Troubleshoot Powerpay Self Service
Access
My employee did not receive the welcome email or reset password
Note: Welcome email passwords are only valid for 10 days. Re-welcome or reset passwords are only valid for 24 hours.
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Confirm the email address is correct. Go to the Employee Profile page.
If the email address is incorrect, update the email address and go to step 4 to resend the email. -
Advise the employee to check their Junk, Spam and Low Priority folders.
Note: For Gmail users: Employees will see their two separate emails combined into one email thread. Advise them to expand the tree view and scroll to the bottom of the message to get their reset password.
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Confirm the employee received the welcome email and reset password email. Review the Security Event Log on the User Maintenance page.
If it has been more than 10 days since the Welcome email was sent, re-send the welcome or reset password email again from the User Maintenance page.
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Re-send the welcome or reset password email again from the User Maintenance page.
Employee is unable to log into Powerpay Self Service
Confirm the employee received the welcome email.
Note: Welcome email passwords are only valid for 10 days. Re-welcome or reset passwords are only valid for 24 hours.
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Confirm the email address is correct. Go to the Employee Profile page.
If the email address is incorrect, update the email address and go to step 4 to resend the email. -
Advise the employee to check their Junk, Spam and Low Priority folders.
Note: For Gmail users: Employees will see their two separate emails combined into one email thread. Advise them to expand the tree view and scroll to the bottom of the message to get their reset password.
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Confirm the employee received the welcome email and reset password email. Review the Security Event Log on the User Maintenance page.
If it has been more than 10 days since the Welcome email was sent, re-send the welcome or reset password email again from the User Maintenance page.
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Re-send the welcome or reset password email again from the User Maintenance page.
Employee forgot to save Self Service web address as a favourite
Employers can provide the following link to employees : https://clients.powerpay.ca/selfservice
Employee is not receiving Email notifications
Advise the employee to review their Profile setup in Self Service for Earnings Statement & Year End Form Delivery. They must select to receive electronic pay statements then select to receive email notifications.
Self Service instructions
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Navigate to the Profile page.
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Click Edit in the Earnings Statement & Year End Form Delivery section. The Earnings Statement & Year End Form Delivery page displays.
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Select an earnings statement delivery option (electronic or printed).
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When Electronic only is selected, a Send e-mail notifications when new electronic earnings statements are available checkbox displays. Select the checkbox to receive an e-mail notification when your earnings statements are available to view.
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Select a year end form delivery option (electronic or printed).
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When Electronic only is selected, an e-mail notification is sent automatically when a new year-end form is available to view.
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Click Save.
My employee is unable to log into Self Service as an error states they are already logged in
Some Powerpay Self Service Users are experiencing issues logging into Self Service using the Mobile application.
Users experiencing issues should log into Self Service using a browser or a different device.
To log in using a browser go to https://clients.powerpay.ca/selfservice/login
Tip: To prevent this error, users should always close Self Service with the Log Out button.
Employee is getting an error message
500 Internal Server Error
Confirm the employee is using the correct Username including case sensitivity. Using an email address instead of their Username shows a “500 Internal Server Error”.
Password expired
Welcome email passwords are only valid for 10 days. Re-welcome or reset passwords are only valid for 24 hours.
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Confirm the employee received the welcome email and reset password email. Review the Security Event Log on the User Maintenance page.
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Re-send the welcome or reset password email again from the User Maintenance page.
Other error messages
Review the Security Event Log on the User Maintenance page.
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Check if the employee is reaching Self Service. A message displays, including date and time, for each log in attempt.
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Review the Security Log for messages that point to an issue with the account.
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If these steps do not resolve the issue, contact your Customer Support Team and provide them a screen print of the error message along with the username and password entered.
View an employee’s Powerpay Self Service account
You can access an employee's Self Service account by using the Simulate feature in Powerpay.
, select the employee in question and click Simulate
Do employee passwords expire?
On the original set-up of an account, the employee’s password will expire after 10 days. On the Re-Welcome set-up, it will expire in 24 hours.
My employee forgot their password
Powerpay Self Service has a ‘Forgot your password’ Option. The employee can click there and answer the questions they were asked to answer during the original log in.
For a video walk though, provide this link (https://www.powerpay.ca/SS_Videos.html) to your employee.
My employee no longer wants Powerpay Self Service
They can either change their Statement or Tax Form delivery preferences to Printed and retain access to Self Service for previous statements and Profile access or the employer can disable the account entirely on the User Maintenance page. by selecting the Disable Self Service Account checkbox.
How long do terminated employees have access to Powerpay Self Service?
Terminated employees with Self Service have view only access to Self Service for 18 months after the Processed Date of the Pay Period in which they were terminated. This allows them to view, print and download their pay stubs and tax forms including next year’s tax form.
Any changes made in Self Service including changes to personal information, such as an address change, are not saved. Employees must contact their employer to update their profile.
Note: Terminated employees with a Self Service account continue to display in Powerpay on the User Maintenance page. with a status of S until the Self Service account is deleted by the employer.
Can I reactivate Powerpay Self Service for a terminated employee who is rehired in the new year?
No. Although their name displays in the Employee list with a status of S, with their old employee number, terminated employees are removed from the payroll after the final pay of the year is processed.
When the employee is rehired in the new year, a new employee number is issued. For Self Service access, create a new Self Service account. The employee will have two Self Service accounts until their original Self Service account expires.
Note: Terminated employees have access to Self Service for 18 months after the Processed Date of the Pay Period in which they were terminated.
Note: Terminated employees with a Self Service account continue to display in Powerpay on the User Maintenance page. with a status of S until the Self Service account is deleted by the employer.
How long are pay statements retained in Powerpay Self Service?
Pay statements are accessible for 7 years, from the current date, provided the employee is active.
Can my employee request time off in the Self Service App?
No. Employees must log in using a browser to request time off.
How do I reset MFA for an employee’s Self Service account?
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Go to the User Maintenance page.
- Select the employee from the Employee List.
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Navigate to the Self Service Account Maintenance section.
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Select Reset Multifactor Authentication.
Pay Statements & Tax Forms
When are the pay statements and tax forms released into Powerpay Self Service?
Self Service pay statements are released after 1pm CST the day prior to payment day. Net Zero forms are delivered on cheque date.
Tax forms are released three calendar days after the date of processing. Example – If tax forms are requested on Friday, they will be available in Powerpay Self Service on Monday. If the release date falls on a weekend or holiday, they are available on the next valid business day.
Tax forms generated in February
Irrespective of the holding period, in order to ensure all employees receive their tax forms prior to Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA’s) deadline of February 28, and Revenu Quebec’s (RQ’s) deadline of February 28, all pending employee tax forms will be released to Powerpay Self Service for delivery on February 21, 2025.
All subsequent tax forms processed on or after February 21 will also be auto-released to employees due to the CRA/RQ deadline.
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2024 tax forms - Electronic forms for 2024, processed on or after December 1, are available from December 1, 2024 – November 30, 2025.
Tax forms are printed and delivered to the employer for distribution if the employee has not chosen Electronic Tax Forms or available on the Year-End Reports page.
in Powerpay if you have paperless set up. -
2025 tax forms - Tax forms for 2025, processed prior to November 29, 2025, are printed and delivered to the employer for distribution and are available on the Year-End Reports page.
in Powerpay if you have paperless set up.
Employees are not seeing their pay statement in Self Service
Note: A pay statement will not be delivered to Self Service if the Self Service enrollment occurs in the same pay period an employee is terminated.
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Confirm payment date. Self Service pay statements are released after 1:00 pm CST the day prior to payment day.
Note:Net zero pay statements do not produce by default. If this functionality is enabled, the net zero statement will load to Self Service on payment date.
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To set up this functionality for your payroll, contact your Customer Support Team.
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To enable this option for select employees, go to the Employee Profile page.
and select the Pay Statement Only option in the Additional Information section.
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Go to the Self Service Options page.
and confirm that the “Enable Pay Statements and Tax Forms in Self Service” checkbox is selected.If not selected, EFT statements are either couriered to the employer or display on the Payroll Reports page.
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Go to the User Accounts page.
to verify that the employees are enrolled with Self Service accounts and have Electronic for their pay statement selection. - Go to the Audit Trail page. Review the Company Information - Application Self Service Options section to identify when the Self Service account was activated.
Note: Employee pay statements and tax forms only display in Self Service starting in the payroll run after Self Service is enabled. Once the payroll has processed, go to the Payroll Register (Payroll reports > Standard Payroll Package) for that pay period. An (S) symbol will display next to the employee’s banking details indicating the statement has been sent successfully to Powerpay Self Service.
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Simulate the employee in Self Service to check for a new hire’s pay statements.
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Go to the User Maintenance page.
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Select the employee and click Simulate.
If you see the Onboarding pages, the employee must log in and complete Onboarding before they are able to view their pay statements.
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Confirm that a Self Service pay statement was produced for the pay period. Go to in the Payroll Reports page.
and view the Standard Payroll Package report to confirm if an (S) displays after the EFT information.
View my employee's delivery option for pay statements and tax forms
Go to the User Accounts page. The report displays the selection for all employees set up with a Self Service account.
- Pay statements: Once the payroll has processed, go to the Payroll Register (Payroll reports > Standard Payroll Package) for that pay period. An (S) symbol will display next to the employee’s banking details indicating the statement has been sent successfully to Powerpay Self Service.
- Tax Forms: Open the Year End Balancing Report. An "S" indicator displays to the right of the Status confirming the tax forms will be delivered to Powerpay Self Service.
Change employee delivery options for pay statements and tax forms
Employees can change it themselves in their Powerpay Self Service account if the Earnings Statement Delivery and Year End Form Delivery options in Powerpay are set to Edit or Notify on the Field Selections page.
When an employee enrolls for Self Service, will all their pay statements get loaded?
No. Prior statements are not loaded into Self Service.
What happens if an employee does not choose Electronic Only for their Tax Form Delivery?
Tax forms are printed and delivered to the employer for distribution if the employee has not chosen Electronic Tax Forms or available on the Year-End Reports page. in Powerpay if you have paperless set up.
If paperless is not set up, delivery charges will apply.
What is the deadline to enable tax form delivery to Self Service?
For tax forms to be available in Self Service, the Enable Pay Statements and Tax Forms in Self Service checkbox must be selected on the Self Service Options page. at least 10 business days prior to the last pay date of the year.
Is a terminated employee’s final pay and tax form delivered to Powerpay Self Service?
Yes. Their previously selected delivery option for both pay statements and tax forms will be preserved (Electronic or Printed).
What happens to the statements in Self Service if a Stop Payment or Payroll Cancellation occurs?
- Stop payment: Employees will not receive pay statement information for successful stop payments.
- Payroll cancellation: Self Service statements associated with the cancelled run will be removed.
Record of Employment (ROE)
Can employees access their ROE in Self Service?
No. Employees who have registered with the My Service Canada Account online service with Service Canada can view and print copies of their electronic ROEs.
Troubleshooting
My employee is unable to edit their Profile or fields within Self Service
Go to the Field Selections page. and ensure fields are set up with either Edit or Notify.
My employee is back from leave, why can’t I create a Self Service account for them?
An Employee Self Service account cannot be created for an employee with a pending status change (i.e. Reactivating an employee from Leave). It can be created on the following Pay Period after the current payroll is processed.
Help Documentation
Is there documentation to provide to employees?
Provide your employees the instructions for logging in and getting started with Self Service.
- Employee communication
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Self Service - Employee Guide (Provide this link to your employees: https://www.powerpay.ca/SS_Tutorial.html)