Add Team Members to Square Payroll
Adding employees to Square Payroll is a quick and easy process. Employees can also set up their own accounts, saving you time.
Create a New Team Member Profile from Square Dashboard
Log in to your online Square Dashboard and click Staff > Team > Team Members.
Click + Team member. You can also create a team member in the Square Point of Sale app by tapping Team.
Fill out the team member’s Profile. Enter the team member’s name, email address, and phone number. The email address and phone number fields are optional. The team member ID is optional, but we recommend filling it out.
Click Next.
Assign job titles and wages
On the Jobs screen, you can assign job titles and wages to track your labor cost and, if using Square Shifts, view team members’ time spent performing one or multiple job functions at your business.
On the Jobs screen, provide a primary job title and pay type (hourly or salary). Note: If the job already exists, click Primary job title to access a drop-down menu of existing jobs.
Based on the selected pay type, enter an hourly rate or annual salary and weekly hours.
If the employee will have multiple jobs, click Add another job.
Click Next.
Set up permissions
On the Access screen, you can assign permissions to the team member. With permissions you can allow your team members to log in to the Square app to accept payments, clock in and out using the Square app, or access your online Square Dashboard.
From the Access screen, select an existing Permission set or click Add permission set. Note: Custom permissions are available to Team Plus paid subscribers. Creating new permission sets is only available through the online Square Dashboard and cannot be done in-app.
Click Locations to select the appropriate location your team member will work from. Note: If you’re using multiple locations and would like to give your team member permission for each, toggle on Assign to All Current and Future Locations.
Create a personal passcode the team member will use to log in and track time. You can customize this passcode or create it randomly by clicking Generate.
Click Save & review.
Note: Make sure to keep this passcode for your records and provide it to your team member. Each passcode is unique per team member; this is how they’ll access the Square app on any device paired to your business location.
Add Team Member to Payroll
If you're already subscribed to Square Payroll, some of the fields will be prefilled.
From the Payroll screen, select the team member employment type. Note: If the team member is classified as both an employee and an independent contractor, select both.
Select a Payment method.
Enter the employee hire date and toggle on File a new hire report on my behalf if desired.
Select the employee’s Work Address for tax purposes. If your employee’s work location is outside of your business’ primary tax jurisdiction, you need to provide the state tax account numbers for the additional work location for Square Payroll to pay and file your taxes for you. Learn more about multiple tax jurisdictions.
Select an Employment pay history option.
Select the team member’s Compensation information: Hourly or Salaried.
Enable the Paid Time Off (PTO) and/or Sick Leave option to set up a PTO and/or sick leave policy for the employee.
Click Save. Your team member will appear on your payroll roster.
If applicable, check the Overtime Exemption and Tip Eligibility options.
Provide us with the employee’s start date. If the employee is a new hire, please check the box File a New Hire Report on my behalf so we may file this for you.
If the employee is not a new hire, please provide us with their year to date gross pay (if they have already been paid by your business with payroll taxes applied).
Select the employee’s Work Address for tax purposes. If your employee’s work location is outside of your business’ primary tax jurisdiction, you need to provide the state tax account numbers for the additional work location for Square Payroll to pay and file your taxes for you. Learn more about processing payroll in multiple tax jurisdictions.
Enable the Paid Time Off (PTO) and/or Sick Leave option if you would like to set up a PTO and/or Sick Leave policy for the employee.
Click Generate Point of Sale Passcode if you would like to use Timecards through Square Payroll.
Add any applicable Benefits or Garnishments and Other Post-Tax Deductions.
If applicable, enter the employee’s personal, taxpayer information and bank account information. This is only required if an email address is not provided for the employee to fill out this information themselves.
After you click Save, your team member will appear on your payroll roster.
You cannot pay an employee until their personal information has been entered. You have the ability to change an employee’s payment method at any time.
Note: For overtime-exempt employees with a standard workweek of more than 40 hours, an hourly rate for salaried employees is calculated based on the annual salary divided by the hours the employee works in a year (hourly rate = annual salary / (weekly hours * 52)). For non-exempt salaried employees, if the work week is greater than 40 hours, all hours beyond 40 hours will be paid at the overtime rate of 1.5x hourly rate. This means that the sum of the employees’ paychecks for the year will be greater than their annual salary. Click here for a reference guide.
Review Team Member Information
Once you complete a new team member’s profile, confirm all information and click Done.
Converting a 1099 Contractor to a W-2 Employee
Square Payroll allows your team members to be classified as both a W-2 employee and a 1099 contractor. If you would like to switch an individual’s employment type, click the applicable box on the Team Member’s payroll profile in the Payroll Team section of your online Payroll dashboard or the Square Team App.
Not sure if you have an employee who should receive a Form W-2 or an independent contractor who should receive Form 1099-NEC? Read The Bottom Line's post on 1099 vs. W-2 to learn more.
Click here for instructions on how to Add Independent Contractors to Square Payroll.
Reactivate an Employee in Square Payroll
To reactivate an individual who has been removed from Square Payroll:
Go to Payroll Team in the Payroll section of your online Square Dashboard.
Select the individual you would like to add back to Square Payroll. Their status should be listed as Inactive.
Check the Employee and/or Contractor Employment Type box. Note: The individual’s payment method will default to the previous payment method. Team members who previously had an online account enabled will have their account reactivated with the same email address.
Click Save