It’s payday, and your team is buzzing with excitement as they check their accounts, knowing their hard work has paid off—literally. For many organizations, choosing the right payroll schedule is key to maintaining this sense of satisfaction. After all, everyone appreciates a steady paycheck they can count on.
But how often should those paychecks arrive? Balancing employee needs with company efficiency can be tricky, and that’s where biweekly pay comes in.
Biweekly pay can lead to increased team member satisfaction and lower administrative expenses. It also gives businesses the flexibility to manage cash flow while maintaining team morale.
Read on to learn how biweekly pay works, its benefits and limitations, and how to calculate it accurately.
What is a biweekly pay period?
Companies that use biweekly pay periods pay their people every other week. They often pay people on the same day of the week, such as every other Friday.
Since a biweekly pay period is two weeks long and there are 52 weeks in a year, there are 26 biweekly pay periods in one year. That means there are normally two biweekly pay periods per month. However, two months have three paychecks since the 26 pay periods don’t divide evenly into 12 months.
Advantages of biweekly pay
According to a 2023 United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, 43 percent of surveyed companies use biweekly pay periods. Let’s see why biweekly pay is advantageous for your organization and its people.
Benefits for your team members
More frequent, predictable income streams from biweekly pay can help your people manage cash flow, cover essential expenses, and avoid relying on credit or loans. With biweekly pay, team members have more flexibility to handle bills and expenses throughout the month than if they were on a monthly pay schedule.
For example, if your electricity bill comes in on the 24th of the month but your monthly wages arrive on the 27th, you may have to wait to pay that bill. With regular income every two weeks, people can break down monthly costs into manageable portions and maintain the funds they need in their accounts throughout the month.
Benefits for your organization
Biweekly pay simplifies payroll since pay periods have a set number of days (as opposed to the variable number of work days for a monthly pay period). This leads to more predictable cash flow, lower administrative hours and costs, and streamlined tax reporting.
Although weekly pay offers better cash flow, it carries extra costs for organizations. Biweekly pay can be a good compromise. Switching from a weekly to a biweekly pay schedule can reduce payroll processing fees if your provider charges for each pay run. With biweekly pay, you process payroll 26 times a year instead of 52, which can lead to significant savings over time. Meanwhile, your people can have a more consistent income flow than with a monthly pay period.
How to calculate biweekly pay
Here’s how to determine biweekly pay for salaried and hourly team members.
Biweekly pay for salaried employees
Calculating biweekly pay for salaried team members is fairly straightforward since they receive a set amount of money annually.
- Calculate their annual salary: Let’s take the example of a team member earning a fixed salary of $80,000.
- Divide annual salary by 26: Dividing this team member’s salary by 26 brings their biweekly pay to $3,076.
- Account for deductions and costs: Since the $80,000 salary is the team member’s gross salary, it doesn’t account for tax deductions. Subtract the appropriate amount of taxes for your jurisdiction from the $3,076. Take into account any other payroll costs, such as employer contributions toward benefits.
Biweekly pay for hourly employees
The potential week-by-week variability of hourly workers’ schedules can make it more challenging to calculate their biweekly pay. These general steps should keep you on track:
- Estimate weekly hours: Review team members’ past schedules to estimate how many hours they work in a given week
- Account for fluctuations in work hours: Factor in sick days, holiday seasons, and overtime
- Double weekly hours: Multiply estimated weekly work hours by two to get a preliminary biweekly pay amount
Biweekly pay vs. other pay periods
Let’s review how biweekly pay differs from other common types of pay periods.
Weekly pay
Businesses with varying team member hours may use weekly payroll schedules. Under a weekly schedule, team members receive more frequent payments and a sense of financial stability. Due to the more frequent processing and reporting requirements, this can also come with some administrative challenges.
| Feature | Weekly pay | Biweekly pay |
| Pay periods per year | 52 | 26 |
| Payday frequency | Every week (e.g., every Friday) | Every two weeks (e.g., every other Friday) |
| Cash flow | Steady, frequent paychecks | Steady paychecks, though less frequent |
| Payroll processing costs | Higher due to frequent processing | Lower than weekly, but higher than monthly |
Semi-monthly pay
Organizations using semi-monthly pay schedules send payments twice a month, which leads to 24 pay periods per year. Companies set standard pay dates for every month, such as the 1st and 15th.
| Feature | Semi-monthly pay | Biweekly pay |
| Pay periods per year | 24 | 26 |
| Payday frequency | Twice a month (e.g., 1st and 15th) | Every two weeks (e.g., every other Friday) |
| Cash flow | Regular paychecks, less frequent than biweekly pay. | Steady paychecks, more frequent than semi-monthly |
| Payroll processing costs | Around the same as biweekly | Around the same as semi-monthly |
Monthly pay
Team members on a monthly pay schedule receive one paycheck every month, for a total of 12 paychecks per year. Like semi-monthly pay, monthly pay usually occurs on the same day each month.
| Feature | Semi-monthly pay | Biweekly pay |
| Pay periods per year | 12 | 26 |
| Payday frequency | Once a month (e.g., last day of the month) | Every two weeks (e.g., every other Friday) |
| Cash flow | Can be challenging for budgeting | More frequent, easier for monthly budgeting |
| Payroll processing costs | Lower due to fewer processing times | Higher than monthly, but lower than weekly |
On-demand pay
With on-demand pay, your people can request early access to their normal paycheck. Organizations can retain traditional pay schedules like biweekly pay alongside on-demand pay and set processes and restrictions for early payment requests.
| Feature | On-demand pay | Biweekly pay |
| Pay periods per year | Flexible, based on requests | 26 |
| Payday frequency | Upon request | Every two weeks (e.g., every other Friday) |
| Cash flow | Immediate access to earned wages | Regular access, more predictable |
| Payroll processing costs | Variable, may be higher with frequent use | Lower, set to a biweekly schedule |
Challenges with biweekly pay
Now we’ve looked at the advantages, let’s cover the potential drawbacks before making a payroll change.
Challenges for team members
While biweekly pay makes budgeting easier than a monthly schedule, some people may find it harder to manage than weekly pay. Plus, the occasional occurrence of three pay periods in a month, instead of the usual two, can also create budgeting challenges for some team members.
Challenges for your business
If you’re moving from a monthly payroll, organizations will have higher payroll costs due to more frequent payroll transactions. Biweekly pay can also add complexity to yearly payroll calculations since the end of the year could fall in the middle of a pay period.
How to shift to biweekly pay
If you’re changing to biweekly pay, these steps ease the transition process for you and your team:
- Communicate changes clearly and as far in advance as possible
- Integrate an effective payroll software to ease the administrative burden on your team
- Set aside time to review payroll and address team member concerns
- Provide resources like payroll calendars and automated reminders to help your team adapt to the new schedule
- Document the process (including team member feedback) and review throughout the transition process to find potential areas for improvement
Manage biweekly pay accurately for your people
Biweekly pay schedules can offer important benefits for both you and your people, including a lighter administrative load and increased team member satisfaction. The change can be worthwhile, but like most transitions, moving from one pay schedule to another can come with administrative challenges.
Make the transition a smooth one and ease future administrative burdens with the right payroll software. With help from the right tech solutions, you can streamline and improve payroll accuracy so your biweekly pay schedule works for both you and your people.
Learn more about biweekly pay
How do holidays and weekends affect biweekly pay dates?
Weekends don’t affect biweekly pay dates since biweekly pay schedules are set for every two weeks on a specific work day. If a biweekly pay date is on a holiday, companies can pay their people on the preceding business day.
How many paychecks are there in a year with biweekly pay?
Under a biweekly payroll cycle, your people receive 26 paychecks per year.
How do you calculate annual salary using biweekly paycheck amounts?
People can determine annual gross salary based on biweekly paycheck amounts with this formula:
Biweekly gross wages x 26 = Annual gross salary
If taxes and other deductions are taken out of each paycheck, use this formula:
Biweekly net pay x 26 = Annual net salary
Recommended For Further Reading
What industries pay biweekly?
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, a wide range of industries use biweekly pay, including education and health services, leisure and hospitality, manufacturing, and information.
How does switching to biweekly pay impact benefits deductions?
Switching to a biweekly pay schedule impacts benefits deductions by dividing the total annual amount an employee contributes toward benefits—such as health insurance, retirement plans, and other deductions—into 26 pay periods instead of 12.
This typically means each paycheck will reflect a smaller deduction per pay period, easing the immediate financial impact on team members. Plus, in months with three pay periods, some companies withhold benefit deductions in only the first two paychecks. This approach keeps annual deductions aligned while giving people “extra” funds in those three paycheck months.
