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How to schedule a payment

Schedule one-time and recurring payroll for contractors.

Updated today

Customers can schedule one-time or recurring payroll for contractors, and customize the payment details according to your needs.

One-time payments

To schedule a one-time payment to one or more contractors:

  1. Under the Payments menu, go to Pay contractors tab.

  2. Select your Payment date at the top of the page.

  3. In the upper right-hand corner, under Payment period (optional), click "Select" if you would like to specify the pay period for the payment. You can choose a suggested date range or click "Other" to choose a custom date range.

  4. Click the name(s) of the contractor(s) whom you’d like to pay and enter the payment amounts for each of them. To use the exact same amount you previously used, click the "Use last payment of [amount]" option.

    💡 Please note: If the contractor has submitted a payment request, you can also click their request to the right of their name to review and pay the requested amount. If they submitted multiple requests, click on "[number] requests available" to the right of their name to review and pay each of the requests. Then follow the steps below.

  5. Click the "Continue with payment to [number] contractors" button.

  6. Review the payment date and pay period to confirm that they are accurate.

  7. Select the payment authorization checkbox.

  8. Click the "Send payment to [number] contractors" button. To view your payment details or cancel the payment, go to Payroll history.

How can I add a bonus or reimbursement?

When scheduling a one-time payment in the Pay contractors tab, click "Add other earnings" and choose "Reimbursement," "Bonus," or "Other."

Can I add a note so a contractor knows what I'm paying them for?

Yes, you can add a memo or an invoice number by clicking on "Note" when scheduling a one-time payment in the Pay contractors tab. The note will show up on the contractor's bank statement, if possible.

Recurring payroll

If you want a payment to automatically repeat, you can set up a payroll. Remember that no matter how many payments Plane processes for a given contractor in a month, you always pay the same price. You can set up multiple payrolls and have many options for editing your schedules.

💡 Please note: Payroll supports compensation based on hours, weeks, months, or years. Contractors with “per other” wage type cannot be added to the payroll.

To set up a new pay schedule:

  1. Under the Payroll menu, go to the Settings tab.

  2. All of your existing pay schedules (if you have any), and any contractors assigned to them, are listed in the Pay schedules section. Click "Add new pay schedule" in the upper right-hand corner to create a new schedule.

  3. In the Pay frequency dropdown menu, select how often you would like contractors to be paid.

  4. Depending on the pay frequency, specify when you would like the payment to occur (e.g. which day of the month, day of the week, etc.).

  5. Choose the first pay date for this payroll.

  6. In the For work done dropdown menu, choose the dates of work that the first payroll will apply to. For future payroll under this pay schedule, the pay period that the work applies to will follow the same logic.

  7. Optionally add a pay schedule name.

  8. Choose the approval settings

    1. Manual: Draft payroll needs to be manually approved before the payroll deadline.

    2. Auto-approve: Draft payroll will be automatically approved and transitioned to Pending status.

  9. Click "Add pay schedule."

  10. For instructions on how to add contractors to a pay schedule, please see the section below called To add one or more contractors to a pay schedule.

To view or edit your existing pay schedule:

  1. Under the Payroll menu, go to the Settings tab.

  2. All of your existing pay schedules, and any contractors assigned to them, are listed in the Pay schedules section.

  3. To edit a pay schedule, click the three dots to the right of a pay schedule and select "Edit."

  4. You will have option to edit the pay schedule name and the approval settings.

  5. Click "Save."

  6. To view details about a pay schedule, click the arrow to the right of the schedule. You can view the pay frequency and contractors assigned to that schedule. From the details screen, you can click ‘Edit’ if you would like to make changes to the pay schedule.

To add contractors to a payroll:

  1. Under the People menu, go the Team tab.

  2. Search the contractor name you'd like to add to payroll and click on their profile.

  3. Click 'Add to payroll' on the right side.

  4. Select the pay schedule and set up the first pay date.

  5. Once done, click 'Update' to confirm.

To delete a pay schedule:

  1. Under the Payroll menu, go to the Settings tab.

  2. All of your existing pay schedules, and any contractors assigned to them, are listed in the Pay schedules section.

  3. To edit a pay schedule, click the three dots to the right of a pay schedule and select "Delete."

  4. Click "Yes, delete pay schedule" to confirm that you’d like to delete the schedule.

  5. To assign a new pay schedule to any contractors that were previously assigned to your deleted schedule, please follow the steps above in the section called To add one or more contractors to a pay schedule.

To remove a contractor from a pay schedule

  1. Under the People menu, go the Team tab.

  2. Search the contractor name you'd like to add to payroll and click on their profile.

  3. Click 'Remove from payroll' on the right side.

  4. Select when payroll should discontinue.

  5. Once done, click 'Save' to confirm.

Can I add a one-time reimbursement to a recurring payroll?

  • Option 1: You can add a one-time reimbursement to the upcoming payroll before the approval deadline when the payroll is in the Draft or Pending stage. Watch this video to see how:

  • Option 2: Since you don’t get charged extra for each payment, you can run a separate off-cycle payment with just the increase in pay for that month (e.g. a bonus or reimbursement). To do this, go to the Pay contractors tab, pick the payment date, and schedule a payment for the amount that you want to pay as a bonus or reimbursement

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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.


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