How to Upload Bulk Payments

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This article is about Justworks PEO and Payroll. What product am I using?

Justworks makes it easy to schedule payments to employees, contractors, and vendors. Admins with the proper permissions will see Pay in the left-hand side menu upon logging in. (More information about scheduling off-cycle payments can be found on the Off-Cycle Payments page.)

Note that the bulk payments feature should not be used for regular wages. Employees must be paid at least the applicable minimum hourly wage or applicable minimum salary for exempt employees, overtime pay (if applicable), as well as any wages you are contractually required to pay them, through Justworks on Justworks’ designated paydays.

The US Payments page under Pay, listing eight selectable pay types: Contractor pay, Vendor payment, Expense reimbursement, Off-cycle salary, Bonus, Commission, Owner's draw, and Tips, each with a brief description and a chevron arrow.
Navigate to Pay > US Payments to choose the pay type you want to schedule. Bulk upload is available for all pay types listed here except regular wages.

You’ll see the different pay types that you can schedule to your employees here. Common pay types include off-cycle salary payments, supplemental payments (like bonuses and commissions), and expense reimbursements.

How to upload and schedule Bulk Payments

Once you select the pay type you wish to schedule, you’ll see the option to schedule a single, off-cycle payment or the option to upload and schedule payments in bulk. In this example, we'll walk through scheduling bonus payments in bulk.

Bonus Payment page showing Payment entry method with 'Bulk upload' selected (highlighted in blue) and 'Manual' unselected, plus Delivery preferences with 'Direct Deposit' selected and 'Physical Check' unselected. Payment summary sidebar shows Total payees: 0 and a Continue button.
 On the Bonus Payment page, select 'Bulk upload' under Payment entry method to upload a CSV file for multiple payments at once, then choose a delivery method before clicking Continue.

Similar to manual off-cycle payments, you will need to select the work period for which the bulk payments apply as well as any deductions that should be made from the bulk payments you’re about to upload. The date range you enter here will be present on your invoice and your employee's paystub once the payment processes. Generally, the start & end dates here should align with the work period in which the additional payment was earned. These start & end dates cannot be the same day. Please note that, depending on the payment type you have selected, the required information to upload bulk payments may differ slightly.

Payment settings page with fields for Applicable work period (Start date and End date), Bonus type (Discretionary selected), Payment input (Gross Pay selected), Federal tax rate (Flat Rate selected), and Benefit deductions (Make All Deductions selected).
Configure payment settings before uploading your CSV: set the applicable work period, select the bonus type and payment input method, and choose your federal tax rate and benefit deduction preferences.


Once you have made those selections, click continue and move on to the scheduling of bulk payments via the upload of a .CSV file. The page below details the steps needed to schedule payments via the .CSV upload. We’ll need a few pieces of information to schedule those payments. The first step is to download the .CSV to enter all payments you want to make. The .CSV template can be found at the link highlighted below.

Bonus Payment page with three numbered steps: (1) Download our CSV template with a highlighted 'download' link, (2) Complete one row per payment listing required fields (first name, last name, work email, pay date, amount, notes), and (3) Upload your completed CSV with a 'Choose file' drag-and-drop area.
After clicking Continue, follow the three on-screen steps: download the CSV template, fill in one row per payment, and upload the completed file. The next available pay date is shown in step 2.

The .CSV template has six columns including First Name, Last Name, Email, Pay Date, Amount, and Notes. Any notes you enter in the Notes field will appear on the associated paystub. The Notes field is not required, but you should use this field to add any notes that need to be included on the paystub. Notes are also encouraged for documentation and record-keeping purposes.

An empty CSV template open in a spreadsheet application with six column headers in row 1: First Name, Last Name, Work Email, Pay Date, Amount, and Notes. Rows 2 through 4 are blank.
The downloaded CSV template contains six required columns. Fill in one row per employee payment before saving and uploading the file.

A completed .CSV should look something like the below once you have completed filling out all the required fields for uploading the bulk payments. There is currently a 1000 row (1000 individual payments) limit via the bulk upload via .CSV.

A completed CSV template in a spreadsheet showing 8 employee rows with columns: First Name, Last Name, Work Email (truncated as 'success+164' or 'success+162'), Pay Date (3/15/22), Amount (10000), and Notes ('This is additional pay for working on a company holiday.').
A fully completed CSV example with one row per employee. Each row includes the employee's name, work email, pay date, payment amount, and an optional note that will appear on the paystub.

The fields required are largely the same for most payment types, but a company name and EIN will be required, instead of first name, last name, and work email for all Vendor payments.

Please note the details in step two of the upload process. You will need to make sure the payment date is accurate and none of your payments fall on weekends or bank holidays.

Bonus Payment page with the same three-step upload instructions, where step 2 ('Complete one row per payment') is highlighted with a red border around the pay date bullet point, which states the next available pay date is Wednesday, July 1, 2026, and that pay dates cannot fall on weekends or bank holidays.
Pay close attention to step 2: ensure all pay dates in your CSV are valid business days. The page displays the next available pay date and reminds you that weekends and bank holidays are not permitted.

You’re then ready to upload the .CSV with payment information and schedule your payments. Next, click the upload box to select a file from your device or you can choose to drag and drop the file into the box. If you don’t run into any errors (we will detail some of the errors you may run into and how to rectify them below), the upload will progress automatically and will look similar to the below.

Bonus Payment page displaying a green success banner reading '2 payments were successfully uploaded,' with a Payments table listing two individuals, each scheduled for Jul 3, 2026
After a successful CSV upload, a green confirmation banner appears and the Payments table populates with each payee's name, pay date, amount, and notes. Review the entries and click Continue to finalize scheduling.

Upon completion of the upload, the payment center will detail all the payments uploaded in the .CSV including to whom they are scheduled, the pay date, the amount, and any associated notes you entered in the .CSV. This page also allows you to delete any payments you may have uploaded in error by clicking the trash bin on the far right hand side of each individual payment.

Once everything looks good, you will click the continue button to finalize scheduling your bulk payments. Once you click continue you will be greeted with the review screen to make sure everything looks good one last time before confirming you want to schedule the payments. The review page will include all payments you’re about to schedule, and all applicable details of each payment, and a total gross amount for all payments.

 Bonus Payment review screen showing Payment details (Bulk upload, work period Jul 1–10 2026, Direct Deposit, Discretionary bonus, Gross Pay, Flat Rate, Make All Deductions) and a Payee section listing two individuals
The final review screen summarizes all payment settings and individual payee amounts. Verify everything is correct before clicking Submit to schedule the bulk payments.

Once you give the payments a last once-over, click Submit Payments and your payments will be scheduled. You’ll then be greeted with a confirmation of success page with some of the same details and important dates for the payments just scheduled.

Bonus Payment success page displaying 'Success!' with key dates: edit payment by Monday June 29 2026, account debited on Tuesday June 30 2026, and employees receive payment on Wednesday July 1 2026. Two info panels show debit timing and edit deadline details, and a Payment summary shows Total payees: 2 and Amount entered: $200.00.
After submitting, the success page confirms your bulk bonus payments are scheduled and displays important deadlines for editing or canceling, as well as the debit and payment dates.

On the left Justworks details when we will debit the money from your bank account to make the payments you just scheduled, and on the right Justworks details how and where to go to edit or cancel any payment just scheduled. Let’s take a look at how to edit one of those payments.

Off-Cycle Payments Screen

Pay has a tab at the top for viewing past and upcoming off-cycle payments. You can also click "Make a payment" to schedule additional off-cycle payments.

The Pay page with the 'Off-cycle payments' tab selected (highlighted with a red border) and the 'Make a payment' button in the upper right (also highlighted with a red border), showing a payments table with two individuals list, each scheduled for a $100.00 Bonus on 7/1/2026 with status 'Scheduled.'
After scheduling bulk payments, you can view them under Pay > Off-cycle payments. Use 'Make a payment' to schedule additional payments at any time.

Editing or Canceling Payments

Off-cycle payments table showing two rows: Each with a Bonus payment type, pay date of 7/1/2026, status 'Scheduled,' and amount of $100.00, with pencil (edit) and trash (delete) icons on the right
cheduled payments are listed in the Off-cycle payments tab with their pay date, status, and amount. Use the pencil icon to edit or the trash icon to cancel individual payments.


From this page you can edit or cancel any payment scheduled via the one-off or bulk process up until payroll processes for those payments. Clicking the pencil icon on the right-hand side of the payment will take you into the individual payment to change any details you want to address. Clicking the pencil icon will bring you to an edit payment flow that may be familiar from the single payment process when scheduling and editing single off-cycle payments. You can change the pay date, payment amount, applicable work period, deduction settings, and notes. You can also fully cancel the payment by clicking on the trash bin icon on the far-right hand side of each individual payment.

Off-cycle payments table with both rows checked, showing a blue action bar at the top with '2 payments selected' and buttons for 'Reschedule payments' and 'Cancel payments' (in red).
 Select multiple payments using the checkboxes to reschedule or cancel them in bulk using the action bar that appears at the top of the table.

You can also edit or cancel multiple payments at once by clicking the checkboxes on the left hand side of the page, and selecting an action once you have done so. Once you have completed editing your payment you will receive a confirmation of success of each edited payment on-screen.

Recording Fringe Benefits in Bulk

If your company offers fringe benefits such as taxable gym memberships, employer-paid life insurance, etc. through Justworks, you do not need to record these again -- they’re already accounted for. You need to record taxable fringe benefits that you provided to your employees outside of Justworks by going to Pay, clicking "Make a payment," and scrolling down to "Record a payment." You'll see the option to record fringe benefits there.

For more information about Fringe Benefits please see our Fringe Benefits page for more details about types and the taxes associated. 

Record a payment page showing a single selectable option: 'Fringe benefits,' described as an additional benefit or compensation provided outside of Justworks, with a chevron arrow on the right.
To record fringe benefits in bulk, navigate to Record a payment and select the Fringe benefits option.

Similar to Bulk Payments, Justworks gives you the ability to upload a .CSV with the appropriate information to record Fringe Benefits in bulk. Click the “Record Payment” button on the Fringe Benefits box and you’ll be greeted with the option to choose Manual or Bulk Upload. In this example we’ll be using the Bulk Upload tool. 

You'll then need to select which type of Fringe Benefit you are recording via the bulk upload. In this example, let’s use the Taxable Gym Membership and click continue. 

Recorded fringe benefits page showing Payment entry method with 'Bulk upload' selected (highlighted in blue) and 'Manual' unselected, Payment Settings section with Fringe benefit type dropdown set to 'Taxable gym membership,' and a Payment summary sidebar showing Total payees: 0 with a Continue button.
Select 'Bulk upload' as the payment entry method and choose the fringe benefit type — in this example, Taxable gym membership — before clicking Continue.

Similar to the bulk payments flow for things like bonuses and off-cycle salary payments, you will need to download the Fringe Benefits Bulk Upload .CSV from the below page via the link highlighted below. 

Recorded fringe benefits upload page showing three steps: (1) Download the CSV template via a highlighted 'download' link (outlined in red), (2) Complete one row per payment with required fields, and (3) Upload the completed CSV, with a Payment summary sidebar showing Total payees: 0.
The fringe benefits bulk upload page mirrors the bonus payment flow. Download the CSV template, fill in the required fields including a pay date within the current benefit year, and upload the completed file.

Justworks Fringe Benefits Bulk Upload .CSV requires all the same information you’d use for most Bulk Payments including First Name, Last Name, Work Email, Pay Date, Amount, and Notes. 

You’ll have to select a pay date for the fringe benefit. When you record a fringe benefit for your employee, Justworks does not pay the employee. We will withhold the corresponding taxes for that benefit on the date selected and remit the taxes associated with the benefit. You will also be charged employer taxes on the additional income reported for the employee. 

A completed CSV spreadsheet showing 12 employee rows with columns First Name, Last Name, Work Email (truncated), Pay Date (4/1/22), Amount (mostly 19.19, with some variations), and Notes reading 'Fringe Benefits - Gym Membership.'
A completed fringe benefits CSV example shows one row per employee with the pay date, amount, and a note identifying the benefit type. Amounts may vary per employee as shown

Once you upload your .CSV with all Fringe Benefits you want to record, you will be greeted with a success page detailing all the Fringe Benefits being recorded and to whom they apply. 

Recorded fringe benefits page showing a green success banner reading '2 payments were successfully uploaded,' with a Payments table listing two individuals each scheduled for Jul 3, 2026.
After uploading your fringe benefits CSV, a success banner confirms the number of payments loaded. Review each payee and amount before clicking Continue.

You should take time to review your records and make sure the payee, pay date, and amounts are correct before clicking continue to finalize recording your Fringe Benefits.

The following page will again detail the payees, dates of record, amount, and fringe benefit type. If you want to edit these Fringe Benefits before submitting click the pencil icon highlighted below. 

Recorded fringe benefits review screen showing Payment details section with entry method 'Bulk upload,' and a Payee section
Review the fringe benefits payment details and payee list one final time before clicking Submit. Use the Edit links to make any last-minute corrections.

Once you are sure everything is in order you can click the Submit Payments button to record your Fringe Benefits. A success page will follow detailing these Fringe Benefits, the dates until these Fringe Benefits being recorded are editable or cancelable until, and the date the taxes will be debited from the company bank account.

Recorded fringe benefits success page displaying 'Success!' with key dates: edit by Wednesday July 1 2026, account debited Thursday July 2 2026, payment received Friday July 3 2026
The success page confirms your fringe benefits have been recorded and displays the debit date, payment date, and the deadline by which you can still edit or cancel the submission.

If you need to edit or cancel any Fringe Benefit before it processes, you can use the Off-cycle payments screen as with Bulk Payments to either edit or cancel individual Fringe Benefits or in bulk. 

 

Disclaimer

This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, legal or tax advice. If you have any legal or tax questions regarding this content or related issues, then you should consult with your professional legal or tax advisor.