What Is Semi-Monthly Pay?

Semi-monthly pay, also known as bi-monthly pay and sometimes twice-monthly pay, is a payroll method that pays employees twice per month. It uses two set dates throughout the month as its paydays, like the 1st and 15th. This results in 24 paychecks per year, exactly twice that of a traditional monthly pay schedule.

What are the advantages of semi-monthly pay?

You can use semi-monthly pay as an employee perk at your business. Lots of professionals appreciate the increased frequency of bimonthly paychecks over the traditional monthly payroll. This can provide them with a greater degree of financial flexibility, allowing them to manage their finances more efficiently.

What are the disadvantages of semi-monthly pay?

Semi-monthly pay’s main disadvantage is that your business will have to process a higher number of transactions each year compared to traditional monthly payments. As a result, you’ll pay more transaction fees over the long run, especially if there are any flat fees involved. 

This same drawback applies to other unconventional payroll strategies, like weekly payroll.

Are semi monthly pay and biweekly pay the same?

No, semi-monthly pay and biweekly pay are not the same. They are very similar, however, bi-weekly pay involves a payment every two weeks, which results in a total of 26 paychecks per year. Bi-monthly pay, on the other hand, has only 24 paychecks per year.

How to manage bi-monthly payments in your business?

To manage bimonthly paychecks effectively, you should use a productivity app with built-in payroll tracking functionality. This will allow you to keep accurate track of your team’s payroll in the long run, regardless of what payment strategy you use. Apps like WebWork can even allow you to pay your employees without leaving the platform with their Invoicing tools.