If you work in your S Corp, the IRS expects you to pay yourself a reasonable salary, meaning pay in line with what similar businesses pay for similar work. Payroll is how you do that and keep your payroll taxes filed on time. Your payroll dashboard puts everything in one place: your next payroll, your year-to-date totals, and the tools to skip, catch up, or run an extra payroll when you need to.
Payroll is part of the S Corp tier membership. If you're on the LLC tier, payroll isn't included in your plan. This article continues from Payroll Setup Steps at Collective, Part II: Account Approval and Completing Payroll. Once your account is approved and any payroll migration is complete, you're ready to run payroll.
Run payroll
Each pay period, you review and submit payroll for yourself and any employees. Collective Payroll calculates your payroll taxes, files your federal and state payroll tax returns, and deposits pay into your account and your employees' accounts.
- Go to Payroll, then Overview.
- Find the card for your next scheduled payroll. It shows the pay period, the date and time to run payroll by, and your pay day.
- Click Review and run, and check who's being paid and the company total.
- Click Submit payroll to finish.
To change someone's hours, add a bonus, or record sick or PTO hours they took, select them on the review screen to update their pay before you submit. Double-check the total before submitting, since it changes what's actually paid. If a payroll is past its run-by date, it's listed under Late, below your next payroll card, with how many days late it is. Click Run next to it to review and submit it.
Let payroll run automatically
AutoPayroll runs your payroll each pay period so you don't need to review and submit it yourself. It's off by default. To turn it on or off, use the AutoPayroll switch at the bottom of your next payroll card on the Overview page. While it's on, the card shows the date payroll will run. If you leave it off, keep an eye on your pay dates so payroll runs on schedule.
Skip a payroll
If you need to skip paying yourself one time, for example because cash is tight, click Skip this run below Review and run on your next payroll card, then click Yes, skip payroll. Skip this run becomes available once the pay period starts. No money moves for that pay period. Keep skips to the exception, since consistent payroll is the clearest way to show you're paying yourself a reasonable salary.
See your payroll history
Payrolls that still need to run are listed below your next payroll card, under Late (with how many days late they are) and Upcoming (including scheduled off-cycle payrolls). Further down the Overview page, you'll see your year-to-date totals and Payroll activity, a list of your recent payrolls with their amount, dates, and status. Click View all to see every payroll, and open one to see who was paid and how much. Each person's paystubs are on the Payment tab of their details page in My team.
Run an off-cycle payroll
To pay a bonus, fix a payroll mistake, or make a one-time payment outside your regular schedule, click Run off-cycle payroll in the Quick actions card on the Overview page. You'll choose the pay period, payment date, reason (Correction or Bonus), and who to include, and decide whether regular deductions apply. Before you continue, you can review and adjust the tax withholding rates. Your payroll taxes are still calculated for you.
Catch up on missed payroll
If your S Corp election date is earlier than the date you joined Collective, you may need to run catch-up payroll to cover missed months. My compensation shows how far you are from your salary goal for the year and how much catch-up is needed, and Catch up opens an off-cycle payroll so you can pay yourself the difference.
- Catching up several months in one off-cycle payroll creates one paystub for that run. The stub shows the pay period it covers, but the pay date is the date you run it.
- If you need a separate paystub for each missed month, run a separate off-cycle payroll for each one.
- For a large catch-up, review the tax withholding rates on the off-cycle page before you continue, so you don't over-withhold.
Change your pay schedule
In the Quick actions card on the Overview page, click Manage pay schedules and follow the steps. This updates your recurring schedule for all future payrolls. If you only need to adjust a single upcoming payroll, reach out to your Collective team.
Manage your team
My team brings your employees and contractors together, so you can add people, pay contractors, and update anyone's details from one page. For step-by-step help, see How to Pay and Manage Contractors and Employees at Collective.
- Employees: $15 per employee per month. They're included in your regular payroll.
- Contractors: $5 per contractor per month, charged only in months you pay them. Their 1099-NEC forms, which report what you paid them, are generated at year-end.
Update bank accounts
- The business account payroll is funded from: go to Payroll, then My compensation, and click Edit on the Deposit account card. You'll also see this account on the Employer Funding Account card on the Overview page.
- Your personal account, where your paycheck goes: go to Payroll, then My team. Click the three-dot menu on your row, select View details, open the Payment tab, and click Add bank account.
Next steps
For a quick tour of the dashboard, see Your Payroll Dashboard at a Glance. If you have questions specific to your business, reach out to your Collective team. They're here to help.
Does your dashboard look different?
Features and layouts can vary by account and change over time. If something in this article doesn't match what you see, reach out to your Collective team and they'll point you to the right place.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal, financial, or tax advice. It is not intended to be a substitute for obtaining legal, accounting, or other financial advice from an appropriate and/or licensed adviser, or for the purpose of avoiding U.S. Federal, state or local tax payments and penalties.