Steps to understand why an employee did not get paid

If you use direct deposit and your employee has not received their pay on the expected pay date, this could be for a few reasons. To understand what might have happened, follow these steps:

Step 1: Confirm the payroll was approved

To verify the expected payday is correct:

1. On the left-side menu, click Payroll, then Payroll Dashboard or Run Payroll.
2. At the top right, click Approved payrolls.
3. If you don’t see the pay period in the list, the pay period was not approved.

If you see the pay period in the list, the pay date may be different than expected.

Step 2: Check the pay date

If there is a bank holiday or the payroll was approved later than usual, the payroll pay date may have changed. To verify the expected payday is correct:

1. From your Approved payrolls page, click the pay period your employee is missing their pay from.
2. Under Payday on, check the date.

If the pay date is correct, check the direct deposit status for your employee's pay.

Step 3: Check the direct deposit status for the payroll

Some banks may take longer to deposit payments to your employee's bank account. To check the status of each employee’s direct deposit:

1. On the left-side menu, click Payroll > Payroll Transactions.
2. Under Complete, at the far right of the pay period, click Details.
3. Find the employee's name, then check the status of their deposit.

If the direct deposit status is Complete, the funds may still be in transit to your employee’s bank account. Allow until 3:00 PM Eastern for funds to deposit, or have your employee contact their bank for more information.

If the employee is missing from the pay period, they may not be enabled for direct deposit.

Step 4: Confirm that direct deposit was enabled for your employee

To confirm if direct deposit was enabled for the employee on the payroll:

1. On the left-side menu, click Payroll > Employees.
2. Click your employee’s name.
3. Click Direct deposit.

If No is checked, your employee is not enabled for direct deposit. They must be paid for this pay period outside of Wave.

If Yes is checked, your employee is enabled for direct deposit. Their bank details for direct deposit may not be correct.

Step 5: Confirm your employee’s banking information is correct

If your employee has received a new banking card or their bank has made updates, their bank account information may have changed. To confirm you have your employee's correct banking information:

1. On the left-side menu, click Payroll > Employees.
2. Click your employee’s name.
3. Click Bank details, then confirm the routing number and the last 3 digits of the account number with your employee.
4. To make an update, click Edit.