# Payroll Canonical: https://www.arketa.com/features/payroll --- ## Payroll made for studios + gyms Pay per class, per head, revenue share, or salary. Arketa calculates it from your own schedule and checkout, then files your taxes and pays your team. [Book a Demo](/book-a-demo) What makes Arketa Payroll different? One login, not two Payroll built into the software that already runs your studio. Pay models built for studios Customize by per class, per head, revenue share, hourly, salary, commissions, tips, workshops, subs. Other payroll systems make you generalize all of that into an hourly rate. No more double entries Pay is calculated from your schedule and POS. No need to export, reformat, and re-key to a different system. Taxes filed and paid Federal, state, and local filed and paid. W-2s and 1099s filed and delivered. Hourly staff, verified Scheduled shifts and actual clock-ins live in the same place, so you can see who worked when they were supposed to. Most studios run instructor pay in one system and time clocking in another. ## Pay the way studios actually pay **Sub requests will correctly get paid** When Maya covers the 6am for Jenny, Maya gets paid for the 6am. Nobody has to remember to tell payroll. **Pay your team by attendance** Set a base plus a per-head rate and Arketa does the math. Arketa took the bookings, so it already knows the number. Comps, promos, and free bookings can be excluded from the head count, because you asked for that. **Commissions calculated from the sale** Sell a membership at 10%, and the commission lands on the right paycheck. Refunded later, and it comes back off. Nothing to reconcile. ## No double entry Pay is calculated by the same platform that ran the class and took the payment. **No reports to download.** **No columns to fix.** **No second login to open on a Sunday night.** You review what Arketa calculated, adjust anything you want, and simply press approve. ## How it works _Step 1_ ### Set your pay rates Per class, per head, revenue share, hourly, salary. Build templates once and assign them to your team. _Step 2_ ### Arketa calculates everything for you Classes taught, subs, head counts, hours, commissions, and tips, pulled from your schedule and checkout. _Step 3_ ### You review and approve Adjust anything before it goes out. Nothing runs without your sign-off. _Step 4_ ### Arketa pays and files Direct deposit to your team, taxes filed and paid, year-end forms delivered. Let's grow your wellness business together ## Frequently asked questions ### What makes Arketa Payroll the best payroll software for fitness and wellness studios? Studio pay is unique, so three things matter. First, whether it can calculate the way you actually pay: per class, per head, revenue share, commissions, tips. Generic payroll makes you flatten all of that into an hourly rate. Second, whether it runs the payroll or just calculates it. Most studio software produces a report you re-key into a separate provider. Third, whether it pays W-2 employees and 1099 contractors in the same run, since most studios have both. Arketa Payroll does all three, because it's the same system that ran the class and took the payment. ### Can Arketa handle payroll for both W-2 employees and 1099 contractors? Yes. Arketa Payroll pays W-2 employees and 1099 contractors in the same run, and many studios pay a mix of both. Employees complete a W-4 and get a W-2. Contractors complete a W-9 and get a 1099. You don't have to move your instructors to W-2 to use Arketa Payroll. Whether a given instructor should be an employee or a contractor depends on how your studio operates and on local labor laws, so check with your accountant or legal advisor. Arketa doesn't determine classification. ### Which payroll taxes does Arketa file for me? Arketa files and pays your federal, state, and local payroll taxes, and files and delivers W-2s and 1099s at year end. Federal filings include Forms 941, 940, W-2, and 1099-NEC, along with state withholding and unemployment filings in every state where you have workers. The full list by jurisdiction is on tax forms filed by Arketa. Your studio stays responsible for registering for state payroll tax accounts, which your onboarding specialist walks you through. ### How does Arketa know what to pay each instructor? Arketa already ran the class and took the payment, so pay is calculated from what actually happened on your schedule. Arketa Payroll supports per-class pay, per-head pay, hourly, fixed session payments, workshops and events, revenue share, commissions, tips, annual salary, and custom earnings. If Maya subs the 6am, she gets the earnings for that class automatically. If a client tips at checkout, the tip flows through as a tip earning on her paycheck. Overtime is calculated from hours worked. You review everything before you approve. ### Can I switch to Arketa Payroll in the middle of the year? Yes. Arketa imports your year-to-date payroll history from your current provider, so your filings stay accurate and each person gets one W-2 at year end instead of two. Every switch starts with a free payroll audit, and most studios are live within 10 business days. Keep your old provider running until your first Arketa payroll has gone through.