Did you recently hire a few employees to help you manage your business? In addition to sending them a check at the end of each pay period, you may have to issue a pay stub that lists details about their income.
What is a pay stub?
A pay stub is a digital record or paper document that gives employees a breakdown of how their earnings were calculated. Information like employee salary, deductions and taxes paid, and net pay is listed on the pay stub. Employees can refer to their pay stubs to learn how much they get to take home.
A pay stub is also referred to as a paycheck stub or pay slip, so don’t be surprised if you hear these terms when requested to provide specifics of an employee’s compensation.
Why create a pay stub?
Pay stubs help you comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which requires businesses to document employee wages. Plus, you can use them to settle discrepancies in employee pay, should the need arise.
Note that federal law does not require you to give pay subs to your workers, but you should issue them for your payroll records under the FLSA.
For employees, pay stubs serve as proof of income when applying for a loan or leasing a new apartment. Since the document contains a detailed breakdown of the worker’s income, lenders can see clearly how much they bring home each payday. This makes it easier for lenders to conduct risk assessments and arrive at a decision.
So how do you create a pay stub?
The easiest way is to use an online pay stub generator. This software tool consolidates all your payroll-related data and invoices, then creates a personalized pay stub for you to share with your staff. You don’t need to hire an accountant—just enter the relevant info, and the tool will generate pay stubs for you.
Best pay stub generators for quick and professional pay stubs
1. Shopify pay stub generator
Shopify’s online pay stub maker takes the top spot because it ticks all the boxes for an all-in-one pay stub generator. The tool can make pay stubs that include all company, personnel, income, and deduction information. Just follow the four steps on the pay stub generator’s page and fill in the required fields. Shopify emails your electronic pay slip immediately, ready for you to use.
With Shopify’s pay stub generator, you don’t need to spend money on fancy software to get customized pay stubs. As long as you have the required information, you can get a personalized pay stub generated and emailed to you. Want to export pay stubs in PDF form? That’s also possible with this generator tool.
Price: Free.
2. Wix Pay Stub Generator
Wix's pay stub maker is another great tool for small businesses to create pay stubs online. Like other Wix offerings, the generator is easy to navigate and use. Enter your business info, edit worker salary and details, and make tax deductions or relevant additions—all in a few clicks.
You can even add your logo to the pay stub and make other customizations to meet your specific branding needs. Then, send your pay stub directly to employees or download and print a PDF copy from your email.
Price: Free.
3. Wave Financial pay stub generator
Wave’s check stub maker is fast and efficient. With a click of a button, you can create easy-to-share pay stubs. The online generator also has a field for YTD components, which depict the amount of gross pay a staff member has earned within the year until the pay date for the pay stub. You can also include total deductions and total net pay for the year up until that point.
Wave’s pay stub generator does the calculations on your behalf, reducing the chances of human errors like misspellings or wrong entries. After creating a pay stub, you can print it out or download it as a PDF to send to your employee.
Price: Free.
4. ClickFunnels Paystub Maker Tool
ClickFunnels is popular for being a sales funnel builder, but the company behind the software also offers other business tools, including a pay stub generator. The generator lets you create good-looking pay stubs in a few easy steps. Calculate, create, and print—it’s that simple to use.
You can also add your company logo to the pay stub, making it easier for employees to figure out who sent it. Although the tool doesn’t boast as many features as other pay stub generators on this list, it does the basic job (i.e., create a pay stub) quite well. You can also download or email yourself a copy for record-keeping and documentation.
Price: Free.
5. 123 PayStubs
123PayStubs is a highly effective tool for designing and printing employee pay stubs. With highly professional templates, the pay stub generator ensures you get ready-to-send documents. Plus, the tool lets you add overtime hours, bonuses, and tips to the pay stubs.
You can also customize the earnings industry-wise, as well as generate multiple pay stubs for a worker without entering the details repeatedly. Moreover, you can preview the pay stub before downloading it and make unlimited corrections without any additional cost.
Price: Free for the first pay stub, $3.99 from the second pay stub.
6. Form Pros Pay Stub Maker
Looking to create pay stubs in various formats? Form Pros lets you generate paycheck stubs as either A4 size or letter size. Also, it gives you the option to choose between landscape and portrait orientations for each format type. Pick from different pay stub designs, and then fill in the required details to create a pay slip in minutes.
While creating an employee pay stub with Form Pros costs money, it’s much less expensive than hiring an accountant. Plus, you can choose from different pay stub designs, including templates that let you enter additional earned income (like overtime, tips, and holiday pay).
Price: $8.99 per stub.
7. ThePayStubs
ThePayStubs’ generator allows you to fast-track pay stub creation. In just two minutes, you can get a professionally made pay stub to send to your employee. If you get stuck with any technical issues while creating the paycheck stub, you can contact ThePayStubs’ support team to resolve them for you.
ThePayStubs also has a pay stub calculator, meaning you’ll be able to efficiently keep track of your finances. Plus, you’ll get peace of mind, because the tool guarantees correct calculations.
Price: $8.99 per stub.
Give your employees professional looking pay stubs
Pay stubs are a great way to achieve payroll compliance and accountability. But creating them can be time-consuming if you go the manual route (i.e., use a pay stub template). And using a payroll service is just plain expensive.
Fortunately, online pay stub generators can help you generate professional-grade pay stubs in a few clicks. Use these tools to create important record-keeping documents that benefit you and your staff. They’re all simple, instant, and free to use.
Online pay stub generator FAQ
How do I create my own pay stub?
Although there are several ways to create your own pay stub, using an online pay stub generator is the simplest. Not only are most digital pay stub generators free, but they let you create a personalized pay stub in a few easy steps and almost instantly.
How does a pay stub generator work?
A pay stub generator relies on the following steps to work:
- Enter the business, employee, and income information.
- Enter any relevant deductions.
- Click the “Create pay stub” button.
Once done, the tool will send you your new pay stub by email.
What is the best pay stub generator?
The best pay stub generator is one that checks the following boxes:
- It’s instant.
- It’s easy to use.
- It has a simple and clean UI.
- It offers PDF exports.
- It’s free.
Most pay stub generators on our list meet all of these criteria.