The Paylocity direct deposit form is not a paper document you download and mail in. It’s an electronic authorization inside the Employee Self Service portal where you enter the bank account (or accounts) that should receive your net pay. Setup takes a few minutes online, but your first electronic paycheck won’t land immediately: Paylocity runs a verification step that usually takes one to two pay cycles to clear.
What to Have Ready Before You Log In
Two numbers do all the work: your bank’s nine-digit routing number and your personal account number. The routing number identifies the bank; the account number identifies your specific checking or savings account within it.1U.S. Bank. U.S. Bank Routing Number
The easiest place to find both is a personal check. The routing number is the nine-digit string printed at the bottom left, and the account number sits just to its right.1U.S. Bank. U.S. Bank Routing Number No checks? Log into your bank’s online banking site or mobile app, or call your bank and ask for a direct deposit information letter. Pull the numbers from a reliable source rather than typing from memory. A transposed digit is the most common reason a direct deposit fails, and you often won’t find out until payday.
Completing the Form in Employee Self Service
Log into Paylocity’s Employee Self Service, either through a web browser or the mobile app. New hires are usually walked through direct deposit as part of onboarding in the app.2Paylocity. Mobile Payroll and HR App for Employees From the dashboard, find the Pay tile, click “More” in the bottom-right corner, and select “Direct Deposit Accounts.”3AG Support. Paylocity Employee Frequently Asked Questions
The form then asks for four things:
- Account Type. Choose Checking, Savings, or Pay Card from the drop-down.4Pratt Community College. Paylocity Direct Deposit Form
- Routing Number. Enter the nine digits with no dashes or spaces. The system validates the number on the spot and won’t let you save an invalid one.4Pratt Community College. Paylocity Direct Deposit Form
- Account Number. Enter your account number with no spaces or symbols, up to 17 characters.5Campus Services. Direct Deposit Changes
- Amount Type and Amount. This tells Paylocity how much of your paycheck goes into this account.
Before you save, compare the routing and account numbers on screen against the check or bank letter in front of you, digit by digit. The validator confirms the routing number is real, but it can’t tell whether the account number belongs to you.
Sending Part of Your Pay to Another Account
If you want a set amount going into savings each payday, add a second account and choose one of three amount types.6Paylocity. How to Set Up Direct Deposit for Employees
Flat sends a fixed dollar amount to the account every payday, like $300 into savings. Percent sends a percentage of your net pay, entered as a whole number (20 for 20%). Net Minus lets you receive a specified dollar amount as a paper check and directs the rest into the account.4Pratt Community College. Paylocity Direct Deposit Form
When you use more than one account, designate one as the remainder account. That account picks up whatever is left after the flat or percentage amounts are pulled out, so your full net pay is always accounted for even when overtime or a bonus changes the total. For most people, the remainder account is the primary checking account that covers rent, bills, and daily spending.
When the First Direct Deposit Actually Arrives
Saving the form doesn’t switch on electronic pay. Paylocity first sends a zero-dollar test transaction, called a prenote, to your bank to confirm the routing and account numbers work before any real money moves.7Sage. What Is a Prenote It’s a standard payroll safeguard, not something specific to Paylocity, and it catches bad account data before your paycheck can get lost in transit.
Paylocity recommends submitting the form at least seven to ten days before your first payday to give the prenote time to clear.6Paylocity. How to Set Up Direct Deposit for Employees In practice, activation often takes one to two full pay cycles. You’ll receive a paper check for any paychecks that hit during the verification window. Once the prenote clears, your portal status flips to active and the next scheduled payroll runs electronically.
Updating or Removing a Direct Deposit Account
Switched banks? Log back into Self Service, go to Pay → Direct Deposit Accounts, select the account, edit the routing number, account number, or amount, and save. To take an account off the list, select it and click Delete.3AG Support. Paylocity Employee Frequently Asked Questions Any change triggers a fresh prenote, so plan for the same one-to-two-cycle delay before deposits reach the new account.
Don’t close the old account until you’ve seen at least one successful deposit land in the new one. If the old account is gone before the new setup activates, the ACH transfer has nowhere to go and will bounce.
What Your Employer Can and Cannot Require
Federal law bars an employer from requiring you to open an account at a specific bank as a condition of employment.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1693k – Compulsory Use of Electronic Fund Transfers An employer can strongly encourage direct deposit, but if they make electronic pay mandatory, they must offer at least one alternative, such as a paper check or a payroll card, and they cannot charge you a fee for the method you pick.
State rules on mandatory direct deposit vary. Some states prohibit it outright; others allow it with conditions. If your employer is pushing direct deposit and you’d rather have a check, check your state labor department’s guidance.
If you don’t have a bank account, Paylocity supports payroll cards, which are prepaid debit cards your employer loads on payday.9Paylocity. Paycards 101 – How to Use a Payroll Card to Pay Employees To use one, select Pay Card as the account type on the direct deposit form. Before you agree to a payroll card, your employer must give you a short-form disclosure of key fees and a long-form disclosure covering every fee tied to the card.10Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. If My Employer Offers Me a Payroll Card, Do I Have to Accept It? Read both, because out-of-network ATM fees, balance inquiry fees, and paper statement fees can pull real money out of each paycheck.