How can I get a pay stub?
A pay stub, also known as a paycheck stub or earnings statement, itemizes how much you were paid during a given pay period. It helps you verify income.
As an employee of a company, you are entitled to a pay stub that records the income you earn from your employer. No federal law guides this, but the Fair Labor Standard Act does. Getting a pay stub as an employee might not be as difficult as getting it as an employer.
In this article, we explain the following:
Pay Period
A pay period is a specific pay period used to calculate the correct amount of salaries and determine when employees will receive their paychecks. Pay periods are usually fixed and most often recurring daily, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly.
Pay period vs. workweek
A pay period is different from a workweek. A workweek is a federally-mandated, fixed period of 168 hours the employer must adopt to maintain compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The main purpose of a workweek is to ensure overtime is paid fairly and correctly regardless of the type of pay period.
Pay stubs
Aside from the amount you were paid during a pay period, the withdrawals and deductions, pay stubs to contain many times, and your sensitive information. This information includes;
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Your legal name
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Your social security number
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The total amount you made
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The name of your employer
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Some go ahead to include signatures.
It is thus important to keep your pay stub discreetly and, by doing so, out of the wrong hands because of the sensitive information it carries and the fact that your identity could be stolen.
Some of the other benefits pay stubs grant apart from the one stated in the introductory paragraph are; with a pay stub, you can verify your identity in places like the bank. A pay stub can be used to prove your income or show that you earn a stable income. Say, for example, you want to rent a house or go for a loan application; many landlords or creditors would want to see your pay stubs to confirm your income stability.
Two methods of obtaining your pay stub from a previous employer
If the provision of a pay stub is allowed in your state, and your employer is not giving you your pay stub, then they have it.
If you need your pay stub, you should go to your employer and then
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You can go through your company's payroll department or
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Locate the stubs online on your own.
While both methods above ultimately provide proof of your income, the steps for obtaining your pay stubs with these methods differ. Here are the two ways to obtain your pay stubs discussed extensively:
Through a website
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Ask your employer
Many employers do not provide their employees with paper pay stubs. They either send them by mail or just store them electronically through a service website.
Most companies who keep these documents electronically have a payroll service website to store them. These websites require an employee login and password. Find out from your employer or human resources department if your company has one where you should search for your pay stubs online and locate them.
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Access the site
When you know where to find your pay stubs online, you can locate the website. Remember to take your employee login ID and password if none was given to you. If you don't have this information, ask your employer or the company's human resources department to provide it for you.
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Locate and take out your pay stub
After a successful login, you can find the part of the website housing your pay stubs. From there, you can view your pay stubs or download and send/print them if you need them elsewhere.
Through the company's payroll department
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Find your pay stubs
If the company doesn't have a payroll service system to store your stubs online, the payroll department is the first place to stop after asking your employer.
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Ask for copies
Your pay stubs won't be given to you. Only copies will be. Whether paper copies or electronic ones you want, ensure to state it so it will appropriately be delivered.
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Take a breather
It is important to give the department time to retrieve your copies and get them across to you, especially if you have asked for a paper copy.
Sending pay stubs may take more time than you imagine. If you have asked for paper pay stubs, it may take the department a while to locate them and print them. This is before mailing them to you or contacting you concerning their availability, depending on how many you requested. If you have asked for the stubs to be emailed, the department will also need time to locate them, scan them and then email them to you.
Getting Your Pay Stubs from the last employer
Many third parties, such as landlords or insurance companies, ask to see your pay stubs to confirm your income before attending to you. While it's easy to obtain them from your current employer, the process for obtaining them from your previous employer requires a few extra deliberate actions from you.
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Contact your former employer
When you've contacted them, ask them how you can obtain your previous pay stubs. Please state the date you need them and ask them how long the request will take. You may be referred to the accounts department.
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Do the paperwork
You might have to request this in writing. For this, your name, address, social security number, former employee ID, and pay period date will be required.
Make sure to confirm your request has been made after sending it. If your employer doesn't comply with your request, you can file a complaint with your state's labor department. Your employer will be required to pay a violation fee.
GENERATE PAY STUBS
Picking your poison is important as a business owner. You can decide to create pay stubs manually. When you do this, remember that an insurance section is an important part of a pay stub—for example, health insurance. Any employee payments toward health benefits are included as deductions against the employee's gross pay.
You can also use payroll software, which is faster and will enable your employees to keep track of their wages, taxes, and deductions. To do this, you will need to use the best payroll service provider or a pay stub generator and follow the instructions.
Do you want to make a pay stub manually?
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Put the employee's total gross pay for a particular pay period
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Add deductions for taxes withheld (could be federal, state, and local, as well as FICA).
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Remove employee-paid portions of health insurance.
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Subtract employee-elected retirement plan contributions.
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Deduct any other deductions, including other insurance coverages.
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Calculate their net pay
If you issue physical checks, ensure to attach the pay stub generated to the check, or you can email them to your employees.
You can generate a pay stub for yourself using templates from MS Word or Excel or a pay stub generator.
Whether you use templates or other tools to generate pay stubs yourself, you need to consider federal and state tax brackets and rates, employment tax rates, and other policies on withholding and deductions so you would be on track.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I get Starbucks to pay stubs?
If you are an employee at Starbucks and need to get your pay stub, here is what you should do.
To begin, you'll need to log in to the Starbucks Partner Hub website with your employee ID number and password. If you don't have this anymore, remember you can request it. Once you're logged in, click on the "View Pay Stubs" link to view and print your pay stubs. Do this if you do not want to go through the stress of getting it from your store manager or HR department.
What can I purchase with my check stubs?
Another critical use case for paycheck stubs, or pay stubs, is proof of income for loans. While you can't use it to buy anything, banks and real estate agents often accept paycheck stubs as proof of income, allowing employees to rent and buy a property or apply for a loan. Some new employers require it also. Insurance premiums like health insurance premiums can also be purchased with this.
Is my pay period the same as my payment date?
No. An employee does not receive their check at the end of the pay period but several days after it has concluded. That date is called the pay date. This date is determined by state laws.
Final thoughts
If you are an employer, you can create your pay stubs. It is easier for small business owners to use payroll software or a payroll service. It will help calculate employee pay, local taxes withheld, and calculate deductions, all automatically.
You'll require this information to create pay stubs and calculate each employee's itemized deductions and taxes accurately and provide net pay accurately. As an employee, getting your pay stub requires you to ask if it's not handed directly to you along with your payslip. Contact us now if you have any more questions or need further assistance.
References
Kristen Larson is a payroll specialist with over 10 years of experience in the field. She received her Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota. Kristen has dedicated her career to helping organizations effectively manage their payroll processes with Real Check Stubs.
