Payroll Wiring Instructions

This article provides a comprehensive guide for setting up payroll wire transfers through BambooHR. It emphasizes the importance of accessing wire instructions securely via the BambooHR Payroll account, highlighting the risks of wire fraud. The content outlines scenarios that necessitate wire transfers, such as exceeding ACH limits or direct deposit thresholds. Instructions for setting up wire transfers during payroll processing are detailed, including where to find wire instructions and deadlines for same-day transfers. The article also addresses the types of money transfers that are not acceptable for payroll funding and outlines the associated fees for wire transfers. Additionally, it discusses the option of reverse wires, which can simplify the payroll funding process. Overall, the guide aims to ensure accurate and timely payroll disbursement.

  • Jul 9, 2026
  • Knowledge

Title
Payroll Wiring Instructions
Article Text
Payroll wiring instructions are part of Payroll that is an add-on feature.

How do I set up my payroll for a wire transfer?

Purpose: This guide will walk you through how to set up a wire transfer for payroll.

Be aware!
Wire fraud and phishing schemes are on the rise. To combat such schemes, BambooHR’s wire instructions are only accessible by logging into your BambooHR Payroll account. We will never email, call, or use other channels to provide wire instructions. Should you have questions about this policy, please contact us.

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Table of Contents

Wire Transfers Overview

To complete a wire transfer, you'll generally need to contact the Payroll Support team or your designated Payroll Project Manager if you are onboarding.

An exception is when your payroll exceeds the daily ACH limit; in that case, the system will automatically switch to a wire transfer, notify you with a banner, and provide instructions you can follow without contacting support. Learn more about this scenario below!

If you need to quickly fund your payroll, have hit the maximum daily limit for 2-day ACH transfers, have an employee who exceeds the direct deposit limit, or are processing your payroll for the first time in BambooHR, we require a wire transfer. BambooHR can accept 2-day, 1-day, and same-day wires. Please contact the Payroll Support team or your Payroll Project Manager if you are still in implementation to set up a wire payroll, then work with your bank to complete the wire transfer. When processing a same-day wire, the wire transfer must be received by our bank by 10:00 AM PST on the day of payroll approval to allow time for processing. 1-day wire requests must be processed by 2:00 PM PST on the day before the pay date. 

Please note that any delay in the arrival of funds may result in a delay in the payroll's dispersal to employees and additional wire fees. To expedite your wire and ensure our Treasury team receives it on time, please reach out to your bank and ask to release the wire immediately.

Why does my payroll require a wire?

If you receive a notification that your payroll needs to be wired or reverse-wired for that day, there are two reasons:

  1. You have reached the maximum ACH daily limit within a single payroll or across the cumulative total of multiple payrolls for that day (applicable to 2-day ACH funding schedules only).
    1. If you reach this limit, you are required to wire all payrolls due that day if you are processing more than one. Instructions for setting up a wire will be available at the top of the Payroll tab for the pay date.
  2. A single employee is expected to receive a direct deposit amount exceeding a certain threshold on the pay date.
    1. Payrolls with employees that hit the direct deposit limit will need to be wired, but unlike the ACH limit, it will only apply to the associate payroll and not impact your other payrolls. Wire instructions can be found on the Review Page, during payroll approval, or on the Payroll tab.

If your company regularly exceeds the ACH or direct deposit limit, we recommend setting up a reverse wire so you can set it and forget. You will not be alerted if payroll needs to be wired, as a reverse wire will allow our bank to work with your bank to process your payroll funds automatically. See the instructions for how to set up a reverse wire below.

Setting up a wire transfer during payroll 

If we require you to wire all payrolls because of the 2-day ACH limit being met for the day, a banner will appear at the top of your Payroll Review page letting you know that all payrolls due that day must be approved before you can view the total wire amount. Once all payrolls are approved, a wire instructions modal will appear on the Payroll tab.

As long as the 2-day ACH or direct deposit funding limits are not met, the wire instructions can be found in three places during the payroll process: on the Review Page, during payroll approval, and on the Payroll tab after payroll is approved.

On the Review Page, a notification will appear in the Payroll Summary. This section will include the total amount required to fund the payroll and a link to the wiring instructions.

Click wire instructions to display the instructions modal. This modal will include all of the necessary information your bank needs to complete the transfer. You can quickly copy the information to your clipboard by hovering over the information line and clicking the copy icon.

The same wiring instructions will appear again when you go to approve payroll.

After approving payroll and closing the modal, a new payroll wire box will appear above the approved payroll information box. The total wire amount and the wire due date will be displayed. Clicking the View Wire Instructions button will show the same wire information outlined above.

How do I manage the wire funding setup when processing multiple payrolls that hit the funding limits? 

Below are the different common scenarios you may come across if you hit either the 2-day ACH or direct deposit funding limit, and how to access the wire instructions:

Scenario 1: You calculate your first payroll, and it hits the ACH limit.

Wire instructions will appear in a banner at the top of the Payroll tab for the pay date. If you have multiple payrolls, the ACH limit exceeded notification will display until all payrolls are approved for the due date. Then, a link to the wire instructions will display in the banner. The wire instructions will include a total for all payrolls.

Scenario 2: You are processing multiple payrolls with the same due date. The first payroll does not exceed the 2-day ACH limits, but a subsequent payroll does.

In this scenario, the ACH limit banner will only display after the payroll that exceeds the limit. It will remain until all payrolls are approved for that pay date. Then, a link to the wire instructions will display in the banner. The wire instructions will include a total for all payrolls.  

Scenario 3: You recalculate payroll, and the total funding amount is now less than the 2-Day ACH limit.

In this case, we will automatically revert all payrolls back to their original 2-day ACH funding method, and no further action is necessary. A banner will appear on the Payroll tab letting you know your funding method has been switched back.

Scenario 4: You are funding a same-day payroll.

A banner will appear on the Payroll tab with a specified time for when you need to complete the wire transfer. Typically, that is 10 AM PT.

Scenario 5: The direct deposit limit was hit, but not the 2-day ACH limit.

On the Review Page of running payroll, a banner will notify you that your payroll needs to be wired.

Scenario 6: The direct deposit limit was hit, but not all payrolls are approved.

A banner will appear on the Review Page of the payroll, where the limit was met, notifying you that the payroll will need to be wired. When all payrolls are approved, a banner will display the wiring instructions at the top of the Payroll tab. This is to account for the ACH limit for remaining payrolls.

Sending the Correct Type of Money Transfer

Your bank may offer money transfers other than wire transfers, but these will not work for payroll funding. You must ensure the transfer is a wire and not another transfer method. Wire transfers are specifically marked "Wire" and have a FedWire number listed.

Incorrect types of money transfers

Please do not send any of the following types of money or bank transfers:

  • ACH Transfer
    • This should not be initiated when a wire is expected. ACH credits are however available after the first payroll.
  • Debit ACH
  • CCD Transaction
  • "Your Company Name" Transfer
  • International Wire Transfer
    • If you operate globally or internationally, you must use an account at a U.S.-based financial institution to fund payroll. You are responsible for transferring or wiring funds from any international accounts to the U.S. account before payroll is funded. Any wire or related fees are the client’s responsibility.

Wire Transfer Fees

Banks and credit unions charge wire fees on both the initiating and receiving end of wire transfers. You will be responsible for the initiating fee from your bank for every wire transfer you request. You will also be responsible for the wire transfer fee of $35.00 from our bank anytime you request a wire transfer. We will waive the $35 fee for wires completed during Payroll Implementation.

For 1-day and same-day wire transfers, you may incur additional fees such as the missed payroll processing fee if you are processing payroll late and/or the Same Day ACH Payroll Processing Fee of $2.00 per direct deposit processed.

Reverse Wires

As a payroll client, you also have the option to set up the reverse wire funding method with our ACH partner, National Payment Corporation (NPC). This method allows NPC to withdraw funds directly from your account via a wire transfer based on your pre-approval. A reverse wire, sometimes called a drawdown wire, is a wire where a business pulls a payment from another company via instant wire transfer.

You will have two options when opting into reverse wires:

  1. Reverse wire every payroll
  2. Reverse wire only the Payrolls that exceed payroll limits; all others will be ACH

Setting up a reverse wire

You can set up a reverse wire during Payroll Onboarding by working with your payroll project manager or after onboarding by contacting our Payroll Support Team.

You will need to complete the following steps:

  1. Contact your payroll project manager or Payroll Support, and let them know you’d like to be set up for reverse wires. In your communications, please let them know which of the two options above you’d like to opt in for.
  2. Once your payroll project manager or support hero has made it available, you can download the NPC Reverse Wire Authorization Agreement Form from your Files tab in BambooHR.

Your company will need to complete the following steps:

  1. Complete Section 1 with your company’s information. All fields are required.
  2. Complete the following fields in Section 6:
    • Company Manager Name (Please print)
    • Company Manager Title
    • Company Manager Signature
    • Date
  3. Work with your bank to set up a Reverse Wire Authorization.

Your bank will need to complete the following steps:

  1. Complete Section 2 with your company’s bank information. All fields are required.
  2. Complete the following fields in Section 6:
    • Bank Manager Name (Please print)
    • Bank Manager Title
    • Bank Manager Signature
    • Date
  3. Set up a Reverse Wire Authorization.

Once you complete the form, upload the file to the Files tab in BambooHR. Then, email your payroll project manager or support hero indicating that all steps have been completed.

After you submit the form, BambooHR’s bank will perform a test to make sure everything is set up properly. The test takes 2-3 business days. One of our support heroes will inform you if the test is successful or if you will need to work with your bank to make any necessary changes to achieve a successful test.

The most common reasons that a test will fail are the following:

  1. Incorrect Account Information
  2. Bank Restrictions
  3. Bank Account is empty or closed

Reverse wire fees

Like a regular wire, you will be responsible for the initiating fee from your bank and the transfer fee of $10.00 from our bank for every reverse wire transfer you request.

If you do not wish to pay additional fees for payrolls that exceed the ACH limit, you can select to use our 4-day ACH funding method.

If you are not required to wire payroll, BambooHR offers many other types of funding options. Click here to learn more! 

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