---
title: "Set a staff member's pay rate"
description: "Configure hourly or salaried pay for each staff member so timesheets flow into payroll correctly."
type: guide
updated: 2026-09-14
canonical_url: https://help.nestlicare.com/owners/staff/set-a-pay-rate
roles: ["center_admin", "super_admin"]
platforms: [web]
---
Pay rates live on the **Staff** record, not on the timesheet. Set them once, timesheets use them going forward.

## Set a pay rate

1. Go to **Staff & Time → Staff** in the dashboard sidebar.
2. Click the pencil (**Edit**) on the staff member's card.
3. Scroll down the form to **Pay Type**.

<ScreenshotWithPointers
  src="/screenshots/owners/staff/pay-rate-form.png"
  alt="The Edit Staff form scrolled to the Pay Type and Hourly Rate fields"
  pointers={[
    { x: 34.6, y: 69.1, caption: "Pay Type — Hourly or Salary. Picking Salary swaps the rate field for an annual salary, divided evenly into pay periods" },
    { x: 49.6, y: 69.1, caption: "Hourly Rate — what this person earns per hour. Shown in their net-pay preview" },
  ]}
/>

Click **Save**. The new rate applies to *future* timesheets — past approved timesheets keep the rate they were approved under.

## Salary vs hourly: which to pick

- **Hourly**: the default for teachers. Timesheets drive pay. Overtime is calculated if you've configured rules.
- **Salary**: for managers, center directors, and admin staff whose hours don't vary. Timesheets still track time for licensing/ratio reports, but don't change the paycheck.

If a salaried person occasionally does extra work (covering a teacher shift), add an **adjustment** to the timesheet rather than switching their pay type.

## Who can change a pay rate

Only **super admins** and **center admins** can edit pay rates. Teachers never see this field, not even their own (they only see their net-pay preview when a timesheet is approved).

<Callout kind="warning" title="Changes take effect forward, not backward">
Setting a new rate does not retroactively adjust last period's timesheet. If you just gave someone a raise and want it applied to the period they're working right now, either approve the current timesheet with an adjustment, or wait and apply the new rate to the next period cleanly.
</Callout>

## Keep history intact

We don't show a "pay rate history" UI yet, but the timestamp of each rate change is in the audit log for the staff record. If an accountant asks when someone's rate changed, go to **Staff & Time → Staff → [person] → Activity log**.

## Troubleshooting

**Pay rate field is greyed out.** You're logged in as a teacher — only admins can edit pay rates.

**"Annual salary" shows but I picked Hourly.** Both fields are visible to make switching easy. The one that applies is determined by the **Pay type** dropdown at the top.

**Staff member's payroll run uses a stale rate.** Changes apply to timesheets created after the change. If you changed the rate mid-period, the current draft timesheet still uses the old rate. Either redraft it or apply an adjustment at approval.

**Rate looks right on the staff page but wrong on the timesheet.** The timesheet was approved under the old rate. Rates on approved records are frozen — it's a feature, not a bug (audit trail).