The Ledger : calculations

Payroll Post Notes: Louisiana Tax Change

Jennifer Maroney — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:18:00 GMT

Beginning July 1, 2009, the tax calculation method for employees working in Louisiana will change. This tax change has been implemented in Payroll version 7.78, patch 9.

If you have employees subject to Louisiana state tax, complete your June payroll and then follow these steps before calculating payroll for July:

Download and install version 7.78 and patch 9.
Create a new state tax for Louisiana with an effective date of 07/01/09:
1. In Configuration, Taxes, select State taxes from the drop-down list and click New Tax.
2. In the Add new state tax setting for drop-down list, select Louisiana and click OK.
3. Change the effective date to 07/01/09.
4. Select State, Restore Defaults from the menu bar.
5. Select 2009 from the Restore the drop-down list and click OK.
6. Enter the remaining required information for each tax.
7. Click GL Distribution to enter withholding, liability, and expense accounts distributions.
8. Click Save and Close.
Change the withholding status of all employees with Zero withholding to either Single or Married withholding:
1. Create a query of records with a Withholding status of Zero.
2. On the Results tab, open the first record.
3. Change the Withholding status and click the single right arrow on the action bar to move to the next record.
Note: Although Louisiana no longer offers a Zero withholding status, we have left the status available so you can easily identify employees that need to be updated.

For more information about the Louisiana tax changes, refer to the Louisiana Department of Revenue website.

Payroll Post Notes: Get Your Calculation Information Here

Jennifer Maroney — Mon, 11 May 2009 18:35:00 GMT

Do you need to report on employee 403(b) deductions and their employer match or ever wonder how much you pay out for a specific pay type? With the Compensation and Deductions Register, there is no need to wonder...you can get the totals quickly and easily. This flexible report allows you to list employee earnings, benefits, deductions, and tax amounts for paid or unpaid calculations over a specified time period. Let's get to the good stuff.

You can find the report under Transaction Reports in PY. Once there, highlight Compensation and Deductions Report and click New. On the General tab, select to display the report in detail, summary, or both detail and summary. Also define which transactions to include, paid, unpaid, or both, and the date range. After you define those options, select the Filters tab. Here, change the appropriate Benefits, Deductions, or Pay Types filters not to include on the report from All to None. Please note these filters default to include All, so to run the report for only one of these compensation types, you must change the other two filters from All to None. All that's left is to click Preview and you're done.

Talk to you soon!

Payroll Post Notes: One-Time Calculations

Jennifer Maroney — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:03:00 GMT

Every couple of months we see a spike in calls about how to create a one-time check. OK so the question is not "How do I print a one-time check," it usually has to do with paying employees a bonus, reimbursement for expenses, or paying them for a calculation error. Whatever the reason, the process is always the same.

First, create the new pay type in Configuration. The rate selected and the number of pay types needed depends on the reason for the check. Here are a few scenarios for an employee bonus:

If all employees will receive the same amount, select Fixed amount and enter the total amount.
If all employees will receive the same percentage of pay, select Percentage of gross and enter the appropriate percentage.
If different groups of employees will receive a specific amount, create a different pay type for each group.
If all employees will receive different amounts, select Fixed amount and enter the total amount that most of the employees will receive. When adding the pay type to the employee records using Create Group Assignments, you can manually update each employee amount on the Assignment Grid tab.

On the Schedule tab of the pay type, mark the Pay only in periods with specific end dates option. If the one-time calculation's pay date falls on the same date as the regular payroll calculation, the software will calculate both pay types together. If the other scheduled pay(s) are already calculated, only the one-time pay will be calculated.

Now you're ready to add the pay type to employee records. There are two options depending on the number of employees. If you only have a dozen or so employees, I'd recommend manually adding the pay type, but if you have a large number of employees, save yourself time by using Create Group Assignments.

Okay, you made it through the hard part. At this point all you have to do is create calculations and print the checks or EFTs; a process I am sure you are all familiar with . If you would like step-by-step instructions, take a look at KB solution BB244550.

Talk to you soon!

Payroll Post Notes: What About My EFTs?

Jennifer Maroney — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:52:00 GMT

I must confess we are often check-centric. Most of our solutions reference only checks as if that's the only payment method available. For example, if a paid calculation is incorrect we tell you to first void the check. But what are you supposed to do if you pay your employees by EFT?

Pardon the interruption, but I wanted to note that EFT is only available as a payment option if you have the EFT optional module. For information about the EFT module, contact your account manager. Now we may resume.

The answer is actually easier than you think, unless you've already figured it out . When it comes to voiding payments, it doesn't matter the payment type, check, EFT, or bank draft, the answer is void. So if you need to correct a calculation paid by an EFT, void the EFT payment, make the appropriate changes, and then recreate the EFT file. Just remember when you're deleting the EFT payments that you don't delete the calculations. If you just need to create the EFT file without making any corrections, you still need to void the EFT payments in order to recreate the EFT file.

Most of the time if you see a step that requires you to void a check, replace check with EFT and you will know what to do. Talk to you soon!

Payroll Post Notes: Edit Unpaid Calculations

Jennifer Maroney — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:19:00 GMT

Have you gone through the process of creating calculations only to realize you need to make a change? If you haven't printed the check you can edit the calculation straight away. On the other hand, if you have printed the check, you'll need to void it before you can adjust the calculation.

Here's how to edit the unpaid calculation:

In Records, open the employee's record.
Select the Activity tab.
Select to view unpaid calculations.
Open the calculation and make the necessary changes.
Save the calculation and click No if you do not want to make the changes permanent.

If your calculation was created in a Time Sheet Batch, you need to delete the calculation, create a new batch, and then recreate the calculation.

Talk to you soon!