Form Validation and Error Handling

Greenroom checks what you enter as you go, so problems get caught before they turn into a payroll or tax issue rather than after. Most of this is quiet: several fields format themselves as you type, and you'll only see a message when something genuinely needs fixing.

Required fields

Required fields are marked with a red asterisk (*) next to the label. You can't save without filling them in.

Fields that format themselves

Phone numbers, Social Security numbers, and EINs format themselves as you type — just type the digits and Greenroom adds the punctuation:

You don't need to add dashes or parentheses yourself.

Dates

Dates are picked from a calendar, not typed — so there's no date format to get wrong. Click a date field to open the calendar, or use the year box next to the month dropdown to jump straight to a specific year (handy for a date of birth decades back).

Email addresses

Email fields check that what you typed looks like a real email address. If it doesn't, you'll see "Enter a valid email" until it's fixed.

Dollar amounts

Amounts are entered as dollars and cents. If you type extra decimal places, Greenroom rounds to the nearest cent automatically rather than showing an error. Most amount fields won't accept a negative number — the exception is payroll correction entries, which use a negative amount on purpose to claw back an earlier overpayment.

Bank details

Routing and account numbers get the strictest checking in the product. When you enter bank details for direct deposit:

• The routing number is checked against the standard ABA bank checksum. One that doesn't check out is rejected with an explanation, not silently accepted.
• Both the routing number and account number must be typed a second time to confirm, and pasting into the confirmation field is blocked on purpose — retyping is what catches a transposed digit.

See Payment Details for the full setup process.

Where error messages appear

Most field-level errors show up as plain-language text directly under the field, in red — for example, "Enter all 9 digits" for an incomplete SSN. On forms with several fields at once, like the Add Payee panel, a problem instead shows as one message near the top of the form when you try to save. Either way, the message names the specific thing to fix, and typically appears once you leave the field or try to save — not on every keystroke.

If something won't save

• Check for a red asterisk (*) on any empty required field.
• Read the message near the field or at the top of the form — it names the specific problem.
• For bank details, make sure the original and "confirm" fields match exactly (retype rather than paste).
• Still stuck? See Troubleshooting.

Next steps

See Document Validation for identity-document and I-9 requirements, Address Validation for how address entry works, or Troubleshooting for more help.