Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about VaultLedge. Can't find an answer? Contact support.
General
What is VaultLedge?
VaultLedge is an all-in-one financial operations platform that combines payroll, invoicing, accounting, AI-powered transaction categorization, and practice management. It's built for small businesses and the accountants who serve them.
Who is VaultLedge for?
Small business owners who need payroll and invoicing, freelancers tracking expenses, tax professionals categorizing client transactions, and CPAs managing multiple client companies from a single dashboard.
How is VaultLedge different from QuickBooks or Gusto?
QuickBooks handles accounting but not payroll natively. Gusto handles payroll but not accounting. VaultLedge combines payroll, invoicing, accounting, AI categorization, and practice management in one platform — so you don't need to pay for or juggle multiple tools.
Is VaultLedge available in my state?
VaultLedge supports payroll tax calculations for 15 states: CA, TX, FL, NY, PA, IL, OH, GA, NC, MI, NJ, VA, WA, AZ, and MA. We're actively adding more states. Federal payroll (income tax, Social Security, Medicare, FUTA) works nationwide.
Payroll
How does payroll work?
Add your company, add employees (or send them self-service onboarding invitations), set a pay schedule, and run payroll. VaultLedge auto-calculates federal and state taxes, generates pay stubs, and can send direct deposits via Stripe ACH.
Does VaultLedge support direct deposit?
Yes. Direct deposit is powered by Stripe Connect ACH. You connect a bank account through Stripe's secure onboarding, and employees receive same-day or next-day deposits on payday.
Can employees onboard themselves?
Yes. Send an onboarding invitation by email. The employee completes a 5-step wizard: personal information, W-4 tax withholding, state tax forms, direct deposit bank details, and document uploads — all without needing a VaultLedge account.
Does VaultLedge handle W-2s and 1099s?
VaultLedge tracks all YTD data needed for W-2 and 1099 generation. Pay stubs are generated as PDFs for every payroll run, and employees can access them through the self-service portal.
What about payroll taxes and filing?
VaultLedge calculates federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, FUTA, and state-specific taxes automatically. Quarterly 941 worksheets are pre-filled with YTD data. New hire state reporting is also supported.
Can I correct a payroll run after it's been processed?
Yes. VaultLedge supports payroll corrections including void with full reversal and adjustment runs. YTD balances are updated automatically when corrections are made.
How does PTO management work?
Create PTO policies with accrual rates, caps, and carryover rules. Assign policies to employees. Employees request time off, managers approve or deny, and balances update automatically each pay period.
Benefits
What benefits can I administer?
Health insurance, dental, vision, 401(k) retirement plans, HSA (Health Savings Accounts), and FSA (Flexible Spending Accounts). Set up plans with employer and employee contribution amounts, and deductions are calculated automatically in payroll.
Does VaultLedge handle ACA compliance?
VaultLedge tracks full-time equivalents and monitors eligibility to help with Affordable Care Act compliance. Enrollment tracking and reporting tools are included on Professional and Accountant plans.
Invoicing
How do I create an invoice?
Use the invoice builder to add line items, set tax rates and discounts, choose payment terms (Net 15/30/60), and add custom notes. Invoices are auto-numbered and can be sent as PDF or paid online.
Can clients pay invoices online?
Yes. Invoices include a Stripe-powered payment link. Clients can pay by credit card or ACH bank transfer, and the invoice status updates automatically when payment is received.
Are recurring invoices supported?
Yes. Set up invoices on weekly, monthly, or custom schedules. They generate automatically and can optionally be sent to clients without manual intervention.
AI & Categorization
How does AI categorization work?
Upload a bank statement CSV. VaultLedge's AI analyzes each transaction's description, amount, and context to assign the correct tax category with a confidence score. You review and approve the suggestions.
How accurate is the AI?
The AI achieves 90-98% accuracy on common transaction types. Every suggestion includes a confidence score so you know when to review more carefully. The system also learns from your corrections over time through the custom rules engine.
What is payroll anomaly detection?
Before you approve a payroll run, AI reviews it for unusual patterns — large pay changes, overtime spikes, duplicate payments, tax withholding anomalies — and flags them for your review.
What are AI monthly snapshots?
AI-generated monthly briefings that summarize revenue trends, expense changes, cash flow, and key financial metrics. Accountants can share these with clients before monthly review calls.
Accounting
Does VaultLedge include accounting features?
Yes. VaultLedge includes a chart of accounts, journal entries (manual or auto-generated from payroll), and bank reconciliation — everything you need for double-entry bookkeeping.
Can payroll journal entries be generated automatically?
Yes. When you run payroll, VaultLedge can auto-generate the corresponding journal entries with proper debits and credits for wages, tax liabilities, and bank accounts.
Practice Management (for Accountants)
What is practice management?
The Accountant plan includes tools for CPAs and bookkeepers managing multiple clients: a multi-client dashboard, client portal with invitations, firm billing per client, and practice-wide reporting.
Can my clients access their own data?
Yes. Invite clients to collaborate through the client portal. They get controlled access to their company while you maintain oversight of all accounts from your practice dashboard.
How does firm billing work?
Track billable items per client — services rendered, employee count, or flat monthly fees. Generate firm invoices based on actual usage or fixed agreements.
Integrations
Does VaultLedge integrate with QuickBooks?
Yes. You can export chart of accounts, journal entries, and customer data to QuickBooks Online via OAuth-connected sync.
What about Xero?
VaultLedge connects to Xero for account sync, contact management, and journal entry export. The connection uses OAuth for secure authorization.
Can I import data from another payroll provider?
Yes. VaultLedge includes import tools for Gusto, ADP, and QuickBooks Payroll. Upload a CSV export from your current provider and VaultLedge maps employee data and YTD balances automatically.
Is there API access?
Yes. Programmatic access to transactions, payroll data, and invoices is available with API key authentication on Business and higher plans.
Pricing & Plans
Is there a free plan?
Yes. The free plan includes 3 uploads per day, 50 rows per upload, 5 AI categorizations per day, and 1 company. No credit card required, no time limit.
What's included in the Pro plan?
The Pro plan ($19/month) adds 50 uploads/day, 500 rows per upload, 50 AI categorizations, 3 companies, payroll for 1 company with up to 5 employees, invoicing (10/month), and custom categorization rules.
What's included in the Business plan?
The Business plan ($49/month) includes 200 uploads/day, 5,000 rows per upload, 200 AI categorizations, 10 companies, payroll for 3 companies with up to 25 employees each, invoicing (100/month), API access, and team collaboration.
What does the Accountant plan include?
The Accountant plan ($99/month base + $3/employee) includes unlimited uploads, companies, and AI categorizations, plus unlimited payroll companies (up to 100 employees total), practice management, client portal, and integrations with QuickBooks and Xero.
Can I change plans at any time?
Yes. Plan changes take effect immediately. You can upgrade or downgrade at any time from the billing settings page.
Do you offer annual billing?
Annual billing with a discount is coming soon. Sign up now and we'll notify you when it's available.
Security & Privacy
Is my financial data secure?
Yes. VaultLedge uses AES-256-GCM encryption for sensitive data like bank account numbers, TLS 1.3 for all data in transit, and row-level security policies that enforce strict tenant isolation at the database level.
Does the AI store my data?
No. Our AI provider operates under zero data retention. Your transaction data is processed in memory and never stored by the AI provider after the API call completes.
Where is my data hosted?
VaultLedge is hosted on Vercel (application) and Supabase (database), both SOC 2 Type II certified with enterprise-grade reliability and uptime.
Can other users see my data?
No. Row-level security policies ensure every database query is scoped to your user ID. Other users cannot access your companies, employees, or transactions under any circumstances.
Still have questions?
Get started for free or reach out to our support team.