If you just started at McDonald’s or cannot find the right login portal, you are in the right place. McDonald’s does not use one single login system for all employees. Over 90% of McDonald’s stores are franchise-owned, which means your portal might look completely different from the one at another location. Corporate stores use one system. Franchise owners choose their own.
This guide covers every official McDonald’s employee portal currently in use across the US, what each one does, and how to get in fast.
Which Portal Do You Actually Need?
This is the biggest point of confusion for McDonald’s employees. Before you try to log in anywhere, answer one question: does your McDonald’s restaurant have a corporate owner or a franchise owner?
If you are not sure, ask your manager or look at your pay stub. Corporate locations use McDonald’s own HR systems. Franchise locations use whatever payroll platform their owner-operator chose, and that varies widely by region and group.
Here is a quick reference to find your starting point:
| Your Situation | Portal to Use |
| Corporate McDonald’s employee — pay stubs, W-2, HR | account.mcd.com |
| Franchise employee — pay stubs and W-2 | HCMToGo, ADP, Paycor, or Paychex — ask your manager |
| Checking your work schedule | Altametrics / ZIPschedules app |
| First time setting up your McDonald’s account | welcome.mcd.com |
| Forgot your corporate login username | archid.mcd.com |
| Company news, team updates, shoutouts | McD Connect app |
| Employee discounts on retail, travel, tech | mcdperks.com |
| Education benefits and tuition assistance | archwaystoopportunity.com |
Corporate Employee Login — account.mcd.com
Corporate McDonald’s employees access pay stubs at account.mcd.com through the McHire system. This is the main hub for corporate HR, payroll, and employee records in the US.
What you can do at account.mcd.com:
- View and download current and past pay stubs
- Access W-2 and year-end tax forms
- Update personal information and contact details
- Manage direct deposit settings
- Access benefits information
How to log in:
- Open your browser and go to account.mcd.com
- Enter your McDonald’s Employee ID (EID) or your archID username
- Enter your password
- Select your country (United States) if prompted
- Complete any two-factor authentication step if required
→ Log In at account.mcd.com
What Is archID and Do You Need It?
archID is McDonald’s new identity and access management platform, currently being built to provide a seamless and secure login experience for all McDonald’s digital workforce services. McDonald’s is rolling it out across all its systems to replace the older EID and ADID username formats.
Everyone with a McDonald’s ID already has an archID username, but not everyone knows what it is. You can find your archID username at archid.mcd.com, which requires you to first log in with your current McDonald’s ID username and password.
If you keep hitting login errors at account.mcd.com, check archid.mcd.com to confirm your current username format. Your old EID login still works in most cases, but as McDonald’s continues the rollout, archID will become the standard.
Forgot Your Corporate Password?
Go to account.mcd.com/manage/reset/ to reset your password. You need your McDonald’s username along with either your password recovery email or answers to your security questions.
For corporate employees who need further help, contact the Global Corporate Technology Service Desk at +01-630-623-5000, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Franchise Employee Login — Payroll Portals
If you work at a franchise McDonald’s, your payroll portal depends entirely on which system your owner-operator uses. Many franchise groups use ADP or Paycom, while others use HCMToGo. Some use Paycor, Paychex, or AllianceHCM. Your manager or the onboarding paperwork you received when you were hired will tell you which one applies to your location.
Here are the most common franchise payroll portals and how to reach them:
HCMToGo — Most Common Franchise Payroll App
HCMToGo is the most widely used payroll platform across US McDonald’s franchise groups. Inside the HCMToGo app, you can check and edit timesheets, submit and view time off requests, check vacation and sick balances, enroll in benefits, view pay stubs, manage direct deposits, and check your schedule.
To log in to HCMToGo:
- Download the HCMToGo app from the App Store or Google Play, or visit the web URL your franchise provided
- Select your region (North America for US employees)
- Enter your company short name — this is a unique ID your manager provides
- Enter your username and password
- If it is your first time, click Forgot Password and follow the reset email instructions
Important: Your employer must have HCMToGo configured for mobile use. Contact your manager or company admin to confirm access before downloading.
ADP Workforce Now
Many larger McDonald’s franchise groups use ADP. Log in at workforcenow.adp.com using the credentials your HR department provided during onboarding. If you never received login details, contact your manager or franchise HR office directly.
Paycor
Paycor partners with McDonald’s franchises for payroll and HR technology. If your franchise uses Paycor, log in at paycor.com with the credentials supplied by your employer.
Paychex
Many franchised McDonald’s restaurants use Paychex for payroll. The employee login is at my.paychex.com.
Not Sure Which Portal Your Location Uses?
Ask your manager or general manager directly. They will know immediately which system your franchise group uses and can give you the exact URL and your login credentials. If you lost your credentials and cannot reach your manager, contact your franchise’s HR office. The phone number is usually on your original onboarding paperwork.
Schedule Login — Altametrics / ZIPschedules
Your work schedule at most McDonald’s franchise locations lives in a separate app from payroll. McDonald’s uses ZIPschedules, powered by Altametrics, for crew scheduling at many franchise locations. You can find the ZIPschedules link on your restaurant page, and the app is available in both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Search for Altametrics to find it.
What ZIPschedules lets you do:
- View your upcoming shifts and weekly schedule
- Request time off
- Swap shifts with other crew members with manager approval
- Receive schedule change notifications
To log in:
- Download the Altametrics app from the App Store or Google Play
- Use the login link your restaurant posted in the break room or sent to you directly
- Sign in with your employee credentials
If your location uses a different scheduling tool, your manager will have posted the link in the restaurant or sent it through your crew communication channel.
McD Connect — Crew Communication App
McD Connect is the official app for McDonald’s crew, managers, and staff to access company news, stay in touch with their team, and get updates about new menu items, shoutouts for great work, and tips and tools for their role.
One important thing to know: McD Connect is not a payroll portal. The McD Connect app handles scheduling and company news, but is not a pay stub portal. Many employees land on McD Connect looking for their pay stubs and find nothing. Your pay stubs are in account.mcd.com (corporate) or your franchise payroll app.
Download McD Connect:
- Search “McD Connect” in the App Store or Google Play
- Log in with your McDonald’s crew account credentials from welcome.mcd.com
New Employee First Login — welcome.mcd.com
If you just started at McDonald’s and have not set up your crew account yet, start at welcome.mcd.com.
When you join McDonald’s, you receive an invitation from your manager to set up your crew account through the email provided during onboarding. Scan the QR code or use the welcome link to go to the welcome site and select Get Started. Your crew account lets you receive important updates, check your schedule, and access your pay stub.
During setup, you choose how to log in going forward — either with a McDonald’s ID or through a social account such as Google or Facebook. Once your account is active, you can log in at account.mcd.com for payroll and corporate HR access.
If you did not receive the invitation email, check your spam folder first, then ask your manager to resend it.
McDPerks — Employee Discounts Login
McDonald’s employees get special pricing from popular national retailers as well as local stores. You can save on movie tickets, Dell computers, Apple products, plus travel benefits and grocery coupons. The website is mcdperks.com.
Log in at mcdperks.com using your McDonald’s employee credentials. If you have never used it before, your EID or crew account login should work. Contact your manager if access is not working.
Forgot Password or Account Locked
The fix depends on which portal you are locked out of.
Corporate account at account.mcd.com: Go to account.mcd.com/manage/reset/ and enter your username plus your recovery email or security question answers. For persistent issues, call the Global Corporate Technology Service Desk at +01-630-623-5000, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Forgot your EID or username: Ask your manager to search for your profile information in Global Account Manager (GAM). If you forgot the email address you use to log in, your manager can look at your profile in the HR system or run a GAM email report.
HCMToGo franchise portal: Click Forgot Password on the HCMToGo login screen and enter your username. Follow the reset email. If you do not have access to the email on file, contact your franchise HR office directly.
ADP, Paycor, or Paychex: Use the Forgot Password option on the relevant portal login page. If locked out, call your franchise HR department — they control account access for these third-party systems.
Common McDonald’s Employee Login Problems and How to Fix Them
“I don’t know which portal my location uses”
Ask your manager or general manager. They know immediately. Alternatively, check the break room notice board — most franchise groups post the payroll portal URL there along with first-login instructions.
“My EID is not working at account.mcd.com”
Check archid.mcd.com to confirm your current username format. McDonald’s is transitioning from legacy EID usernames to archID usernames, and some applications now require the new format.
“The portal page won’t load”
Try a different browser first. Chrome and Edge work best with McDonald’s portals. Clear your browser cache, then try again. If the issue persists across multiple devices, contact the Technology Support desk and provide a screenshot of the error page if possible.
“My account is locked after too many failed attempts”
Account lockouts are usually temporary. Wait a few minutes and try logging in again. If the lockout continues, contact your McDonald’s IT support or HR department for assistance.
“I’m a new employee and never received my login details”
Check your spam folder for the invitation email from McDonald’s. If it is not there, ask your manager to resend the welcome email through the onboarding system. You need that email to complete the account setup at welcome.mcd.com.
“I left McDonald’s and need my old pay stubs”
Portal access is typically cut within two weeks of your last day. If you are already locked out, contact HR at your former location and provide your name, employee ID, and the pay periods you need. Download all pay stubs as PDFs before your last shift to avoid this situation entirely.
McDonald’s Employee Portal Quick Reference
| Portal | URL | What It Does |
| Corporate login and payroll | account.mcd.com | Pay stubs, W-2s, HR records |
| New employee account setup | welcome.mcd.com | First-time crew account activation |
| archID username lookup | archid.mcd.com | Find or update your login username |
| Login help and support | help.mcd.com | Password resets, login errors |
| Franchise payroll (most common) | HCMToGo app | Pay stubs, W-2s, schedules, PTO |
| Franchise payroll option | workforcenow.adp.com | Pay stubs, tax forms |
| Scheduling — franchise locations | Altametrics / ZIPschedules app | Shift schedule, time off requests |
| Company news and crew updates | McD Connect app | News, team communication |
| Employee discounts | mcdperks.com | Retail, travel, entertainment discounts |
| Education benefits | archwaystoopportunity.com | Tuition assistance, career programs |
| Corporate tech support | +01-630-623-5000 | 24/7 login and password help |
BiteStaff.com is an independent fan site and is not affiliated with McDonald’s Corporation. For official employee support, contact your manager or the McDonald’s Technology Support Desk at +01-630-623-5000.