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Changing Employee Pay Frequency (Individual and Mass Update)

Use this guide to change an employee’s pay frequency either one-by-one or in bulk using a CSV import. Follow the validation steps to ensure wages, deductions, CPP calculate as expected.

Roles: Payroll Administrator | Payroll Administrator-Unlocked | Administrator

📌 When to Use Each Option

  • Option 1 (Individual Update): Use when updating a small number of employees.

  • Option 2 (Bulk Update): Recommended when changing pay frequency for five (5) or more employees to ensure consistency and reduce manual entry.

Before You Start: Key Compliance Reminders

📅
Best Practice: New Year Transitions

To ensure statutory accuracy, it is best to implement pay frequency changes on the first payroll of the calendar year.

1

Year Closeout

Before switching frequencies, ensure the final pay period of the current year is fully processed. Do not update records until all old-frequency wages are paid.

2

Adjustment Payrolls

If retroactive adjustments are needed for the prior year, maintain original settings to keep CPP calculations consistent for employees below annual maximums.

Compliance Risk

Mid-year changes often result in the CPP basic exemption being applied incorrectly. This leads to over or under-contribution of CPP, requiring manual reconciliation and year-end adjustments.

🇨🇦

Service Canada Requirement: ROE

"When the pay period type changes, you must issue ROEs for all affected employees, even though there is no interruption of earnings."

Required Action

Generate and submit ROEs for every affected employee after the final payroll of the old frequency, but before the first payroll of the new frequency.

🔗 Service Canada ROE Guide

 

Option 1: Change Pay Frequency for a Single Employee

  1. Go to the employee profile and select Edit.

  2. Scroll to Calculation Info (or the payroll calculation section).

  3. Update the Pay Frequency field to the new frequency.

  4. Save the employee record.

Option 2: Change Pay Frequency in Mass (CSV Import)

Use this option for five (5) or more employees to reduce manual errors and keep changes consistent.

Option 2 (Mass Update via CSV Upload)

Visuals 

💡 Important Viewing Tip

📌 Note on Screenshots: If the embedded images or screenshots appear too small:

  1. You can view them at full size by right-clicking the image (or long-pressing on mobile) and selecting "Open image in new tab/window" or "Open link in new tab."

  2. Optional: If your browser or device supports it, you may use a split-screen or reading mode to view the steps and the larger image simultaneously.

Step 1: Download the Employee List

  1. Go to Payroll → Payroll Records → Employees.

  2. Download the employee list report.

  3. Use this report to capture each employee’s Internal ID (required for the import).

  4. Filter the report to only the employees you plan to update.

Step 2: Prepare the Import Template

From the downloaded file:

  • Remove employees who are not part of the pay frequency change.

  • Keep only these fields:

    • Internal ID

    • Pay Frequency (optional if you will use a default value in the import)

    • (Employee name is optional and not required for mapping.)

Step 3: Create a New CSV Import

  1. Go to Payroll Administration → Payroll Setup → New CSV Import.

  2. Best Practice: Before applying changes to everyone, test with one sample employee first.

  3. If the sample employee updates correctly, proceed with the full employee list.

Step 4: Upload the Import File

Set up the import fields:

  • Import Type: Employee

  • Record Type: Employee

  • Character Encoding:

    • Windows: Western (Windows)

    • Mac: Unicode (UTF-8)

  • Select your CSV file, then click Next.

Step 5: Select Import Options

  1. Import Action: Update.

  2. Advanced Options:

    • Enable Keep log system notes.

    • Enable Run server as a script (if available).

  3. Custom Form: Select Payroll Employee Form.

  4. Click Next to continue.

Step 6: Map Fields (and Set a Default Value if Needed)

Required Mapping:

  • Internal ID → Internal ID (Employee)

If the same pay frequency applies to all employees (Recommended):

  1. Leave the Pay Frequency column blank in your CSV.

  2. In the mapping screen, select Pay Frequency and click the Edit (pencil) icon.

  3. Choose Provide Default Value, then select the new pay frequency (example: Semi-Monthly).

  4. Click OK, then Next.

 

Step 7: Save and Run the Import

  1. Input Map Name: Change Employee Pay Frequency (or your preferred name).

  2. Description/ID are optional.

  3. Click Save & Run.

  4. Review the import results and confirm records updated successfully.

  5. Open at least one employee record to confirm the Pay Frequency field updated.

✅ After the Change: What to Validate

Review Pay Components

Employee Type Component Expected Outcome
Salaried Unit of Measure Typically remains Yearly (no change needed).
Salaried Per-Pay Amount Updates automatically based on the new frequency. (This is expected.)
Hourly/Waged Quantity (QTY) Usually updates to match the new frequency.
Hourly/Waged Rate Typically stays the same. (This is expected.)

Pay Component Subtype: Deductions, Allowances, and Company Contributions

Unlike base salary, deductions, allowances, and employer contributions often require manual review and potential updating after a pay frequency change.

Many of these items are annualized and divided by the new number of pay periods.

Example:
If a deduction was $35 per month and the employee moves to bi-weekly, the system may automatically calculate:

($35 × 12) ÷ 26 = $16.15 per pay

If deductions or contributions are expected to occur only on specific pays (e.g., monthly or the first two pays of the month), you may need to update the pay component’s Frequency and Unit of Measure (UOM) so the timing matches your policy.

Configuration Tip:
If the desired outcome is for the deduction to remain Monthly (taken once per month regardless of pay frequency), you must:
  • Switch the Unit of Measure (UOM) to Lump Sum.
  • Set the Frequency to Monthly.

Next Steps:

  • If non-salary components need adjustments, proceed to the guide: Mass Update Employee Pay Components (CSV Import) to update the frequency and UOM.

  • Perform a final Sample Payroll Validation to confirm all amounts are correct before processing a live pay run.

Review Deductions and Contributions

Many items are annualized and divided by the new number of pay periods.

Example: If an amount was $35 per month and you move to biweekly, the system may calculate:

($35 × 12) ÷ 26 = $16.15 per pay

 

  • If you expect deductions only on specific pays (e.g., first two pays of the month), you may need to adjust the pay component frequency/unit of measure so the timing matches your policy. This can be achieved via csv upload. 

Mass Update Employees' Pay Components (CSV Import)

Use this method to update the Unit of Measure, Rate, or Amount for multiple deductions, allowances, or contributions across many employees.

Employee Pay Component Update

Visual

Step 1: Download the Pay Component List

  1. Navigate to Payroll → Payroll Records → Employee Pay Components.

  2. Download the list and filter it to only the employees and pay components impacted by the pay frequency change.

  3. Exclude salary components (e.g., normal time or base salary).

  4. Keep the following fields in your export (you will use these for your import template):

    • Internal ID

    • Pay Component ID

    • Unit of Measure (UOM)

    • Rate

    • Amount

    • Start Date

  5. Update these columns in your CSV template as needed (e.g., change the UOM from Monthly to Bi-Weekly).

Step 2: Set Up the CSV Import

  1. Navigate to Payroll Administration → Payroll Setup → New CSV Import.

  2. Set the Import Setup:

    • Import Type: Custom Records

    • Record Type: Pay Component

  3. Select your prepared CSV file, then click Next.

Step 3: Select Import Options

  1. Import Action:

    • Data handling: Select Update (Very important).

  2. Advanced Options:

    • Enable Keep log system notes.

    • Enable Run server as a script.

  3. Custom Form: Select Custom Pay Component Form.

  4. Click Next to continue.

Step 4: Map Fields (and Set Default Values)

Required Mapping:

  • Internal ID → Internal ID (Pay Component)

If the same frequency, UOM, or Start Date applies to all records in your import (recommended):

  1. Leave the corresponding column blank in your CSV template.

  2. In the mapping screen, select the field (e.g., Pay Frequency) and click the Edit (pencil) icon.

  3. Select Provide Default Value.

  4. Choose the new frequency (e.g., Semi-Monthly), UOM, or Start Date.

  5. Repeat this process for Start Date and UOM if needed.

  6. Click OK and then Next.

 

Step 5: Save and Run Import

  1. Input Map Name (e.g., Update Pay Component Frequency).

  2. Click Save & Run Import.

  3. Review the import results to confirm records updated successfully.

Final Payroll Validation (Recommended Before Running Live Payroll)

  • Run a sample payroll.

  • Confirm salary amounts look correct on the pay stub.

  • Confirm deduction timing and amounts match policy (especially monthly items).

  • Validate CPP and EI amounts calculate as expected.

  • Confirm employer contributions (if applicable).

  • Roll back the sample pay run once validation is complete to clear the test data before running the live payroll.

Key Considerations

  • Pay frequency changes can impact CPP basic exemption per pay period and how CPP/EI are calculated.

  • Employees with additional tax amounts may require TD1 updates (if this change is part of a larger payroll update).

  • Communicate changes to employees if the new frequency affects pay dates or deduction timing.

     

☑️ Summary Checklist

Status Action Item Compliance/Review Point
☐ Final Pay Run Processed Confirmed the last pay run of the old year/frequency is complete.
☐ ROE Generated Service Canada Compliance: Record of Employment (ROE) issued for all affected employees due to pay period type change.
☐ Pay Frequency Updated Confirmed pay frequency field is successfully changed on all employee records (individual or mass update).
☐ Pay Components Reviewed Verified salary/hourly setup and deduction/contribution annualization and timing are correct.
☐ Sample Payroll Validated Confirmed a test pay run accurately calculated wages, deductions, and contributions.
☐ CPP and EI Confirmed Confirmed mandatory contributions calculated correctly under the new frequency rules.
☐ Employee Communication Completed Employees notified of changes to pay dates, deduction timing, or net pay impact (if applicable).

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