A Payroll Close Checklist That Actually Holds Up

Most payroll errors aren't system failures. They're process failures.

Someone forgot to log a mid-cycle rate change. A contractor invoice came in a day late. A new state registration wasn't set up before the first paycheck went out.

A real close checklist accounts for the boring exceptions: new hires, terminations, rate changes, benefits deductions, and multi-state tax setup.

It's checked in that order, every cycle, by a person who isn't also trying to remember it from memory.

The goal isn't a perfect system.

It's a repeatable one, so payroll accuracy doesn't depend on nobody having a bad week.