Pay periods compared: weekly to monthly, and how to choose
What weekly, two-weekly, four-weekly, twice-monthly and monthly pay mean for workload, cash flow, overtime and your staff.
7 min readFor owners and payroll
In short
- There are five common pay periods; they differ in how many pay runs you do and whether periods line up with whole weeks.
- Weekly, two-weekly and four-weekly periods are made of whole weeks, which keeps overtime simple.
- Twice-monthly and monthly periods cut weeks in two, so you need a rule for overtime in a week that crosses a period end.
- Shorter periods help hourly staff budget; longer periods mean fewer pay runs for you.
On this page8 sections
How often you pay people looks like a small admin choice. In practice it decides how many times a year you chase timesheets, how overtime is cut up, how even your wage bill is from month to month, and how easy it is for staff to manage their own money. It is also awkward to change later, so it is worth getting right.
Some countries and contracts set a minimum pay frequency or limit the choices for certain workers. Check the rules that apply to you before you decide or change anything.
The five types side by side
| Pay period | Pay runs a year | Made of whole weeks? |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly | 52 | Yes |
| Every two weeks | 26 | Yes |
| Every four weeks | 13 | Yes |
| Twice a month | 24 | No |
| Monthly | 12 | No |
- Pay period
- Weekly
- Pay runs a year
- 52
- Made of whole weeks?
- Yes
- Pay period
- Every two weeks
- Pay runs a year
- 26
- Made of whole weeks?
- Yes
- Pay period
- Every four weeks
- Pay runs a year
- 13
- Made of whole weeks?
- Yes
- Pay period
- Twice a month
- Pay runs a year
- 24
- Made of whole weeks?
- No
- Pay period
- Monthly
- Pay runs a year
- 12
- Made of whole weeks?
- No
A year is a day or two longer than 52 weeks, so every few years a weekly payroll has 53 pay days and a two-weekly one has 27. It is not an error, but salaried pay needs a decision when it happens: your payroll provider can tell you how it is usually handled where you are.
What each one is like to run
Weekly
Staff are paid soon after they work, which hourly and casual workers value. Overtime is easy, because the pay period is the week. The cost is workload: 52 rounds of collecting, approving and exporting hours, with little slack if someone forgets to submit.
Every two weeks
Half the pay runs of weekly, and each period is still two whole weeks, so overtime stays tidy. Pay day is always the same weekday. Two months a year contain three pay days, which matters for cash flow and for any deductions you take monthly.
Every four weeks
Thirteen equal periods of exactly four weeks. Every pay packet covers the same number of days, which makes period-to-period comparisons clean. The catch is that it does not line up with calendar months, so pay dates drift earlier each month and bills that fall monthly do not match 13 pay days.
Twice a month
Usually two fixed dates, such as the 15th and the last day. There are 24 pay runs and they sit neatly inside the month for accounting. But the periods are not whole weeks and are not the same length, so hourly pay varies and overtime needs care. It is often confused with two-weekly pay; they are different (24 runs, not 26).
Monthly
The fewest pay runs and the easiest fit with monthly accounts, rent and salaried contracts. For hourly staff it is a long wait between pay days, and months have different numbers of working days, so hourly pay moves up and down even when the weekly hours never change.
The same salary, five ways
- Weekly: 31,200 ÷ 52 = 600 each pay day.
- Every two weeks: 31,200 ÷ 26 = 1,200.
- Every four weeks: 31,200 ÷ 13 = 2,400.
- Twice a month: 31,200 ÷ 24 = 1,300.
- Monthly: 31,200 ÷ 12 = 2,600.
- Note that two-weekly (1,200) and twice-monthly (1,300) are not the same amount.
- Ben Carter works 8 hours a day, Monday to Friday, at 15 an hour.
- A month with 21 working days: 168 hours × 15 = 2,520.
- A month with 23 working days: 184 hours × 15 = 2,760.
- Same job, same weekly hours, a difference of 240 between two months.
- On weekly pay the same pattern is 40 hours × 15 = 600 every week.
Overtime when a week crosses a period end
Weekly overtime is worked out over a whole week. With weekly, two-weekly or four-weekly pay, weeks never straddle two periods. With twice-monthly or monthly pay they do, almost every time, and you need a rule for it.
A sound approach is to work out overtime on the whole week first, whatever the period dates are, and then pay each hour in the period where that day falls.
- Monthly pay. Overtime starts after 40 hours in a week.
- Emma Wilson works 9 hours a day from Monday 28 September to Friday 2 October: 45 hours.
- Whole week first: 40 regular hours and 5 overtime hours. The 5 overtime hours are the last 5 she worked, on Friday 2 October.
- September's pay gets Monday to Wednesday: 27 regular hours.
- October's pay gets Thursday and Friday: 13 regular hours and 5 overtime hours.
- If each month were looked at on its own, neither part reaches 40 hours and the overtime would be missed.
How to choose
- Check what is allowed. Find out whether the rules that apply to you set a minimum frequency for any of your staff.
- Look at who you pay. Mostly hourly or shift staff points to weekly or two-weekly; mostly salaried staff points to monthly.
- Count the workload honestly. Each pay run needs timesheets submitted, approved, checked and exported. How many of those can you do well?
- Look at cash flow. Shorter periods mean money leaves more often; two-weekly and four-weekly have months with an extra pay day.
- Ask your payroll provider or accountant which periods their system and your reporting handle most easily.
- Pick one, write down the period dates and pay dates for the year, and share them with staff.
Changing your pay period
Changing is possible, but plan it. Moving to a longer period means one unusually long gap between pay days, which can be hard for staff. Give plenty of notice, choose a change date that lines up with the end of an old period, and consider a one-off interim payment to bridge the gap. Contracts and local rules may require agreement or notice, so check before you announce it.
How ClockinBee handles pay periods
ClockinBee supports all five: weekly, every two weeks, every four weeks, twice a month and monthly. You choose one in settings, and for the week-based periods you give the first day of any one period so it knows where periods start. Reports, payslips and the payroll export then open on your last finished period, and you can step backwards and forwards.
Timesheets are still submitted and approved week by week. Overtime is worked out on whole weeks and paid in the period where it falls, exactly as in the example above, so a week that crosses a period end is split correctly without anyone doing sums by hand.
At the end of a period a pay run takes you through checking the hours, issuing payslips, exporting and locking the period. Exports are files you download in the import layout of your payroll, accounting or HR system; the Integrations page lists the formats. Payslips are labelled as estimates before tax: ClockinBee does not work out tax or run payroll, your payroll system does that.
Questions people ask
Is two-weekly the same as twice a month?
No. Two-weekly pay has 26 pay days a year, always on the same weekday. Twice-monthly pay has 24, on fixed dates. The amounts and the overtime handling are both different.
Which pay period is cheapest to run?
Monthly has the fewest pay runs, so it usually takes the least time. But if it leads to overtime mistakes or unhappy hourly staff, the saving disappears. Choose what fits your team, then make each run quick.
Can different people be on different pay periods?
Some businesses pay hourly staff weekly and salaried staff monthly. It works, but it means two sets of deadlines. If you can manage with one period for everyone, life is simpler.
Does the pay period change how much people earn?
Not over a year. It changes how the same pay is divided and when it arrives.
How to do this in ClockinBee
- Set your pay periodWeekly, every two weeks, every four weeks, twice a month or monthly.
- Set up overtime rulesDaily and weekly limits, and rates for overtime, Sundays and public holidays.
- Export hours and time off to payrollDownload approved hours, overtime and time off in the layout your payroll system imports.
- Set pay rates, bill rates, benefits and deductionsHow each person is paid, with a history of every change, and where they find their payslips.
Try it with your own team
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This guide is general information, not legal, tax or payroll advice. Working time, pay and time off rules differ by country and contract, so check the rules that apply to you.