Employees
Every person you pay through payroll (as opposed to a contractor) needs an employee record. The record holds who they are, where they work and live, what you pay them and how often, the tax forms that decide how much tax is taken from their pay, and the bank account their pay goes to. Bokapsys uses all of it when it calculates a pay run, and again at year end for their W-2.
You manage employees under Payroll → People, which has three tabs:
| Tab | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Employees | Everyone on payroll, with their number, name, email, type, work state, hire date and status. |
| Contractors | People and businesses you pay as contractors. See Contractors. |
| Onboarding | New starters: everyone in their first 30 days or not yet started, with whether their I-9, W-4 and direct deposit are done. |
Before you start
Section titled “Before you start”- Your role can manage employees. To enter pay rates, W-4s, state withholding and bank details you also need permission to manage compensation (by default Super admin, Admin and CFO have both). See Team and roles.
- Create your pay schedule first, so you can choose it on each employee. See Pay schedules.
- Moving from another provider? You can import employees from a file instead of typing them in. See Switching providers.
Gather for each person:
- Full legal name, as on their Social Security card.
- Social Security number (SSN), 9 digits.
- Date of birth and hire date.
- Home address.
- The state they work in.
- Their pay: annual salary, or hourly rate and usual weekly hours.
- Their completed Form W-4 (Employee’s Withholding Certificate). This tells you how much federal income tax to withhold.
- Their state withholding form, if their state has one.
- Their Form I-9 dates (the federal form that confirms they are allowed to work in the US), if you track it here.
- Their bank routing and account numbers, if you enter direct deposit for them.
Add an employee
Section titled “Add an employee”Adding an employee is two passes: first you create the record, then you fill in the tax forms and bank details, because the W-4, state withholding, direct deposit and I-9 sections only appear once the record exists.
- In the sidebar, open Payroll → People. The Employees tab opens.
- Click Add employee. A blank employee page opens.
- Fill in the Personal, Employment, Compensation and Home address sections, using the tables below. Voluntary self-identification (EEO) is optional.
- Click Save at the bottom right. You see Employee added with the person’s name and number, and the page becomes that person’s record.
- You now see four more sections: Federal tax withholding (Form W-4), State and local tax withholding, Direct deposit and Work eligibility (Form I-9). Fill them in as described below.
- Click Save again. One Save button saves everything you changed on the page, and the message says what was updated, for example Updated details, pay, W-4.
If you try to leave with unsaved changes, Bokapsys asks Leave without saving? first.
Personal
Section titled “Personal”| Field | Required | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| First name, Middle name, Last name | First and last: yes | Their legal name, as on their Social Security card. This is what prints on the W-2. | Maria, L, Gonzalez |
| Preferred name | No | The name they like to be called. | Mari |
| No | Their email address. Needed to invite them to see their own payslips. | maria@example.com | |
| Phone | No | Their phone number. | 614-555-0123 |
| Birth date | No | Date of birth. Must be before the hire date. It also decides whether they can make age-50 catch-up retirement contributions. | 03/14/1990 |
| Social security number | Not to save, but needed for the W-2 | Their 9-digit SSN, with or without hyphens. It is stored encrypted, and only the last four digits are ever shown again. | 123-45-6789 |
| Employee number | No (new employees only) | Leave blank and Bokapsys numbers them for you. Letters, numbers, dashes and underscores only. | EMP-0042 |
Employment
Section titled “Employment”| Field | Required | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hire date | Yes | Their first day of work. A date in the future marks them as Not started yet until that day. It must be within a year from today. | 01/06/2026 |
| Employment type | Has a default | How they are employed: Full-time, Part-time, Temporary, Fixed-term, Seasonal, Intern and others. Used for your records and reports. | Full-time |
| Classification | Has a default | How they are treated under wage-and-hour rules. W-2 non-exempt (overtime eligible) means entitled to overtime; W-2 exempt (salaried, no overtime) means a salaried role not entitled to overtime. Other choices cover tipped, piece-rate, commission-only, union, seasonal, intern and corporate officers. | W-2 non-exempt (overtime eligible) |
| Work state | Not to save, but needed for state tax | The state where they physically work. This decides which state’s unemployment tax applies and, normally, which state’s income tax is withheld. | Ohio |
| Workers comp class code | No | The class code from your workers’ compensation policy, for example 8810 for clerical. Used by the Workers Compensation report. | 8810 |
| State tax reciprocity → Certificate on file | No | Tick when the employee has given you a certificate asking you to withhold for their home state instead of the work state. A Certificate received date appears when ticked. See Withholding. | Ticked |
Compensation
Section titled “Compensation”| Field | Required | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay type | Yes | Salaried (annual) or Hourly. | Hourly |
| Annual salary (USD) | For salaried | Gross pay for a full year. Bokapsys divides it by the number of pay periods in the year: 52 for weekly, 26 for every two weeks, 24 for twice a month, 12 for monthly. | 52000 |
| Hourly rate (USD) | For hourly | Pay per hour. | 22.50 |
| Standard weekly hours | Has a default of 40 | The hours an hourly employee usually works in a week. Used when no regular hours are logged for the pay period. Between 1 and 168. | 40 |
| Pay schedule | Recommended | The pay schedule this person is paid on. | Every other Friday (Every 2 weeks) |
The line under the Compensation heading tells you the date the current pay started.
Pay schedule. A pay run created for a schedule includes everyone assigned to that schedule, and also everyone left on Default (run schedule). Someone assigned to a different schedule is left out. When you pay on more than one schedule, choose a schedule for each person so nobody is paid on the wrong one.
An employee without a salary or an hourly rate is not included in any pay run, because there is nothing to pay.
Pay items for this employee
Section titled “Pay items for this employee”Under Pay items you see the earnings and deductions you added yourself under Payroll → Compensation, such as a car allowance or union dues. Tick the ones that apply to this person; standard pay and taxes always apply. See Compensation.
Home address
Section titled “Home address”| Field | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Address line 1, Address line 2, City, ZIP code | Their home address. Printed on the W-2. A ZIP code is 5 digits, or 5+4. | 88 Elm Ave, Covington, 41011 |
| State | Their home state. Bokapsys uses it with Work state to spot reciprocity between states (see Withholding). | Kentucky |
Voluntary self-identification (EEO)
Section titled “Voluntary self-identification (EEO)”Gender, Race / ethnicity and EEO job category are optional. They are used only for the aggregate EEO-1 report (a workforce report some larger employers must file) and are never shown on payslips or to managers.
Federal tax withholding (Form W-4)
Section titled “Federal tax withholding (Form W-4)”This section appears after you first save the employee. Copy the figures from the employee’s signed Form W-4. The line under the heading says whether a W-4 is on file and since when. If nothing is on file, Bokapsys withholds as for “Single”, with no adjustments.
| Field | What it means, and where it is on the W-4 | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Filing status (Step 1c) | Single or married filing separately, Married filing jointly, or Head of household. Step 1(c) of the form. | Single or married filing separately |
| Dependents credit (Step 3, USD a year) | The total dollar amount from Step 3. Enter the amount, not the number of children. | 4400 |
| Other income (Step 4a, USD a year) | Yearly income not from jobs, such as interest, from Step 4(a). | 0 |
| Deductions (Step 4b, USD a year) | Deductions beyond the standard deduction, from Step 4(b). | 0 |
| Extra withholding (Step 4c, USD each pay) | Extra tax to take each pay period, from Step 4(c). | 25 |
| Multiple jobs (Step 2c), tick Box in Step 2c is ticked | Ticked when the employee checked the box in Step 2(c) because they have two jobs or a working spouse. | Unticked |
| Exempt, tick No federal income tax withheld | Ticked when the employee claimed exemption from withholding. | Unticked |
A change you save applies from today. Employees who have access to Bokapsys can also sign their own W-4 under Account → My W-4. See Employee self-service.
State and local tax withholding
Section titled “State and local tax withholding”For most states Bokapsys works out state income tax from the state’s published tables. Here you can add the details from the employee’s state withholding certificate, or, for a state where Bokapsys does not hold the tables, enter the amount to withhold yourself. Withholding explains how.
Direct deposit
Section titled “Direct deposit”The bank account the employee’s net pay goes to. You can add it here, or the employee can add it themselves under Account → My Direct Deposit.
- In Direct deposit, click Add bank account. The Add a bank account window opens.
- Fill in Label, Routing number, Account number, Confirm account number (it can’t be pasted, so it must be typed) and Account type (Checking or Savings).
- If the employee already has an account, tick Pay everything here instead of the current main account to make the new one their Main account.
- Click Add account. You see Bank account added: “Pay goes to it from the next pay run.”
The routing number must be a real 9-digit US routing number (Bokapsys checks it), and the account number 4 to 17 digits. Only the last four digits of each are ever shown again. To remove an account, click the red bin icon on its row.
Net pay goes to the Main account. An account you add here that is not the main one is kept on file but receives nothing. To split pay between accounts (for example a fixed amount to savings and the rest to checking), the employee sets that up on My Direct Deposit. See Paying employees.
With no account on file, the employee is left out of the direct deposit file and you pay them another way.
Work eligibility (Form I-9)
Section titled “Work eligibility (Form I-9)”A record of the employee’s I-9, the form that confirms they may work in the US. The line under the heading shows the Status (for example Section 1 complete or Verified) and a reverification date if their work authorization expires.
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| Work authorization type | U.S. citizen, Noncitizen national, Lawful permanent resident, or Noncitizen authorized to work. |
| Work authorization expiry | The date their work authorization ends. Leave blank for citizens and permanent residents. |
| E-Verify status | If you use E-Verify: Not submitted, Pending, Employment authorized and so on. |
| Section 1 completed | The date the employee completed Section 1. |
| Section 2 completed | The date you checked their documents and completed Section 2. |
| E-Verify case number | If you use E-Verify: the case number. |
Worked example
Section titled “Worked example”You hire Maria Gonzalez as an hourly baker in Ohio, paid every two weeks.
| Section | What you enter |
|---|---|
| Personal | Maria L Gonzalez, SSN 123-45-6789 |
| Employment | Hire date 01/06/2026, Full-time, W-2 non-exempt, Work state Ohio |
| Compensation | Hourly, Hourly rate 22.50, Standard weekly hours 40, Pay schedule “Every other Friday” |
| Home address | 120 Oak St, Columbus, Ohio, 43215 |
| W-4 (after saving) | Single or married filing separately, Dependents credit 2200, everything else blank |
If no hours are logged for a two-week period, her regular pay for that run is 40 hours × 2 weeks × $22.50 = $1,800.00 gross. Overtime is paid only on overtime hours you log. Social Security at the 2026 rate of 6.2% is $111.60, and Medicare at 1.45% is $26.10. Federal and Ohio income tax come from her W-4 and the published tables. You pay a matching $111.60 and $26.10 as the employer, plus unemployment taxes.
Edit an employee
Section titled “Edit an employee”- Open Payroll → People → Employees.
- Click the person’s Employee #. Their record opens.
- Change what you need anywhere on the page.
- Click Save. The message says what was updated.
The SSN box is empty when you edit, to keep the number private; it shows “On file, ending 6789”. Leave it empty to keep the number on file; type a new number only to replace it.
If someone else saved the same employee while you had it open, saving fails with Someone else changed this employee, so you never overwrite their change without seeing it. Reload the page and make your change again.
Change someone’s pay
Section titled “Change someone’s pay”A pay change is dated. Bokapsys keeps the old rate for pay periods before the change and uses the new rate from the date you give.
- Open the employee and change Annual salary or Hourly rate (or the Pay schedule, Standard weekly hours or ticked Pay items) in Compensation.
- Three more fields appear. In Effective date, choose the first day the new pay applies. It defaults to today and cannot be before the hire date.
- In Reason, choose Raise, Promotion, Market adjustment, Demotion or Correcting a mistake, and add a Note if you like.
- Click Save.
The change appears in Pay history below, with its From and Until dates, the pay, the reason and your note. The current row is marked Current, and a change dated in the future is marked Upcoming. A pay run uses the rate in effect on its pay date.
Invite an employee to self-service
Section titled “Invite an employee to self-service”Employees can see their own payslips and W-2s, sign their W-4 and manage their bank accounts. See Employee self-service.
- Make sure the employee has an Email on their record.
- Open the employee and click Invite to self-service at the top.
- You see Invitation sent. If they already sign in to your workspace, you see Linked instead, and their payslips are available to them straight away.
The button disappears once the employee is linked to a sign-in.
When someone leaves, or comes back
Section titled “When someone leaves, or comes back”Use Terminate and Rehire at the top of the employee’s page. When an employee leaves walks through both, including the final pay deadline Bokapsys shows you.
Find employees
Section titled “Find employees”On the Employees tab, use Search employees to find people by name, employee number or email, and the Status list to show Active, Not started yet, On leave, Suspended, Left or Retired.
Who is included in a pay run
Section titled “Who is included in a pay run”When you calculate a regular pay run, Bokapsys includes an employee only if all of these are true:
- Their status is Active.
- They have a salary or hourly rate in effect on the run’s pay date.
- For a run created for a pay schedule: they are on that schedule, or on Default (run schedule).
People who are Not started yet, Left or on another status are not included. Bonus, off-cycle, correction, back pay and final pay runs work differently: they pay only the people you enter amounts for. See Run payroll.
The Onboarding tab
Section titled “The Onboarding tab”Payroll → People → Onboarding lists employees in their first 30 days after their start date, or who have not started yet. For each person it shows I-9, W-4 and Direct deposit as Done (or Set up) or Missing, and the Next step, so you can chase anything missing before their first payday. Click a name to open their record.
New hires must also be reported to your state’s new-hire registry. The New Hires report tells you who to report and by when. See Payroll reports.
Common problems
Section titled “Common problems”| Message or symptom | What it means and how to fix it |
|---|---|
| First name is required, Last name is required, Hire date is required | Fill them in and save again. |
| A social security number is 9 digits | Check the employee’s card. |
| Birth date must be before the hire date | Check both dates. |
| Pay cannot start before the hire date | Choose an Effective date on or after the hire date. |
| Enter an amount above zero, like 22.50 | The salary or hourly rate is empty or zero. |
| The W-4, pay and bank sections are greyed out | Your role cannot manage compensation. Ask your admin. |
| The dashboard says people have no tax number on file | Open each person and enter their SSN. |
| Someone is missing from a pay run | Check they are Active, have a pay rate, and are not assigned to a different pay schedule. |