How to Configure Payroll Cycles
Set the pay period length (weekly, fortnightly, four weekly, monthly, or twice a month), week start day, and cycle anchoring used by Pay Rates and payroll processing
What This Feature Does
The payroll cycle determines how long each pay period is. The Pay Rates page navigates period by period, and payroll processing evaluates weekly overtime, weekly allowances, and fortnightly allowances against the configured cycle. Payroll cycles are configured under Settings → Billing & Payments → Payroll Settings.
Key Concepts
Week Start Day
The day your payroll week begins (e.g. Monday). Every cycle type buckets hours into payroll weeks on this grid — weekly overtime thresholds, weekly allowances, and fortnightly allowances all count hours week by week starting on this day.
Cycle Types
| Cycle | Pay period | Configuration |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly | One payroll week | Optional fortnight anchor date (see below) |
| Fortnightly | 14 days, aligned to whole weeks | Anchor date (required) |
| Four Weekly | 28 days, aligned to whole weeks | Anchor date (required) |
| Monthly | One calendar month, from a chosen day of the month | Start day of month (1-31) |
| Twice a Month | Two periods per month (13-16 days) | Start day of month (1-13) |
Anchor Date (Fortnightly and Four Weekly)
Fortnightly and four weekly cycles need an anchor date that fixes when a cycle begins: a new period starts on the anchor date and every 14 (or 28) days before and after it. The anchor must fall on your week start day so pay cycles align with payroll weeks — the date picker only allows dates on that weekday.
Fortnight Anchor Date on Weekly Cycles (Optional)
A weekly cycle can optionally carry a Fortnight Anchor Date. It never changes the pay period (still one week) — it only fixes the 14-day grid that fortnightly allowance rules alternate on, so a fortnightly allowance applies every other week across week-by-week processing runs. Leave it empty if you don't use fortnightly allowances. See Allowance Rules for the full behaviour.
Start Day of Month (Monthly and Twice a Month)
Monthly and twice-a-month cycles follow calendar dates instead of the week grid:
- Monthly: each pay period runs from the chosen start day to the day before that day in the next month. Start day 1 covers the full calendar month (e.g. June 1 - June 30). Start days past a short month's end are moved back to its last day (day 31 becomes February 28/29, April 30, and so on).
- Twice a Month: two pay periods per month — one starting on the chosen day and one starting 15 days later. Start day 1 gives the classic 1st-15th and 16th-end split. The start day is capped at 13 so the second boundary exists in every month, February included.
These cycles need no anchor date. Fortnightly allowance rules on them follow an automatic 14-day pattern on the account's week grid that stays continuous across pay period boundaries — it never resets when a new period starts (details in Allowance Rules).
Mid-Week Boundaries and Partial Weeks
Monthly and twice-a-month boundaries can fall on any weekday, so a payroll week can straddle two pay periods. When that happens:
- The Pay Rates Summary view shows partial weeks at the start and end of the period — only the days that belong to the period.
- Weekly overtime does not reset at the boundary. Hours already processed in the earlier period's part of the week carry into the later period's part, so a worker who crosses a weekly overtime threshold mid-week is paid correctly no matter where the month boundary lands.
- Weekly allowances apply once per payroll week, even when the week is split across two processing runs.
How to Configure the Payroll Cycle
- Go to Settings → Billing & Payments → Payroll Settings
- Select the Week Start Day for your payroll weeks
- Under Payroll Cycle, choose the cycle type
- Depending on the cycle:
- Fortnightly / Four Weekly: pick the Cycle Anchor Date (must fall on your week start day)
- Weekly: optionally pick a Fortnight Anchor Date if you use fortnightly allowances
- Monthly / Twice a Month: choose the Start Day of Month
- Click Save Payroll Settings
Changing the cycle takes effect immediately: the Pay Rates page navigates using the new period boundaries the next time it loads.
Examples
Standard Weekly Payroll
- Week Start Day: Monday
- Payroll Cycle: Weekly
- Each pay period is one Monday-to-Sunday week.
Fortnightly Payroll Anchored to a Known Pay Week
- Week Start Day: Monday
- Payroll Cycle: Fortnightly, anchor date Monday June 15
- Pay periods run June 15-28, June 29 - July 12, and so on (and backwards before the anchor).
Calendar-Month Payroll
- Payroll Cycle: Monthly, start day 1
- Pay periods are June 1-30, July 1-31, and so on. Weekly overtime still buckets Monday-Sunday (or your chosen week start), including across the mid-week month boundary.
US-Style Semi-Monthly Payroll
- Payroll Cycle: Twice a Month, start day 1
- Pay periods are the 1st-15th and the 16th-end of each month.
Tips
- Pick the week start day first: anchored cycles validate the anchor against it, and all weekly calculations follow it.
- Fortnightly allowances on weekly cycles need the fortnight anchor: without it, the engine falls back to a trailing-fortnight approximation that does not alternate reliably week to week.
- Monthly and twice-a-month cycles are zero-config for fortnightly allowances: the 14-day pattern comes from the pay period's start automatically.
What's Next
- Understand how fortnightly allowances follow the cycle in Allowance Rules
- Walk through the end-to-end workflow in the Payroll Processing Guide
- Set up Public Holiday Calendars in the same settings area