You just hired someone. Now you need to get them into the system before their first paycheck — which means collecting a lot of information you probably don’t have yet (their SSN, their W-4, their bank account). Welcome to onboarding.
The good news: once an employee is set up, payroll runs automatically. The tedious part is one-time.
Adding an employee
Go to Payroll
Navigate to Payroll → Employees and click Add Employee .
Enter personal info
Legal name
Email
Phone
Address
Date of birth
SSN
Employment details
Start date
Job title
Department
Work location
Employment type (full-time, part-time)
Compensation
Pay type (salary or hourly)
Pay rate
Pay schedule
Tax withholding
Enter W-4 information:
Filing status
Withholding allowances
Additional withholding
Direct deposit
Bank account for payments.
Personal details The basics you need for every employee:
Field Why it matters Legal name Must match their SSN card exactly — one typo breaks tax filings Preferred name What they actually go by Email Where pay stubs and tax forms go Phone For urgent payroll questions Address Determines state tax withholding — wrong state = wrong taxes DOB Required for compliance SSN Everything ties to this. Triple-check it.
Employment details Field Why it matters Start date Triggers new hire reporting to the state Job title For your records and their pay stub Department Helps with cost analysis (“what’s engineering costing us?”) Manager For approval workflows Work location Affects tax jurisdiction if you have multiple offices Status Active, on leave, or terminated
Compensation This is where money gets decided.
Salaried employees Field What it does Annual salary The number you agreed on Per-period pay Calculated automatically (annual ÷ pay periods) Exempt status Are they exempt from overtime? (FLSA classification)
A 60 , 000 s a l a r y p a i d b i − w e e k l y = 60,000 salary paid bi-weekly = 60 , 000 s a l a ry p ai d bi − w ee k l y =
Hourly employees Field What it does Hourly rate What they earn per hour Overtime rate Usually 1.5x base (some states require 2x) Default hours Pre-fills each payroll, but you can adjust
For hourly employees, you’ll enter actual hours worked each pay period.
Tax withholding This is where most new employers get confused. The employee’s W-4 tells you how much federal tax to withhold — and getting it wrong means they’ll owe a big bill (or get a big refund) at tax time.
Federal (W-4) Field What it controls Filing status Single, married, head of household Multiple jobs Checked if they (or spouse) have other jobs Dependents Reduces withholding per dependent Additional withholding ”Take an extra $50 from each check”
Don’t worry about calculating anything. Enter what’s on the W-4, and Pluvel does the math.
State withholding Every state is different. Some mirror the federal form, some have their own. Enter the state-specific info:
State filing status
State allowances
Additional state withholding
Employees can update their own W-4 information through self-service. You don’t need to be in the loop for every life change.
Direct deposit Most employees want direct deposit. Get their bank details:
Single account
Bank name
Routing number (9 digits)
Account number
Account type (checking or savings)
Split deposits Some employees want to auto-save:
“$500 to savings, rest to checking”
“20% to emergency fund, 80% to checking”
Up to 3 accounts
Employee self-service Let employees manage their own stuff:
View and download pay stubs
Update address and contact info
Change direct deposit accounts
Update W-4 withholding
Download tax documents (W-2s)
Enable in Settings → Payroll → Self-Service . Fewer “can you send me my pay stub?” messages.
Employee status Status What happens Active Included in regular payroll runs On leave Temporarily excluded from payroll Terminated Removed from payroll, history preserved
Terminating an employee
Open their profile
Find the employee in the list.
Click Terminate
Select Terminate Employee .
Enter termination details
Last day of work
Reason (voluntary, involuntary, etc.)
Final pay date
Process final pay
Run their last paycheck. Include:
Wages through their last day
PTO payout (if your policy requires it)
Any owed bonuses or commissions
Some states require final pay within 24-72 hours of termination. California, for example, requires immediate payment for involuntary terminations. Know your state’s rules.
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