Other Year-End Reports

The following information is covered in this chapter:

• Other Year-end Reports
• Processing 940, 940 EZ, 943, and 945 with version 14.2
• Processing other reports with version 15/16 and the Aatrix FormViewer

Other Year-end Reports

This chapter describes how the Aatrix payroll program generates government payroll Forms 940, 943, and 945.

The Treasury Department requires certain reports to be filed at the end of the year (e.g., 940). Your Aatrix payroll program makes this task easier for you by taking the necessary information from your employee pay history records and inserting that data into the appropriate spaces on the government report forms provided by the program. These government reports are "self-calculating," meaning that if you change a value on the form, the rest of the form changes accordingly.

The following is a brief description of each of these reports. Your specific circumstances will determine which type of report you need to submit to the government.

Form 940

The Employer's Annual Federal Unemployment Tax Return is used to report your annual FUTA taxes. Refer to the government's most recent pamphlet Instructions for Form 940 to complete this form. The instructions can be downloaded from the IRS website, http://www.irs.gov. Form 940 is a two-page report.

Form 940-EZ

The Employer's Annual Federal Unemployment Tax Return is used to report your annual FUTA taxes. Refer to the government's most recent pamphlet Instructions for Form 940EZ to complete this form. The instructions can be downloaded from the IRS website, http://www.irs.gov. Form 940EZ is a two-page report.

Form 943

The Employer's Annual Tax Return for Agricultural Employees is used to report employee withholding for farm workers for income tax, social security, and Medicare.

This form is also used to report taxes on wages of household employees in a private home on a farm operated for profit. (These individuals are considered to be farm employees). For more information, refer to the government's most recent instructions for filing Form 943, which can be found at the IRS's website, http://www.irs.gov .

Form 945

The Annual Return of Withheld Federal Income Tax is used to report income tax withheld from non-payroll payments made after 1993. Non-payroll payments include pensions, annuities, military retirement, IRAs, gambling winnings, and backup withholding. Refer to the government's most recent Instructions for Form 945 to complete this form.

Processing the forms

The other forms you process for Year-end are much less complicated than Form W2 or Form 1099, as they do not have multiple parts and do not need different copies for employee or employer. However, it is just as important to make sure important details are not overlooked.

All your forms should have samples printed to test the alignment and/or double check the imported data and calculations before you print off the final copy you will sign and file with the government.

If you have the latest version of Payroll (v15 and above), please skip to Processing other reports with Version 16 for detailed instructions. Versions 15 and 16 use a different reporting process for Print and Mail forms.

Processing Forms

The forms we discuss in this section are all processed from the Reports tab window of your payroll application.

Processing form 940, 940-EZ, 943, or 945

1. In the Reports tab window, click the Print & Mail tab to display the list of Print & Mail reports.
2. Select the form you need to process from the Reports list (e.g., Form 940EZ).

If the specific Form report option is not displayed in the Reports list, click the Edit List button. In the Edit List window, make sure the specific report is selected for display in the Reports List.

3. Make appropriate selections for reporting options.

Report on List

or Report on Employee and then select the appropriate list from the pop-up or employee name.

Skip employees not paid

Mark or unmark this checkbox as you require.

Report period

Select the appropriate period for the report (e.g., One Year), and then specify the exact dates in the corresponding entry boxes that will appear with your selection. The default will always be to the current Year, Month, Day, or Quarter.

Report Limits

Clicking the Report Limits button opens a dialogue in which you can limit the reports to specific employees by selecting options such as specific departments, pay periods, or other limits.

4. When selections are made, click the Preview Report button on the toolbar.

A small dialogue will display. The title of the dialogue will differ depending on the form you are processing, but the general purpose is the same: to match payroll items so that the data is extrapolated and calculated correctly.

5. In the Form Setup dialogues that display for the form being processed, match the payroll items listed on the left with the matching item from the pop-up list alongside.

It is essential that you select the correct matching names from the pop-up menus to insure the accuracy of the data displayed on the reports.

6. In the second page of the Form Setup window, select the names from the pop-up menus that match the required fields, then click the OK button.

The selected report will appear on the screen. The report is designed to look like the actual pre-printed form, with certain fields automatically filled in by the program.

7. Verify the information displayed is correct and make changes as needed.

If necessary, you can enter information in any of the non-calculating fields by using the Tab key or the mouse to move from field to field.

8. After information is verified correct, select File > Print Report.

An alert dialogue will display, recommending you double check your form. Click the I Agree button if you agree that the form is correct to continue printing. The standard Macintosh OS print dialogue will display.

9. Click the Print button.

Your form will be printed complete. Review it again for accuracy, sign, and then mail to the appropriate agency.

Your Year-end process is nearly complete. Proceed to the next chapter Backing Up Data to back up your data before performing the final closing out for the year.

Processing other reports with Version 15 and above

If you use an Aatrix Payroll Series product version 15 or version 16, government Print and Mail reports such as From 940 and 943 are processed utilizing a reporting application called Aatrix Form Viewer. The information in this section reflects the information in the latest user manual.

Print & Mail reports

The reports listed in Print & Mail tab view all are processed with a program called Aatrix Form Viewer. This program will prompt you to check for updates at the end of each quarter. This ensures you are using the latest government approved forms.

The Forms Subscription is an annual subscription, valid for one year from purchase date. You will be prompted to enter a registration code when printing or previewing forms from the Print and Mail selections. Once the registration code has been entered you will not be prompted again until the subscription expires. For purchasing and pricing information, please contact Aatrix Sales at (800) 426-0854.

Aatrix FormViewer

The Aatrix FormViewer will retrieve data from your Pay History to fill in your State and Federal reports. Any fields that need additional information entered will be marked in red on your screen. The program will not allow you to proceed to the next step of processing if you have not entered information in all red fields.

This new feature also makes eFiling your state and government reports an option for your company. Please see the User manual for more information on eFile.

There are three steps to process forms:

Review/Edit

This is the step that allows you to make changes your report.

My Copy

This is the step from which you can print a Records Copy for your files.

Federal Copy

This is the step from which you can either print the form and mail it to the appropriate agency, or eFile.

A progress bar displays in the toolbar as you process the form, showing the current step of the process.

Characteristics of the FormsViewer window

The File menu, at the top of the screen, contains commands for various tasks such as Page Align and changing your registration information.

The Toolbar displays a progress indicator that tells you which step of the forms process you are currently running. Tips and hints to guide you through the process always will display in the center of the toolbar. Depending on the phase of the forms process, different command buttons will display.

The title of the report will always be displayed in the title bar at the top of the window displaying the form.

Fields that must be filled out are highlighted in red. Once these areas are complete, they change to blue. If a required field is not filled out, you will be alerted before being allowed to save or print the report as a final copy.

Navigating the FormsViewer window

Use the Tab key or mouse to move through the fields. Use the vertical Scroll Bars to move the screen up and down. The horizontal Scroll Bars will move the screen left and right.

For forms with more than one page, use the arrows on the extreme left side of the toolbar to advance or go back. You may also click on the page number display located between these arrows to directly access any page desired in a multiple page report. On forms with only one page, these controls will be grayed out (unavailable).

Processing forms

The following instructions will walk you through a generic form process.

When all the criteria have been set for your report in the Reports tab window, click the Preview button. This will start up the Aatrix FormViewer, which will display the report with most or all of the data fields filled in for you. Report processing is divided into three simple steps and through each step, the program displays prompts to guide you. An alert message outlining the basic steps appears. After reviewing the steps, click the OK button to close it and proceed.

Step One - Review / Edit

In the FormViewer window, review the report for accuracy. Any red fields will have to be filled in manually. If the report you are processing has required (red) fields, an alert will notify you.

Review and edit a report

1. In the Aatrix FormViewer window, verify imported information and enter information in areas marked by red.

Date

The date on the form always defaults to the current day (as defined by your computer's internal clock). If this needs to be changed, move the cursor into the date field and click the right mouse button. This activates a drop down menu with choices for clearing the date or setting the value to the current date. You may also use the arrow located on the right side of the date field to drop down a calendar display. Click on the month and day you need, and the date is set accordingly.

Calculations

The program automatically calculates the data necessary for most form fields. However, you should double check all calculations in monetary and numeric data fields.

2. Click the Next Step button when red fields have been filled.

If you missed any required (red) fields and click Next Step, an alert will appear to warn you that you must go back and complete the report. You cannot advance to the next step until all required fields have data in them.

3. (Optional) You can print a draft or review copy in this phase by clicking the Print button. Clicking the Save button will save a copy of the incomplete report.
4. Click the Next Step button when finished reviewing and filling required fields.

A Verify Report Complete message appears.

5. Click the Agree button to proceed; click Double Check to go back and review the report.

This message will appear also for the next phase of the process and ensures that you validate the accuracy of your report. Although the software is produced, tested, and proven to perform accurate calculations, errors are possible for many reasons. Aatrix Software, Inc. is not responsible for inaccuracies that might occur. Clicking the Agree button shows that you have verified the accuracy of all the data and information that appears in the report.

The application saves your report and proceeds to the next step.

Step Two - My Copy

When Review / Edit is completed, it is time to print a copy of the report for your records. My Copy is printed on plain paper. A large diagonal watermark indicated that the report is a records copy only.

Printing a records copy

1. Click the Print button on the toolbar.
2. In the Macintosh Print dialogue, select options for paper source, pages, and copies.
3. Click the OK button.
4. Review and file your records copy.
5. Click the Next Step button when your report has printed.

Step Three - Finish and print State or Federal copy

Printing a State / Federal filing copy

1. Before printing the final copy, use the Page Align function to ensure the data will print in the correct locations. See Page Align .
2. Insert paper or pre-printed form into printer.
3. Click the Print button.

If you choose to eFile, please refer to your user manual and the section on eFiling in the Reports chapter.

4. Sign and mail your report.
5. Once the report has printed, you can close the Form Viewer and return to the payroll application.

Printing your forms

Clicking the Print button in different phases of the process will have different results. If you are in the Review/Edit step, the form will print with the watermark DRAFT on it. In the My Copy step, it will print with the watermark RECORDS COPY on it. The Federal copy step will print a report that can then be submitted to the appropriate agency.

If you have not purchased the Form Subscription, all copies will print with a large, repeated DEMO watermark.

Page Align

Before printing the final filing copy of a state or government form, you should always print a test page to ensure the data will print in the form boxes correctly. To use Page Align, select File > Page Align and click the Test Print button. Every form will print with a registration mark in an unused corner. This registration mark should always be an inch from the left and bottom (or top) margin.

If the registration mark is off, make adjustments as needed by entering a numerical value or with the sliders to move the data up or down, left or right. You should always print a test alignment form when switching to a new printer or printing for the first time to a preprinted form. When you are finished making adjustments, click the Finished button to return to the FormViewer. You can then click the Print button on the toolbar to print your form.