Embedded Payroll API
Offer your customers full-service payroll processing without building payroll infrastructure from scratch with Tight's embedded payroll API.
Embedded Payroll API Features
Automated Tax Calculations
Federal, state, and local taxes are calculated and filed automatically—so your customers never worry about compliance deadlines or penalties
Flexible Pay Schedules
Support for weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly, and monthly pay periods tailored to each business
Multi-State Compliance
Handle employees across all 50 states and DC with built-in tax rules and regulatory requirements
W-2 and 1099 Processing
Manage both employees and contractors with proper classification and year-end reporting
Flexible Processing Speeds
Offer next-day, 2-day, or standard 4-day payroll processing—giving your customers flexibility to pay employees on their terms
Direct Deposit and Checks
Multiple payment options including ACH direct deposit for fast, reliable employee payments
Deductions and Garnishments
Automate pre-tax and post-tax deductions and benefits contributions, with built-in support for court-ordered garnishments
Off-Cycle Payrolls
Process bonuses, corrections, and termination pay outside the regular schedule
Enhance Your Platform
Payroll is complex, compliance-heavy, and constantly changing. Instead of forcing customers to juggle separate systems—or losing them to competitors who offer payroll—give them everything they need in one place.
- Streamline company setup
Onboard new businesses quickly with tools for managing company information, locations, departments, and tax configurations. Support multi-location companies with employees across different states and pay schedules.
Handle the full employee lifecycle from onboarding through termination. Collect personal details, compensation rates, tax withholding preferences, and benefits elections in one seamless flow.
Let the API handle gross-to-net calculations, tax withholdings, benefits deductions, and reimbursements. Every payroll run produces accurate net pay without manual intervention.
Tax rules change constantly. The API stays current with federal, state, and local requirements so your customers can run payroll confidently without tracking regulatory updates.
Connect payroll data to health insurance, 401(k), workers' compensation, and accounting systems. Integrated payroll keeps employee data synchronized—so your customers manage benefits and accounting without duplicate data entry.
Added Capability Without Added Complexity
Skip the complexity of building and maintaining payroll in-house.
Boost your revenue
Add payroll to your product roadmap, increase customer lifetime value, and unlock new revenue streams
Sprint to market
Launch with pre-built UI components or build custom experiences with flexible APIs and SDKs
Clinch your customers
Customers who run payroll through your platform have a reason to return every pay period
Rest secured
Enterprise-grade security and SOC 2 compliance protect sensitive payroll data—so you can assure customers their information is safe
Build on your terms
Choose your integration approach: pre-built flows for speed, APIs for customization, or a hybrid of both
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is embedded payroll?
Embedded payroll lets you add payroll capabilities directly to your platform without building the underlying infrastructure. Your customers get a seamless experience; the API handles tax calculations, compliance, and payment processing behind the scenes.
What payroll functions does the API handle?What payroll functions does the API handle?
The API manages regular and off-cycle payrolls, tax calculations and filings, direct deposits, W-2 and 1099 generation, deductions, garnishments, reimbursements, and compliance across all 50 states and DC.
Can the API handle both employees and contractors?
Yes. The platform supports W-2 employees with full tax withholding and benefits, as well as 1099 contractors with appropriate payment handling and year-end reporting.
How does multi-state payroll work?
The API automatically applies the correct federal, state, and local tax rules based on employee work locations. Companies with employees across multiple states can run payroll without manually tracking different requirements.
What processing speeds are available?
Standard 4-day processing is available for all payrolls. Qualifying companies can access expedited 2-day or next-day processing for faster employee payments.
How does the API handle tax filing?
Taxes are calculated automatically for each payroll. The platform files all required federal, state, and local tax returns and remits payments to the appropriate agencies.
What integration options are available?
Choose from pre-built UI flows for fast launches, comprehensive APIs for custom builds, React SDK components for flexibility, or hybrid approaches that combine your existing workflows with embedded payroll components. Already using a payroll provider? Tight also integrates with popular providers such as Gusto, Check, and Salsa.
Can payroll data connect to other systems?
Yes. The platform integrates with health insurance, 401(k), workers compensation, and accounting systems. Webhooks enable real-time data synchronization with your platform.
How long does it take to integrate embedded payroll?
Pre-built Flows can launch in just a few days. Custom API integrations typically take 2-4 weeks depending on your platform's complexity and testing requirements.
Should I prioritize embedded payroll or embedded accounting first?
Embedded payroll and embedded accounting complement each other. Leading business platforms offer both as a tightly integrated, holistically designed customer experience. Sequencing depends on your product strategy: if you plan to launch multiple embedded fintech offerings, it makes sense to start with accounting as it ties everything together (i.e. data, reconciliation, reporting and insights), and it’s much easier to implement. Either way, the accounting infrastructure turns transaction history into financial intelligence and makes every downstream tool — from payroll to spend management — more powerful, accurate, and useful.
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