Some payroll documents are for the payroll team. This one is for everyone else. It is a portrait poster with a bold green PAYDAY headline, three gold coins, and a grid of 26 colourful tiles, one for each bi-weekly payday in 2027. Each tile shows the month, the day, and the weekday. There is no table and no calendar grid, so a child could read it.
What Is on the Poster
A green band across the top holds the word PAYDAY in white Bowlby One, a subtitle reading EVERY OTHER FRIDAY, 2027 PAY DATES, and three gold coins in the corner. Below it, tiles run in rows of five on a cream page. The final row has one tile and a wide white note card that explains how to read the poster.
The Tiles
Each tile is a rounded rectangle with a thin outline. A small spaced month abbreviation sits at the top, such as JAN or APR. A big condensed day number in the middle is set in Bebas Neue. A small weekday label sits at the bottom, almost always FRI. The tiles are separate shapes, so each can be edited or recoloured.
Tile Colours Across the Four Quarters
Tiles in the first quarter are pale blue, the second pale green, the third pale cream orange and the fourth pale lilac, with outlines and month names in a deeper tone of the same hue. A reader sees five blue tiles, then green, then orange, then lilac, so the year unfolds in four colour blocks.
The Twenty Six Dates in Tile Order
The tiles read Jan 8, Jan 22, Feb 5, Feb 19, Mar 5 in the first row, Mar 19, Apr 2, Apr 16, Apr 30, May 14 in the second, May 28, Jun 11, Jun 25, Jul 9, Jul 23 in the third, Aug 6, Aug 20, Sep 3, Sep 17, Oct 1 in the fourth, and Oct 15, Oct 29, Nov 12, Nov 26, Dec 10 in the fifth. The last tile reads Dec 23.
The Starred Tile
The final tile shows THU with a star because December 24 is the observed Christmas holiday and payday moves to Thursday, December 23. The note card explains that a star means the payday moved earlier because of a weekend or US federal holiday. It is the only star on the poster, so it is hard to miss.
The How to Read Card
A white card with a green outline sits beside the last tile. A small green heading reads HOW TO READ THIS POSTER, followed by two sentences in italic Lora. The first says each tile is a payday and a star means the date moved. The second says the colours mark the four quarters. It is short on purpose.
Where to Hang the Payday Poster
Break rooms, staff entrances, time clock areas, and notice boards near the printer are all good places. Put it at eye level and near somewhere people wait, such as a kettle or a photocopier. A poster is read in short bursts, so the more often people pass, the more often the dates are absorbed.
Tile Size and Readability
Tiles are about 1.4 inches wide, and the day numbers are about thirty points high. They are readable from a couple of metres on an A4 or Letter printout, and from further away if you enlarge the poster at a print shop. The weekday label is smaller, but the date is the point.
Retyping the Payday Tiles
Change a tile by selecting its text and retyping. To change a quarter colour, select all the tiles in that quarter and change their fill and outline. If your pay cycle is different, retype all tiles, and add or delete tiles as needed. The grid has room for thirty if you have more.
Making a Weekly or Monthly Version
The poster style works for any schedule. For monthly pay, delete all but twelve tiles and enlarge them. For semi-monthly, keep 24 and recolour. The layout is a grid of rounded rectangles, so the work is retyping text, which takes a few minutes.
Coins and Header
The three coins are circles in gold with a lighter inner ring. They sit at the top right of the header, overlapping slightly, and they make the page look cheerful. They can be moved, resized, or removed. If you prefer a different symbol, replace them with a simple shape in your brand colour.
Printing and Enlarging the Payday Poster
Print portrait on Letter at actual size with background graphics on so the green band and tile fills appear. For a larger poster, a print shop can enlarge it to 11 by 17 inches or bigger. The vector shapes and text will stay sharp at any size.
Pairing With the Detailed Pages
For managers who need timesheet and approval dates, the processing deadlines sheet in this collection lists them for each payday. The poster is the staff view, and the sheet is the manager view. Both draw on the same twenty-six dates.
Translating the Poster and Keeping It Accessible
The poster uses large numerals and short words, which makes it easy to translate. Add a second language line beneath the subtitle, or print a translated copy for staff who prefer it. Tile outlines and text colours have good contrast, and the information does not depend on colour alone.
A Limit to Remember
The tiles show the planned bi-weekly dates from January 8 under a previous business day rule. They are not a promise of when money reaches a bank account. Check the dates against your payroll provider’s schedule, and update the poster if anything changes.
The Poster in Brief
Green header, gold coins, twenty-six tiles. Four quarter colours. One star for the December move. Portrait Letter. All shapes and text editable.
Using the Poster at Onboarding
New hires want to know one thing early: when do I get paid? Hand them a copy on their first day with the first payday ringed, and they will stop wondering. Managers can pencil the new person’s first full pay date on the poster, and the same page works for every hire throughout the year.
Dotting Off Paydays on the Poster as the Year Passes
Place sticky dots or small stars on tiles as each payday passes. By December, the poster is a record of the year, and the remaining tiles show what is left. People like seeing a visual measure of time, and the colour blocks make the passage of the quarters easy to feel.
Making a Smaller Handout Version
Print the poster on half-letter paper, or scale it to fit two to a page, and hand a copy to every employee. The tiles are big enough to read at that size, and the note card remains legible. A pocket-sized version tends to be kept in a drawer or a wallet.
