A pay schedule tells Freedom how often you pay a group of people and on which dates. Once a worker is assigned to a schedule, Freedom creates a payroll each pay period and fills in a pay line for them, so you review a nearly finished payroll instead of building one by hand.
This article covers what happens to your payrolls when you add, change, or remove a schedule. For the click-by-click steps, see Set up and manage pay schedules.
How a pay schedule drives payroll
Two things combine to put someone on a payroll automatically:
The schedule sets the rhythm: the pay frequency (weekly, every two weeks, twice a month, monthly, quarterly, or annually) and the paydays.
The assignment connects a worker to that schedule. Only workers assigned to a schedule get an automatic pay line each period.
Freedom checks once a day, early in the morning. It creates the payroll for that schedule on the first day of the pay period, or five business days before payday if that's earlier, and fills in everyone eligible. If nobody is assigned to a schedule, Freedom creates no payroll for it. For the full eligibility rules, see What auto-fills on your payroll.
Add a pay schedule
Open Pay Schedules from Pay in the sidebar and select Add pay schedule. You'll give it a name, choose a pay frequency, and set the first payday and first pay period end. For a twice-a-month schedule you set a second payday as well.
The first payday and first pay period end are what Freedom uses to project every future period, so set them to match the real dates you intend to pay on. Once the schedule is saved, assign workers to it so their payrolls start being created.
Note: A schedule with no workers assigned won't get any payroll. After adding a schedule, check the banner at the top of Pay Schedules. It flags anyone who has pay set up but no schedule.
Change a pay schedule
On Pay Schedules, open the three-dot menu on the schedule's row and select Edit pay schedule to update its name, pay frequency, or paydays, then save and confirm.
There's one important limit: once any payroll uses a schedule, only its name can be changed, and the schedule can't be deleted. That includes an unapproved draft that Freedom created automatically, not only a payroll that has run, so a schedule you're actively using is usually locked. The menu item then reads Rename. If you need a different frequency going forward, create a new schedule and move workers onto it.
Note: If you move workers to a schedule with a different frequency, the hours on their pay lines change, because hours are the worker's Workweek hours multiplied by the weeks each paycheck covers (40 hours weekly, 80 every two weeks, 173.33 monthly, and so on). Review the amounts.
Remove a pay schedule
While editing a schedule, select Delete pay schedule and confirm. You can delete a schedule only if no payroll has ever used it, including an unapproved payroll that Freedom created automatically.
Before deleting, move any assigned workers to another schedule.
Move a worker to a different schedule
You can assign or change a worker's schedule two ways: from the schedule itself using Assign workers on Pay Schedules, or from the worker's own profile. On the Details tab, click Edit on the Pay schedule row in the Compensation section (see View and manage an employee or View and manage a contractor).
Reassignment behaves differently from a first-time assignment:
The old payroll depends on its pay period. If the worker has a pay line on a payroll for their old schedule and that payroll's pay period hasn't started, Freedom takes the line off when you save the move, unless you've already edited it. Once the pay period has started, Freedom leaves the line there. Remove it from the payroll yourself if they shouldn't be paid on it. Removing a worker from a schedule without giving them a new one works the same way.
The new payroll depends on its pay period too. If the new schedule's payroll hasn't reached its pay period yet, Freedom adds the worker to it the next morning if they're eligible. Once its pay period has started, Freedom doesn't add a line for a reassigned worker. If they're owed pay this period on the new schedule, add them yourself with "Add employee" (or "Add contractor") on the payroll. This is different from a worker who was previously unassigned: Freedom adds that person the next morning if they're eligible.
You may need an off-cycle payroll. When frequencies differ or the period boundaries don't line up, create an off-cycle payroll to cover the gap so the worker is paid correctly through the transition. Freedom doesn't create it for you.
Freedom shows an on-screen warning ("Review pay after moving") summarizing these effects before you confirm a move. Read it before proceeding.
Note: A worker's pay rate stays the same when you move them. When Freedom fills in their line on the new schedule's payroll, the hours come from that schedule's pay frequency, so review the amounts, especially when its frequency differs from the old one.
Effect on Autopay
Moving a worker off a pay schedule, or removing them from one, blocks Autopay for a payroll that Freedom leaves as it is: when the old payroll keeps the worker's pay line, or when the new payroll doesn't add them. You approve that payroll yourself so you can check it. Assigning a worker who had no pay schedule doesn't block Autopay, and neither does a move that Freedom handles for you before the pay period starts. Autopay works again on the next payroll once you've handled this one.
Someone isn't showing up on a payroll
The most common cause is a missing or recently changed schedule assignment. Check, in order:
Is the worker assigned to the schedule you're running? Use the Pay schedule filter on People (choose "Not set" to find unassigned workers).
Did you reassign them recently? If the new schedule's pay period had already started, Freedom doesn't add a reassigned worker to its payroll. Add them yourself.
Has Freedom updated the payroll since you fixed it? Freedom checks once a day, so a change you make today shows up tomorrow morning. Freedom stops updating a payroll once you approve it or once its payday has passed. If you reopen a payroll after approving it, Freedom doesn't start updating it again.
For the complete checklist, see What auto-fills on your payroll. If everything checks out and the worker is still missing, reach out to support.