Whether you pay your team via direct deposit or physical check, a pay stub is typically included to give employees a detailed breakdown of their payment.
This is an important document for employees and employers. It lets employees know how much they were paid and what was deducted, and helps employers stay compliant with payroll laws.
Today, we’re sharing everything you need to know about pay stubs—what they should include, the state laws that govern them, and the benefits of providing them to your employees. And because we’re extra nice, we’re even sharing the three best free pay stub templates for your small business.
What is a pay stub?
A pay stub is a document with all the details about your employees’ payments in one convenient location. Employers issue pay stubs based on their payroll schedule. So, if you pay your employees every week, they get a weekly pay stub. But if you pay your employees once a month, they would get their pay stubs monthly.
What should you include on a pay stub?
The information you need to include on a pay stub depends on the specific employment laws in your state and industry. It’s important to look into the laws in your state to ensure you’re meeting the required standards.
Here are some of the most common items that you should include on every pay stub:
- Employer information: Company name, address, logo, etc.
- Employee information: Name, address, ID number, and Social Security number.
- Reporting period.
- Pay date
- Hours worked during the pay period
- Employee’s hourly rate
- Bonuses (if applicable)
- Total gross earnings
- Deductions: Federal tax, State tax, Social Security tax, 401k, etc.
- Total net pay
- Year-to-date total calculations: gross earnings, net earnings, and deductions.
What’s the difference between a pay stub and a paycheck?
Although you may deliver a pay stub and paycheck together, there is a difference between them.
A paycheck is an employee’s actual pay to deposit into a bank account. Paychecks typically only have an employee’s net income, while the pay stub has all the additional information like total net and gross pay, deductions, the hours worked, and more.
Some businesses deposit directly into employees’ bank accounts, eliminating the need for a physical paycheck. These businesses should still issue pay stubs—either digitally or on paper—to their employees so they can see the breakdown of their pay.
You should include a paycheck and a pay stub together for businesses that still issue paychecks.
Are employers required to give employees pay stubs?
There are no federal laws that say you need to give your employees a pay stub, but there are state laws that govern whether or not you need to provide access to pay stubs.
When it comes to pay stub requirements, there are three categories states can fall into:
- States with no requirements
- Access states
- Access/print states
A state with no requirements is just that—there are no requirements to give your employees a pay stub of any kind.
Access states require you to provide your employees with a pay stub, which can be electronic or paper.
Access/print states allow you to give your employees an electronic or paper copy, but those who receive electronic copies must have an easy way to print or access them.
There’s one more layer to the legislation that covers pay stubs at the state level. You need to determine if you’re in an “opt-in” or “opt-out” state.
- Opt-in states require businesses to get employees’ permission before changing how they deliver pay stubs. If an employee chooses not to opt in, the employer must stick to the previous delivery method.
- Opt-out states require businesses to offer paper subs unless an employee chooses to get an electronic pay stub.
No requirement states
The following states don’t need to provide employees with a pay stub of any kind.
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Georgia
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Ohio
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
Access states
The following states require employers to provide employees with access to an electronic or paper pay stub.
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York*
- North Dakota
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Utah
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
*As of January 1st, 2021, employees in New York can opt for an electronic confirmation instead of a paper pay stub.
Access/print states
The following states require employers to provide a written or printed pay stub or an electronic pay stub if they ensure their employees can print the electronic statements.
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Iowa
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Mexico
- North Carolina
- Texas
- Vermont
- Washington
Opt-out states
The following states require employers to gain consent from employees to change the method of delivering pay stubs.
- Delaware
- Minnesota
- Oregon
Opt-in states
Hawaii is the only state that requires employee consent before moving to an electronic paperless system.
The benefits of providing employees with pay stubs.
The main reason for providing employees with a pay stub is to stay legally compliant with state laws. As we can see above, 42 states have legal requirements for providing employees with some form of pay stub.
But staying compliant is only one reason—albeit a super important one—to issue pay stubs. And for the nine states that aren’t required to give employees pay stubs, there are other benefits for employers and employees.
1. Improved financial literacy.
One of the amazing benefits you can provide to your employees is helping them increase their financial literacy. When employees can see where the deductions come from, they can understand how payroll taxes and deductions affect their net pay.
Knowing where their money is going can help them form better financial habits, which can lead to better decisions about how they spend and save their money. Pay stubs also help employees track their finances over time so they can prepare for future expenses.
For example, if an employee knows they need to take their car to the mechanic in the next six months, their pay stub can help them determine how much money they need to set aside each paycheck to make the payment.
2. A streamlined payroll process.
When you provide electronic pay stubs, you can streamline your payroll process by providing your employees with pay stubs. Some payroll service providers will automatically generate and send pay stubs to your employees. No additional work is needed, making it an easy addition to your process.
Also, sending electronic pay stubs greatly increases the security of your system. You can keep your employees’ personal information confidential on a secure server.
3. Increased transparency.
If you want to create a positive company culture, providing pay stubs is a significant step toward increasing transparency in your organization. When you give employees pay stubs with a clear breakdown of what is withheld from their paychecks, you can help ensure employees understand exactly where their money is going. This transparency can help build trust between you and your employees.
For example, if your employee sees a deduction they don’t understand, they’ll be comfortable bringing it to your attention, potentially saving you from time-consuming and costly mistakes.
4. Less paperwork.
Providing your employees with pay stubs can save you and your employees from paperwork—our least-favorite job. Pay stubs can be automatically generated, eliminating the need to create them every time you run your payroll process manually. Also, if you opt for electronic pay stubs, you won’t have to store and organize paper copies as everything will be stored securely online.
How a pay stub template can help your payroll process.
We’ve discussed pay stubs and how they can help you and your employees. Using a pay stub template adds another layer of simplicity—with a template, all you need to do is plug in your company and employee information, and you’re ready to go.
Using a template with built-in formulas can make it easier to calculate wages, taxes, bonuses, and everything else that goes into your employees’ earnings. It also helps to reduce the risk of making an error—this makes life easier when tax season rolls around!
It can also save you time and boost your productivity. Using a template frees your mind to focus on other parts of your business, like marketing strategies or bringing in new customers. You can move on to other tasks while feeling confident that your payroll has gone smoothly.
Finally, a pay stub template gives you consistency. You can make sure that each pay cycle, your employees will get a pay stub they recognize and understand. This not only helps your employees, it also shows that your business is professional and organized.
Free pay stub template for Excel.
You don’t need to create every pay stub from scratch. With a pay stub template, you can easily create and edit pay stubs to save time and money. This free Microsoft Excel pay stub template can help streamline your payroll process and keep you compliant with state regulations.
Free pay stub template for Google Slides.
If your business works a lot in GSuite, this Google Slides pay stub template is right for you. It’s a ready-made document that you can use to speed up your payroll process. You can download the template, customize it, and enter your relevant information.
Pay stub template (PowerPoint)
Free fillable PDF pay stub template.
This free fillable pay stub template is in PDF format. Download this template and customize it with your company and employee information to create pay stubs for your team members.
Streamline your payroll process with Homebase.
Running payroll can take a lot of time and energy for business owners—ut not with Homebase.
Homebase makes it pain-free to run payroll by automatically tracking hours, breaks, overtime, and PTO. With just a few clicks, your employees’ timesheets are turned into paychecks. Or take it a step further with autopayroll, where we set it, and you can forget it!
We make sure you’re staying compliant with state and federal payroll laws so you don’t have to worry about costly mistakes down the road.
Let us handle the boring—but important—stuff like tax calculations, sending direct deposits, and filing your payroll taxes for you. We’ll even automatically submit your new hire reporting and file and distribute W-2s and 1099s each year.
With Homebase, payroll has never been easier. Try Homebase today.
Free pay stub template FAQs.
Can I make my own pay stub?
You can make pay stubs for your employees using a pay stub template, Excel, or a third-party payroll processing service. Even a pay stub generated via Word, Google Docs, or PDF is an acceptable way to create pay stubs for your employees.
Where can I create a pay stub for free?
You can create a pay stub for free in various places. If you use a third-party payroll processing service, you can generate pay stubs using that program. Alternatively, you can use a pay stub template to create free pay stubs for your employees. Templates are available for everything from Word, Google Docs, Excel, PDF, and more.
What is the difference between a pay stub and a payslip?
A payslip is another term for a pay stub. Just like pay stubs, payslips provide a breakdown of total earning, hourly rate, number of hours worked, gross wages, deductions, overtime, and bonuses during the pay period.
What is the app that makes pay stubs?
There are a variety of apps that make pay stubs. With Homebase, you can process payroll for your entire business and generate pay stubs for your employees.
What important information is available on a pay stub?
There are three main sections of information available on a pay stub: how much an employee is being paid, the taxes the employee is paying, and any other deductions like taxes, Social Security, and more. You can also find your gross, year-to-date, and net earnings.
Remember: This is not legal advice. If you have questions about your particular situation, please consult a lawyer, CPA, or other appropriate professional advisor or agency.
