Payroll schedules define the deduction periods and pay dates that determine when employee contributions are processed. Keep those schedules current for your organization, and assign each employee the right deduction schedule, so deduction files generate on time and donations align with your payroll calendar.
Permissions
Anyone with the payroll manager user role can update payroll schedules and change an employee's assigned deduction schedule from People.
Anyone with the user account manager or payroll manager role can assign a deduction schedule on an employee's profile when that employee does not already have one.
Preparing and submitting payroll schedules
Payroll schedule updates are submitted to Benevity using the Payroll Schedule Workbook. Benevity handles the upload and sends a confirmation when your new schedules are active.
Note: Complete schedule updates a few months before the end of the calendar year to allow time for review and setup before your new schedules take effect.
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Download the Payroll Schedule Workbook.
Top tip: Use a fresh workbook for each unique schedule your organization maintains (for example, one for bi-weekly and one for monthly). Save and submit each as a separate file to keep schedules organized and easy to process.
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Complete the workbook with the specific dates for each payroll period. Before filling it out, review your final pay periods for the current year to ensure the new schedule picks up exactly where the old one left off. Include the following details for each period:
- Payroll Schedule Name: Use a clear naming convention, such as Company_USA_Bi-Weekly_YYYY.
- Donation Cut-Off Date (crucial): The cutoff date, set to one day before your payroll team needs the deduction file. For example, if the file is needed on January 15, 2026, set the Donation Cut-Off Date to January 14, 2026. The file will be ready for download on the morning of January 15.
- Client Pay Date: The actual date employees receive their paychecks.
- Client Pay Start and End Dates: Your internal pay period dates. Including these dates helps Benevity confirm that the new schedule aligns with your internal systems.
Verify that all dates follow the YYYY-MM-DD format and align with your organization's internal payroll calendar. Accuracy at this stage prevents processing delays and ensures employee contributions are deducted correctly.
Confirm that all departments supporting your payroll program, including IT and Finance teams managing file transfer automations, are aware of the new dates. Check that your systems are configured to pull the deduction file the day after the Donation Cut-Off Date listed in your new schedules.
Save each file using its specific schedule name (for example, Company_USA_Bi-Weekly_2026) and contact Support to submit the completed schedules. Benevity will handle the upload and send a confirmation when your new schedules are active.
Changing an employee's deduction schedule
Changing an employee's deduction schedule clears upcoming and recurring payroll donations on the previous schedule so they are not duplicated under the new one. Donations already in Unprocessed Donations are not removed.
Check the employee's upcoming and unprocessed payroll donations first so you know what will be cleared. To stop deductions without changing the schedule, cancel upcoming payroll donations for employees instead.
Changing the schedule from People
Use this when the employee already has a deduction schedule assigned.
- Select Manage in the top right corner.
- Select People from the admin navigation bar.
- Find the employee and select the checkbox next to their name. You can select more than one employee from the same country.
- Select Change Deduction Schedule for user under Batch Updates.
- Select Submit.
- Choose the new Payroll Deduction Schedule, or choose No Payroll if the employee should not use payroll giving.
- Select Confirm.
Important: Saving a schedule change removes upcoming deduction requests in open and future periods on the previous schedule and stops recurring payroll donations tied to that schedule. The employee must set up payroll donations again if they still want to give through payroll on the new schedule.
Note: Irreversible deduction requests (for example, certain gift card advances) cannot be removed by a schedule change and may still appear under Upcoming Donations.
Assigning a schedule on the employee profile
Use this when the employee does not yet have a deduction schedule. After a schedule is assigned, the profile field is hidden. Use Change Deduction Schedule for user from People for any later changes.
- Open the employee's profile and select Edit.
- Expand Deduction Schedule.
- Choose a Payroll Deduction Schedule.
- Save the profile.