How to Run Security Guard Payroll: A Step-by-Step Guide
Security payroll is brutal because the math compounds. A single guard can stack a base rate, a night differential, a weekend premium, holiday pay, and overtime in one week, across multiple client sites in multiple states. One missed calculation becomes a wage-and-hour claim. Here is the step-by-step.
Log shifts across posts
Capture each guard's hours by client site. Consent-based GPS post check-ins and checkpoint tours prove coverage for every minute paid, which also protects your client contracts. This is what dedicated security guard payroll software automates.
Apply shift differentials
Apply night, weekend, holiday, and post-specific premiums automatically. Configure the rule once so it applies to every future shift instead of being re-keyed each pay period.
Calculate overtime
Apply federal and state overtime across multi-site, multi-week guard schedules. Use our payroll calculator to sanity-check gross-to-net for a guard with differentials.
Handle multi-state withholding
When guards cross state lines for events or contracts, apply the correct state withholding and reciprocity rules so quarterly filings stay clean.
Reconcile pay versus bill
You pay the guard at one rate and bill the client at another. Run both off the same time record so reconciliation stops eating your margin.
Prepare and export
Export clean payroll-ready data to the payroll provider or CPA you already use. MyCo prepares and calculates the numbers; it is not a tax filer, so filing stays with your provider or our CPA partner.
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What is a shift differential for security guards?
A shift differential is extra pay for less-desirable hours — typically night, weekend, or holiday shifts. Security firms often layer several differentials on top of base and overtime, which is where manual payroll breaks.
Does security guard payroll software file taxes?
MyCo prepares and calculates security company payroll but does not file taxes itself. It exports payroll-ready data to your payroll provider, or connects you to a CPA partner who files federal and state taxes.
How do I prove guards were at their post for payroll?
Consent-based GPS post check-ins and checkpoint tours time-stamp each guard's location, so the hours you pay match the hours worked and you can prove coverage to clients.