Payroll & Schedule

Pay Period Structure

Each pay period runs Monday 12:01 AM through Sunday 11:59 PM. Payday is the Friday following the close of each period — a five-day processing window. Example: work performed Monday 8/11/25 through Sunday 8/17/25 is paid Friday 8/22/25. Holiday weeks follow the same schedule unless management says otherwise. If payday falls on a bank holiday, direct deposits process the preceding business day.

Timesheet Submission

Submit your completed timesheet by Sunday at 11:59 PM every week. Record all hours: regular time, overtime, and breaks. Log travel time between job sites as your crew leader instructs. Late submissions may delay your pay to the next cycle. Supervisors review and approve by Monday at 5:00 PM. If you spot an error on a previous timesheet, notify your supervisor and the owner immediately. Falsifying time records is grounds for immediate termination.

Direct Deposit & Payment Methods

Direct deposit funds hit by 6:00 AM on payday (Friday). Set up or update through Gusto.com or by contacting the owner. You can split deposits across multiple accounts. Bank processing varies — contact your bank if funds are not available by midday. Paper checks are available with 24 hours advance notice. Pay stubs, W-2s, and earnings history are on the Gusto employee portal anytime.

Overtime Policy

All field crew members are non-exempt and earn overtime at 1.5x your regular rate. Two separate overtime triggers apply depending on your rank.

Weekly overtime (all ranks): Every hour you work beyond 40 in a workweek is paid at 1.5x — no exceptions, no rank difference.

Per-shift overtime (rank-based): A single long shift only triggers overtime pay if you have already hit your rank's minimum weekly hours for that week. Until you reach that floor, long individual shifts are paid at your regular rate.

- Trainee: per-shift overtime applies only after you have worked at least 20 hours that week. - Crew Member & Crew Lead: per-shift overtime applies only after you have worked at least 30 hours that week.

Once your weekly minimum is met, any shift that runs beyond 8 hours triggers 1.5x pay for those extra hours.

Get overtime pre-approved by your crew leader or supervisor when possible. During peak season, overtime is common and distributed fairly across the crew. Record every overtime hour accurately — do not underreport. Questions go to the owner.

Overtime Quick Reference by Rank

Payroll Advance

A payroll advance lets you receive part of your earned wages before the regular Friday payday. Advances are a one-time accommodation — not a standard benefit or entitlement — and are subject to Owner approval.

Eligibility Window You may request an advance as soon as you are done working for the current pay period — you no longer have to wait for the period to close. There are two paths, and you must choose one:

1. Early same-period request: If you have finished all your work for the current pay period, you may request the advance right away. The trade-off is firm — there are no double payrolls, so if you take the advance early, you take the rest of the pay period off. No further hours may be worked in that period once the advance is taken. 2. Post-close request: Wait until the pay period fully ends (Sunday close), then request normally. For this path, the advance window closes Thursday — the day before payday — giving a maximum lead time of 4 days (Monday through Thursday). Advances are not available on Friday (payday) since your regular paycheck processes that day.

Either way, your hours for the period must be final and complete at the time of the request — an advance is calculated on wages already earned, never on hours you might still work.

How It Works Advances are issued as off-cycle cash disbursements. They are NOT processed through Gusto or direct deposit. You may advance up to 80% of your gross earned wages for the completed pay period. The remaining 20% is held as a retainer so taxes and deductions can be processed normally at the scheduled payday.

The administrative fee is deducted directly from the advance amount before you receive cash. The advance is not a loan against future pay — it is drawn from and settled within the same pay period's paycheck. At normal payday, payroll runs only on the remaining 20% retainer; taxes are calculated on that amount and you receive whatever net remains after deductions.

Worked Example — $330 Gross Pay Week (First Request) - Gross pay: $330.00 - Maximum advance (80%): $264.00 - Administrative fee (20% of $264): −$52.80 - Cash in hand at advance: $211.20 - Retainer processed at normal payday: $66.00 (taxes calculated on this amount — you receive net after deductions)

Back-to-Back Scenario — Same $330 Gross Pay (30% Fee) - Maximum advance (80%): $264.00 - Administrative fee (30% of $264): −$79.20 - Cash in hand at advance: $184.80 - Retainer processed at normal payday: $66.00 (same as above)

How to Request Contact the Owner directly — in person or by phone — before submitting anything. No one else can authorize an advance. The Owner is the sole approval authority and may decline any request at their discretion. Once the Owner has verbally confirmed eligibility, submit your formal request through the [Advance Request form in the CRM employee portal](https://collinspropertymaintenancellc.com/employee/payroll-advance). Submission through the portal is required — verbal requests alone are not sufficient to initiate disbursement.

Repeat-Request Rules Only one advance is permitted per pay period. If you request an advance in two consecutive pay periods (back-to-back), the fee increases to 30% of the advance amount instead of 20%, and remains subject to Owner approval.

Payroll Advance — Quick Reference

Understanding Your Paycheck — Start Here

If this is your first job, your first paycheck can be a surprise: the amount that lands in your account is less than your hourly rate times the hours you worked. That is normal, it is legal, and it happens to every working person in the country. This section explains exactly why.

By the time you finish reading, you should understand three things:

1. The difference between gross pay (what you earn) and net pay (what you take home).

2. What each deduction on your pay stub is, and why it is taken out.

3. Why the company is legally required to withhold these amounts and send them to the government on your behalf.

This is the same foundation a well-run company gives every new hire. Once you understand it here, you will understand your paycheck at any job you ever hold.

Understanding Your Paycheck — Gross vs. Net Pay

Gross pay is the full amount you earn before anything is taken out. It is your hourly rate multiplied by the hours you worked (plus any overtime). If you earn $20.00 per hour and work 40 hours, your gross pay is $800.00.

Net pay — also called take-home pay — is what is left after required taxes and deductions are subtracted. Net pay is the number that actually shows up in your bank account on payday.

The flow from one to the other is always the same:

Gross earnings → mandatory deductions → net (take-home) pay.

The gap between gross and net is not money the company keeps. It is withheld from your check and sent to the government on your behalf. The next subsections explain each piece that comes out.

Understanding Your Paycheck — What Gets Deducted

Four standard deductions come out of nearly every paycheck. Here is what each one is.

Federal income tax withholding — Money set aside toward the federal income tax you owe for the year. How much is withheld depends on what you reported on your Form W-4 (filing status, dependents, and any extra withholding you requested). Withholding is essentially a pay-as-you-go down payment on your annual tax bill. When you file your tax return, you settle up — you may get a refund if too much was withheld, or owe more if too little was.

Minnesota state income tax withholding — The same idea as federal, but for the State of Minnesota. Minnesota collects a state income tax, and a portion is withheld from each check toward what you owe the state for the year.

Social Security (6.2%) — A flat 6.2% of your gross pay funds the federal Social Security program, which pays retirement, disability, and survivor benefits. On $800.00 of gross pay, that is $49.60.

Medicare (1.45%) — A flat 1.45% of your gross pay funds Medicare, the federal health-insurance program for people 65 and older and certain people with disabilities. On $800.00 of gross pay, that is $11.60.

Social Security and Medicare are taken together under a single law and are jointly called FICA (the Federal Insurance Contributions Act). When you see "FICA" on a pay stub, it means your combined Social Security and Medicare deductions.

Understanding Your Paycheck — Why the Company Withholds

The company does not choose to take this money, and it does not keep any of it. Federal and state law require every employer to withhold income taxes, Social Security, and Medicare from your pay and remit (send) those amounts to the IRS and the State of Minnesota on your behalf. Your pay stub is the record of that happening.

Think of the company as a middleman the government requires: it collects the required amounts from your check and forwards them to the right agency on schedule. Failing to do this correctly is against the law for the employer, which is why it is handled carefully and consistently for everyone.

There is one more piece most new employees do not realize: the company also pays its own matching share of Social Security and Medicare. For every dollar of Social Security and Medicare withheld from your check, the company pays an equal amount out of its own pocket — that is an additional 6.2% and 1.45% the business contributes on top of your wages. So these programs are funded by both you and your employer together.

What your taxes fund, in plain terms: Social Security and Medicare pay for retirement, disability, survivor, and senior health benefits — including, eventually, your own. Federal and state income taxes pay for public services like roads, schools, emergency services, parks, and the courts. The point here is simply to show where the money goes, not to take any position on it.

Understanding Your Paycheck — Sample Paycheck Breakdown

Here is a realistic weekly example that walks from gross pay all the way down to take-home pay. The example uses $20.00 per hour for 40 hours.

The Social Security and Medicare lines are exact (6.2% and 1.45% of gross). The federal and state income-tax lines are realistic estimates only — your actual withholding depends on your W-4 elections, your pay rate, and your hours. Notice that gross pay minus every deduction equals net pay.

Sample Weekly Paycheck — $20.00/hr × 40 hrs

Understanding Your Paycheck — Where to See Your Own Numbers

Every paycheck comes with a pay stub that lists your own gross pay, each deduction, and your net pay — line by line, just like the example above. You can view and download your pay stubs anytime through the Gusto employee portal at gusto.com. Your annual W-2 form, which summarizes a full year of earnings and withholding for tax filing, is also available in Gusto.

If a number on your stub does not look right, or you have a question about your pay, contact the owner directly.

Two things to keep current so your pay and taxes are handled correctly: your W-4 (your withholding elections — update it in Gusto if your situation changes, such as marriage or a new dependent) and your direct-deposit bank information. Keeping both up to date prevents pay delays and surprises at tax time.

Understanding Your Paycheck — Key Terms Glossary

Gross pay — Your total earnings before any taxes or deductions are taken out.

Net pay — Your take-home pay; what is left after all deductions. This is what lands in your bank account.

Withholding — Money your employer holds back from your check and sends to the government toward the taxes you owe.

Deduction — Any amount subtracted from your gross pay (for example, taxes).

FICA — The Federal Insurance Contributions Act; the law behind your combined Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%) deductions.

W-4 — The form you fill out telling your employer how much federal income tax to withhold, based on your filing status and dependents.

W-2 — The year-end form your employer gives you summarizing your total wages and the taxes withheld, used to file your tax return.

Understanding Your Paycheck — Important Disclaimer

This section is here to help you understand how a paycheck works in general. It is education, not advice about your specific situation.