
Share the YTD payroll data with the Plane team. They will review and upload the historical payroll records into your Plane account.
Once the history has been entered, confirm the figures are accurate before your first payroll run on Plane.
Need help? Our team is here to guide you through every step of the transition. Reach out to us at support@plane.com or use Plane's in-app chat to get started.
Questions?
We're here to help! You can find more of our guides here, reach out to us at support@plane.com, or use Plane's in-app chat.