Customizing your Paystubs Quickly: Why & How

Your paystub is one of the most important financial documents you own. It reflects your income and allows others to obtain legitimate evidence of how much you make in a pay period. Employers may issue checkstubs to employees in various formats. If you are a self-employed professional or freelancer, you can choose different layouts and designs for your paystub online.

So, to what extent can you customize your paystubs? Does it extend any advantages to you? How should you go about doing it legally? In this article, let us understand more about these aspects.

Is it Legal to customize your Paystub?

The simple answer is: yes, it is legal within reason. If you create your records, you can experiment with several formats, backgrounds, templates, etc., to arrive at a style that suits your sensibilities. There isn’t one fixed format for paystubs. What is important is that it includes all the necessary information about your payment during a specific period.

Notably, it is not legal to edit essential information on a paystub your company has issued you. It usually includes your salary, pay period, taxes, deductions, company details, and social security number (SSN). Occasionally, the payroll department might make an error while processing your payslip. In that case, you must bring it to their attention and get the necessary edits in place. If you attempt to fudge any details on your own, however, it counts as an offense. You can be penalized for doing so and get black-listed by financial organizations, loan providers, etc.

What are the Benefits of Customizing a Checkstub?

A few benefits of being able to edit your payslip are evident. You can update your pay periods depending upon whether you were paid monthly, bi-monthly, etc. For contractors, part-time workers, etc., pay periods often change, and this provision can help them adapt their payslips to reflect accurate information. You may also need to add extra information to your records, such as marital status, part-time pay, irregular working hours, etc. Some online paystub generators like StubCheck.com offer the option of enhanced checkstubs to let you make these customizations with a button click.

There are potentially some more advantages of customizing a checkstub. Using your own background or professional font can add an attractive layer of individuality. It can even enhance the authenticity of your paystub, particularly if you are sharing one not issued by a regular employer.

How to Customize a Paystub

There are multiple ways to ‘edit’ your paystub legally. Let us discuss a few:

• Add additional fields of information in consultation with your employer, for example, vacation pay
• Choose to remove some fields of information from your record, for instance, an employee might want to display only the last four digits of their SSNs and bank details or omit the company phone number
• Change the background
• Change the font face or size
• Use more or fewer grid lines
• Use different textures for the paper, for instance, business checks, standard A4 paper, etc.
• Experiment with line breaks

If you are a full-time employee, you will need to make these edits after discussing them with your employer. The financial or payroll team can update your records based on your requirements. However, if you generate your payslips using a free paystub maker, things become simple. Many digital tools and payroll software allow basic edits with a few button clicks.

Things to Remember While Customizing a Paystub

Thanks to contemporary paystub creators, it has become straightforward to edit your financial records as per your needs. It is, however, crucial to remember some important things while making any edits:

• Choose a simple format: It is best to stick to a professional font and layout while changing the template of your checkstub. A fancy style may appeal to your sensibilities, but most companies and third-party organizations prefer a simple look and feel.

• Use a reliable tool or program: You can use a paystub generator free or paid to build your checkstubs. You can also employ a financial software application. Tools make it quick to make any customizations. It is better to rely on a program/application to make such changes for you so that the result is sleek and professional.

• Prefer standard paper: You are at liberty to select the kind of paper on which to print your paystub. However, many financial organizations prefer software-compatible paper for checkstubs. Such paper adheres to security standards and accepted protocols. It generally makes things easier.

Customizing your paystubs may be a necessity in some situations, especially in case of mistakes or when you need to highlight certain aspects such as overtime pay or taxable deductions. You might wish to use a larger font size for convenience or pick an individualized layout to develop your unique statement. Fortunately, modern tools and software allow you to make edits quickly and succinctly. You only need to remember to be on the right side of the legal system, and you are good to go.