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A pay schedule defines the rhythm of your payroll: how often workers are paid, which dates are paydays, and which workers are included. Plane uses schedules to automatically prepare payroll items, set approval deadlines, and trigger the payroll cycle at the right time. Every worker who receives regular payroll needs to be assigned to a schedule. You can have as many schedules as you need—one for your US employees, another for international contractors, and so on.

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Why schedules matter

Without a schedule, Plane does not know when to prepare payroll for a worker. Schedules are the foundation of the payroll cycle: they determine pay periods, paydays, and cut-off dates. When you assign a worker to a schedule, Plane starts generating payroll items for them automatically on each pay period. Schedules also control approval deadlines. Plane calculates the latest date you can approve payroll for each run based on the schedule’s payday and the processing time required for each worker type.

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Schedule frequency options

Plane supports four frequencies. You choose the frequency when you create a schedule:
  • Weekly—workers are paid once per week on a specific day (for example, every Friday).
  • Biweekly—workers are paid every two weeks on a specific day. You set the anchor payday, and Plane calculates all future pay dates from there.
  • Twice monthly (semi-monthly)—workers are paid twice per month on two specific dates (for example, the 1st and the 15th). You can use the last day of the month as one of the dates.
  • Monthly—workers are paid once per month on a specific date (for example, the 25th). You can use the last day of the month.
Each frequency requires you to set a first payday and a first period end date. Plane uses these to generate the full calendar of pay periods going forward.
The right frequency depends on your location and worker type. Many US companies use biweekly for hourly employees and twice monthly for salaried employees. International norms vary—monthly is standard in most of Europe and Latin America.

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Creating a schedule

To create a pay schedule, go to Payroll in the sidebar and navigate to Schedules. From there:
1

Choose a frequency

Select weekly, biweekly, twice monthly, or monthly. This determines the shape of your pay periods.
2

Set the pay dates

Configure the specific days or dates based on the frequency you chose. For monthly, pick the day of the month. For biweekly, pick the day of the week and the anchor date. Plane shows you a preview of upcoming pay periods so you can verify the schedule looks right.
3

Set the first payday

Tell Plane when the first payment run should happen. This anchors the schedule and determines all future pay periods.
4

Save the schedule

Give the schedule a description (for example, “US Biweekly” or “International Monthly”) and save. Plane immediately starts generating pay periods.
You can create the schedule before assigning workers to it. Pay periods are generated ahead of time so that when workers are added, payroll items appear automatically.

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Assigning workers to a schedule

After creating a schedule, assign workers to it. You can do this from the schedule settings page or from an individual worker’s profile. When assigning workers:
  • Choose a start date—this is the first pay period the worker will be included in. Plane requires enough lead time between the assignment date and the first payday to process the payroll (typically several business days).
  • One schedule at a time—a worker can only be assigned to one active schedule at a time. If you reassign a worker to a different schedule, the previous assignment ends automatically.
  • Contractors and employees—both worker types can be assigned to the same schedule. Plane handles the differences in processing and compliance behind the scenes.
When onboarding a new worker, Plane prompts you to assign them to a schedule as part of the setup flow. You do not need to do it separately.

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Multiple schedules per workspace

There is no limit to the number of schedules you can have. Common patterns include:
  • Separate by worker type—one schedule for US W-2 employees and another for international contractors.
  • Separate by frequency—a biweekly schedule for hourly workers and a monthly schedule for salaried staff.
  • Separate by region—a schedule aligned with local pay norms for each country or region where you have workers.
Each schedule runs independently. The payroll dashboard shows all schedules together, so you can review and approve them in one place.

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Managing existing schedules

You can update a schedule’s description or settings after creation. Changes to the frequency or pay dates affect future pay periods—past and in-progress periods are not modified. You can also deactivate a schedule. Deactivating a schedule removes all unprocessed payroll items for workers on that schedule. Workers will not receive payroll until they are assigned to a new active schedule.
Deactivating a schedule is immediate and affects all workers currently assigned to it. Make sure workers are reassigned to another schedule before deactivating, or they will miss their next payroll run.

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Provider-managed schedules

Some schedules are managed by external payroll providers (for example, when using Plane’s employer of record service). These schedules are locked—they appear on your dashboard and you can review the payroll items, but you cannot edit the schedule settings. Plane and the provider manage the schedule configuration together to ensure compliance with local regulations. Locked schedules are clearly marked in the dashboard so you can distinguish them from schedules you manage directly.

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How schedules interact with payroll

Once a schedule is active and workers are assigned:
  1. Plane generates pay periods based on the schedule’s frequency and dates.
  2. As each pay period opens, Plane creates payroll items for every assigned worker.
  3. Payroll items flow through the standard cycle: preparation, review, approval, execution, and completion.
  4. The schedule determines the approval deadline (the cut-off date) for each pay period.
This happens automatically. You do not need to manually create payroll runs—Plane uses the schedule to do it for you.
Yes, but the change only applies to future pay periods. In-progress payroll runs continue on the original schedule. If you need a fundamentally different frequency, it is often simpler to create a new schedule and reassign workers.
The previous assignment ends and a new one begins. The worker’s current in-progress payroll items remain on the old schedule. New items are generated on the new schedule starting from the effective date of the reassignment.
Yes. Auto-approval is configured on each schedule independently. When enabled, Plane automatically approves payroll items that have no blockers and positive earnings. Items with issues still require manual approval. See Payroll for more on auto-approval.