Payroll Frequently Asked Questions

Workday Help offers three job aids accessible from your SSO Menu. On the Workday Help homepage, click Training in the maroon toolbar, then select Job Aids. You can search or browse the list to view or print any of the three:

• From Paycheck to Payment Elections (Direct Deposit)
  This job aid outlines the process for an Employee to add payment elections after electing to receive a check rather than direct deposit during the onboarding process.
• Managing Your Bank Accounts and Payment Elections
  This job aid outlines the activities for an Employee to manage bank accounts and their payment elections, or how they receive their paycheck outside of Workday.
• Payment Election Enrollment Event (Onboarding)
  This job aid outlines the process for an Employee to manage payment elections during the onboarding process.

Employees enter their own payment election details in Workday using self-service. It’s important to double-check everything you enter—employees are fully responsible for making sure the information is accurate during setup and any future updates.

By entering this information, you agree that the employer is not responsible for any delays or lost funds caused by incorrect or incomplete details you provide, or by errors from your financial institution when depositing funds into your account(s).

You can update your payment elections in Workday at any time. It is important to keep payroll deadlines in mind (see the next FAQ covering payroll deadlines).

If you make payment election changes after the current payroll deadline, your update will not take effect until the next pay period. In some cases, late changes may be rejected by your financial institution. If that happens, our office will be notified and we will issue a replacement paper check and mail it to the home address listed in Workday.

Any changes to your current payment elections—such as adding a new account, updating an existing account or routing number, or adjusting how your pay is split—are done through employee self-service in Workday. Please keep these deadlines in mind so your updates apply to your next paycheck. You should review the Pay Schedules on our website to confirm upcoming deadlines.

If you miss the deadline, your current elections will apply to the upcoming paycheck. Any changes made after the deadline will take effect for future pay periods.

Need help with timing? Contact the HR Professionals who support your division.

Employees who have not set-up Payment Elections in Workday, and/or do not have a U.S. bank account, default to paper payroll and expense checks. 

Paper payroll checks are mailed by Payroll via United States Postal Service (USPS) to the employee’s home address in Workday. Checks are mailed one business day prior to payday; in the event payday falls on a Monday, checks are mailed that day. According to USPS delivery timelines, please allow up to five business days from the send out date for your check to arrive, although it may occasionally take longer.

It is critical that employees enter a valid address in Workday. A valid and complete home mailing address includes the Apartment # or Unit # if applicable AND Zip Code; do not include the name of the Apartment Complex. This will ensure employees receive their pay checks timely.  

Here are some examples: 

USPS Can successfully deliver:  
8085 Atlas Pear Drive Apt. #1213 
College Station TX 77845 
United States of America 

USPS CANNOT deliver:
The Enclave Student Housing 
1800 Holleman Drive 
College Station TX 77840 
United States of America  

NOTE: In the event your paycheck prints without an address, you will be notified via email and asked to update the information in Workday. 

Paper expense (reimbursement) checks (if applicable) are mailed by Financial Management Operations (FMO) when they generate. 

No. Before your hire date, you can only complete the Direct Deposit Declaration task in your Workday Inbox. This declaration must be answered first—it triggers the payment elections task that will appear on your hire date.

During onboarding, you’ll receive a Workday Inbox item for Payment Election Setup. Please wait until you see this item before entering your information. Entering details out of sequence is one of the most common reasons for errors.

Email payroll@tamu.edu about the situation; we will review Workday and can retrigger the question so you can answer differently.

NOTE: As a U.S. entity, the Texas A&M University System is obligated to comply with the requirements of the United States Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which oversees payments sent outside the territorial jurisdiction of the United States. This includes automated clearinghouse (ACH) payments, such as direct deposits. Texas A&M University Systems does not permit direct deposit to banks outside the United States. Failure to answer the direct deposit declaration question or answer as “Yes” will prevent the payment election process from completing and the employee will receive paper checks.

The Payment Election (Bank Account) Authentication in Workday service provides enhanced security for Texas A&M University employees when updating their bank account information for direct deposit. This service is designed to prevent unauthorized changes to payment elections and protect employees from potential paycheck fraud.

Effective Saturday, September 20, 2025, Workday will require employees to authenticate their current bank account information before making any changes. This added layer of security ensures that only authorized users can update payment elections, safeguarding your financial information from criminal activity.

Actions, if you need to update your bank account information in Workday:

• Log in Securely to Workday: Ensure you are logged in to Workday for Texas A&M System and that your connection is secure (look for the lock icon in or near the URL bar of your browser).
• Verify Your Current Bank Account Details: If you do not know your current bank account information, please securely contact your banking institution.
• Enter Your Current Bank Account Number Carefully: After logging in to Workday, employees will have multiple attempts to enter the current bank account number associated with their payment elections.
• Understand The Consequences of Failed Attempts: After multiple unsuccessful attempts, an administrative lock* will be placed on your ability to edit bank accounts and payment elections.

If your access is locked due to authentication failure, please submit a request to payroll@tamu.edu. A multi-step verification process will begin to restore your access. Our office assists TAMU, TAMUG, TAMHSC employees and the employees of TAMUCT, TAMUCC, TAMUS, TAMUSA, TAMUT, TARL, TDEM & TAMUV. Affected employees of other system members or agencies should contact their respective payroll office.

*Please note: This administrative lock will not prevent you from accessing Workday.

Email the following information to payroll@tamu.edu:

• Employee Name
• Employee UIN
• Position Number and Title (Annual Work Period of position must cover period requested)
• Blocked Country
• Begin Date
• End Date
• Reason
• HR Professional Contact information (if we have any questions)

Partial Month Salary Calculation

Workday determines partial month salary as follows:

• Annual Work Period Starts on the 1st (e.g., Jan 1 – May 31):
  Employees starting after the 1st receive a prorated salary based on a daily rate.

• Annual Work Period Starts on the 16th (e.g., Jan 16 – May 31):
  • Start on the 16th: Paid ½ of monthly salary.
  • Start on the 17th or later: Paid using daily rate.

Reminder: Consider these rules when planning recruiting, hiring, budgeting, and generating offer letters.  Payroll provides a Partial Month Payment Worksheet (under Forms on the website) to estimate an employee’s first paycheck.

Instructions for biweekly paid & monthly paid holiday removal is available on our Payroll Processing Tools webpage. See the heading Workday Tools; the topic is titled Remove Paid Holiday and/or Early Release.

If the removal is backdated or misses the current payroll deadline, the adjustment will be processed on the next payday.

Workday does not provide a report with this information, but the data can be obtained from Business Objects. For those with access to Business Objects, there are two ways to generate a report.

HCM Worker Universe (for self-report builders)

The following fields are available:

• Worker Payroll Election Code
• Worker Payroll Election Description
• Worker Expense Election Code
• Worker Expense Election Description

Business Objects Public Folders (for those with BO access)

• Open the TAMUS Shared – HR/Payroll folder
• Go to the Payroll sub-folder
• Look for HCM Position – Receiving a Check
• Open results and update by entering your Adloc (Supervisory Organization number) as a value and refresh.
• The results will show workers currently receiving a paper check. If a worker is not on this list, they are set-up for direct deposit.
• The results can be exported to Excel for further review.

If you do not have access to or use Business Objects, email payroll@tamu.edu, and we can run the report on your behalf.

To prevent missed pay when a manager is unavailable, a department Timekeeper can:

1. Approve submitted hours using the Review Time Report.
2. Approve unsubmitted hours via the Time Summary Report by right clicking the “brick” next to the employee’s name to access the timesheet.
3. Enter and submit hours if the employee has no entries and requests assistance.
4. Take over a submitted timesheet for corrections:
   • Open the employee’s timesheet, delete one time block, re-enter it, then use the Review button to make changes and submit.
5. Notify the manager using the email template on HROE SharePoint (Payroll Processing > Biweekly Payroll Process > Manage Deadline).
6. Prevent future issues by sharing the Manage Delegations job aid (member version TAMU) from Workday Help with the manager.

Yes, it is important. The mailstop ensures correct delivery of mail and payroll documents by Logistics staff. It is also used by Transportation Services to calculate parking rates and input fees into Workday for payroll deduction. HR Professionals are responsible for entering the Mailstop during employee onboarding.

Salaried employees should not receive Workday timesheet emails. This usually occurs when their email is linked to another employee’s account, often a subordinate. To fix this:

1. You should search for the salaried employee’s email in Workday.
2. On the People tab, locate the other employee and remove the incorrect email.
3. Ask that employee to update their email in Workday.
4. If you cannot edit the email, contact the HR Professional who supports them.

Current pay dates are listed on the Pay Dates, Pay Schedules, and Calendars webpage. Monthly employees are paid for the current month on the first working day of the following month (e.g., January 2026 work is paid on February 2, 2026). If a bank holiday falls on that day, payday moves to the next business day. Longevity pay, hazardous duty pay, and recurring allowances are included in eligible employees’ pay.

Payslips are available to view and/or print in Workday per this timetable:

Workday gives you a detailed view of your pay, deductions, and accruals through your payslip. You can access your payslip from the Menu on your Workday home page via the Benefits and Pay Hub, using either a desktop or mobile device.

For step-by-step instructions on accessing and reviewing your payslip, refer to the Reading Your Workday Payslip Reference Guide in Workday Help. This information can help you make informed decisions about payroll, insurance, and other employment-related benefits.

Requesting or Correcting Time Off
Monthly employees can request or correct paid or unpaid time off anytime. See the Managing Your Absence job aid in Workday Help for instructions.  Time off can only be requested for the current and prior fiscal year. Contact your Absence Partner for any adjustments needed prior to the start of last fiscal year.

Impact on Your Payslip

• Paid Time Off: Corrections for past dates will not change your pay. An extra Base Pay line will appear with a zero amount.
• Unpaid Time Off: Workday will recoup prior overpayments from your current salary. An extra Base Pay line with a negative amount will appear. If your salary cannot cover the overpayment, an HR Professional will contact you with repayment details.

This indicates an adjustment to your earnings. Workday’s retroactive process identifies corrections to time off requests and past business processes.

• Positive Adjustments: Extra base pay for retroactive rate changes, annual work period adjustments, late one-time payments, or converting unpaid time off to paid time off.
• Zero Adjustment: No change for retro paid time off requests or corrective business processes.
• Negative Adjustments: Base pay deducted for overpayments due to retroactive job terminations, late unpaid time off submissions, or delayed data changes.

Pay Dates and Schedules
Current pay dates are available on the Pay Dates, Pay Schedules, and Calendars webpage. Biweekly employees are paid for the previous two-week work period on the following Friday.

Example: Work for period #26-15 (March 1 –March 14, 2026) will be paid on Friday, March 20, 2026.

If a bank holiday falls on a scheduled Friday pay date, the pay date will be adjusted accordingly. Recurring allowances for eligible employees are issued on the first biweekly pay date of each month.

The Biweekly Pay Schedule for the current fiscal year, located on the same webpage, lists:

• Each pay period number
• The “from” and “thru” dates
• Timesheet due dates
• Upcoming pay dates

It also indicates which periods include longevity or hazardous duty pay.

Additionally, the FY26-at-a-Glance resource helps employees and managers meet timesheet deadlines.

Payslips are available to view and/or print in Workday per this timetable:

Biweekly Paid: Available 1 calendar day prior to pay date

Workday gives you a detailed view of your pay, deductions, and accruals through your payslip. You can access your payslip from the Menu on your Workday home page via the Benefits and Pay Hub, using either a desktop or mobile device.

For step-by-step instructions on accessing and reviewing your payslip, refer to the Reading Your Workday Payslip Reference Guide in Workday Help. This information can help you make informed decisions about payroll, insurance, and other employment-related benefits.

If you have questions about a specific payslip, please contact the HR professional supporting your department, college, or agency.

Do not contact Payroll directly.
Your first point of contact should be your direct supervisor, who will work with the HR professionals supporting your department, college or agency. If additional assistance is needed, these HR Professionals will reach out to Payroll on your behalf.

Follow the Workday Help Job Aid titled Edit Other IDs.  Under the Additional Resources tab is information regarding How to Add or Update FLSA and/or State Comp Time Other ID.

Requesting or Correcting Time Off
Biweekly employees can request or correct paid or unpaid time off anytime. See the Managing Your Absence job aid in Workday Help for instructions.  Time off can only be requested for the current and prior fiscal year. Contact your Absence Partner for any adjustments needed prior to the start of last fiscal year.

NOTE: If you were previously paid for regular hours & now need to request time off for the same date(s), you will need to correct your timesheet and resubmit it back to your manager for approval before the next payroll retro deadline.  Contact the HR Professionals who support your department, college, or agency if you need assistance with this process. 

Impact on Your Payslip

• Paid Time Off: Corrections for past dates can increase your earnings. Extra line(s) for Paid Time Off or other earnings in a retro period will appear with positive amounts in the Earnings section.
• Unpaid Time Off: Workday will recoup prior overpayments from your current pay. Extra line(s) for Paid Time Off and/or Hourly Pay with negative amount(s) will appear in the Earnings section. If your base pay cannot cover the overpayment, an HR Professional will contact you with repayment details.

This indicates an adjustment to your earnings. Workday’s retroactive process identifies corrections to timesheets, time off requests and past business processes.

• Positive Adjustments: Additional pay for regular hours, paid time off, or other earnings is noted for positive timesheet corrections, retroactive rate changes, late one-time payments, or converting unpaid time off to paid time off.
• Zero Adjustment: No change for retro paid time off requests or corrective business processes that do not result in any earnings difference.
• Negative Adjustments: deductions from current pay for regular hours, paid time off, or other earnings overpayments due to retroactive negative timesheet corrections, late unpaid time off submissions, or delayed data changes.

Impact on Your Payslip

• Positive Adjustments: Corrections for past dates can increase your earnings. Extra line(s) for Paid Time Off or other earnings in a retro period will appear with positive amounts in the Earnings section.
• Negative Adjustments: Workday will recoup prior overpayments from your current pay. Extra line(s) for Paid Time Off and/or Hourly Pay with negative amount(s) will appear in the Earnings section. If your base pay cannot cover the overpayment, an HR Professional will contact you with repayment details.

Timesheets lock the day before biweekly payroll finalizes. After this point, employees and managers cannot enter hours or make corrections. For assistance, contact an HR Professional with the Timekeeper role for your supervisory organization—they can enter hours, make corrections, and approve timesheets on behalf of managers.

Managers may still approve timesheets submitted before the lock period if no corrections are needed. Please do not contact Payroll; we will refer you to your Timekeeper.

To find your Timekeeper in Workday:

1. From your Workday homepage, click the people icon or your picture in the upper-right corner and select View Profile.
2. Click Contact on the left tool bar and click the tab marked Support Roles.
3. Under Assignable Role, look for Timekeeper. The names listed to the right are your contacts for assistance. When you click on a name you are taken to a page with their phone and email contact information.

Reminder: Submit timesheets to your manager for approval before each deadline to avoid missed pay.  Timesheets will be unlocked for needed adjustments or corrections the day after your HR Professional receives their final Pay Calculation Results for a Period report. Contact your Timekeeper if you have any questions regarding the timesheet entry process.

Policy: Timesheet Validation for Full-Time Employees

Requirement:
Full-time employees must record 40 hours per workweek (80 hours per biweekly pay period) on their timesheet. This requirement applies to all pay periods except the one in which the employee is hired or terminated.

Validation Trigger:
If a Change Job business process occurs mid-pay period, the system will still enforce this validation, even if the employee’s scheduled hours are reduced due to the change.

Resolution:
To clear the error and submit the timesheet:

• Enter Unpaid Time Off on the timesheet for the number of hours needed to reach 40 hours per week.
• Submit the timesheet.

Best Practice:
When initiating a Change Job, set the Effective Date to the start of the next biweekly pay period (Sunday). This ensures the employee can submit their final timesheet without adding unpaid time off.

The Time Entry Template is assigned based on eligibility rules and the employee’s primary position. Timekeepers can override this template using the Edit Other IDs business process.

For detailed steps, refer to the Enter Time Tracking Eligibility ID Job Aid in Workday Help. To view all available IDs, their purpose, and valid values, see the Reference Guide: Custom Other IDs.

Ways to Review and Approve Time

Primary Method
Run the Review Time report. This report lets managers view all employees’ hours and time off in one place and approve them together. Approving from the report automatically clears the related Workday inbox items.

Secondary Method
Go to your Workday Inbox and approve each item individually.

Note: Time off requested outside a timesheet only appears in your Workday inbox and must be approved there to be included in payroll.

Workday Retro Process for Missed Pay

Workday’s retro process automatically picks up missed salary or hours and pays them on the employee’s next on-cycle pay date.

Monthly Example

(See May 2026 Payroll Processing Calendar & FY26 Monthly Pay Schedule)

• Hire Date: May 18, 2026
• Payroll Deadline: May 19, 2026
• Hire Completed: May 22, 2026

If the hire process isn’t complete by the deadline, the employee will not receive partial May pay on the June 1 pay date. Retro will pick up the missed May salary during June processing and pay it on July 1, 2026.

Biweekly Example

(See May 2026 Payroll Processing Calendar & FY26 Biweekly Pay Schedule)

• Pay Period: #26-19 (Apr 26 – May 09)
• Hire Date: May 1, 2026
• Payroll Deadline: May 11, 2026
• Hire Completed: May 14, 2026

If the hire process isn’t complete by the deadline, timesheet hours cannot be submitted or approved, and the employee will not receive a partial paycheck on May 15.

Retro hours must be submitted and approved by the next retro deadline (May 20, 2026) to be paid on May 29, 2026.

Workday retro can go back six prior pay periods to pick up missed or corrected entries.

Hires Outside Common Hire Dates

Common hire dates are set by HROE Talent Management. If an exception is granted, managers and HR Professionals should:

• Monitor payroll deadlines and ensure the hire process completes in Workday.
• Confirm new hires appear on Pay Calculation Results and Timesheet Reports.
• Avoid promising unrealistic pay dates if deadlines cannot be met. Retro will pick up missed salary or hours.

Yes. Timesheet warnings are designed to alert employees and managers when a pay group hasn’t been assigned or certain onboarding steps are incomplete. These warnings do not block time entry, submission, or manager approval. However, if an employee is not assigned to a pay group, they will not be included in payroll calculations. Please monitor business processes to ensure accurate pay results.

Workday Help offers Learning Hubs on various topics, including Time Tracking. Access them through your SSO menu by selecting the Workday Help link. On the homepage, see “Visit our learning hubs!” These hubs consolidate content into one central location, including FAQs, Job Aids, Online Courses, News, Reference Guides, and Webinars.

For an overview of timesheet procedures and other helpful resources, visit Timesheets Overview & Resources.

Enter the correction and make sure it is approved before the next deadline.  If this is not done, Workday will treat the deleted hours as overpaid and attempt to recover the amount from current earnings. Payroll recommends contacting your Timekeeper immediately after the employee reports the issue to ensure the paid hours are restored and avoid negative impact on the employee.