An Employer’s Guide to Creating Pay Stubs for Employees

Your employees will thank you for providing them with pay stubs. Read on to discover the complete guide to creating pay stubs for employees here.

Are you looking for ways to build a new template for your pay stub? Maybe this is your first time having to create pay stubs for employees.

If you’re a new business that’s paying its staff for the first time, then you’re probably wondering how to generate an accurate pay stub. What details do you need to include in it? How can you create a pay stub from thin air?

Luckily, the process isn’t as difficult as you might think. See below for an in-depth guide on how to make pay stubs for employees that you can use years into the future.

1. Find the Right Template

If you’ve never created a pay stub before, then your first question might be how you generate one from nothing. How can you build a structured pay stub without a design team and limited resources?

Fortunately, you can find thousands of different pay stub templates online. In fact, you can use a fake pay stub template to build the layout that you’ll use as your business grows.

However, you shouldn’t just take the first template that you find. Be sure the pay stub layout that you use is reflective of your brand. It needs to be easy for your employees to read and list all the benefits, deductions, and so on in greater detail.

Remember, a pay stub is used to show your employees that every cent of their pay is accounted for in some way. Be sure to provide a detailed description of where their money is being allocated for both their records, as well as your company’s.

2. Fill Out the Individual’s Information

First things first, start out by filling out the information that’s specific to the employee you’re making the pay stub for.

Enter their full name at the top, as well as their social security number, wherever your template has that information placed. You’ll also want to include things like their contact information, the pay period date, and when the paycheck was signed by you.

Be sure to remember that, to protect your employee’s privacy, you’ll want to only display the last four digits of their social security number. The first five digits can be represented with an “X”. So, as an example, it would appear as “XXX-XX-0000”.

Next, be sure to include the rate that they’re being paid, as well as the rate they received for any overtime they accrued.

Directly underneath that (or somewhere near it) should be the number of hours they worked. Make sure that you divvy up how many regular hours and overtime hours that they worked during that pay period.

3. Enter Employer Information

Now that you’ve listed specifics on things such as the employee’s contact information and rate of pay, it’s time to list employer information. This will help the employee keep a record of their pay stubs.

Start by entering vital information to yourself such as the company’s name, address, state of operations, and anything else you might want to include.

Also, be sure to place your name and title below the signature line at the bottom of the pay stub. Before moving on to the next step, make sure the employee and employer information is spread out and easy to read. If not, make adjustments as needed.

You might also consider placing your company’s logo atop the pay stub. It will make the payment stub seem more legitimate and official, adding a nice touch to your company’s brand.

4. Include Deductions

Perhaps the biggest reason that employees will keep a record of their pay stubs is to see how each cent is being distributed to different deductions. That way, they can dictate things like health benefits, filing for next year’s taxes, etc.

Be sure to list all the deductions that apply. Things like federal income taxes, insurance, medicare, social security, state taxes, disability, life insurance, 401k, health savings accounts (HSAs), flexible spending accounts (FSAs), and so on.

Make sure to list the exact amount that’s being withdrawn from their pay for these deductions. After all the money has been accounted for, make sure the math adds up before moving on to the next step.

One thing to remember, you want to make sure all your calculations are 100-percent correct. Many owners invest in a personal bookkeeper or hire an in-house accountant to keep track.

Failing to deduct the appropriate amounts from your employee’s pay will result in hefty fines, many of which your company might never recover from.

5. Year-to-Date Cumulations

Now that you’ve included all the specifics on your employee’s specific deductions, it’s time to add up what they’ve accumulated this year thus far.

Create a separate section of the pay stub (while remaining on the same page) for year-to-date cumulations.

These will prevent the employee from having to do calculations on their year-to-date deductions. It will also help them keep track of what they’ve made in take-home pay thus far.

After this step is complete, you can save the file and either print them out or save them in your employee’s personal online portal (if applicable).

Create Helpful Pay Stubs for Employees Today

Now that you’ve seen how to make helpful pay stubs for employees, it’s time for you to do the inaugural process!

The first time is the most time-consuming. After that, you’ll find it easier and easier to perform with each passing pay period.

Be sure to browse our website for more articles on pay stubs, as well as many other helpful topics!