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.

See the current Pay Dates located on the Pay Dates, Pay Schedules, and Calendars webpage. Biweekly employees are paid for a prior two-week period on the following Friday (example - work for period #25-05 covers the dates October 13, 2024 through October 26, 2024; pay date is the following Friday, November 1, 2024). If a bank holiday occurs on a scheduled Friday pay date, the actual pay date will move. Recurring allowances are paid to eligible employees on the first biweekly pay date of each month.

The current fiscal year Biweekly Pay Schedule located on the same webpage lists each biweekly pay period number, the "from" and "thru" dates the period covers, the day timesheets are due, and the upcoming pay date. The schedule also shows which biweekly period includes longevity or hazardous duty pay.

The FY25-at-a-Glance is another resource for employees and their managers to assist in meeting timesheet deadlines.

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

Workday provides a comprehensive view of your pay, deductions, and relevant accruals through your Workday payslip.  You can access your payslip from the Menu on your Workday home page through the Benefits and Pay Hub using your desktop or mobile device.

See the Reading Your Workday Payslip Reference Guide in Workday Help for instructions regarding accessing, viewing and general payslip overview.  You can use this data to make important decisions relating to payroll, insurance, and other benefits relevant to your employment.

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

DO NOT contact Payroll. Your first contact should be your direct supervisor; they can work directly with the HR Professionals who support your department. The HR Professionals can contact payroll staff if they need additional assistance regarding your inquiry.

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.

Workday’s retroactive process can identify corrections to timesheets, time off requests, and retro-dated business processes. This may result in:

1. Additional payment for prior period corrections, such as extra hours worked or converting unpaid time off to sick leave pool.
2. Deduction for overpayment due to timesheet corrections such as removed hours or converting paid hours to unpaid time off.
3. Payment adjustment for wage differences if a pay increase or decrease wasn’t fully approved in the retro period.

Here are some examples of what this looks like:

Example – Paying Additional Monies Due

Earnings

An employee added previously unreported hours to their timesheet, which the manager approved. Workday is paying an additional $22.50 gross for the previous period where the employee added hours.

Example – Collecting a Prior Overpayment

Earnings

An employee corrected their timesheet to reflect fewer hours worked, which the manager approved. Workday is deducting $9.75 gross from the current gross pay, reducing it from $204.75 to $195.00.

Example – Identical Positive and Negative Amounts

Earnings

Identical positive and negative retroactive amounts may appear in your Earning section if you retroactively submit paid time off. Workday checks for additional pay due or overpayment. If you have accrued time off, the positive and negative amounts cancel each other out, resulting in no change in pay.

Timesheets lock the day before a biweekly payroll finalizes. At this point, neither an employee or manager can enter hours or make corrections. They must work with an HR Professional who has the Timekeeper role for their supervisory organization; they can assist with entering hours, making corrections, and approving timesheets on behalf of a manager. Note that managers can continue to approve timesheets not needing corrections that were submitted to them before the lock period. Do not contact Payroll as we will just refer you back to your Timekeeper. 

If you do not know your Timekeepers, you can obtain this information in Workday. From your Workday homepage, click the people icon or your picture in the upper right corner and select View Profile.  Click the Actions button on the blue bar on the left side of your screen, scroll down to Security Profile and select View Support Roles. Under Assignable Role look for Timekeeper. To the right is listed who to contact for assistance. 

All employees are encouraged to submit their timesheets before deadline to avoid missed pay. 

This error appears because full-time Employees are required to have 40 hours per work week (80 hours per pay period) represented on their timesheet, except for the pay period when an Employee is first hired or terminated. In cases where the employee underwent a Change Job business process in the middle of a pay period, the validation will still trigger. 

To remove the error, enter Unpaid Time Off for the number of hours needed to bring the total hours on the timesheet to 40 per week and submit the timesheet. IMPORTANT: The Unpaid Time Off MUST be cancelled after the biweekly payroll finalizes or it may have a negative impact on the Employee’s next payroll that calculates. 

It is recommended to set the Effective Date of the Change Job business process to be the start of a next biweekly pay period (start Sunday not Monday) to avoid this situation and give the employee the chance to submit their final timesheet without having to enter unpaid time off. 

The Time Entry Template, assigned based on eligibility rules and primary position, can be overridden by a Timekeeper using the Edit Other IDs business process. 

Follow the Enter Time Tracking Eligibility ID Job Aid in Workday Help for step-by-step instructions and see the Reference Guide Custom Other IDs for a list of all IDs, their purpose, and valid values.

Ensure your biweekly employee submits their final timesheet on their last working day in the pay group. The validation for full-time staff shouldn’t trigger if weekly hours are under 40 at the start or end of the pay period; make sure the data change business process completes before timesheet deadlines to bypass the validation. If issues persist, email payroll@tamu.edu for assistance.

There are several ways to review and approve time. 

Primary Method 
Run the Review Time report. Using this report allows a manager to monitor all their employees and approve both hours worked and time off entered on a timesheet in one place. When you approve from the report the corresponding Workday inbox item automatically disappears. 

Secondary Method 
Access Workday Inbox and review and approve each individual current item. 

NOTE: Time Off requested outside a timesheet only appears in your Workday inbox and must be approved from this location to be included with pay results.

Workday has a very robust retro process that will pick up missed salary or hours and pay the employee as part of their first on-cycle pay date.   

Monthly example how retro salary is paid
(resources - January 2025 Payroll Processing Calendar & Fiscal Year 2025 Monthly Pay Schedule)

Hire Date: January 22, 2025
Current Business Process Deadline: January 23, 2025
Current Month Payroll Finalized: January 27, 2025
Business Process Fully Completed in Workday: January 29, 2025

When the hire business process isn't completed by payroll deadlines, the new employee will not receive partial January salary on the February 3, 2025 monthly pay date. Their partial January salary will get picked up by the retro process during February monthly processing and pay to the employee on the March 3, 2025 pay date.

Biweekly example how retro hours worked are paid
(resources - January 2025 Payroll Processing Calendar & Fiscal Year 2025 Biweekly Pay Schedule)

Hiring Period is #25-11 covering January 5, 2025 through January 18, 2025
Hire Date: January 15, 2025
Current Business Process Deadline: January 17, 2025
Current Biweekly Payroll Finalized: January 22, 2025
Business Process Fully Completed in Workday: January 23, 2025

When the hire business process isn’t completed by payroll deadlines, timesheet hours cannot be submitted or approved, and the employee would not receive a partial paycheck on the January 24, 2025 pay date.

The employee, manager or Timekeeper should ensure the retro hours are submitted and approved by the next retro deadline noted in the referenced resources. This would be January 30, 2025. If this retro deadline is met, the missed hours would get picked up and pay to the employee on the February 7, 2025 pay date.

The Workday retro timesheet process can go back three prior pay periods from the current period and pick up additional & correction entries to be processed on an upcoming biweekly pay period.

Hires Effective Outside Common Hire Dates

Common hire dates are set by HROE Talent Management. If a Hiring Manager is granted an exception, they and/or the HR Professional assisting them should be mindful of upcoming payroll deadlines, monitor the Workday business process fully completes, and ensure new hires appear on Pay Calculation Results and/or Timesheet Reports. Unrealistic pay expectations should not be given if hiring staff are aware business processes do not have adequate time to be fully completed. In these cases, the retro process will pick up missed salary or hours.

Yes. Warnings have been added on timesheets to alert employees (and others) when the employee has not been assigned to a pay group or when certain Onboarding steps have not been completed. These warnings will not prevent the employee from entering or submitting time, nor will it prevent managers from approving time. However, if an employee has not been assigned to a pay group, they will not be paid with the pay calculation. Please monitor the employees' business processes to ensure expected pay results will occur.

Workday Help has established Learning Hubs on a number of different topics including Time Tracking. These HUBs can be accessed through your SSO Menu by clicking the Workday Help link.  On their home page see Visit our learning hubs!  Workday Learning Hubs bring content from across their site into one central location – subject matter may be found under FAQs, Job Aids, News, Webinars, Release Notes and Reports. 

If paid hours are mistakenly removed from an employee’s timesheet, they should be re-entered and resubmitted to the manager. The manager or HROE Timekeeper must notify Payroll at payroll@tamu.edu immediately to prevent a duplicate payment.