Pay Periods, Dates, and Deadlines

SMU pays its employees on both biweekly and monthly payrolls. An employee’s pay schedule is determined primarily by the FLSA status of his job classification.  Adhering to the deadlines published on the current year’s Payroll Processing Schedule is critical to ensuring the employee’s payment is made in a timely manner.

Click here for the 2023-2024 Payroll Processing Schedule

Non-exempt Employees

Non-exempt employees (those paid for hours worked at an established hourly rate) are paid on a biweekly schedule (paid every two weeks). The pay period spans a two week period that begins Saturday at 12:00 AM and ends two weeks later on Friday at 11:59 PM. The biweekly pay day is one week after the pay period end, on Friday.

As indicated on the Payroll Processing Schedule, there are two deadlines associated with each biweekly payroll:
  1. Paperwork Due (PAFs, Forms W-4, Direct Deposit Authorization Forms, etc.)
  2. TIMEaccess & Electronic Extra Comp Approval Date

The paperwork deadline is established to ensure that all job data is updated before we begin processing the payroll on the Monday following the end of the pay period. The schedule for the biweekly payroll is consistent – pay papers due on the 2nd Monday of the pay period, review and approval of TIMEaccess records due on the Monday following the pay period end.

The only deviation from this routine is when a due date is adjusted to accommodate an SMU or bank holiday. These changes are highlighted on the Payroll Processing Schedule.

Exempt Employees

Exempt employees (those paid a salary) are paid on a monthly basis. The pay period begins at 12:00 AM on the first day of the month and ends at 11:59 PM on the last day of the month. The monthly pay day is the last SMU working day of the month.

As indicated on the Payroll Processing Schedule, there are two deadlines associated with each monthly payroll:

  1. Paperwork Due (PAFs, Forms W-4, Direct Deposit Authorization Forms, etc.)
  2. TIMEaccess & Electronic Extra Comp Approval Date
The paperwork deadline is established to ensure that all job data is updated before we begin processing the payroll. The monthly payroll is processed as close to the end of the month as possible, but often in the middle of the month due to the time required to complete the payroll.

The schedule for the monthly payroll is not consistent – the due dates for the paperwork as well as the TIMEaccess and Electronic Extra Comp approvals are based on when the payroll will be processed that month. Therefore, it is essential that each department is aware of the deadlines published for each monthly payroll.

Adjusted Pay Dates

Occasionally, a scheduled SMU holiday occurs on what would typically be a biweekly and/or monthly pay date. When this happens, the pay date is shifted earlier to take place on the nearest SMU work day. Refer to the current year’s Payroll Processing Schedule and note the highlighted pay date changes.