Payroll Options
Payroll Options is where you set up the rules that govern how your team's pay is calculated — pay period structure, overtime thresholds, base wage rates, captain trainee bonuses, and mileage reimbursement.
These settings are accessed from the Payroll page, not from the Settings menu. If you click Payroll Options in Settings, you will be taken directly to the Payroll page.
To open Payroll Options:
- Navigate to Payroll from the left sidebar.
- Click the gear icon in the toolbar at the top of the Payroll page.
- The Payroll Settings panel slides open on the right side.
Who Can Access This
| Role | Access |
|---|---|
| Administrator | View and edit |
| Office | View and edit |
| HR Admin | View and edit |
| Payroll Admin | View and edit |
| Sales | Not available |
| Technician | Not available |
Pay Period
The Pay Period section controls the basic structure of how payroll weeks and pay runs are defined.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Payroll Week Starts On | The day of the week that begins each payroll period. Select from Sunday through Saturday |
| Pay Period Frequency | How often payroll is processed — Weekly (every 7 days) or Bi-Weekly (every 14 days) |
| Employee Start Time | The default shift start time used when no specific start time is assigned to a team member |
| Rounding Method | How fractional hours are rounded in payroll calculations — see options below |
Rounding Method Options
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Banker's Rounding (default) | Rounds to the nearest even number at the midpoint. Minimizes accumulated rounding bias over time |
| Standard Rounding | Rounds 0.5 and above up, below 0.5 down — the familiar school math method |
| Always Round Up | Always rounds up to the next unit, regardless of the decimal value |
Banker's Rounding is recommended for most companies because it distributes rounding errors evenly across pay periods.
Hours & Overtime
The Hours & Overtime section defines what qualifies as full-time and when overtime applies.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Full-Time Hours (per week) | The number of hours per week required for full-time status. Affects overtime calculations. Default is 40 |
| Daily Overtime | A toggle that enables overtime calculation on a daily basis in addition to weekly overtime |
| Daily Full-Time Hours | (Appears when Daily Overtime is enabled) The number of hours per day before daily overtime kicks in. Default is 8 |
Daily Overtime is an optional feature that may not be enabled for your account. It is commonly required for businesses operating under California labor law. When enabled, overtime is calculated both daily and weekly — the system uses whichever amount is greater. Ask your MaidCentral administrator to enable it under Settings → Integrations & System → Pulse Features if your state requires daily overtime.
Wages & Rates
The Wages & Rates section sets the baseline compensation values applied during payroll.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Trainee Hourly Wage | What trainees earn per hour. A technician whose Team Position on a job is Trainee is paid this wage x their hours on that job, on every scope, instead of their own rates or the pay grid. Their travel time between jobs is paid at this wage too. See Trainee pay |
| Minimum Wage (Per Period) | The minimum total pay a team member must receive per pay period. The system tops up pay to this amount if their job-based earnings fall short |
| Minimum Wage (Per Job) | An hourly floor for each job. If a captain's or team mate's pay for a job works out to less per hour than this rate, that job's pay is raised to this rate x their hours on the job. Trainees and salaried employees are not affected. Set to 0 to turn the per-job floor off |
Captain/Trainee Bonuses
The Captain/Trainee Bonuses section sets the bonus paid to team members who work in a captain (lead) role while supervising a trainee.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Captain Trainee Bonus (%) | A percentage increase applied to the captain's hourly wage while training |
| Captain Trainee Bonus ($) | A flat dollar amount added to the captain's hourly wage while training |
Captains receive either the percentage bonus or the dollar bonus — whichever is greater — but not both at the same time.
Mileage & Expenses
The Mileage & Expenses section sets the per-mile reimbursement rate for team member driving.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Mileage Rate (per mile) | The dollar amount paid per mile driven. The IRS publishes a standard rate annually — update this each year |
Payroll integration settings (such as Inova) are managed separately under Settings → Integrations & System → Integrations.
Advanced
Manage Incentive Pay Models takes you to Payroll → Incentive Pay, where Model Library is where you create and edit incentive pay models and their tiers. See Incentive Pay.
The link leaves Payroll Settings. Click Save Changes first — unsaved settings changes are not kept.
The link is hidden if Incentive Pay is not turned on for your company or you do not have the Payroll Admin add-on.
How to Save Changes
- Make your changes in any section of the Payroll Settings panel.
- Click Save Changes at the bottom of the panel.
- A confirmation message appears when the save is complete.
- Click Reset to discard unsaved changes and revert to the last saved values.
Tips
- Set your payroll week start before processing your first payroll. Changing it mid-year can shift how periods align with previous records.
- Update the mileage rate at the start of each year. The IRS adjusts the standard rate annually — check IRS.gov in January.
- Use per-period minimum wage to protect low-hour team members. If a cleaner works fewer hours due to cancellations, this ensures they still receive a base amount each period.
- Enable Daily Overtime only if your state requires it. It adds complexity to payroll calculations and is generally needed only for California and a small number of other states.
- Banker's Rounding is the safest default. Over hundreds of pay periods, standard rounding can systematically favor either the employer or employee. Banker's Rounding avoids this drift.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | What to Check |
|---|---|
| Cannot find Payroll Options in Settings | Settings → Team & Operations → Payroll Options redirects to the Payroll page. Open the Payroll page and click the gear icon in the toolbar |
| Save Changes button is greyed out | The button is only active when you have unsaved changes. Edit at least one field first |
| Daily Overtime field is not visible | Daily Overtime may not be enabled for your account. Ask your administrator to enable it under Pulse Features |
| Payroll calculations seem off after changing the rounding method | The new rounding method applies to future payroll runs only. Previously processed payroll is not retroactively updated |
| Cannot access Payroll Settings | Only Administrators, Office, HR Admin, and Payroll Admin roles have access to this page |
Related Articles
- Settings Overview — Navigate all Settings categories
- General Settings — Configure attendance rules, schedule settings, and notification preferences
- PTO Policies — Set up paid time off accrual rules for your team