Q: I overpaid an employee. Can I reverse the payment?
A: If you need to reverse an ACH payroll payment, contact support as soon as possible so we can help.
Reversals must be submitted within five banking days after the funds have settled—after that, they can’t be processed.
📌 Reversals are only allowed in these cases:
Duplicate payment
Incorrect payment amount
Incorrect recipient or account number
A final paycheck was already issued by check, but the ACH payment still went through, resulting in a duplicate payment
Keep in mind that partial amount reversals are not allowed.
Q: I underpaid an employee. How can I fix this?
A: You can run an off-cycle payroll to pay the difference. If you need help or the situation is more complex, contact support for guidance.
Q: What happens if an employee enters incorrect bank information?
A: If an employee enters the wrong bank account information during setup, their direct deposit may fail. Best practice is to encourage employees to use Plaid during bank setup to reduce errors and prevent failed payments.
Here’s what to expect:
If the employee connects their account using Plaid, validation happens right away, reducing the chances of errors.
If they manually enter their account details, issues may not be caught until after payroll is processed. In some cases, payment failure notifications can take up to three banking days to appear after payday.
How to handle failed payments:
Have the employee update their bank details as soon as possible.
Once the info is corrected, you can either:
Retry the direct deposit in the system.
Pay the employee using another method (e.g., paper check, cash, Venmo, etc.).
If you pay the employee manually:
You can request a refund of the original failed direct deposit amount through our Support team or your Workstream point of contact. Refunds typically take 1–2 banking days to process.
Q: Can I pay an employee earlier than usual?
A: It’s best to keep your regular pay schedule, but if you need to pay an employee early for a one-time situation, you can do that by running an off-cycle payroll.
Here’s how it works: Keep the pay period the same, but change the pay date to when you want the employee to get paid.
For example, if the pay period is January 1–15 and the normal payday is January 15, but you need to pay an employee on January 10, you would:
Keep the pay period January 1–15
Change the pay date to January 10
Approve payroll with this new timeline in mind
⚠️ For hourly employees: If you’re paying them early, estimate their hours as accurately as possible.
Q: Can salaried employees be paid through Workstream Payroll?
A: Yes! You can pay salaried employees in a couple of ways:
Through T&A import – Just include their hours in a column labeled "Salaried Hours". As a best practice, enter standard hours based on the pay frequency for salaried earnings:
Weekly: 40
Bi-weekly: 80
Semimonthly 86.67
Monthly 173.33
Quarterly: 520
Annually: 2080
Manually in the payroll draft – You can enter their hours and details directly before processing payroll
Q: How much does it cost to print or mail paper checks?
A: If you want to print physical checks on-site and distribute them yourself, the only cost is purchasing the correct check stock. You can buy the required paper here: Shop Deluxe Checks.
If you prefer to have checks printed, packaged, and mailed, our partner Checkeeper offers this service for $14.99/month + $1.25 per mailed check.
Q: Can I pay employees through Automated Clearing House (ACH)?
A: Yes! ACH payments allow you to transfer money electronically between banks. This is commonly used for direct deposit, so you can pay employees securely and on time without needing paper checks.
Q: Can I pay employees using paycards, and how does it work?
A: Yes, you can pay employees using paycards, which work like a bank account with their own routing and account numbers. Employees will need to enter this information during payroll onboarding to receive direct deposits.
We partner with Instant, a paycard provider, and while we’re working on an integration, employees currently need to sign up directly with Instant. Once they receive a paycard, they must update their payroll payment method with their new routing and account numbers.
There is no additional cost to the employer or employee for using Instant paycards, though transaction fees may be higher since Instant functions as a bank.
Q: How do I set up a garnishment?
A: If you receive a garnishment notice for an employee, you’ll need to add the deduction to their profile. The notice will tell you how much to withhold—either as a flat dollar amount or a percentage of their earnings. When setting up the deduction, be sure to include all relevant details about the agency.