If you're switching to Wave Payroll mid-year, you need to enter your historical payroll data. This helps ensure that employee tax forms and pay stubs are accurate, and allows Wave to calculate the appropriate amount of tax to withhold. This article walks you through the steps to enter your payroll history in Wave.
Before you get started, have the following information ready:
- Quarterly wage and tax totals for each employee you paid (before Wave) in the current calendar year
- A downloaded report by quarter from your previous payroll provider
How to enter payroll history
- Click Settings on the left navigation menu, then select Payroll History import, under the Payroll section.
- Enter the following information;
- First check date in the current calendar year (prior to starting with Wave)
Example: If the first time you paid any employee was with a check dated January 15, you would enter this date. - Last check date in the calendar year prior to using Wave
Enter the date of the last paycheck you issued under your old system before starting with Wave. - End date of the last pay period in the current calendar year (prior to starting with Wave)
- First check date in the current calendar year (prior to starting with Wave)
- Click Continue.
- Input the total wages paid to each employee per quarter, as well as all taxes that were withheld. If you are migrating from another payroll provider, they will typically have a report that details all the wages and withholding, for each employee.
- Click Done.
Once you have saved this year-to-date information, Wave will provide a summary for you to compare to your records.
If you notice any mistakes and want to start over, click the Restart button at the bottom of the page.
What's next? If you'd like to go paperless and pay your employees via direct deposit at no additional charge, it's time to complete the Direct Deposit Application.
If you prefer to pay your employees by check, you can skip ahead to Entering Employee Hours.