Verify Form I-9 for your employees in ZIP
Zenoti Integrated Payroll (ZIP) lets you collect and verify Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) digitally. Your new hire completes their personal details and uploads their identity and work authorization documents; you review and attest to them, and Zenoti generates a completed digital I-9 that is stored against the employee’s profile.
This article explains how to enable the feature, initiate verification, complete the employer section, and find the generated form.
Before you begin
Requirement | Detail |
Access | You need access to the ZIP dashboard with permissions to manage settings and employees. |
Employee record | The employee must already exist in Zenoti. Verification cannot be initiated for a new hire until their employee record is created. |
Employee contact | The employee must have a valid email address on their profile, or business credentials to sign in to myZen. |
In-person review | Form I-9 requires you (or your authorized representative) to physically examine the employee’s original documents. Zenoti captures your attestation that this review happened; it does not replace it. |
Note
Zenoti provides the workflow and record-keeping for Form I-9. You remain responsible for meeting federal timelines and documentation rules. Refer to the USCIS Handbook for Employers (M-274) for guidance on acceptable documents and completion deadlines.
Enable I-9 form verification
Go to ZIP dashboard > Settings > Onboard Checklist.
Turn on I-9 form verification.
Save your changes.
What happens after you enable it
Employee | Treatment |
Start date on or after the enablement date | Included in the I-9 verification workflow. You can initiate verification for them from the Employees list. |
Start date before the enablement date | Marked as “Verified outside Zenoti”. No digital workflow is triggered. You can upload their existing I-9 documents manually — see “Employees who joined before enablement”. |
Note
Form I-9 applies only to W-2 (regular) employees. Contractors and 1099 workers are shown as Exempt in the I-9 form column on the Employees listing screen, and no verification can be initiated for them.
The verification workflow at a glance
Stage | Who acts | Where |
1. Create the employee record | Business | Employees > Create new employee |
2. Initiate verification | Business | ZIP dashboard > Employees > I-9 form column > Initiate |
3. Complete Section 1 (details + documents) | Employee | Email link or myZen |
4. Complete Section 2 (review + attest) | Business | ZIP dashboard > Employees > I-9 form column > Verify |
5. Digital I-9 generated and stored | Zenoti | Employee’s Documents |
Step 1: Create the employee record
Once a new hire is finalized, create their record first:
Go to Employees > Create new employee.
Enter the employee’s details, including their start date and email address.
Save the record.
The employee now appears in the ZIP Employees list with an Initiate action in the I-9 form column.
Step 2: Initiate I-9 verification
Go to ZIP dashboard > Employees.
Locate the employee in the list.
In the I-9 form column, click Initiate.
Zenoti sends the employee an email containing an embedded link to the I-9 form. The employee can complete the form either:
Through the link in the email, or
By signing in to myZen, if they already have their business credentials.
Step 3: Employee completes Section 1
The employee is prompted to:
Enter their personal details.
Upload documents establishing their identity and authorization to work.
Submit the form.
When the employee submits, you receive a notification in ZIP. The I-9 form column for that employee changes to Verify.
Tip
Let your new hire know to have their original documents on hand for the in-person review, not just the uploaded copies.
Step 4: Complete Section 2 and verify
Navigate to ZIP dashboard > Employees.
In the I-9 form column for the employee, click Verify.
Review the details and documents the employee submitted.
Review the signatory details for the business.
Confirm that you have examined the employee’s records and documents in person.
Submit to generate the digital Form I-9.
Zenoti generates the completed I-9 with all employee and employer details and saves it against the employee’s record.
If verification fails
If the submitted details or documents are incorrect or incomplete:
Click Verify against the employee record.
Reject the submission.
Reinitiate the verification.
The employee receives the form again and can edit and resubmit their details and documents. You then complete Section 2 as described above.
Where to locate the generated I-9?
Who | Path |
Business | ZIP > Employees > View details > Documents |
Employee | myZen > Payroll details > Documents |
Employees who joined before enablement
Employees with a start date before you enabled the feature are shown as Verified outside Zenoti. To keep their records together in Zenoti, upload their existing I-9 documents manually:
• From the employee’s profile, use the Documents section, or
• Upload the file through the central document manager.
These uploads are stored alongside the employee’s other documents and are visible in the same locations listed above.
Frequently asked questions
Can I initiate I-9 verification before creating the employee record?
No. The employee record must exist in Zenoti first. Create it from Employees > Create new employee, then initiate it from the ZIP Employees list.
What if the employee doesn’t have myZen credentials?
They can complete the form using the embedded link in the email Zenoti sends when you initiate verification. myZen access is an alternative, not a requirement.
Does the digital workflow apply to employees hired before enablement?
No. They are treated as “Verified outside Zenoti”, and their I-9 documents can be uploaded manually.
Can the employee change their details after submitting?
Only if you reject the submission and reinitiate verification. The employee can then edit and resubmit.
Does Zenoti run E-Verify?
No. This feature covers Form I-9 completion, verification, and storage.
Where is the completed form stored?
Against the employee’s record, accessible to the business from ZIP > Employees > View details > Documents and to the employee from myZen > Payroll details > Documents.