Troubleshooting

This page covers what's actually going on behind a handful of situations that look like something's broken but usually aren't. For everyday how-do-I questions, see Common Issues; for things that genuinely aren't built yet, see Known Gaps.

Signing in

Locked out after too many failed password attempts, or need to set up two-factor authentication and recovery codes? Both are covered in detail in Signing In and Authentication & Recovery Codes — the short version is that a lockout clears itself after a wait, and resetting your password clears it immediately without waiting.

A payroll run is stuck at "Paying out"

A run normally moves through Draft → In review → Approved → Processing → Paying out → Paid. Processing is usually brief, but an interrupted submit can leave it there; see A submit that came back refused below. Paying out means our tax partner has accepted the payroll and Greenroom is waiting on final payment confirmation before marking it Paid.

If a run has been at Paying out for an unusually long time (hours, not minutes), don't assume it will resolve itself indefinitely — contact support with the run's code. There's currently no separate on-screen indicator that distinguishes "still settling normally" from "something went wrong on the payment side," so an unusually long wait is the signal to reach out rather than keep waiting.

A submit that came back refused

If our tax partner definitely refuses the submit, Greenroom returns the run to In review and shows the reason. An Admin or Payroll teammate can correct the problem. The refused submission keeps the approval for the revision that was approved: Approved. Not submitted yet means the approval succeeded but submission did not. A submit refused because our tax partner is holding your company's payroll is titled Payroll is on hold instead; see Payroll is on hold. Once the refusal is resolved, the reviewer whose approval is still current, or an Admin or Payroll teammate, can review the attestation and choose Submit to Greenroom.

If the outcome is unknown because the submit was interrupted, the run stays at Processing. Wait about 15 minutes after the first submit; Resume submit then appears on the Submit Payroll step if submission still hasn't finished. It checks the existing payroll with our tax partner before continuing. An Admin, Payroll teammate, or the reviewer whose approval is still current can use it; an Approver must confirm the attestation for the revision they approved. Don't start another run for a submit that may already have been accepted. If resuming fails again, contact Greenroom. See Processing Payroll.

Your role can't use a control

Admin and Payroll can edit payees, prepare and submit payroll, and send checks. Approver can review and approve a payroll someone else prepared; the final required approval submits it automatically, unless the company's final review is still pending or a submit check refuses it. The reviewer whose approval is still current can also finish that submission if it was refused or interrupted. Only Admin can change company setup, banking, the team, or QuickBooks. Look up your role on Settings → Team. An action your role no longer permits says, "Your role on this company can't do that. Ask an admin."

A payroll run won't submit

Start with the message itself — Greenroom names what's blocking rather than failing generically, and Processing Payroll lists every block in the order they're checked. Three catch people out most often: every entry on the run is excluded (which is a different problem from an empty run and has a different fix), the funding reconciliation with our tax partner doesn't balance (which has no override, deliberately), and a payee paid manually without a signed manual payment certification. The run's Vendors & Contractors and Payroll Summary steps warn about that last one ahead of time, under Manual payment certification needed before you send this payroll, with a link to each payee's setup page; sending for approval is refused until the certification is signed in their start-work packet.

Missing union hours are a fourth. Where a union bills a benefit by the hour for a payee's job title, the run's union report needs that payee's hours worked. Until every such report has them, the payroll can't be sent for approval or submitted: the step bar's Submit step and the Submit button are both off, with the hint Enter hours worked on the union reports first, and the Submit step names the report ("Enter hours worked on the [union] report first. This payroll can't be submitted until then."). An Admin or Payroll teammate enters the hours on the Union Reports step. Marking a union report reviewed is optional; the hours aren't.

If your company has Require approval from another person turned on (Settings → Company: the Payroll approvals card before company approval, the Payroll and approvals group after — this is the default), a run needs approval from someone who didn't prepare it: anyone whose change moved what the run pays has prepared it, and until anyone has, the person who started it counts. One approval is enough. Send for approval emails the other eligible teammates and shows the delivery result on the Submit step. The Dashboard reads Waiting on approval for each preparer and Waiting for your approval for an eligible reviewer. The reviewer checks the attestation and approves; the final required approval submits the payroll automatically, unless the company's final review is still pending or a submit check refuses it. A refused Send for approval is titled Not sent for approval and gives the reason.

Until then the Submit step reads Needs approval from someone other than [preparer], naming every preparer. If nobody who didn't prepare the run is set up to approve it, the notice names anyone who hasn't set a password; see When no teammate is set up to approve yet. Approval waits while taxes are being calculated. Changing payroll amounts clears the approval, but a check-date change keeps it when the amounts stay the same. If you're running a one-person show, an Admin can turn this setting off in Settings.

The company's final review is pending

The first-payroll checklist tracks Our tax partner's final review as Not started, In review, or Done (or Not confirmed if its status couldn't be read). Greenroom sends the company for this review once setup is ready. You can prepare payroll, send it for approval, and record approvals while it is pending. Only the final submission to our tax partner waits, and finishing the review doesn't submit anything by itself: once the line reads Done, the reviewer whose approval is still current, or an Admin or Payroll teammate, chooses Submit to Greenroom. Follow any named setup task; Greenroom follows up on the review itself.

Payroll is on hold

A submit refused under Payroll is on hold means our tax partner is holding your company's payroll even though it has reported the final review complete: "This company's payroll is on hold. You can prepare payroll, send it for approval and record approvals now. You can submit once the hold is lifted. Greenroom is following up." There's nothing for your team to fix, and a recorded approval is kept. Once the hold is lifted, submit again: Submit to Greenroom for a recorded approval, otherwise Submit payroll. See If your company's payroll is on hold.

The check date's approval deadline passed

An Admin or Payroll teammate chooses Change check date, picks a new available date, and selects Save check date. Greenroom saves the date and recalculates taxes for it. If recalculation fails after the date saves, open Payroll Summary and recalculate there before submitting. A demo payroll keeps estimated taxes. Existing approvals still count if the amounts stay the same. An Approver asks an editing teammate to change the date.

Our tax partner needs the company's phone number

An Admin adds or confirms it in Business info on Settings → Company and saves. Saving sends the company's phone number and website to our tax partner. Then return to the run and submit again.

The New York unemployment rate needs a decision

This applies to a run with an included employee; a contractor-only run has no unemployment-rate decision or warning. An Admin or Payroll teammate reviews the choices on Submit Payroll. Look up your New York unemployment rate opens the state's employer site; use the assigned rate there or your annual UI Rate Notice (Form IA 97). An Approver asks an editing teammate to make the decision before finishing submission.

Until a rate is added, payroll calculates at the rate our tax partner holds for the payroll's pay date, or, when it holds none, at 4.025%, New York's rate for new employers; the decision names that rate, or says it couldn't read our tax partner's. I'm a new employer — use 4.025% saves that rate as yours; Continue without it for now saves nothing, so the payroll calculates at the rate the decision names and later payrolls keep reminding you. A different rate added before the quarter ends is settled when the quarter ends: our tax partner recalculates the quarter and debits or credits you the difference. Once a quarter has ended, New York bills or credits you directly. Leave New York's 0.075% Re-employment Service Fund out of the rate you enter: a 3.4% total on the notice is entered as 3.325%.

"Deductions exceed pay"

An included payee with negative net pay blocks sending for approval, approval and submission. Payroll Summary names the payee and how much their deductions exceed their pay. An Admin or Payroll teammate corrects the deductions there, or on the payee's profile for a recurring deduction. See Negative net pay.

A post-tax deduction with a lump-sum target, such as initiation dues, never causes this block: it takes only what the check can still cover, and Payroll Summary lists it under Installments reduced. Any other deduction that overdraws the check still does.

The tax badge says "Payee setup needs attention" or "Payroll sync failed"

For Admin and Payroll, Greenroom works out a run's real taxes with our tax partner when you continue to Payroll Summary or choose Calculate taxes. If that fails, the badge on that step turns red, the reason appears beneath it, and a Retry sync button appears for those roles.

• Payee setup needs attention means our tax partner won't accept one of your employees yet, so the payroll was not sent. The message names them, for example "[Name] can't be paid on this payroll yet: our tax partner is still missing their personal details (date of birth or home address). This payroll was not sent." When the fix is the payee's record, complete it, give it a minute or two to reach our tax partner, then click Retry sync; other missing steps, such as a contractor's EIN, name their own fix in the message. Or take them off this run with Remove from run (keeps entries) and pay everyone else. If the record already looks complete, contact support.
• Payroll sync failed comes with its own reason, and most reasons say to try again. One, "Our tax partner did not open a payroll for this run, or did not confirm that it had…", asks you to contact Greenroom before syncing again, because a retry could open a second payroll with our tax partner. A sync that runs out of time says so: "Syncing this payroll with our tax partner took longer than its 9-minute limit, so it stopped before finishing and the amounts shown are our own estimates. Sync again; if it stops here again, contact Greenroom before approving this payroll." Follow what the message says.

With Approver, you get no tax-sync button. The failed-sync note says, "Ask a Payroll or Admin teammate to resolve this before you approve the payroll."

Taxes out of date — recalculate before submitting means the payroll changed after its last calculation. An Admin or Payroll teammate recalculates from Payroll Summary before submitting.

"A submitted run can no longer be edited"

The run left Draft or In review while you had it open — usually because a colleague submitted it. Every edit is checked against the run's status at the moment it's written, under the run's own lock, so a change that arrives mid-submit is refused with this message instead of landing after the fact. Refresh to see the run's current status; if it has genuinely gone out, the correction is a new run (an amendment, once the original is paid). See Payroll Run Status.

A payee won't show up as ready for payroll

Two different things are going on here, and it helps to tell them apart: what's still needed for the payee, and whether a run has taken them in.

If the list says Needs attention, our tax partner has refused the payee's mailing address. Open their payee page for the reason and next step; an Admin or Payroll teammate corrects it. See Address refusals.

What's still needed for the payee

Hover the status dot on the payee list, or open the payee and check the What's left for payroll card (it reads Ready for payroll once nothing is left), to see exactly what's outstanding. The items that keep the dot from turning green are:

• A pay rate on file that hasn't ended: one in effect, or one starting later. A payee whose rates have all ended reads Add a current pay rate. (Not required for vendors, who bill per invoice, or for a contractor or loan-out on Contract / invoice-based payment, so their card leaves the item out.)
• Required documents collected (varies by payee type)
• Tax setup resolved. A tax ID held by our tax partner rather than by Greenroom counts; the item then reads Tax id kept with our tax partner. A payee marked W-9 not required owes no tax ID, so their card leaves the item out.
• Their setup approved. Until it is, the item reads Review and approve their setup once the setup is submitted, Approve their setup once they make the changes you asked for after you've asked for changes, or Approve their setup once it's finished, and it links to their Finish payee setup. No payee reads Payroll-ready before approval.
• Nothing blocking with our tax partner. Outside a demo company, a task that blocks the payee reads Resolve 1 blocking task from our tax partner (or the number of them), and, on the payee's own page, an approved payee who still isn't connected to our tax partner reads Connection to our tax partner is missing.

A missing or pending tax-withholding status shows as an advisory (Payroll-ready · tax pending, listed under Advisory — doesn't block payroll) rather than keeping the payee off a run, because our tax partner, not Greenroom, is the system of record for it. It doesn't stop the run being submitted either: an employee with unfinished tax forms is paid with taxes withheld at the standard single rate, and the submit screen lists them in a Tax forms not finished notice (see What can block submitting). Submitting is refused only for an employee our tax partner itself reports as blocked. An approved employee whose employer I-9 attestation hasn't been recorded yet reads Payroll-ready, and hovering it says Other setup tasks remain, but payroll can continue. (see Document Validation).

Whether a run has taken them in

A draft payroll takes in each payee whose setup has been approved and who has a pay rate for the run's period or pay carried from the last regular run. A contractor or loan-out on Contract / invoice-based payment needs neither; nor does a union payee on a benefits-only week. A vendor with no rate and nothing carried isn't taken in, even though a vendor never needs a rate to be ready (see How a run gets built); Vendors & Contractors says so and sends you to the vendor's payee page to add a rate. A minor also waits until their child performer trust is signed and its account is set up. In the panel above either step's table, Not ready yet lists Onboarding incomplete or No active pay rate (never for a vendor), with Finish onboarding linking to the payee record. For a payee whose rate doesn't cover the run, the row says what's wrong with it instead, for example Pay rate ended [date]; add one that covers this run or Pay rate starts [date], after this run's period. A missing child trust reads Needs a signed child trust with its account set up, with Open Finish setup linking to setup. Also worth checking: an archived payee can't join a new run at all — restore them first if they need to be paid again.

A union payee with no job title can't be submitted for approval or approved, automatic approval included. Their record shows "Job title still needed. Pick a title from the [union] list or type a custom title, then submit again.", with a Go to Engagement & union link.

A payee who becomes eligible after you start a draft payroll isn't added to it on their own. The same panel names them under Ready to add, with their type and union and an Add of their own; Add all appears for two or more ready payees. The notice after an add names who joined, any other payees recalculated, approvals cleared, and taxes needing another sync with our tax partner. It names anyone added but excluded from totals, and why. If someone is no longer ready, nothing in that add is added; a tax calculation in progress also refuses the add. See Who isn't on this run for the exact notices.

"Already uses that email" when adding a payee

Each email address can only belong to one active payee per company. Adding a payee with an email that's already in use returns a message naming the existing payee and their payee code, "[Name] already uses [email] (payee [code]) — they may have been added on an earlier try. Open that payee, or use a different email.", so you can tell whether it's a genuine duplicate (open that payee instead) or a retry after an earlier attempt seemed to fail. If the original payee was archived, their email is free to reuse — archiving isn't a delete, but it does release the email.

A payee's account-setup link doesn't work

The account-creation link Greenroom emails a payee expires. Once one has (or has already been used), opening it shows This link isn't valid and "It may have expired or already been used. Ask the company that invited you to send a fresh invite." There's no self-service renewal — an Admin or Payroll teammate needs to open that payee's own page and resend the invite from there (see Resending an onboarding invite).

Bank or routing number rejected

Routing numbers aren't just checked for being 9 digits — they're checked against the actual bank routing-number checksum, so a plausible-looking but mistyped number is caught before it's saved ("That routing number doesn't pass the bank checksum — double-check it."). If you're confident the number is right and it's still rejected, double-check for a transposed digit rather than assuming the check itself is wrong.

Data seems to be missing

Almost always a filter. The payee list hides offboarded (archived) payees by default — switch on the Offboarded chip to see them. Search, type tabs, the Onboarding chip, and the Bank verification, Union, and Onboarding filters all narrow the list further and stay applied until you clear them. See Filters and Search for the full list of what's filtering your view at any given time.

A change didn't save

Three messages mean a save didn't go through the normal way:

• "Greenroom was just updated, so this page is out of date. Reloading — that change was not saved, so please make it again." Your tab was opened before an update. It reloads itself; make the change again.
• "Greenroom was just updated, so this page is out of date. That change was not saved: reload the page and make it again." The same, when the page doesn't reload by itself. Reload it, then make the change again.
• "We couldn't confirm that change — the connection dropped mid-save. Reload the page and check whether it went through before retrying." The change may or may not have saved. Reload and look before you try again, so it isn't made twice.

When Greenroom was only loading something, not saving a change, the message says so, and nothing was lost: "Greenroom was just updated, so this page is out of date. Reloading it now.", "Greenroom was just updated, so this page is out of date. Reload the page to continue.", or "We couldn't load that. Try again in a moment."

Getting help

When something needs a real person, email hello@greenroompayroll.com — the address the product itself uses everywhere it offers support. Include what you were trying to do, the exact error text if there was one, the ref code if you saw a "Something went wrong" card, and the relevant payee code or run code — all of them are visible on their respective pages and make it much faster to look up what happened.

Next steps

See Common Issues for everyday questions, Known Gaps for functionality that isn't built yet, or Filters and Search if what you're looking for seems to have disappeared.