Get started with 7shifts Payroll
Find links to the resources you need when you first set up 7shifts Payroll, whether you're new to payroll or moving from another provider. It's for Admins, the only user type that can set up and manage 7shifts Payroll.
7shifts Payroll works alongside your scheduling, time clocking, and tip management tools. Each payroll pulls in timesheets and tips, calculates wages and taxes, and generates year-end forms.
Before you begin: 7shifts Payroll is available for U.S. accounts with locations that share the same FEIN and bank account. Only Admins can set up and manage 7shifts Payroll, and only in the web app.
Confirm your account is eligible
Check eligibility before you start setup. 7shifts Payroll doesn't support every business type or industry.
Choose your setup path
Your setup path depends on whether you're moving from another payroll provider. The 7shifts 101: Payroll Setup Guide has a tab for each path with the full steps, so select the one that matches your business.
New to payroll (Inception)
If you have no previous payroll provider, you skip data migration and go straight to the setup steps below.
Moving from another payroll provider (Switcher)
If you're switching providers, you also upload payroll reports from your previous provider and add your terminated employees. Migration typically takes up to 10 to 15 business days, and 7shifts can't guarantee or speed up that timeline, as it is managed in coordination with your previous provider. For your state and federal tax setup, have your Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN), unemployment tax account number, unemployment tax rate, and withholding tax account number ready. 7shifts doesn't provide these details, so contact your accountant or state agency if you don't have them.
- Migrating Payroll Data to 7shifts Payroll: see which year-to-date data transfers from your previous provider.
- What to do if two payroll providers both filed W-2s: read this if both providers filed for the same period.
Important: If you're moving from another payroll provider, don't send onboarding packages to your team before your payroll migration is complete. Packages sent early need to be sent again.
Complete the setup steps
Every 7shifts Payroll account completes company setup before the first payroll run. The setup tasks are your business details, locations, bank account, state and federal tax setup, and team onboarding. The 7shifts 101: Payroll Setup Guide walks through each one, with separate steps for each setup path. Some tasks stay locked until you finish earlier ones.
Important: 7shifts Payroll requires a business checking account, and personal accounts aren't supported. Add only locations that share the same EIN to a single setup. Locations with a different EIN need their own setup, so read 7shifts Payroll: Multi EIN Support first.
To comply with state regulations, grant third party administrator (TPA) access through your state portals. See 7shifts Payroll: Third Party Administrator Access (TPA).
Note: 7shifts Payroll setup happens in more than one place. Here's where to find each task:
- Payroll: complete company, banking, and tax setup.
- Payroll > Locations: manage your payroll locations.
- Payroll > Employees: review each employee's payroll status and send onboarding packages.
- Team > Onboarding: send onboarding packages and track their progress.
Onboard your team
Employee onboarding is included with 7shifts Payroll, and employees can complete it from the 7shifts mobile app. Employees enter their own tax and payment details through their onboarding package, and you can't complete those details for them. Each employee shows a status of Ready for Payroll, Needs Attention, or Blocked for Payroll in Payroll > Employees. Employees who are Blocked for Payroll aren't included in payroll until their missing details are complete. Onboard your own Admin profile too under Payroll > Employees by finding your profile and clicking Start Onboarding.
- 7shifts 101: Employee Onboarding
- Onboarding for Employees: Complete Your Onboarding Package
- Can 7shifts payroll customers upload an employee's onboarding documents for them?
- How to add or update employee direct deposit and 7shifts Payroll details
Understand how payroll taxes work
Read these articles to see how 7shifts calculates and files payroll taxes and what you need to set up on your side.
- How payroll taxes are calculated and filed
- Tax Forms Filed by 7shifts Payroll
- How to Register for State Tax Accounts
Prepare for your first payroll run
Review these articles before you submit your first payroll. New accounts start on a 3-day processing timeline, so plan your first submission around that deadline.
- Run 7shifts Payroll: Checklist for Success
- Run 7shifts Payroll
- 7shifts Payroll Processing Timelines: Submission Deadlines
- Resolving missing employees from 7shifts Payroll
Find more setup help
Have a question while you set up? Chat with 7helps for instant answers to common questions, any time of day. Tell it what you’re trying to do, and if you need more help, an agent will respond as soon as they can. You can also browse the 7shifts Payroll FAQs.
Related articles
7shifts 101: Payroll Setup Guide
7shifts Payroll Eligibility Requirements
Is Employee Onboarding included with 7shifts Payroll?
Can a user that is not an Admin in 7shifts process payroll?
Adding & Removing Admin Users in 7shifts