> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://every.help/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

> ## Agent Instructions
> These docs describe Every as customers have it today. Answer from them, and say so when they don't cover a question.
> Pages under /admins/ are for the people who run Every for the company, and pages under /employees/ are for employees. Answer from the pages that match the person asking.
> Each page's Agent reference section lists its exact roles, conditions and limits. Prefer it for those details.
> When a page says a feature is in closed beta, or that Every turns it on company by company, don't promise that the person's company has it.
> Use roles and on-screen labels exactly as the pages write them.
> When someone asks what a term means, answer with the Glossary page's definition (/glossary), which other pages show in parentheses after the term.
> When the docs don't answer a question, tell the person to email [support@every.io](mailto:support@every.io).

# Add your employees

> Set up payroll, choose the account that funds it, then add your employees and contractors

![The Payroll, HR & Benefits panel on Payroll before setup, with its checked list and a People window.](https://mintcdn.com/every-a2724ddc/k5maP8xPODHl5ToY/images/illustrations/admins-getting-started-add-your-employees-light.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=k5maP8xPODHl5ToY\&q=85\&s=62e01b455d9db0d6ef91e0ff8da6da28)

You add employees and contractors from **People**, which appears in the sidebar once your company's account is approved and payroll is set up. Start payroll setup from **Payroll** in the sidebar, or from **Setup payroll** on **Home**. Company Admins and HR Admins can do each step, though an HR Admin role alone can't save the account that funds payroll.

## Before you begin

* Your company's account is approved (see [Open a bank account](https://every.help/admins/getting-started/open-a-bank-account.md)). Until it is, the button on **Payroll** reads **Get started after account approved**, and you can't select it.
* You're a Company Admin or HR Admin. Without one of those roles, you don't see **Payroll** or **People** in the sidebar.

![Payroll before setup, with the Payroll, HR & Benefits panel and its Get started button.](https://mintcdn.com/every-a2724ddc/qvvudeZxc26V6Klz/images/screens/admins-getting-started-add-your-employees-get-started-light.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=qvvudeZxc26V6Klz\&q=85\&s=7b75b5818208abf14f13d4c97d2987a6)

## Set up payroll

**1. Start payroll setup**

On **Payroll**, select **Get started**. You can also start from **Home**: under **Setup payroll**, select **Setup payroll schedule**. **Setup payroll** appears under **Things to do** once your company has an EIN (Employer Identification Number: the 9-digit number the IRS gives a business to identify it for taxes) on file.

**2. Answer the payroll history question**

On **Payroll history**, say whether you've paid employees this calendar year through another payroll provider.

**3. Choose the previous provider**

If you chose **Yes** on **Payroll history**, select your previous provider.

**4. Add Every to the previous provider**

If you chose **Yes** on **Payroll history**, add [tax@every.io](mailto:tax@every.io) as an administrator in that provider's account.

**5. Add your work locations**

On **Work locations**, select **Add location** for each U.S. office where you have employees. If you don't have an office yet, you can use your home address. You need at least one location to continue.

**6. Name the pay schedule**

On **Pay schedule**, name the schedule.

**7. Choose the pay frequency**

On **Pay schedule**, choose how often your employees are paid.

**8. Choose the monthly payday**

For **Monthly**, choose the day of the month if the question appears.

**9. Choose the first payday**

On **Pay schedule**, if asked, choose the first payday.

**10. Choose the first pay period**

On **Pay schedule**, if asked, choose the first pay period (The dates an employee's pay covers, such as two weeks or a calendar month).

**11. Sign the reporting agent form**

On **Sign documents**, in the Reporting Agent Authorization Form (Form 8655), enter your full name in **Signature**.

**12. Agree to the reporting agent form**

On **Sign documents**, select the Reporting Agent Authorization Form's checkbox to agree to its terms.

**13. Sign the direct deposit form**

On **Sign documents**, in the Company Direct Deposit Authorization Form, enter your full name in **Signature**.

**14. Agree to the direct deposit form**

On **Sign documents**, select the Company Direct Deposit Authorization Form's checkbox to agree to its terms.

**15. Certify your authority**

On **Sign documents**, select the checkbox under **Authorized Signatory** to certify that you can bind your company.

**16. Review the pricing**

If you see **Confirm**, review **Payroll pricing** and the **Payment method**. If you don't see this step, your payroll plan is already set up.

**17. Confirm the subscription**

If you see **Confirm**, select **Confirm & subscribe**. Billing starts on the first day of the month of your first payday.

**18. Review your answers**

On **Review and confirm**, check your answers. **Make changes** goes back a step.

**19. Submit payroll setup**

On **Review and confirm**, select **Submit**.

Setup is complete as soon as you submit, and Every shows **Payroll onboarding completed**. **People** then appears in the sidebar, and you become your company's authorized signatory (A person allowed to sign documents and agreements on a company's behalf) for payroll documents such as offer letters and tax filings. To choose someone else, go to **Settings** → **Payroll** → **Authorized signatory** (see [Payroll settings](https://every.help/admins/payroll/settings.md)).

![Payroll setup at Setup a Pay Schedule, asking for the schedule's name and how often employees are paid.](https://mintcdn.com/every-a2724ddc/qvvudeZxc26V6Klz/images/screens/admins-getting-started-add-your-employees-payroll-light.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=qvvudeZxc26V6Klz\&q=85\&s=6893186b38e5c530618420d30697e96b)

## Fund payroll

Payroll is paid from your Every checking account, and you choose how that account gets its money. Once **Setup payroll schedule** is done, the funding choice is on **Home** under **Setup payroll**. HR Admins see it, but an HR Admin role alone can't save it.

**1. Open the funding choice**

On **Home**, under **Setup payroll**, select **Select bank account to fund payroll**.

**2. Choose the funding method**

Under **Choose account for payroll**, choose **Every Bank Account** or **Plaid**.

**3. Optional: Connect a bank account**

With **Plaid**, select **Link account** to connect an account, or **Add account** if you've connected one before.

**4. Choose the connected account**

With **Plaid**, choose one of your connected accounts.

**5. Save the funding choice**

Select **Save**. Saving either choice turns on [checking autopilot](https://every.help/admins/banking/overview.md#checking-autopilot).

With **Every Bank Account**, make sure the money is in your checking account by the date the sheet shows: your next payroll's due date.

With **Plaid**, send money to your Every checking account before your first payroll. After your first payroll runs, Every moves money into checking before each payroll, from your Treasury money market (A fund that invests in short-term, low-risk debt, such as Treasury bills, and aims to keep a stable value) or your connected account.

![Payroll funding sheet with Every Bank Account and Plaid choices, the due date and checking balance.](https://mintcdn.com/every-a2724ddc/19nP2pdcB7HMtcYU/images/screens/admins-getting-started-add-your-employees-funding-light.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=19nP2pdcB7HMtcYU\&q=85\&s=6a62c4cba279ffec496d79b0b702906a)

## Complete owner onboarding

Each other owner in your account application who works at your company gets an item in **Setup payroll** on **Home**: **Complete onboarding for** and their name. You get one too if you work at the company and live in the U.S.

Select an item to open that owner's onboarding. It asks for personal and employment details, job and pay, address, bank account, tax withholding (Tax an employer takes out of an employee's pay and sends to the government for them) and employment eligibility. When it's done, Every shows **Onboarding Completed**.

## Add people

Select **People** in the sidebar, then **Add people**. [Adding people](https://every.help/admins/hr/onboarding.md) walks through the hire and bulk import for adding several people at once. Every turns on bulk import company by company. On **Home**, **Add your employees to Every for payroll** also opens **People**, and **Dismiss** marks it done.

![All People, with the Add people button and each person's position, type, start date and status.](https://mintcdn.com/every-a2724ddc/qvvudeZxc26V6Klz/images/screens/admins-getting-started-add-your-employees-light.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=qvvudeZxc26V6Klz\&q=85\&s=fdc087a1dbe3af9a990922da202b7c3e)

## What happens next

* On **Payroll**, **All pay runs** has **Active** and **Past** tabs for your pay runs, in place of the setup panel (see [Pay runs](https://every.help/admins/payroll/overview.md)).
* Each person you hire gets an email inviting them to onboard to Every. People you bulk import get theirs when you release the invitations. [Adding people](https://every.help/admins/hr/onboarding.md) covers what they fill in and when they're first paid.
* When an employee or owner finishes onboarding in a state where your company's payroll tax accounts aren't on file, **Home** lists **Setup payroll taxes for** that state.

## Agent reference

**Where:** Payroll setup starts from **Payroll** in the sidebar, with **Get started**, or from **Setup payroll schedule** in the **Setup payroll** card under **Things to do** on **Home**. People are added from **People** → **Add people**.

**Who:** Company Admins and HR Admins, after the company's account is approved. An HR Admin role alone can't save **Select bank account to fund payroll**.

### Facts

#### Before payroll setup

* **Payroll** and **People** are in the sidebar's **People** group, which shows only to Company Admins and HR Admins in companies with payroll turned on.
* **People** shows in the sidebar only once the company's account is approved and payroll setup is complete. The **People** page and the hire flow open only for Company Admins and HR Admins, and only after payroll setup.
* Until payroll setup is complete, **Payroll** in the sidebar shows **All pay runs** with sample pay runs dimmed behind a panel titled **Payroll, HR & Benefits**.
* The button on the **Payroll, HR & Benefits** panel on **Payroll** reads **Get started after account approved** and can't be selected until the company's account is approved. After approval it reads **Get started**, and it opens payroll setup. If **Get started** still can't be selected after approval, email [support@every.io](mailto:support@every.io).
* The **Setup payroll** card under **Things to do** on **Home** shows to Company Admins and HR Admins once the company's account is approved and the company has an EIN on file, in companies with payroll turned on.
* The **Setup payroll** card on **Home** lists, in this order: **Setup payroll schedule**, **Select bank account to fund payroll**, **Complete onboarding for** and a name for each owner who works at the company, and **Add your employees to Every for payroll**.
* Until **Setup payroll schedule** is completed, the other items in **Setup payroll** on **Home** are grayed out and can't be opened.
* Each item in **Setup payroll** on **Home** shows **Due now** until it's done, and the card disappears once all its items are completed.

#### Payroll setup

* Payroll setup's step bar lists **Payroll history**, **Work locations**, **Pay schedule**, **Sign documents** and, only for a company without a payroll plan yet, **Confirm**. A review titled **Review and confirm** comes last.
* **Payroll history** in payroll setup asks whether the company has paid employees this calendar year through another payroll provider, with the answers **Yes** and **No, I have not run payroll this year**. The step says Every asks so it can calculate taxes correctly.
* With **Yes**, **Payroll history** in payroll setup requires the previous provider, under **Select Your Previous Payroll Provider**. Its **Action needed** note asks you to add [tax@every.io](mailto:tax@every.io) as an administrator in that provider's account, and says Every will reach out by email to work through the transition.
* **Work locations** in payroll setup, titled **Work Locations in the US**, asks for the address of each U.S. office where the company has employees, and says a home address works when there's no office yet. **Add location** adds one. Payroll setup doesn't continue past **Work locations** without at least one location.
* **Pay schedule** in payroll setup, titled **Setup a Pay Schedule**, asks for the schedule's name and how often employees are paid. Answer the first payday and first pay period questions that appear.
* The frequencies on **Pay schedule** in payroll setup are **Monthly** and **Twice a Month**. Every turns on **Bi-weekly** and **Weekly** company by company, and their paydays are Fridays.
* A **Monthly** schedule in payroll setup asks which day of the month employees are paid: **15** or **Last day of the month**, unless **Pay for the full calendar month** is on.
* Every turns on **Pay for the full calendar month** on **Pay schedule** in payroll setup company by company. The switch appears only for a **Monthly** schedule. Turning it on removes the day-of-month and first-pay-period questions.
* On **Pay schedule** in payroll setup, the first payday field says some dates may be shifted earlier for bank holidays and weekends, and, when the first pay period question appears, each option is labeled as recommended for salary or for hourly employees.
* **Sign documents** in payroll setup, titled **Sign Company Forms**, has three parts. **Sign Reporting Agent Authorization Form** is Form 8655, which authorizes Every to act as the company's reporting agent for payroll tax purposes. **Sign Company Direct Deposit Authorization Form** authorizes Every to debit funds from the company account for payroll purposes. **Authorized Signatory** is the third part.
* Each form on **Sign documents** in payroll setup links to a PDF of the form and has a **Signature** field, where you type your full name, and a checkbox to agree to its terms. Both signatures and all three checkboxes are required.
* The **Authorized Signatory** checkbox on **Sign documents** certifies that you're authorized to bind the company and will serve as its authorized signatory for payroll documents, including offer letters, tax filings and other company documents.
* **Confirm** in payroll setup shows **Payroll pricing** and the **Payment method**, which is the company's Every checking account, and ends with **Confirm & subscribe**. **Confirm** appears only when the company has no payroll plan yet.
* Billing for a payroll plan chosen on **Confirm** in payroll setup starts on the first day of the month of the first payday.
* **Review and confirm** in payroll setup lists the payroll history answer, the pay schedule's name, frequency, first payday and first pay period, and whether each form is signed. **Make changes** goes back a step, and **Submit** submits.
* Each step of payroll setup keeps its answers once you select **Next**, so closing setup and opening it again later keeps them.
* Submitting payroll setup completes it right away, and the person who submits becomes the company's authorized signatory.
* After payroll setup is submitted, Every shows **Payroll onboarding completed**, and **Go to Dashboard** opens **Home**. When submitting fails, Every shows **Submission failed** with **Try Again**.
* Finishing payroll setup marks **Setup payroll schedule** on **Home** completed, which opens up the other items in **Setup payroll**.
* After payroll setup is complete, **Payroll** shows **All pay runs** with the tabs **Active** and **Past** (see [Pay runs](https://every.help/admins/payroll/overview.md)).
* After payroll setup, Company Admins and HR Admins can change the company's authorized signatory in **Settings** → **Payroll** → **Authorized signatory**: choose someone under **Choose person** and select **Save**.

#### Funding payroll

* Payroll is paid from the company's Every checking account. A pay run fails when the checking account can't cover its payments.
* **Select bank account to fund payroll** in **Setup payroll** on **Home** opens a sheet of the same name. Under **Choose account for payroll**, the options are **Every Bank Account**, described as "The Every checking account.", and **Plaid**, for an external bank account.
* With **Every Bank Account** chosen in **Select bank account to fund payroll**, the sheet shows the checking account's **Balance** and asks you to have the money in by the due date of the company's next payroll.
* With **Plaid** chosen in **Select bank account to fund payroll**, the sheet lists connected accounts with **Add account**, or shows **Link account** when none is connected.
* The **Select bank account to fund payroll** sheet says that with Plaid, you send money to your Every checking account before your first payroll, and that after the first payroll runs successfully, Every pulls funds before each payroll.
* Saving **Select bank account to fund payroll** with either choice turns on checking autopilot (see [Checking account](https://every.help/admins/banking/overview.md#checking-autopilot)) with a **Minimum target balance** of \$0, replacing the minimum and backup account the company had. With **Plaid**, the chosen account becomes autopilot's **Backup fund account**.
* After the company's first payroll, checking autopilot tops up the Every checking account before each payroll, from the Treasury money market or the backup account.
* Checking autopilot moves no money in for a company that chooses **Every Bank Account** in **Select bank account to fund payroll** and has no Treasury money market, so that company has to keep enough in its Every checking account for each payroll.
* Saving **Select bank account to fund payroll** shows "Fund payroll account added successfully" and marks the item completed. When saving fails, Every shows "Failed to add fund payroll account".
* An HR Admin role alone can't save **Select bank account to fund payroll**.

#### Company owners

* Each owner listed in the company's account application whose **Job title** isn't **I'm not an employee** gets the Company Admin role and a **Complete onboarding for** item with their name in **Setup payroll** on **Home**. The person who signed up gets one too when they work at the company and live in the U.S.
* A **Complete onboarding for** item in **Setup payroll** on **Home** opens that owner's onboarding.
* An owner's onboarding has the steps **Personal details**, **Employment details**, **Job & Compensation**, **Address**, **Bank account**, **Tax withholding**, **Benefits** (only when the company has health or financial benefits) and **Employment eligibility**.
* Finishing an owner's onboarding shows **Onboarding Completed** and "Onboarding and payroll setup is now complete.", and marks their **Complete onboarding for** item on **Home** completed.

#### Adding people

* **People** opens **All People**, and **Add people** opens the hire flow. The hire flow adds employees and contractors: its type question offers **Contractor** among its types. The steps are in [Adding people](https://every.help/admins/hr/onboarding.md).
* Every turns on bulk import company by company. With it, **Add people** on **People** is a menu with **Create new hire** and **Bulk import employees**.
* **Add your employees to Every for payroll** in **Setup payroll** on **Home** opens **People**. **Dismiss** on it marks it completed.

#### After you add people

* Every emails each new hire an invitation to onboard to Every when you confirm the hire, as the hire flow's review says. For people added with bulk import, the invitations go out when you release them.
* The link in a new hire's invitation email opens a page saying the new hire's company "has invited you to join their workspace on Every", where the new hire creates their Every account. A rehire who can already sign in gets a sign-in link instead.
* The hire flow's review says Every adds the person to the next payroll. When they're added after their regular payroll ran, the review shows **Run a new hire payroll**: once they finish onboarding, Every creates a new hire payroll for them, which you run yourself.
* When an employee or owner finishes onboarding in a state where the company's payroll tax accounts aren't on file, **Home** shows **Setup payroll taxes for** and the state, under **Payroll tax setup needed for**. Each of those items shows **Assigned to every.io** and has **Dismiss**, for Company Admins and HR Admins.

### Questions people ask

* **Why don't I see People?** **People** shows in the sidebar only to Company Admins and HR Admins, and only once the company's account is approved and payroll setup is complete. Set up payroll first, from **Payroll** → **Get started**.
* **Why is Get started grayed out?** Until the company's account is approved, the button on **Payroll** reads **Get started after account approved** and can't be selected. If it reads **Get started** and still can't be selected, email [support@every.io](mailto:support@every.io) to ask about it. On **Home**, the other items in **Setup payroll** stay grayed out until **Setup payroll schedule** is completed.
* **Who becomes the authorized signatory?** The person who submits payroll setup. After setup, Company Admins and HR Admins can choose someone else in **Settings** → **Payroll** → **Authorized signatory**.
* **Which account pays payroll?** The company's Every checking account. **Select bank account to fund payroll** in **Setup payroll** on **Home** sets how it's funded. With **Every Bank Account**, the sheet asks you to have the money in checking by the next payroll's due date. With **Plaid**, Every tops up checking before each payroll once the first payroll has run, from the Treasury money market or the account chosen with **Plaid**.
* **Can an HR Admin set up payroll?** Yes. HR Admins can do each step of payroll setup and add people. An HR Admin role alone can't save **Select bank account to fund payroll**.
* **Can a Bookkeeper set up payroll?** No. **Payroll**, payroll setup and **People** are only for Company Admins and HR Admins.
* **Why does Home list Complete onboarding for with my name?** You're an owner who works at the company, so you complete your own onboarding for payroll from **Setup payroll** on **Home**. The item shows **Due now** until you finish it. Your onboarding collects what payroll needs for you, and its last screen says "Onboarding and payroll setup is now complete."
* **Can I stop payroll setup halfway?** Yes. Each step keeps its answers once you select **Next**, so you can close setup and pick it up later from **Payroll** or **Home**.
* **Can I pay employees weekly or every two weeks?** Only when Every has turned on **Weekly** and **Bi-weekly** for your company, which it does company by company. Their paydays are Fridays. Without them, payroll setup offers **Monthly** and **Twice a Month**.
* **Why do I need to add [tax@every.io](mailto:tax@every.io) to my old payroll provider?** **Payroll history** in payroll setup asks for it when you've paid employees this calendar year through another provider, and says Every will reach out by email to work through the transition.
* **What do I sign during payroll setup?** The Reporting Agent Authorization Form (Form 8655), the Company Direct Deposit Authorization Form, and a certification that you can bind the company and will be its authorized signatory for payroll documents.
* **When does billing for payroll start?** On the first day of the month of your first payday, for a plan you subscribe to on **Confirm** in payroll setup.
* **When do new hires get paid?** The hire flow's review says Every adds them to the next payroll. When they're added after their regular payroll ran, Every creates a new hire payroll once they finish onboarding, and you run it yourself. See [Adding people](https://every.help/admins/hr/onboarding.md).
* **How do I add many people at once?** With bulk import, which Every turns on company by company: **Add people** → **Bulk import employees** on **People**. See [Adding people](https://every.help/admins/hr/onboarding.md).
* **How do I clear Add your employees to Every for payroll?** Select **Dismiss** on it in **Setup payroll** on **Home**.

### Not covered here

* What does the invitation email say, who sends it and when does it arrive? To ask, email [support@every.io](mailto:support@every.io).
* Does adding a person mark **Add your employees to Every for payroll** completed? To ask, email [support@every.io](mailto:support@every.io).
* What does payroll cost, and what is charged to the **Payment method** on **Confirm**? To ask, email [support@every.io](mailto:support@every.io).
* When does the first pay run appear in **All pay runs** after payroll setup? To ask, email [support@every.io](mailto:support@every.io).
* How do I get **Payroll** when it isn't in the sidebar? To ask, email [support@every.io](mailto:support@every.io).
* What does Every do with a **Setup payroll taxes for** item marked **Assigned to every.io**, and how long does it take? To ask, email [support@every.io](mailto:support@every.io).
* Can an owner who doesn't finish onboarding be paid through payroll? To ask, email [support@every.io](mailto:support@every.io).
* How long before payday does checking autopilot move money in for payroll? To ask, email [support@every.io](mailto:support@every.io).


## Related topics

- [Platform overview](https://every.help/admins/getting-started/platform-overview.md)
- [Import people](https://every.help/admins/hr/import-people.md)
- [Create an account](https://every.help/admins/getting-started/creating-an-account.md)
- [FAQ](https://every.help/admins/getting-started/faq.md)
- [Payroll settings](https://every.help/admins/payroll/settings.md)


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