Last updated: Jun 4, 2026, 4:12 PM
Learn when to submit payroll, what the due date and check date mean, and what happens if you submit late.
The deadline to submit payroll depends on what you want to achieve, and there are two times to know. The Toast-recommended deadline is 4:20 p.m. CT on your due date, which is three business days before your check date. Submitting by this time builds in a buffer for bank holidays and shipping delays so paychecks and direct deposits arrive on time. The latest you can submit and still have a chance of paying employees on the check date is before 4:20 p.m. CT on the business day before your check date, but this leaves no buffer for delays.
If you have not yet gone live on your Toast POS devices, you must submit payroll four days before your check date. See the question below on why four days are required.
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To make sure your employees are paid on time, submit (post) payroll on the due date, which is three business days before your check date. Submitting on the due date gives the system time to process direct deposits and to print and ship any live (paper) checks so they arrive before the pay date.
For example:
When you submit three business days in advance, Toast prints and ships any live checks overnight so you can receive them before the pay date, and payroll taxes are debited from your account one business day before your check date. For the full breakdown of pay timing based on exactly when you submit, see Toast Payroll: Get Help With When Employees Are Paid.
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The due date is the date the system sets automatically as the recommended time to submit your payroll, and it cannot be changed on its own. The system sets the due date to three business days before your selected check date. You cannot move the due date directly, but you can move your check date, which moves the due date with it.
If your pay periods consistently overlap your due dates, you can ask Toast to move your check date for all payrolls. To request this, select the blue chat button in the lower-right corner of any Toast Payroll page.
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You can change your check date (also called your pay date) by contacting Toast Customer Care. To request a change to a single payroll's check date, or to move your check date for all payrolls, select the blue chat button in the lower-right corner of any Toast Payroll page. Moving your check date also moves the due date, since the due date is always three business days before the check date.
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If you submit payroll after the recommended deadline, your employees may be paid later than the check date, and the exact timing depends on when you submit. As a general rule, every missed daily processing cutoff (sweep) adds one business day to when employees are paid.
The two main late scenarios are:
For the exact pay date in every late scenario, including weekends and holidays, see Toast Payroll: Get Help With When Employees Are Paid. If Toast-printed live checks will not arrive on time, see Toast Payroll: Paycheck Package Delivery Delays.
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Bank holidays can delay payroll even when you submit on time, so plan to submit before a holiday rather than after. Toast does not process payroll on weekends or federal holidays. Typically, if a bank holiday falls on a check date, funds are processed on the next business day.
For the list of federal bank holidays, see the Federal Reserve holiday schedule at federalreserve.gov. For how to manage posting around bank holidays, see Toast Payroll: Manage Federal Bank Holidays.
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Your payroll requires posting four days before the check date when you have not yet gone live on Toast POS, or when your account is in a deadline enforcement status. In both cases, the four-day requirement helps confirm funds are available before employees are paid. Once you are live on Toast POS, the recommended timeline becomes more flexible.
For accounts in deadline enforcement, the four-day requirement can be reduced back to three days when certain conditions are met. If you believe your account should no longer require four days, contact Toast Customer Care by selecting the blue chat button in the lower-right corner of any Toast Payroll page.
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If you are blocked from submitting payroll before the deadline, first confirm whether the issue is a payroll error or a missed action item rather than the deadline itself. A payroll that will not calculate or submit is usually caused by an unresolved item, such as unapproved timesheets, tips not yet sent to payroll, or an employee setup issue, rather than by the posting deadline.
Customers who have a failed collection from Toast Payroll will see a notification on their dashboard regarding this. They will be asked to wire transfer the applicable funds and may be assessed a fee.
Work through any on-screen action items first. If payroll still will not submit and your deadline is approaching, contact Toast Customer Care by selecting the blue chat button in the lower-right corner of any Toast Payroll page. For help with processing problems, see Toast Payroll: Get Help With Payroll Processing Errors.
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This content is for informational purposes and is not intended as legal, tax, HR, or any other professional advice. Please contact an attorney or other professional for advice.