On a payroll time period, which field is used to reflect the actual payment dates when switching to a monthly cycle?

• A. Start Date
• B. End Date
• C. Date Paid
• D. Payment Date

Answer: (C)

When you’re aligning payroll with a monthly cycle, you want to capture when the money actually goes out, not just the timeframe of the period. Start and end dates define the boundaries of the payroll time period, but they don’t tell you when the employee was paid. The field that records the real payout date is the Date Paid. It reflects the true date the payment was issued, which is essential for reconciliation, reporting, and compliance in a monthly cycle.

Payment Date might be used for the planned or processing date in some systems, but it can differ from the actual disbursement. Therefore, Date Paid is the correct field to reflect the actual payment date.