1. Company block
The business behind the pay: its name and address, plus the EIN and phone if you add them.
Earnings statement design
1099 Pay Stub Template: Side Rail
Contractor-ready
Built with contractor pay in mind. The figures run down the main column, the dates and who was paid sit in a rail on the right, and contractor mode drops the tax rows.
- Layout
- Side-by-side ledgers
- Type
- Earnings Statement
- Colors
- 8 included
Design
How the Side Rail is laid out
The main column opens with the business name, address, EIN and phone, then an earnings table (hours, rate, this period, year to date) and a deductions table, each with a colored rule under its headings and a tinted total row. A tinted net pay bar with year-to-date net pay ends the column.
The rail on the right holds the title and separate blocks for the stub number, pay period, pay date, the person paid (name, address, masked SSN, ID) and the pay itself: pay type, frequency, filing status and payment method. Turn on Contractor / 1099 mode and the Employee heading reads Contractor, and the tax rows go.
Order
Top to bottom
- Company block
- Earnings table with gross taxable pay
- Deductions table with total deductions
- Net pay bar with YTD net pay
- Sidebar: stub number, pay period and pay date
- Sidebar: employee or contractor, and the pay details
Good for
Who picks the Side Rail
Contractors and freelancers who need a clean record of what a client paid and when, and anyone who looks for the dates first: they are always in the same spot on the right.
In short
The Side Rail as a 1099 pay stub template
A 1099 pay stub template is for people paid as contractors, not employees. No tax is withheld from a contractor’s payment, so the stub should show gross pay, any agreed fees and net pay, without withholding lines. The Side Rail does that in contractor mode.
It still reads like a proper stub: the rail keeps the period, pay date and payee together, and the main column keeps the money.
See also: every design · self-employed and 1099 stubs · several stubs at once · how taxes are worked out · pricing
Block by block
Reading each part of the Side Rail
2. Earnings table with gross taxable pay
Each kind of pay on its own line. Hours times rate should equal each amount, and the lines add up to gross pay.
3. Deductions table with total deductions
What came out: federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, and state tax where it applies, then any other deductions by name.
4. Net pay bar with YTD net pay
Net pay, the money actually paid: gross pay minus every tax and deduction. Match it to the deposit.
5. Sidebar: stub number, pay period and pay date
The pay period and the pay date. The pay date should match the day the money landed in the account.
6. Sidebar: employee or contractor, and the pay details
The pay period and the pay date. The pay date should match the day the money landed in the account.
Where it prints
What you type, and where it lands
| What you type | Where it shows |
|---|---|
| Business name, address, EIN, phone and logo | Company block |
| Employee name, address and ID | Sidebar: employee or contractor, and the pay details |
| SSN (only the last four digits print) | Sidebar: employee or contractor, and the pay details |
| Pay period, pay date and how often you’re paid | Sidebar: stub number, pay period and pay date |
| Filing status and payment method | Sidebar: employee or contractor, and the pay details |
| Hourly rate and hours, or the salary | Earnings table with gross taxable pay |
| Overtime hours | Earnings table with gross taxable pay |
| Bonus, tips, commission and your own deductions (Extra earnings & deduction lines add-on) | Earnings table with gross taxable pay |
| Taxes, worked out for you | Earnings table with gross taxable pay |
| Year-to-date totals | Net pay bar with YTD net pay |
Taxes are estimated from the pay, how often you’re paid, the filing status and the state. Typing your own amounts is the Tax & W-4 withholding edits add-on. How we calculate each line.
Color
Colors for the Side Rail
Pick from Denim blue, Harbor blue, Violet, Lagoon, Emerald, Ember red, Slate grey and Black & white. Denim blue is the starting color. A color changes only the accents; the figures and the layout stay put.
The name
Earnings statement or pay stub?
The Side Rail is drawn as an earnings statement: a titled, formal page. It holds the same record as a pay stub: the business, the person paid, the period, the pay, each tax and deduction, net pay and the year so far.
Use it for
When the Side Rail fits
Freelancers and 1099 workers
A record of each client payment, with the period, the pay date, the gross amount and the year so far.
Businesses paying contractors
Give each contractor the same clear statement for every payment, to keep with the invoice and the 1099 form at year end.
Employees, too
With contractor mode off, the same layout prints federal, Social Security, Medicare and state lines like any payroll stub.
Comparing as you read
Panels sit side by side on the Side Rail, so you compare without scrolling.
Contractor mode
Contractor mode on the Side Rail: what changes
Contractors are paid without tax taken out. The IRS explains that self-employed people pay their own Social Security and Medicare through self-employment tax. Contractor mode makes the stub match that, so it shows only what was really paid.
The payer reports the year’s payments on Form 1099-NEC, under the IRS rules for that form. Your stubs fill the gap between those yearly forms.
- The Employee heading in the rail reads Contractor.
- Federal, Social Security, Medicare and state rows are left off the deductions table.
- Filing status drops out of the rail.
- Gross pay, any fees you list and net pay stay, with year-to-date totals.
Family
Side Rail vs similar designs
Same family (Side-by-side ledgers): Horizontal Ledger and Highlight Panel. They keep the facts in the same order. What marks out the Side Rail: figures in the main column; stub number, dates and the payee in a sidebar. Contractor-ready.
Open: Horizontal Ledger · Highlight Panel
On paper and on screen
Two columns share each row, so the page is short. On a phone, turn it sideways or zoom into one column. The PDF is made from the same layout as the preview, so what you check is what you get.
Making a run of stubs? The multi-stub builder makes consecutive pay periods in this design and carries the year-to-date totals forward.
Last look
Check these before you download
- “Earnings table with gross taxable pay”: hours times rate matches each line, and the lines add up to gross pay.
- “Earnings table with gross taxable pay”: each tax and deduction you expect is there once, under the right name.
- “Net pay bar with YTD net pay”: net pay is gross pay minus the deductions, and it matches the deposit.
- “Net pay bar with YTD net pay”: the year-to-date totals include this period and rise correctly from the last stub.
- Names, addresses and dates match your own records.
Sources: IRS, Self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare taxes); IRS, About Form 1099-NEC, Nonemployee Compensation; IRS, Independent contractor (self-employed) or employee?.
Steps
Making a stub with the Side Rail
1
Tap “Use this design”. The builder opens with the Side Rail picked.
2
Type the business and the person paid. The business prints in “Company block”.
3
Add the dates and the pay: hours and rate, or a salary. Overtime goes on its own line, in “Earnings table with gross taxable pay”.
4
Look over the taxes the builder works out; they print in “Earnings table with gross taxable pay”. Typing your own amounts is the Tax & W-4 withholding edits add-on.
5
Pick a color, read the whole preview, then pay and download the PDF.
6
Switch on Contractor / 1099 mode before you enter the pay. It turns off withholding and relabels the payee.
7
Enter the client as the business and yourself as the person paid.
8
Hourly work: enter the rate and hours. Project fees as separate lines use the Extra earnings & deduction lines add-on.
Real pay only
The stub shows what you type
PayStubs349 turns your details into a document. It doesn’t run payroll or check your figures, so match them to your pay records before you download.
More designs
Other designs to compare
Side-by-side ledgers
Horizontal Ledger
A colored band for the pay facts, earnings beside deductions, and gross and net bars level at the foot.
9 colors
Side-by-side ledgers
Highlight Panel
Two accent-edged info cards, boxed earnings and deductions, and year-to-date beside this-period panels.
8 colors
Classic grid
Top pickBanded Header
Colored label bands over the business, employee and pay facts, then one table and a year-to-date grid.
6 colors
Classic grid
Top pickBoxed Rows
Labeled boxes for every ID and date, two ledgers side by side, and a this-period and year-to-date strip.
7 colors
Portrait statements
Top pickLong Statement
A letter-style statement with the address placed for a window envelope and every total at the foot.
4 colors
Portrait statements
Top pickDetailed Summary
Ruled sections for earnings, deductions and pay details, then one this-period and year-to-date summary table.
5 colors
FAQ
Questions about the Side Rail
What does the Side Rail cost?
$3.49 a stub, the same as every other design. Previewing it costs nothing.
Does the Side Rail print year-to-date totals?
Yes, in “Net pay bar with YTD net pay”. Make several stubs in a row and the totals carry forward.
Can a contractor use the Side Rail?
Yes. It is contractor-ready: contractor mode relabels the payee and leaves the tax rows off.
If I fill in the Side Rail, can I switch designs later?
Yes. Your details stay in the builder, so you can try other designs with your own numbers before you download.
Is the Side Rail a 1099 pay stub template?
Yes, in contractor mode. The payee heading reads Contractor and no taxes are withheld on the stub.
I’m self-employed and no client pays me a salary. Can I still use it?
Yes. Enter your own business as the payer and yourself as the payee. Our self-employed pay stub page explains the set-up and the tax side in more detail.
Start with the Side Rail
Switch designs any time before you download; your details stay.