Check Date
•The default Check Date is the computer's system date.
•To use another date, click on the date and change it.
•If you are reviewing existing checks, then click the return to adding checks, make sure to review and set the check date as desired.
•The date of the check - the first day the employee could have accessed the funds, known as 'constructive receipt' - determines the tax liability.
•When the money was earned is not considered for payroll tax liability.
•For example, if a check is dated January 1, the check is part of January of the new year, even if the money was 'earned' in the prior year.
Employee
•Select the employee to pay.
•Click the upside down triangle to 'drop down' the list, then use the up and down arrow keys on your keyboard.
•You can also type the first letter of the employee's name.
•Employees marked as ex-employees cannot be selected for a new paycheck.
Check Number
•The maximum length is five digits.
•If your checks have more than five digits, enter the last five digits.
•If you print the checks as a batch (from the Report screen), just before the batch of checks are printed, you will accept/set the starting check number, and the rest of the checks in the batch will be numbered sequentially.
Hour Entry Fields
•Normal Entry
•The decimal representation of the time worked.
•If the employee worked 39 and 3/4 hours, enter 39.75.
•Optional Entry
•Hours and minutes.
•If the employee worked 39 hours and 45 minutes, enter 39:45.
•The separator must be a colon (:).
•After you leave the hour field, the time worked will be converted to the decimal representation.
•If the display says 'TOTAL Hours'
•In the box to the right of 'Total Hours', enter the total hours/time worked, including overtime.
•In the 'OT Prem Hrs' box, enter the part of Total Hours which was overtime.
•If the employee worked 39 hours at their regular rate, and 5 hours at their overtime rate TOTAL Hours = 44, OT Prem Hrs = 5.
•If the display says 'Regular Hours'
•In the box to the right of 'Regular Hours', enter the hours/time worked at the employee's regular rate of pay.
•In the 'Overtime Hrs' box, enter the hours/time worked at their overtime rate.
•If the employee worked 39 hours at their regular rate, and 5 hours at their overtime rate Regular Hours = 39, OT Hours = 5.
•If the employee is salaried, the hour entry fields are not usually used.
•Some exceptions
•One or both of the Hourly deduction settings are in use (since they are hours worked based calculations, such as for those in OR and WA).
•If the employee's State Tax Calculation is MA or MN (hours worked are needed for UI reporting).
•If the 'Enter Hours Worked for Salaried Employees' option has been selected on the Setup screen (Program Options)
•The only way to alter the gross pay is by entering hours or other income.
•You cannot directly edit gross pay as you have to be able to show why the money was paid.
Other Income
•Up to five 'Adjustments to Income' can be used on each paycheck.
•The type of adjustment is determined by the selections made on the Setup screen.
'Save' and 'Save and Print' Buttons
•To complete paycheck entry, click 'Save' or 'Save and Print', and you are ready to enter the next paycheck.
•Save
•Saves the paycheck without printing.
•Paychecks are later printed as a 'batch' from the Reports screen.
•Save and Print
•Saves and prints a single paycheck.
•While slower than printing as a batch, this is useful for those whose printer may not always feed the check paper correctly, or when reprinting a single check.
•Also used to reprint a single paycheck.
Pay Period
•The pay period (pay frequency) for this check.
•This is set to the employee's default pay period, but can be changed.
•The Payroll Period is critical to proper paycheck calculation.
Pay Period Ending
•The Pay Period Ending date can be changed as needed.
•It is only used to let the employee know what time frame they are being paid for.
•The Pay Period Ending date is NOT used for paycheck calculations or tax liability calculations.
•The Pay Period Ending date, in combination with the Pay Period (pay frequency) is used when the number of employees paid for a certain date is needed, such as on IRS Form 941.
NOTES
•Paychecks are calculated 'live' (as you type).
•As soon as the desired employee has been selected, you can type in the hours.
•If the employee is salaried, and has no manual entries needed, you can click one of the save buttons as soon as the proper employee has been selected.
•The '+' key can be used to move to the next field.
•The 'Enter' key will trigger the highlighted save button.
•The amount of the check will be shown as 'Amt Paid' instead of 'Net Pay' if you are using Auto Allow or Exp Reimb as an Income Adjustment.