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 turning on Auto Payroll, make sure you meet all of the following requirements:
You've set up dates on your pay schedule (weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly, or monthly). See our help article, "How to Set Up Pay Schedules."
You've run at least one payroll after setting up your pay schedule with dates.
You use checks or standard direct deposit. Auto Payroll isn't available with prefunding, wire, or instant payment options.
Employees in the pay schedule don't 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 runs 5–6 days before the pay date (depending on banking holidays and weekends) to allow for standard 4-day ACH bank processing. For example, in a normal workweek, Auto Payroll runs 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 1 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.Select the pay schedule you want from the Pay Schedule dropdown.
Review the list of previously run payrolls eligible to use as a template.
Click a pay period link to expand it and review the payroll details.
Click Select for the payroll that best reflects your "normal" payroll (same number of employees, total hours, pay amounts, etc.).
To see payroll runs that don't qualify as templates, toggle Show Ineligible Payrolls. Click the arrow next to a run to see which employee and reason made it ineligible.
A previous payroll may be ineligible to use as a template for Auto Payroll for a few reasons:
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.
Check the box to authorize Patriot Software to process and approve future payrolls in this schedule and debit your account for direct deposits.
9. Click, Enable Auto Payroll.
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 disable it, follow the steps below.
💡 The deadline for disabling Auto Payroll is 8:00 p.m. ET the day before the run date. This is typically the day you receive the notification reminder that Auto Payroll is scheduled to run. After that deadline, you'll need to void the payroll if corrections are needed.
Go to Settings > Payroll Settings > Auto Payroll.
Click the name of the Auto Payroll you want to disable.
On the Auto Payroll Settings tab, scroll to the bottom of the page.
In the bottom right corner, click Disable This Auto Payroll.
A confirmation prompt will appear. Authorize the disabling of Auto Payroll, then click Disable This Auto Payroll to confirm.
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.