1. Company block with pay period and pay date
It opens the Split Ledger. This is where the payer is named. On the Split Ledger 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
Split Ledger Earnings Statement Template
A compact pay statement that puts earnings and deductions next to each other, so gross pay and net pay sit on the same line at the bottom of the page.
- Layout
- Side-by-side ledgers
- Type
- Earnings Statement
- Colors
- 9 included
Color · Skyline blue
Sample data, shown for illustration. Colors are included in the price.
Use it in Skyline blue →The layout
What the Split Ledger layout looks like
The page opens with your company name, address, phone and EIN on the left, and a “Pay Statement” title with the pay period and pay date on the right. Below that, one colored band carries the stub facts on the left (masked SSN, stub number, pay frequency, filing status and how the pay was made) and the employee’s name, ID and address on the right.
The two ledgers follow side by side. Earnings lists each line with rate, hours, this period and year to date, and ends on a solid gross pay bar. Deductions lists every tax and your own deductions and ends on a solid net pay bar, level with the gross bar. Any memo you add prints underneath as a note.
On the stub
Sections, top to bottom
- Company block with pay period and pay date
- Colored band: SSN, stub number, frequency, filing status, paid by, and the employee
- Earnings ledger with rate, hours, current and YTD
- Deductions ledger with taxes and your own deductions
- Gross pay and net pay bars, side by side
- Memo note, when you add one
Best for
Who this template suits
Hourly workers with overtime, bonus or commission lines, and anyone who wants a whole pay period readable at a glance. Because the two ledgers share a row, the statement stays short and often fills only part of the page, which suits people who print their stubs and keep them in a folder.
Overview
About this earnings statement template
Split Ledger is an earnings statement template built around one idea: earnings on the left, deductions on the right, and gross pay and net pay on the same line at the foot of the page. You can read the whole pay period in one sweep, from what was earned to what was paid.
An earnings statement is the same document many people call a pay stub or pay slip: a record of one pay period’s gross pay, the taxes and deductions taken out, and the net pay. “Earnings statement” is the name payroll departments often print at the top, and Split Ledger titles itself “Pay Statement”.
Related: all pay stub templates · free pay stub generator · paystub generator
Section by section
What each part of the Split Ledger shows
2. Colored band: SSN, stub number, frequency, filing status, paid by, and the employee
The second block on the Split Ledger. Period start and end, pay date and frequency. On the Split Ledger these read as the stub’s facts, so a reader can match it to a bank deposit before reading the figures.
3. Earnings ledger with rate, hours, current and YTD
The third block on the Split Ledger. 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. Deductions ledger with taxes and your own deductions
The fourth block on the Split Ledger. Taxes and deductions. The Split Ledger 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. Gross pay and net pay bars, side by side
The fifth block on the Split Ledger. 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. Memo note, when you add one
It closes the Split Ledger. 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 Split Ledger leaves the space out when they are empty.
Fields
What you enter, and where it prints on the Split Ledger
| You enter | It prints in |
|---|---|
| Company name, address, EIN, phone and logo | Company block with pay period and pay date |
| Employee name, address and ID | Colored band: SSN, stub number, frequency, filing status, paid by, and the employee |
| Last four digits of the SSN | Colored band: SSN, stub number, frequency, filing status, paid by, and the employee |
| Pay period, pay date and pay frequency | Company block with pay period and pay date |
| Filing status and how the pay was made | Colored band: SSN, stub number, frequency, filing status, paid by, and the employee |
| Hours and rate, or the salary for the period | Earnings ledger with rate, hours, current and YTD |
| Overtime, bonus, commission and tips lines | Earnings ledger with rate, hours, current and YTD |
| Federal, state, Social Security and Medicare (estimated) | Deductions ledger with taxes and your own deductions |
| Your own deductions (health plan, retirement, garnishment) | Deductions ledger with taxes and your own deductions |
| Year-to-date totals | Earnings ledger with rate, hours, current and YTD |
| Memo or notes | Memo note, when you add one |
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
Split Ledger colours
The Split Ledger comes in Skyline blue, Harbor blue, Sky, Iris, Fog grey, Spruce, Plum, Lagoon and Black & white, with Skyline blue as its standard colour. The colour you choose recolours the accents (the bands, ledger rules and total bars); the figures and layout stay the same, and every colour is included in the price.
Document type
Why the Split Ledger 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 Split Ledger 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 Split Ledger
Hourly workers with overtime
Regular, overtime, bonus and commission lines each get rate, hours, this period and YTD, and the deductions ledger stays level beside them.
Anyone checking gross against net
The solid gross pay and net pay bars sit side by side, so the difference between the two is the deductions you see directly above.
Paper record keepers
Because both ledgers share a row, the statement is short and often fills only part of the page, so it files neatly.
Small employers
The colored band keeps the pay facts and the employee together at the top, which makes a stack of statements quick to sort by person and date.
Earnings statement vs pay stub
Is an earnings statement the same as a pay stub?
In everyday use, yes: both are the per-period record of pay that comes with a paycheck or direct deposit. Payroll systems use different titles (earnings statement, pay statement, pay stub, pay slip, check stub), but the contents are the same: who paid whom, for which period, gross pay, each tax and deduction, and net pay, usually with year-to-date totals.
Federal law does not require a pay stub or set its layout; the Department of Labor’s recordkeeping rules require employers to keep payroll records and say the law “requires no particular form for the records”. Whether an employee must receive a statement, and what it must list, is set by each state. The same fact sheet says payroll records are kept for at least three years.
Compare
How the Split Ledger compares
The Split Ledger belongs to the Side-by-side ledgers family, with Accent Panel, Side Rail and Center Bands. They share the same overall order; what sets the Split Ledger apart is a colored band holds the employee and pay details; earnings and deductions sit side by side, each closed by a solid total bar.
Compare them: Accent Panel · Side Rail · Center Bands
Print and PDF
Printing and reading the Split Ledger
With two columns sharing each row, the page is short; on a phone the PDF is best read in landscape or zoomed to one column at a time. 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 Split Ledger
- In “Earnings ledger with rate, hours, current and YTD”, rate × hours equals each line, and the lines add up to gross pay.
- In “Deductions ledger with taxes and your own deductions”, every tax and deduction you expect is listed once, with its correct name.
- In “Gross pay and net pay bars, side by side”, net pay equals gross pay minus total deductions (plus any reimbursement) and matches the deposit.
- In “Earnings ledger with rate, hours, current and YTD”, 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: U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #21: Recordkeeping under the FLSA; IRS Topic 751, Social Security and Medicare withholding rates; IRS Publication 15-T, Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods.
How it works
How to fill in the Split Ledger template
1
Open the builder with the Split Ledger already selected (the “Use This Template” button does this).
2
Enter the company and the person paid; the business prints in the “Company block with pay period and pay date” block.
3
Add the pay period, pay date and each kind of pay; the lines fill “Earnings ledger with rate, hours, current and YTD”.
4
Check the estimated taxes and add your own deductions (they print in “Deductions ledger with taxes and your own deductions”); every amount can be edited.
5
Pick a colour (Skyline blue, Harbor blue and Sky or another), preview the whole stub, then download the PDF.
6
Put the pay facts in first (frequency, filing status, how the pay was made): they print together in the colored band, so a gap there shows straight away.
7
Enter each kind of pay as its own line. Split Ledger lists every line with rate and hours, and long lists stay level with the deductions side.
8
Add your own deductions (health plan, retirement, garnishment) with their names as you want them printed: they appear under the taxes in the right-hand ledger.
9
Use the memo for a short note such as a bonus reason or a check number; it prints under the ledgers.
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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Tables on the left; stub number, pay period, pay date and employee details in a sidebar on the right.
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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.
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FAQ
Split Ledger Earnings Statement Template questions
Is the Split Ledger 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 Split Ledger come in?
Skyline blue, Harbor blue, Sky, Iris, Fog grey, Spruce, Plum, Lagoon and Black & white. The colour changes the accents only, and every colour is included.
Does the Split Ledger show year-to-date totals?
Yes. The “Earnings ledger with rate, hours, current and YTD” 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 Split Ledger 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 Split Ledger template for Word or Excel?
No. The Split Ledger 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 Split Ledger 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 Split Ledger 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.
Can I get the Split Ledger earnings statement template as a blank PDF or Excel file?
No. Split Ledger is filled in online and delivered as a finished PDF with the figures worked out. A blank form leaves the tax math to you; here you enter the pay and the builder estimates federal, state, Social Security and Medicare lines you can still edit.
Does the Split Ledger work for salaried pay?
Yes. A salary prints as one earnings line for the period, without hours, and the ledgers stay short. The layout suits both, but it shows most when there are several kinds of pay.
Ready to create a paystub with this template?
Preview the layout, enter your pay details, and download the finished PDF.