Toast Payroll: Resolve Duplicate Social Security Numbers (SSNs)

What should I do if I get an error saying "This SSN is already in use by another employee" while I'm creating a new hire in Toast Payroll?

Two employee profiles in Toast Payroll cannot have the same Social Security number (SSN). Additionally, Toast Payroll does not support two or more employees using the same Toast Payroll profile.

1. Before anything else, double-check with the new hire that you have their accurate SSN. Use Toast Payroll: Verify or Update My Social Secrity Number (SSN) if you need to.
2. The most common cause of this error is that the employee already has a Toast Payroll profile, so use the Search employees bar at the top of Toast Payroll to try and find an existing profile for this person. Search for both first and last name. This search includes terminated employees.
   1. If you find an existing profile in a terminated state and you want to rehire them, use Toast Payroll: Rehire Guide to reactivate their original profile and avoid this SSN error.
   2. If you don't find an existing profile, then another user must have this SSN on their profile. Continue with the next step.
3. You should now pull a report of your entire staff and the Social Security numbers on their profile by navigating to Settings > General Setup > Employees.
   1. If you do not see Settings on the left side of the screen, select Payroll from the Toast Web navigation rail on the left to make the Toast Payroll navigation rail appear.
4. Under Update existing employees, select the Start button.
5. Select Next on the following screen.
6. Now select Download to receive your report.
7. Once it's been downloaded, use the Ctrl/command + F keyboard shortcut to search for the SSN (with dashes) and locate the profile where the SSN already exists.
8. At this point, you can decide whether a profile needs to be terminated, created, or edited. Toast Payroll cannot assist with this decision.

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.