May 2008 - Posts
In part 3 of the Attendance Arithmetic series, let's talk about monthly attendance. To manually calculate the accrual:
- Determine the number of months from the plan effective date up to and including the last day of the previous month.
- Divide the number of months by 12.
- Multiply the results of step two by the number of hours accrued per cycle.
([Accrual Months] / [12]) * [Accrued Per Cycle Hours] = [Monthly Accrual]
For example, David Jones started January 1, 2007, and accrues 40 vacation hours per cycle. Let's calculate the monthly attendance accrual as of August 14, 2007:
There are 7 months from January 1 through July 31 and David earns 40 hours per cycle. The calculation would be:
(7/12) * 40 = 23.3 hours
If the start date of the attendance plan is not the first day of the month, the start and end of each month follows the plan start date. For example, David Jones started January 15, 2007, and accrues 40 vacation hours per cycle. The monthly attendance accrual as of September 9, 2007:
There are 7 months from January 15 through August 15 and David earns 40 hours per cycle. The calculation would be:
(8/12) * 40 = 26.7 hours
Stay on the lookout for Part 4 through 6. Talk to you soon!
Are you trying to run your Federal I-9 form or the State New Hire Reports and can't find the State and Federal Tax Report option in Mail? Don't worry; it is probably your security rights. Since this report can contain personal information, such as social security numbers, we have added an additional security option to help keep this information secure. In other words, simply having rights to Mail, will not give you access to these reports.
You will need to request your supervisor, or someone with supervisor rights, to update your group security settings. Once they log in, have them go to Set up system security in Administration to open the security group they are assigned to. Highlight Shared Components, mark the Personal Information checkbox on the right and click Options. On the Options screen, mark the State Tax Reports and the Federal Tax Reports checkboxes, click OK, and then save the security group.
Before you will be able to see the Mail option, you will need to exit and sign out of FE and then log back in. For step-by-step instructions, review Knowledgebase solution BB373712.
Happy reporting. Talk to you soon!
Welcome to part 2 of Attendance Arithmetic. This time, let's review calculating weekly attendance. Here are the steps for the manual calculation:
- Determine the number of days from the plan effective date through the last Saturday before the attendance date.
- Divide the number of days by the number of days in the calendar year.
- Multiply the results of step two by the number of hours accrued per cycle.
or
([Accrual Days] / [Calendar Year Days]) * [Accrued Per Cycle Hours] = [Weekly Accrual]
For example, David Jones started January 1, 2007, and accrues 40 vacation hours per cycle. Let's calculate the weekly attendance accrual as of August 14, 2007:
There are 223 days from January 1 through Saturday, August 11, 365 days in the year 2007, and David earns 40 hours per cycle. The calculation would be:
(230/365) * 40 = 25.21 hours
Stay on the lookout for Part 3 through 6. Talk to you soon!
Do you ever wonder how Payroll calculates employee attendance accrual? If so, make sure you check out each of the six Attendance Arithmetic posts. Each will cover how to manually calculate the following accrual methods:
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- By hours worked
- Start of cycle
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Let's start with daily.
To calculate daily attendance accrual, take the total number of days the employee can accrue and then divide it by 365 to determine the amount of attendance accrued per day. Here is the formula:
[Total Days Possible] / 365 = [Daily Accrual]
Note: If the year is a leap year (such as 2008), the extra day is considered.
For example, David Jones is a new employee who can accrue 40 vacation hours per year. The daily attendance accrual is 40 hours divided by 365 days or 0.109589 hours per day.
If you want to calculate the amount for a given day, multiply the number of days elapsed from the plan effective date by the hours accrued per day. Here is the formula:
[Number of days elapsed] * [Hours accrued per day]
For example, David Jones' attendance plan started on January 1 and you would like to calculate the number of hours accrued as of August 14. The total number of hours accrued is the number of days elapsed, 226, times 0.109589 or 24.767114 which rounds to 24.77 hours.
Stay on the lookout for Part 2 through 6. Talk to you soon!
Are you getting an error and don't know what to do? I found this great post in The User's Edge blog that I wanted to share with you. Check out Sarah's Shortcuts: Lions, tigers, and errors, oh my!
Talk to you soon!
Do you ever wonder what the transaction Reference column on the General Ledger Report or Post Report means? If you do, then this post is for you! The Reference, also known as journal reference, is created when you post from subsidiary ledgers (AP, AR, FA, CR, SB, and PY) or in detail from The Raiser's Edge. The journal reference defaults are defined in Configuration, can be customized for your organization's needs, and can even be defined for each transaction type.
Journal references are displayed on:
- The transaction detail on an account record
- The post report
- The Journal Entry batch
- All General Ledger reports where Reference is an available field
There are a few things to keep in mind when you set up your journal references. First, the total number of characters in a journal reference cannot exceed 50 characters. Secondly, changes to journal references are not retroactive, so the changes will only affect items that are not yet posted. Finally, when you create the references, make sure you include necessary details for an effective audit trail.
So let's get to the process...
For FE subsidiary ledgers, go to Configuration and click Posting Information. Then highlight the transaction type and select the appropriate field names and field lengths. Remember to define the journal reference for both the debit and credit side of transactions by marking the Debit or Credit option in the dark gray bar.
To define the journal reference in RE, go to Configuration, click General Ledger, and select the field names and lengths; you will see a sample of the journal reference at the bottom of the screen.
Don't see what you want? You can add custom fields to FE or RE by clicking Fields and entering the new name. Not sure how or why you would need a custom field? Try using them to emphasize specific transaction types such as INT- for Interfund entries and APPL- for Application entries.
For more information on customizing journal references or step-by-step instructions, take a look at the Posting Information section of the RE or subledger
Configuration Guides.
Hey payroll blog readers! I didn't want you guys to be left out of the top questions asked, so I am going to start listing the top 7 Payroll questions for the last two months with a link to the Knowledgebase solution. Unlike The Ledger Lowdown top question list, your list will only include Payroll 7 questions. I recommend reviewing both lists since The Ledger Lowdown will cover general FE or non module specific questions. Each list will be updated once a month, so make sure you come back!
April
- State and Federal tax reports are missing: BB373712
- Demo Do Not File is printing on W-2s and 941s: BB430526
- How to update Aatrix forms: B248846
- How to create a one-time payroll calculation: BB244550
- How to enter time worked in a batch: BB221882
- How to print Form 941: BB248846
- Taxes calculating incorrectly: BB267464
March
- How to configure Electronic Funds Transfer: BB261063
- How to globally add compensation types to employees: BB164768
- How to create a one-time payroll calculation: BB244550
- How to use the change compensation wizard: BB313160
- Error: You must assign a pay type or a cash or a non-cash compensation to the employee when creating calculations: BB348170
- How to update Aatrix forms: B248846
- Payroll posting the incorrect amount to the General Ledger: BB343100
Let me know if you find this information helpful 
/ 
or if you have any suggestions? I want to take care of my blog readers 
.
Talk to you soon!
Hey blog readers! Each month we keep track of the top questions you ask. Since this information is helpful to us, I thought it would be helpful to you guys too. With that being said, I am going to start listing the top 7 questions (I had to be unique 
) for the last two months with a link to the Knowledgebase solution. The questions can be for AP, AR, GL, or FA (Fixed Assets) but are typically GL and AP since those are our most popular financial products. I will update the list once a month, so make sure you come back!
April
- How to install or update: BB273248
- Error: Native error: 4060 when logging in: BB144086
- Bank Reconciliation shows out of balance to GL Cash Account or vice versa: BB61184
- Error: Invalid login when logging in: BB140810
- How to install or remove optional modules or change the number of user licenses: 24255
- How to download the latest update: BB273122
- Vendor tax ID field is grayed out: BB381560
March
- How to install or update: BB273248
- How to install or remove optional modules or change the number of user licenses: 24255
- Error: Native error: 4060 when logging in: BB144086
- How to create a Visual Chart Organizer: BB64859
- How to import journal entry transactions: BB53174
- Bank Reconciliation shows out of balance to GL Cash Account or vice versa: BB61184
- Error: Invalid login when logging in: BB140810
Let me know if you find this information helpful / or if you have any suggestions? I want to take care of my blog readers so let me know what you would like to see .
Talk to you soon!
Hey blog readers! A pain point with a lot of our customers with the optional module, Cash Management, is the dreaded bank reconciliation...dunh DUNH DUNH. This is an easy process when you balance 
, but can be a huge headache when you don't. For those of you who are new to FE or Cash Management, the process compares the General Ledger cash account, bank register, and your bank's monthly statement to ensure they all have the same balance.
Balancing your bank register to your bank's monthly statement and GL cash account can get challenging and sometimes complicated especially if multiple modules use the same bank. Here are some common causes of reconciliation issues:
- Checks were created in a fiscal period other than the one in which they were voided.
- Transactions are marked as Do Not Post or have not yet been posted.
- Manual journal entries were made to the cash account and not posted or imported to Bank Accounts as an adjustment.
- Bank adjustments were not created when the journal entry batch was posted to the cash account, so a manual bank adjustment was entered as Do Not Post.
- The debit account on the adjustment is not the cash account.
- The bank is not set to track cash in General Ledger.
If your bank register and bank statement don't balance to your GL cash account the first time, try the following to find the cause:
- Ensure the bank is set to track cash (BB103818) in General Ledger.
On the Bank tab, verify the account numbers used for Accounts Payable and Cash Management are correct.
- Post to General Ledger.
Post any unposted transactions that show in the bank account but not the GL cash account. Also, make sure all journal entries to the GL cash account are posted.
- Note timing issues.
If you voided checks in a month other than the one in which they were created, the bank account and cash account will remain out of balance until the reversals post to the cash account. If you must correct this in the current period, you can create an automatically reversing journal entry (BB22411) to your GL cash account.
- Determine how you will treat Do Not Post transactions.
Run a transaction register or transaction list to find transactions marked as Do Not Post. The account will remain out of balance until the transactions are posted, or manual journal entries are posted to balance to the bank register.
- Check the debit account used on adjustments.
An account, other than the cash account, used as the debit account on an adjustment will cause the bank account and GL cash account to be out of balance. If the adjustment is unposted, edit the debit account. If the adjustment is posted, enter another adjustment to correct the original adjustment (BB66590).
Do you have any other tips and tricks for fellow bank reconcilers? Let us and others know by leaving a comment.
Talk to you later!