Table of Contents
Semi-monthly Pay is also known as Bimonthly payment
It is common to make the simple mistake of confusing the biweekly payment with a bi-monthly schedule. Some people erroneously use the two terms interchangeably, but they are different. Whether you are looking at the situation from the perspective of the employer or the employee, both methods of payment have their benefits and their disadvantages.
Biweekly payment
With a biweekly payment schedule, workers receive a check every two weeks. The company chooses a fixed day, such as Thursday or Friday, and issues payments every two weeks on that day. With a biweekly payment schedule, employees receive the equivalent of 26 paychecks during a calendar year (52 weeks divided by two). With a biweekly payment schedule, two paychecks are produced two months of the year.
Bimonthly payment
When a company implements a bi-monthly payment schedule (also called semi-monthly), the payday falls on the same two days of each month.
How to Calculate Semi-Monthly Pay Based on Annual Salary
For example, some companies pay all staff on the first and the 15th of each month, or on the 15th and 30th of each month; therefore, employees receive a total of 24 days of payment during the year (2 per month, for 12 months).
Pondering both options
Some companies prefer a bi-weekly or biweekly payment schedule to minimize the number of paychecks that need to be processed each year. The bi-monthly payment is often preferred over the biweekly due to accounting issues, because the company does not have to deal with those three-day payment months. On the other hand, some workers prefer a weekly or bi-weekly payment schedule to avoid dealing with a week without payment. However, some workers like the idea of receiving two additional pay days per year, as in the case of a biweekly payment schedule. Bi-monthly payments sometimes cause problems for workers because dates can fall on weekends or holidays.
Pay the bills
Charging bi-monthly is sometimes preferable to a biweekly payment. For example, when it comes to paying bills, it is useful for budget reasons to know your exact payment day each month (such as the first and the 15th). Many accounts expire in the first or the middle of the month. When you receive the payment on a biweekly schedule, the days of payment vary from month to month.