Biweekly or Bi-Weekly: Whats the Difference?

According to a February 2023 report from the US Bureau Accounting for Technology Companies of Labor Statistics, 43% of private employers paid their employees every two weeks. About 20% chose the semimonthly payroll, 27% chose weekly, and about 10% chose monthly. At first glance, the difference between biweekly and semimonthly might seem subtle. But, when it involves pay frequency, the impact is significant. My friends guessed that it meant they got a paycheck every two weeks, and they were right. As in the mortgage industry, the definition of “biweekly” is typically every two weeks.

Review: The Difference Between ‘Semi-Weekly’ vs. ‘Bi-Weekly’

Contrary to popular usage, bi-weekly does not mean twice in the same week. So many speakers and writers use the term this way that there is now widespread confusion regarding the true meaning of the term. I will use each of these words in a few example sentences to demonstrate how they should appear in context. 2) There will be a semi-weekly board meeting every week on Thursdays. So why is there such uncertainty about a word’s two meanings? The reason may be because English language users often determine the correctness of a word without even analyzing its context.

• There are 52 weeks in a calendar year, meaning that people paid on a biweekly basis receive 26 paychecks per year.
• However, biweekly vs twice per week remains a topic of debate.
• Because Semi-Monthly pay occurs on the same two days every month, it takes the guesswork out for employees.
• In payroll, biweekly typically means every two weeks, while in general use, it can also mean twice a week.
• Because semi-monthly pay is on two solid days per month, it can be inconvenient when holidays occur.

Pros and Cons of Semi-Monthly vs Bi-Weekly Payroll

• A semi-monthly payroll schedule pays employees twice a month, totaling 24 cheques for the whole year.
• Plus, if you use a time and attendance tracking software solution, you’ll need to make sure it can flex around your chosen schedule without headaches.
• Yes, biweekly in American English often refers to every second week.
• I explained the difference between these words, but knowing when and how to use each term can still be confusing.
• For example, a biweekly paycheck means you get paid every two weeks, while a biweekly class could mean twice a week.

Although not as commonly used, biweekly may also refer to a magazine or newspaper that publishes once every two weeks. Before zeroing in on your pay schedule, here are some factors that you must consider while evaluating your options. Rachel Blakely-Gray is a writer for Patriot Software, a provider of payroll and human resources management solutions for small businesses. If you have a staff meeting every other Wednesday, you will usually have two such meetings per biweekly vs semiweekly month (i.e., semi-monthly). The different definitions have left people — even the ones working at dictionaries — scratching their heads for a long time. A bi-monthly would be a suitable term if it happened every two months.

Not Suitable for Hourly Employees

• Bi-weekly payroll ensures employees receive their wages the same day every two weeks.
• We’ll dive deeper into the meaning of biweekly, why it sometimes confuses people, provide synonyms to avoid uncertainty, and discuss other time-related words that use the bi- prefix.
• In this article, I’ll clarify the meaning of each one and when to use them.
• Knowing the difference between biweekly vs. semimonthly payroll can prevent financial setbacks, keep the business legally compliant, and more.

Two popular, yet easily confused, pay periods are biweekly and semimonthly. Knowing the difference between biweekly vs. semimonthly payroll can prevent financial setbacks, keep the business legally compliant, and more. When employees are paid semimonthly, salaried workers receive the same amount to employees each month. The extra two paychecks for biweekly pay frequencies can make budgeting more challenging if the business doesn’t properly how is sales tax calculated prepare for months with three paychecks.

• Schedule a demo of Lattice Payroll to see how it supports different pay schedules and simplifies payroll management.
• When employees are paid semimonthly, salaried workers receive the same amount to employees each month.
• Some people believe the hyphen changes the meaning, while others use both terms interchangeably.
• Companies that use semimonthly pay give employees 24 paychecks per year.
• Deciding on a pay frequency for your small business is an important decision.

A dictionary search for biweekly likely won’t clear up confusion about how often a biweekly meeting is being held. Thus, we can say that biweekly meaning is it happens every two weeks. In payroll, biweekly typically means every two weeks, while in general use, it can also mean twice a week.

The rest of the time they got paid at nearly identical intervals, about 14 or 15 days between paychecks. Deductions like benefits, retirement contributions, or garnishments might be set up for a semi-monthly cycle. Switch to biweekly without adjusting these, and you could accidentally overcharge or undercharge employees. It lets you easily track employee hours, manage time-off requests, and generate accurate timesheets, no matter what payroll frequency you follow. Some workers prefer biweekly because it feels like they get paid “more often,” even though the annual total is the same.