Whether you're managing payroll for a small team or just organizing your own paycheck dates, having a clear payroll calendar is a game-changer. With Excel, you can easily build one that’s tailored to your schedule — and updates every year.
In this post, I’ll show you how to create a biweekly payroll calendar in Excel and share a ready-made 2025 template you can download and use immediately.
📌 What Is a Payroll Calendar?
A payroll calendar helps you track:
- 🗓️ Start and end dates of each pay period
- 💰 Payday dates
- 📝 Notes like bonuses, holidays, or cutoff dates
It keeps your payroll consistent and helps employees know what to expect.
🛠️ How to Create One in Excel
1. Start With These Columns
- Pay Period Start
- Pay Period End
- Pay Date
- Notes
2. Choose Your Frequency
Most businesses run payroll on a biweekly or semi-monthly basis. For this template, we use biweekly starting from January 5, 2025.
3. Add Dates Automatically
Use Excel's =DATE and =A1 + 14 formulas to generate 26 pay periods across the year. Add 5 days after each period to calculate the payday.
🎁 Free Download: 2025 Biweekly Payroll Calendar
Need something fast? This template includes all 26 pay periods for 2025, with pre-filled start and end dates, paydays, and space for notes.
📥 Download the Excel Payroll Calendar Template (2025)
💡 Tips for Power Users
- 📌 Add conditional formatting to highlight pay weeks
- 🔁 Copy the sheet to create annual calendars for future years
- 🔄 Link it with your payroll register or employee timesheets
🚀 Final Thoughts
Payroll shouldn’t be a guessing game. With Excel, you can stay consistent, organized, and ahead of every payday. This template is just a starting point — feel free to customize it to suit your business, your team, or your own finances.
Want a version that handles biweekly, semi-monthly, and monthly frequencies? Just let me know — I’m happy to help you build it!