Available to Basic Payroll, Full Service Payroll
You may want to consider using Auto Payroll if your company pays W-2 salaried employees or pays W-2 hourly employees the same amount each pay period.
Auto Payroll is not available for 1099 Contractor payments.
With Auto Payroll, you can select a previously run regular payroll and use it as a template to automatically process future payrolls.
Requirements for Setting Up Auto Payroll
Before you can turn on Auto Payroll, make sure you meet all of the following requirements:
You’ve set up dates on your pay schedule. See our help article, “How to Set Up Pay Schedules.”
Your schedule can be weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly, or monthly.
You’ve run at least one payroll after you set up your pay schedule with dates.
You use checks or standard direct deposit.
Auto Payroll isn’t available if you’re using prefunding, wire, or instant payment options.
Employees (in the pay schedule) do not use a time card with Patriot’s Time & Attendance software.
Direct Deposit with Auto Payroll
⚠️ Important: Expedited direct deposit timing will not be used for Auto Payroll. If you have expedited direct deposit timing you can still use it for off-cycle payrolls.
Auto Payroll will run 5–6 days before the pay date (depending on banking holidays and weekends) to allow for standard 4-day ACH bank processing. Example: During a normal workweek, Auto Payroll will run on Monday for a Friday pay date.
Direct deposit collections are pulled 4 banking days before the pay date.
Tax collections (for Full Service Payroll) are pulled one banking day before the pay date.
How to Set Up Auto Payroll
💡 The person who sets up Auto Payroll is the Auto Payroll Administrator and will receive all email notifications about Auto Payroll. See “Auto Payroll Email Notifications & Enrollment” for more info.
Step 1: Select a Payroll Template
Go to Settings > Payroll Settings > Auto Payroll.
If this is your first time setting up Auto Payroll, click the Get Started button, otherwise, click +Add Auto Payroll to set up subsequent auto payrolls.
Select the desired Pay Schedule in the Pay Schedule dropdown.
You’ll see a list of previously run payrolls that are eligible to use as a template.
Click the pay period link to expand and review payroll details.
Click the Select link for the payroll that reflects your “normal” payroll (e.g., same number of employees, total hours, pay amounts, etc.).
You can toggle the "Show Ineligible Payrolls" to view payroll runs that are not eligible for creating an Auto Payroll template and the reason it is not eligible. Click the arrow to expand the reason and employee that made the payroll run ineligible for payroll.
A few circumstances will make a previous payroll in a pay schedule ineligible to use as a template for Auto Payroll.
Paying a contractor within your employee pay schedule within your payroll run
An employee one-time hourly rate change
Paying with a wire or instant payment (Only traditional direct deposit and paper/printed checks are eligible.)
Using pre-fund direct deposit (Only traditional direct deposit and paper/printed checks are eligible.)
One or more employees weren’t paid
A previously paid employee in the pay schedule is no longer active
Adding a new employee to the pay schedule since the payroll was run
An employee deleted payroll information for direct deposit
Review the AutoPay timeline and details
Reminder: Expedited direct deposit is not available with Auto Payroll. Payroll will be processed 5–6 days before the pay date.
Authorize Patriot Software to process and approve future payrolls in this schedule and debit my account for direct deposits by clicking the check box.
9. Click, Enable Auto Payroll as a final step to confirm you acknowledge the terms and conditions. see our help article Events That Automatically Disable Auto Payroll.
You can return to the Auto Payroll Settings page at any time to view:
Auto Payroll Pay Schedule
Pay Frequency
Next Scheduled Payroll Run
Next Scheduled Pay Date
Employee Count
Disabled auto payroll templates with details of what made it ineligible and the user who was notified at the time of the change.
How to Disable Auto Payroll
If you have set up Auto Payroll, and need to make a change, can disable your Auto Payroll.
💡The deadline for disabling Auto Payroll is before 8:00 p.m., ET the day before the run date. Typically this is the day you get the notification reminder auto payroll is scheduled to run, After that time, you will need to void the payroll if corrections are needed.
Go to Settings > Payroll Settings > Auto Payroll
Click the name of the pay schedule you want to disable.
Click Disable this Auto Payroll.
Also read our help article,”Events That Automatically Disable Auto Payroll ,” to read about the company and employee changes that will disable your auto payroll.
Auto Payroll Email Notifications & Enrollment
The administrator who set up Auto Payroll will automatically be signed up to receive email notifications, although anyone who has access to payroll can sign up for email notifications.
At this time, Auto Payroll notifications cannot be turned off or unsubscribed from.
If the person who originally set up Auto Payroll is no longer with the company, you can disable Auto Payroll and set it up again under a different user.
Auto Payroll email notifications will be sent for:
Reminder notifications the day before the Auto Payroll payroll run.
Status change notifications that disable Auto Payroll. See our help article, “Events That Automatically Disable Auto Payroll,” for more information.
How to Sign Up to Receive Auto Pay Notifications
Users who want to receive notifications must add their email address on the auto payroll settings.
Go to Settings > Payroll Settings > Auto Payroll
Select the name of the Auto Payroll you want notifications for
Slide down to the Notifications section
Click the box that reads Add me as an Auto Payroll Administrator and subscribe me to these Auto Payroll emails.
💡 This checkbox only appears for users who did not originally set up Auto Payroll.
Click Save.