How Does Bi Weekly Payroll Work?

[ziva]

I recently started managing payroll for a small business and I'm trying to understand how bi weekly payroll works in practice. I know employees get paid every two weeks, but I'm confused about how that translates to pay periods, how many paychecks they receive annually, and how to handle months where three pay dates fall. Does bi weekly payroll affect how taxes or benefits deductions are calculated each period? Any real-world examples would be really helpful before I set up the schedule.