Off-Cycle Payroll
Paying select workers outside your regular payroll schedule
Off-cycle payroll pays select workers outside your regular payroll schedule — bonuses, reimbursements, advances, or other one-time payments that don't need to wait for the next scheduled run.
When to Use Off-Cycle Payroll
| Scenario | Example |
|---|---|
| Bonus payments | Discretionary or performance bonuses, contractual bonus payouts |
| Reimbursements | A one-off expense reimbursement that shouldn't wait for the next regular run |
| Advances | A payment made ahead of when it would normally be due |
| One-time payments | Any single payment that doesn't belong on the regular schedule |
Creating an Off-Cycle Payroll
- Navigate to Payroll in the main navigation.
- Start a new run and choose Off-cycle as the run type.
- Pick the pay period and a check date, the same way you would for a regular payroll (any Monday–Sunday week — off-cycle isn't restricted to periods that already have a paid regular payroll).
- In Employees & Loan-outs, add the payees you're paying — an off-cycle run starts with every payee excluded, so nothing carries forward from your last payroll automatically.
Starting an off-cycle run doesn't require finishing or closing out any in-progress regular payroll first. It's normal to have both open at once.
The Payday Guardrail
You can't check-date an off-cycle run for the same day your company normally runs regular payroll. If you try, the check-date field is blocked with: "off-cycle payrolls cannot be run on the same day as a regular payroll cycle."
This exists to keep off-cycle runs from being used to dodge the $750 minimum that applies to regular payroll — see Platform Fees & Billing. Greenroom figures out your regular payday automatically from the pay dates of your past regular runs (defaulting to Thursday if you haven't run a regular payroll yet), and blocks any off-cycle check date that lands on that same weekday, or on the exact date of an existing regular run's paycheck.
If you need to pay someone on your actual regular payday, that's what the regular run is for.
Processing Steps
Off-cycle runs go through the same five-step flow as every other run type:
| Step | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Employees & Loan-outs | Add the employees and loan-outs you're paying — starts empty |
| 2 | Vendors & Contractors | Add any vendor or contractor payments — see Vendors and Contractors for who belongs here |
| 3 | Payroll Summary | Review payroll details and totals |
| 4 | Union Reports | Review union-specific data for included payees |
| 5 | Submit Payroll | Finalize and pay |
Fees
Off-cycle runs have no $750 minimum — you're charged the normal percentage-of-wages and $10-per-payee rate with no floor underneath it. See Platform Fees & Billing for the full fee model.
Best Practices
- Add only the payees who actually need this off-cycle payment — nothing carries forward automatically
- Use a clear payroll name or note that explains the purpose of the run (for example, "Q1 Bonus — March 2026")
- Communicate with payees in advance so they understand the timing and amount
- Check the payday guardrail early — if your intended check date is blocked, plan for the next available day
- Process with enough lead time to meet direct deposit timing
Next Steps
Return to the Payroll Introduction for an overview of all payroll types, or see Creating a Payroll Run for standard payroll creation.