Go to People from the sidebar. Click "Add person" in the top right, then choose "Add employee".
On the "Personal information" step, enter the employee’s first name, last name, and email address. Their date of birth is optional. Leave "Invite them to enter their own details" checked to email them an invitation, or clear it to add them without sending anything. Click "Continue".
On the "Residence" step, choose "Add residence" to enter a home address, or "Skip". Click "Continue".
On the "Employment details" step, choose the employee’s "Start date" and answer "Where does this employee work?" with "Choose an existing workplace", "Create a new workplace", or "Use their home address". "Use their home address" appears only if you added an address on the Residence step. A start date and a workplace are both required. Click "Continue".
On the "Add compensation info" step, choose "Yes" to set a default pay rate now, or "Skip" to set it later with "Add compensation" in the Compensation section of the Details tab on the employee’s profile. Then click "Add & invite". This adds the employee and sends the invitation. If you cleared the invite box, the button reads "Submit" and no email is sent.
If your company’s business type is S Corporation or LLC, Freedom then asks about "2% shareholder status". The employee is already added at this point. Choose "Yes" or "No" and click "Continue", or click "Skip" and answer later on the Tax Setup tab of the employee’s profile.
At the end, Freedom shows "Employee added and invited", or "Employee added" if you cleared the invite box. Click "View employee" to open their profile, or "Add another employee" to start over.
Note: The employee’s email address must be unique. If you need to import many employees at once, use the "Bulk import" dropdown instead.
Add a home address
As you add an employee, Freedom asks "Add a home address for this employee?" A home address is optional. You can add or update it later from the employee’s profile.
Choose "Add residence" to enter one now, or "Skip" to continue without it.
Enter the street address, city, state, and ZIP code, then click "Continue".
If the address can’t be verified but Freedom has a corrected version, you’ll see "The address was invalid. Did you mean this one?" with a suggested address. Click "Use this address" to apply it, then continue.
Note: If the address can’t be verified and there’s no suggestion, you’ll be asked to double-check it and try again.
Set a starting pay rate and pay schedule
On the "Add compensation info" step you can set a default pay rate so it prefills every payroll and you don’t have to re-enter it each pay period. This is optional. You can add or change it later in the Compensation section of the Details tab on the employee’s profile.
Choose "Yes" to add compensation now, or "Skip" to set it up later.
Pick a Compensation type (Hourly, Annually, or Per piece) and enter the Amount. You can also add a rate name and set the workweek hours.
If your company has pay schedules, choose the employee’s Pay schedule (or "None").
Click "Add & invite" to add the employee. If you cleared "Invite them to enter their own details", the button reads "Submit".
Invite the new hire to enter their own details
On the "Personal information" step, "Invite them to enter their own details" is checked by default, with the note "We'll email a link for their SSN, bank, and tax info." When you click "Add & invite", Freedom emails the employee two things: an invitation to log in to Freedom, and a setup link where they add that information. After they log in, they can see their own paystubs, tax documents, and benefits. They can’t manage payroll, people, or company settings.
Leave the box checked to invite them, or clear it to add the employee without sending anything.
On the "Add compensation info" step, click "Add & invite". If you cleared the box, the button reads "Submit".
If the setup link doesn’t send, the confirmation screen shows "Setup link didn't send" (the invitation to log in did go out) with "Try again" and "Copy setup link" buttons.
Note: To invite someone later, click "Invite" in the Invite column on the People page. That sends only the invitation to log in, not the setup link. To send the setup link, see Send a self-serve setup link. To make someone an admin, change their Role on the People page after they accept.