How to Generate a Pay Stub for a Small Business
Whether you have one employee or twenty, generating accurate pay stubs is a legal requirement in most US states — and a professional expectation everywhere else. Here's how small business owners can do it correctly and efficiently.
Running a small business means wearing a lot of hats — and payroll administration is one of the less glamorous ones. But issuing accurate pay stubs to your employees and contractors isn't just good practice, it's legally required in most US states and expected everywhere else.
The good news: for small teams, you don't need expensive payroll software. A reliable pay stub generator handles the math and outputs a professional PDF in minutes.
Are you legally required to provide pay stubs?
In the US, pay stub requirements are set at the state level. Most states require employers to provide some form of earnings statement with every paycheck, but the details vary:
| Requirement type | States | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Access required | CA, CO, MA, others | Employees must be able to access stubs — print or digital |
| Print required | AK, AZ, CT, HI, others | Physical copy must be provided with each paycheck |
| Opt-in electronic | Many states | Electronic OK if employee consents in writing |
| No requirement | AL, AR, FL, GA, MS, OH, TN | No state law — but still best practice |
What you need before generating a pay stub
Free Tool
Generate accurate pay stubs for your team
W-2 and 1099, hourly and salary — real tax math, instant PDF.
How to generate a pay stub: step by step
Open Stubingly's pay stub generator
Go to stubingly.com/paystub-generator. No account or login required — the form opens directly.
Select the employee type: W-2 or 1099
W-2 employees have standard payroll withholdings. 1099 contractors receive gross payment with no withholdings. Selecting the correct type changes which fields and deductions appear in the form.
Enter your company information
Business name, address, EIN, and optionally your logo and a brand color for the header stripe. This is what appears in the employer section at the top of the stub.
Enter employee details
Full name, address, SSN last 4, employee ID (optional), and filing status from their W-4. These details appear in the employee section of the stub.
Enter earnings
Switch between hourly and salary mode. For hourly: enter rate, regular hours, and any overtime. For salary: enter the annual amount and the generator calculates the per-period gross automatically. Add bonuses or commission as separate line items.
Set pay period, pay date, and frequency
Enter the start and end dates of this pay period, the pay date, and whether payroll runs weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, or monthly. This affects YTD calculations and how deduction limits are tracked.
Enter YTD gross from prior periods
If this is not the employee's first stub of the year, enter the year-to-date gross from all previous pay stubs. This ensures the Social Security wage base cap and YTD totals are calculated correctly.
Add deductions and download the PDF
Enter 401(k) contributions, health insurance premiums, and any other pre-tax or post-tax deductions. Review the live preview — if everything looks correct, download the PDF and deliver it to the employee.
Handling W-2 employees vs 1099 contractors
The key difference for small businesses: W-2 employees have taxes withheld from their pay (and you as the employer match Social Security and Medicare). 1099 contractors are paid gross — they handle their own self-employment tax.
W-2 Employee stub
- Federal & state income tax withheld
- Social Security withheld (6.2%)
- Medicare withheld (1.45%)
- Pre-tax deductions (401k, health)
- YTD totals for all withholdings
1099 Contractor stub
- Gross payment shown
- No income tax withheld
- No FICA withholdings
- Contractor pays self-employment tax
- YTD gross payment total
Record keeping for small businesses
The IRS requires employers to keep payroll records for at least 4 years. For each employee, retain:
Free · No account · Real tax math
Generate pay stubs for your business
W-2 and 1099 · All 50 states · Hourly and salary · Instant PDF
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