Square Payroll

Square's own documentation covers employees, hours and webhooks through the API. Access: Public docs, self-serve keys.

Integration method grade ? · field-level docs NOT publicly readable · last verified 2026-09-26 · Add employee benefits with Square Payroll

What the API lets you do

Question	Answer	Conf	What the documentation says
How do you get API access?	Public docs, self-serve keys	D	Create an application in the Developer Console; use a personal access token for your own account or OAuth on behalf of sellers. Source
Can you read employees and pay rates?	Yes — Team API	D	TeamMember with wage_setting; JobAssignment has job_title, pay_type, hourly_rate, annual_rate and weekly_hours. No hire-date field is documented. Source
Can you read pay statements?	No payroll API	—	Square's API catalogue has no payroll API; payroll results are not exposed.
Can you write a deduction?	No payroll API	—	Benefits and garnishments are set up only in the Dashboard (Staff > Team > member > Payroll > Benefits and garnishments). Source
Can you write a direct deposit account?	No payroll API	—	TeamMember and WageSetting have no bank or direct-deposit fields.
Can you read W-2s?	No payroll API	—	No tax-document endpoint exists in the API reference.
Can you read hours worked?	Yes — Labor API timecards	D	Timecard has start_at, end_at, wage, breaks, status, team_member_id and declared tips; ScheduledShift covers schedules. Source
Does it push change events?	Yes — labor and team events	D	labor.timecard.created/updated/deleted and team_member.created/updated/wage_setting.updated. Source
How does an integration authenticate?	OAuth 2.0 or personal token	D	OAuth authorisation-code flow returns access and refresh tokens; a personal access token covers the developer's own account. Source

Deduction write, in detail

For benefits, HSA/FSA and 401(k) integrations. 3 of 10 fields are unverified — no public source states the answer. Compare every system on the deduction write detail page.

Field	Value	Conf	Note — and what a correct answer needed
Deduction read	No API; Dashboard only	D	Benefits and deductions are viewed in the Dashboard under Payroll > Benefits and garnishments.
Deduction write	Portal (Dashboard)	D	Staff > Team > member > Payroll > Benefits and garnishments > Add benefit or Add garnishment.
Pre-tax vs post-tax at write	Set by benefit type	D	Pre-tax types include HSA, Section 125 health, FSA and 401(k)/403(b)/457(b); garnishments and post-tax deductions are a separate flow.
Amount vs percent	Amount or percent	D	Choose a calculation method and enter an amount or percentage, with optional annual limits and deductions to date.
Effective dating	Unverified	U	No start or effective date is documented in the benefits article. No public field-level reference located.
Retro adjustment	Unverified	U	Only year-to-date entry is documented; retroactive or catch-up behaviour is not described.
Employer contribution	Employer contribution, amount or %	D	Employer contributions take a calculation method, amount or percentage, contributions to date and a limit.
Code taxonomy shape	Hybrid	D	Pick a predefined benefit type (HSA, FSA, SIMPLE IRA, 401(k), Roth variants) or create a custom one.
Auth model	Dashboard login (no API)	D	Deduction setup requires Dashboard access; post-tax deductions can only be created by account owners on full-service Square Payroll.
Data freshness	Unverified	U	No public statement on deduction data freshness.

D vendor-documented · U unverified · — not offered. See every payroll system side by side in the Payroll API Capability Matrix.