The 4-4-5 reference period feature is relevant to companies in the hospitality and retail sectors that run a monthly payroll but organise their working weeks into a quarterly pattern of 4, 4, and 5 weeks.
In a standard monthly payroll setup, the integration pulls in rota data based on the calendar month. With 4-4-5 enabled, the integration instead uses the 4-4-5 period boundaries to determine which rota data belongs to each payroll run. This acts as a filtering layer on top of the integration; your payroll engine continues to run as a normal monthly payroll, but the rota data pulled in from Rotaready is aligned to the 4-4-5 periods rather than the calendar month.
⚠️Important! This is an optional feature. It is only relevant if your business operates on a 4-4-5 week cycle. If you run a standard calendar month payroll, you do not need to configure this.
Prerequisites
Before configuring 4-4-5 reference periods, ensure the following is in place:
The company's pay frequency in Paycircle must be set to Monthly.
The Rotaready integration must already be enabled and connected.
📌Note: The 4-4-5 option will not appear in the integration settings if the company's pay frequency is not set to Monthly. If you cannot see it, check the pay frequency setting first.
Available patterns
There are three pattern options to choose from, depending on how your business quarters are structured:
Pattern | Structure | Most Common Use |
4-4-5 | 4 weeks, 4 weeks, 5 weeks | Most common in hospitality |
4-5-4 | 4 weeks, 5 weeks, 4 weeks | Less common alternative |
5-4-4 | 5 weeks, 4 weeks, 4 weeks | Less common alternative |
Each pattern repeats quarterly throughout the tax year, giving 13 periods in total that align with weekly workforce management while maintaining monthly payroll cycles.
Configure reference periods
Step 1: Access reference period settings
Click Company Settings in the left-hand menu.
Click Integrations.
Find the Time & Attendance section with Rotaready connected.
Click Setup periods.
This opens the Edit Rotaready Integration panel. You will see your current pay period dates displayed, along with the reference period pattern selector and start date field below them.
Step 2: Select your pattern
Select the pattern that matches your business's quarterly structure: 4-4-5, 4-5-4, or 5-4-4. The options are displayed as three selectable buttons, with the currently selected pattern shown with a tick.
If you are unsure which pattern your business uses, check with your finance team or confirm against your existing reporting calendar before proceeding.
Step 3: Set the reference period start date
Enter the start date for your current reference period in the date field provided. This date determines how the pattern aligns with your tax year and business calendar.
Important: The start date must be a Monday. The system will not accept any other day of the week as a start date.
The system will calculate all subsequent period boundaries automatically from this start date, including handling of leap years and tax year transitions.
Step 4: Preview the period schedule
Click Open reference period calendar to preview how the periods will be distributed across the year before saving. This opens a calendar view showing each period with the following details:
Pay period (e.g. February 2026).
Pay date.
Reference period start date.
Reference period end date.
Number of weeks in the period.
Check that the calculated start and end dates for each period align with your business's reporting requirements and existing rota schedule. Use the navigation arrows to move between periods.
Step 5: Review the NMW compliance warning
Before confirming, you will see a National Minimum Wage (NMW) compliance warning displayed in the panel. This appears because reference periods affect how working time is calculated for NMW purposes.
Ensure your chosen pattern aligns with your operational requirements and compliance obligations before proceeding. If you are unsure, seek advice before confirming.
Step 6: Save and confirm
Once you are satisfied the preview is correct, and you have reviewed the NMW warning, click Save to apply the configuration.
How this affects the integration
Once 4-4-5 is configured, the integration will use the reference period boundaries — rather than calendar month boundaries — when determining which rota data to pull into each payroll run.
Signed-off rota data in Rotaready will be grouped and aligned according to the reference period dates.
Your payroll engine continues to run as a normal monthly payroll — this feature does not change how payroll is calculated, only how the rota data is filtered and attributed.
Periods never overlap or have gaps.
The system handles the 5-week period automatically — no additional configuration is needed for that period.
Troubleshooting
The 4-4-5 option is not showing in the integration settings
Verify that the company's pay frequency is set to Monthly in Paycircle.
Update the pay frequency before attempting to configure 4-4-5.
If the pay frequency is correct and the option is still not appearing, contact Paycircle support.
The start date is not being accepted
Ensure the date you have entered is a Monday — this is a hard requirement.
Check the date format is correct.
Data appearing in the wrong period
Confirm the reference period start date was set correctly.
Check that rota sign-off dates in Rotaready fall within the expected reference period boundaries.
Review the period preview to verify that the boundaries align with your expectations.
Incorrect pay calculations after enabling 4-4-5
Review pay element rates and multipliers.
Check for rounding differences — amounts are rounded to 2 decimal places.
Verify that pay period dates are aligning correctly with the reference periods.
Contact Paycircle support if the issue persists.