1. Employer block with title, pay period and pay date
It opens the Bar Stack. This is where the payer is named. On the Bar Stack it carries the company name and address, and the EIN and phone when you enter them; add a logo and it prints here too.
Paystub Template
Bar Stack Earnings Statement Template
A portrait statement that reads straight down the page, from a single color band to two solid bars: gross pay, then net pay.
- Layout
- Portrait statements
- Type
- Earnings Statement
- Colors
- 8 included
Color · Blush
Sample data, shown for illustration. Colors are included in the price.
Use it in Blush →The layout
What the Bar Stack layout looks like
The employer block sits at the top left under a small label, with the “Earnings Statement” title, pay period and pay date on the right. One full-width color band follows, with the SSN, stub number, frequency, filing status and how the pay was made on the left, and the employee’s name, ID and address on the right.
Earnings runs full width with rate, hours, this period and YTD on alternating tinted rows, and ends on a solid gross taxable pay bar. Taxes and deductions uses the same columns, lists the total and any non-taxable reimbursement, and ends on a solid net pay bar. A closing line states how much was withheld this period out of gross pay, followed by any memo.
On the stub
Sections, top to bottom
- Employer block with title, pay period and pay date
- Color band: stub facts and the employee
- Earnings table and gross pay bar
- Taxes and deductions table
- Net pay bar with YTD net pay
- Withholding line and memo note
Best for
Who this template suits
People who read a stub from top to bottom and want the path from gross to net to be obvious, such as someone in a first job or keeping a household budget. Both tables share one set of columns, so every amount lines up down the page and the math is easy to check.
Overview
About this bar stack earnings statement template
The Bar Stack Earnings Statement Template is a portrait statements layout: reads top to bottom, one full-width table per section. A full-width color band with the pay facts and the employee, then full-width earnings and deductions tables closed by solid gross and net pay bars.
From top to bottom it runs employer block with title, pay period and pay date, color band: stub facts and the employee, earnings table and gross pay bar and taxes and deductions table, and then the rest of the stub. You fill it in once in the builder, the taxes and totals are worked out for you, and the finished earnings statement downloads as a PDF.
Related: all pay stub templates · free pay stub generator · paystub generator
Section by section
What each part of the Bar Stack shows
2. Color band: stub facts and the employee
The second block on the Bar Stack. Labeled fields for the person paid and the pay facts: name, ID, masked SSN, the pay period, pay date and frequency. On the Bar Stack each value sits by its own label, so one detail can be checked without scanning the page.
3. Earnings table and gross pay bar
The third block on the Bar Stack. Each kind of pay on its own line: regular hours, overtime, bonus, commission or tips, with rate and hours where they apply. Rate × hours should equal each current amount, and the lines add up to gross pay.
4. Taxes and deductions table
The fourth block on the Bar Stack. Taxes and deductions. The Bar Stack lists federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare, any state or local tax, and the deductions you add by name. Their total is what separates gross pay from net pay.
5. Net pay bar with YTD net pay
The fifth block on the Bar Stack. Net pay, the amount actually paid: gross pay minus every tax and deduction above, plus any non-taxable reimbursement. It should match the deposit to the cent.
6. Withholding line and memo note
It closes the Bar Stack. Optional lines. A memo prints as a short note (a bonus reason, a check number), and time-off balances print when you enter them; the Bar Stack leaves the space out when they are empty.
Fields
What you enter, and where it prints on the Bar Stack
| You enter | It prints in |
|---|---|
| Company name, address, EIN, phone and logo | Employer block with title, pay period and pay date |
| Employee name, address and ID | Color band: stub facts and the employee |
| Last four digits of the SSN | Color band: stub facts and the employee |
| Pay period, pay date and pay frequency | Employer block with title, pay period and pay date |
| Filing status and how the pay was made | Color band: stub facts and the employee |
| Hours and rate, or the salary for the period | Earnings table and gross pay bar |
| Overtime, bonus, commission and tips lines | Earnings table and gross pay bar |
| Federal, state, Social Security and Medicare (estimated) | Taxes and deductions table |
| Your own deductions (health plan, retirement, garnishment) | Taxes and deductions table |
| Year-to-date totals | Net pay bar with YTD net pay |
| Memo or notes | Withholding line and memo note |
The tax lines are estimated from the pay, frequency, filing status and state you enter, and you can change any of them. How paycheck taxes are calculated explains each one, and the pay stub glossary defines every abbreviation on the stub.
Colours
Bar Stack colours
The Bar Stack comes in Blush, Apricot, Sky, Fog grey, Spruce, Plum, Lagoon and Black & white, with Blush as its standard colour. The colour you choose recolours the accents (section rules, headings and the net pay block); the figures and layout stay the same, and every colour is included in the price.
Document type
Why the Bar Stack is called an earnings statement
“Earnings statement” is the title many payroll departments print on the same document others call a pay stub or pay slip. The Bar Stack is drawn as a statement (a titled page with the period and the figures laid out formally), but it holds exactly what a pay stub holds: who was paid, for which period, gross pay, each tax and deduction, net pay and the year to date.
Best use
When to choose the Bar Stack
Line-by-line checking
Every section of the Bar Stack is its own full-width table, so you can check it top to bottom against a timesheet or bank record.
Employees on payroll
The Bar Stack prints the full set of withholding lines (federal, Social Security, Medicare, state) for a W-2 employee’s stub.
A formal statement
The Bar Stack’s statement title and layout suit a stub that is filed with other paperwork or handed to someone else.
Several pay periods in a row
The Bar Stack prints year-to-date figures in “Net pay bar with YTD net pay”, so a run of consecutive stubs shows the year building up period by period.
A safe first choice
The Bar Stack is one of our top picks to start with, chosen for how clearly it reads.
Compare
How the Bar Stack compares
The Bar Stack belongs to the Portrait statements family, with Stacked Sections, Letter Mailer, Sectioned Summary and Stacked Ledger. They share the same overall order; what sets the Bar Stack apart is a full-width color band with the pay facts and the employee, then full-width earnings and deductions tables closed by solid gross and net pay bars.
Compare them: Stacked Sections · Letter Mailer · Sectioned Summary · Stacked Ledger
Print and PDF
Printing and reading the Bar Stack
Because every table runs full width and reads top to bottom, it scrolls naturally on a phone and prints on a single portrait page for most pay periods. The PDF is made from the same layout you see in the preview, so what you check is what you get.
Need several periods? The multi-stub builder makes consecutive stubs in this layout with year-to-date totals carried forward, and the sample pay stub walks through every line with real figures.
Before you download
Checks on a finished Bar Stack
- In “Earnings table and gross pay bar”, rate × hours equals each line, and the lines add up to gross pay.
- In “Taxes and deductions table”, every tax and deduction you expect is listed once, with its correct name.
- In “Net pay bar with YTD net pay”, net pay equals gross pay minus total deductions (plus any reimbursement) and matches the deposit.
- In “Net pay bar with YTD net pay”, year-to-date totals include this period and step up correctly from the previous stub.
- Names, addresses and the pay date are spelled and dated as on your records.
Sources: IRS Publication 15 (Circular E), Employer’s Tax Guide; IRS Topic 751, Social Security and Medicare withholding rates; U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #21: Recordkeeping under the FLSA.
How it works
How to fill in the Bar Stack template
1
Open the builder with the Bar Stack already selected (the “Use This Template” button does this).
2
Enter the company and the person paid; the business prints in the “Employer block with title, pay period and pay date” block.
3
Add the pay period, pay date and each kind of pay; the lines fill “Earnings table and gross pay bar”.
4
Check the estimated taxes and add your own deductions (they print in “Taxes and deductions table”); every amount can be edited.
5
Pick a colour (Blush, Apricot and Sky or another), preview the whole stub, then download the PDF.
Before download
Paystubs are generated from the information you enter
PayStubGo is an online paystub generator, not a payroll service. Your paystub is created from the information you provide. Review all details carefully before exporting your final PDF and use generated documents responsibly.
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FAQ
Bar Stack Earnings Statement Template questions
Is the Bar Stack a pay stub or an earnings statement?
It is titled as an earnings statement, and it holds the same record either way: who was paid, for which period, gross pay, taxes and deductions, net pay and the year to date.
What colours does the Bar Stack come in?
Blush, Apricot, Sky, Fog grey, Spruce, Plum, Lagoon and Black & white. The colour changes the accents only, and every colour is included.
Does the Bar Stack show year-to-date totals?
Yes. The “Net pay bar with YTD net pay” part carries the year-to-date figures. Make several consecutive stubs at once and the builder carries the totals forward from one period to the next.
Can I use the Bar Stack for a 1099 contractor?
Contractor / 1099 mode works with every template and turns off withholding. For headings that read Payer and Contractor, pick a template tagged Contractor-ready, such as Stacked Ledger.
Is there a free Bar Stack template for Word or Excel?
No. The Bar Stack is filled in online and delivered as a finished PDF, with the taxes and totals worked out. You can preview it free before you pay.
Can I preview the Bar Stack Earnings Statement Template before creating a paystub?
Yes. This page shows a sample of the template, and the builder shows your own figures in it live before anything is paid for.
Can I switch from the Bar Stack to another template later?
Yes. Your details stay in the builder when you change templates, so you can compare layouts with your own figures before you download.
Can I edit the pay details before export?
Yes. PayStubGo lets you enter company, employee, earnings, deductions, pay period, and optional YTD details before previewing the final paystub.
Ready to create a paystub with this template?
Preview the layout, enter your pay details, and download the finished PDF.