Pre-payroll checklist
Before marking a run Processing, confirm:
The pay period has ended, and all shifts are complete. No items are Projected.
Missed clock-ins and clock-outs have been corrected.
Every yellow-highlighted shift has been reviewed and its exceptions resolved.
Overtime looks correct, especially for caregivers near daily or weekly thresholds.
Mileage, travel time, and expenses have been added where needed.
Every item is Approved, and Pending Review shows 0.
Every caregiver in the run has an External ID, required for Paychex and iSolved.
Run payroll each pay period
Step 1: Open the payroll run
In the sidebar, under Operations, click Payroll.
Find the pay period. The list shows each run's Status, approval Progress, Regular Time, Overtime, Double Time, Travel Time, Mileage, and Total.
Use Filter → Status to view Draft, Processing, Paid, or Archived runs.
To find older periods, change the date picker. It defaults to the current month.
Click the run to open it.
Wait until the pay period has ended and all shifts are complete before finalizing payroll. Pay for unfinished shifts appears as Projected and is an estimate.
Step 2: Review the summary
The cards at the top of the run show:
Approved: approved pay items compared with the total number of items.
Pending Review: items that still need approval.
Regular Time, Overtime, Mileage, and Travel Time totals.
Click a card to filter the list to those items.
Step 3: Review each caregiver's pay
The table has one row per caregiver. Expand a caregiver to view their shifts, then expand a shift to see its pay items, including regular hours, overtime, travel time, mileage, and expenses.
Review shifts highlighted in yellow. These have exceptions flagged by AI Shift Review. Hover over an exception to see the details:
Blocking exceptions prevent automatic approval.
Non-Blocking exceptions are warnings and don't prevent automatic approval.
Correct the shift, then click Refresh Exceptions. You can also select Edit Manually to resolve the exception yourself.
Each pay item has a status:
Status | What it means |
Projected | The shift isn't complete, so the amount is an estimate. |
Pending Review | The shift is complete, and its pay needs approval. |
Approved | The pay is ready to be paid. |
Processing | The pay is locked and being paid through your provider. |
Paid | The pay is complete. |
Use Filter to narrow the list by Shift Status, Item Status, or Item Type: Regular, Overtime, Double Time, Travel Time, Travel Mileage, or Expense. You can also search by caregiver.
Step 4: Make corrections
Make changes before approving pay:
On a shift: select ⋮ → Add Items to add Travel Time, Travel Mileage, or an expense.
On a pay item: use Actions to select Edit Pay Rate, Edit Payable Time, Add Pay Modifier, Clear Pay Modifiers, Edit Travel Time, or Edit Mileage, or to edit travel time or mileage rates. Pay modifiers can include a holiday or weekend differential.
If a change affects approved pay, Careswitch shows which items will be added, updated, or removed. To continue, select “I wish to update line items that have already been approved.”
If you changed mileage or travel settings during the pay period, open Settings → Policies → Travel Mileage or Travel Time and click Recalculate current pay period. Caregivers whose pay is already Processing or Paid are skipped.
Step 5: Approve pay
To approve every pay item on a shift, click Approve All on the shift.
To approve one item, select Actions → Approve on that item.
To undo approval, select Remove Approval.
Automatic approval: if your workspace has at least one AI Shift Review rule that applies to payroll, completed shifts without Blocking payroll exceptions are approved automatically. If no payroll rules are set up, approve pay manually.
Step 6: Mark the run Processing
Confirm that every item is Approved. The Approved card should show “X of X items”, with no Pending Review or Projected items.
Click Status: Draft at the top right.
Select Processing.
Review everything before this step. Marking a run Processing locks it. You can no longer edit pay or payable time on those shifts, and the run can't return to Draft.
If Processing is unavailable: at least one item is still Pending Review or Projected. Filter by Item Status to find it. This is often an unfinished shift or a shift with a Blocking exception.
Step 7: Export to your payroll provider
Click Export.
Confirm the provider shown in “Export as … format”. To select a different provider, click Change Payroll Provider.
Click Export. Careswitch downloads a CSV file, or an XLSX file for iSolved.
Upload the file to your payroll provider and run payroll there as usual.
Review any warnings in the export window:
“This payroll run is not fully approved”: only approved pay is included. Unapproved pay is excluded.
Employees missing an External ID: add their IDs before exporting. See setup Step 6. Each name in the warning links to the caregiver's Employment tab.
You can export a Draft run to preview the file. Export the file you'll send to your provider after marking the run Processing, so the pay won't change afterward.
Step 8: Mark the run Paid
After your provider has paid caregivers:
Open the run and click Status: Processing.
When ready, select Status: Paid.
The run is closed. You can still view and export it, but can't change it.
Other payroll tasks
Caregivers who leave your agency
When a caregiver is made inactive, Careswitch creates a separate Dismissal run for their remaining pay. It appears in the payroll list as “Dismissal: [Name]”.
Use the same process: review, approve, mark Processing, export, and mark Paid.
Archive or restore a run
Only Draft runs can be archived. Archived runs are read-only and hidden from the list by default.
To view them, select Archived under Filter → Status. To return an archived run to Draft, select Unarchive.
View a caregiver's payroll
Each caregiver's profile has a Payroll tab with a week-by-week view of their pay. This tab appears after your pay schedule is set up.
Correct pay after a run is Processing or Paid
Processing and Paid runs can't be reopened or voided in Careswitch. If you find an error, correct the pay directly with your payroll provider, such as by adding an adjustment to the caregiver's next check.
Don't archive or edit the shift to reverse pay that has already been sent.
Frequently asked questions
Why can't I select Processing?
At least one item is still Pending Review or Projected. Filter by Item Status to find it, then complete the shift, resolve any Blocking exceptions, or approve the item manually.
Why wasn't a shift approved automatically?
It may have a Blocking payroll exception, or your workspace may not have any AI Shift Review rules for payroll. Without payroll rules, approval is manual. See “How AI Shift Review Works.”
Why is a caregiver missing from my export?
Paychex excludes caregivers without an External ID. For all providers, only Approved, Processing, and Paid pay is exported. Unapproved items are excluded.
Why can't I edit a shift's payable time?
The shift must be complete, and its pay can't be Processing or Paid. Pay is locked once a run is marked Processing.
Why didn't a caregiver's rate change update past shifts?
Rate changes don't apply to completed shifts. For a completed shift in a Draft run, select Actions → Edit Pay Rate on the pay item. See “Changing a caregiver's pay rate.”
Will changing overtime rules update past pay?
No. Changes apply only to upcoming shifts that haven't been worked and don't have their own overtime override. Completed shifts and existing pay aren't recalculated. To avoid using different rules within one pay period, make overtime changes at the start of a new period.
Can I create a payroll run manually?
No. Careswitch creates a run automatically for each pay period. If a run is missing, check your pay schedule under Settings → Policies → Payroll.
Does Careswitch send paystubs to caregivers?
No. Your payroll provider issues paystubs.