Getting Started
The following information is covered in this chapter:
Thank you for choosing Aatrix Software. Our payroll programs have been designed with an "open architecture" format that allows you to define and set the parameters for your deductions, employer paid contributions, and extra income items to fit your payroll needs.
If the software "as is" cannot perform a needed payroll task, call customer support. A variety of additional plug-ins have been created to handle most situations.
While comprehensive and powerful, our payroll programs use the latest in user friendly interface features which have made our software among the most popular on the market. However, if you have never done payroll processing before or you have any questions, our support staff will be happy to help you.
When you start the payroll application for the first time, a splash screen will display. Enter your name and company name in the appropriate text boxes, and then click Continue.
The Company Selection dialogue is your gateway into the payroll application. When you first start up, a fully functional sample company, Rock Castle Construction, is selected by default. For new users, we recommend that you use this sample company to safely experiment with new or unfamiliar facets of the application.
You'll want to set up your own company and get going, but first let's take a look at the controls and functions of this dialogue.
New Company
Select this button to create a new company. For more information, please see Creating a new company
Back up Company
Select this button to back up the currently selected company.
Restore from Backup
If you should need to restore a backup, you would select the Restore from Backup button. For more information on how to restore from a back up, please see Chapter 13, Data Maintenance.
Delete Company
To delete a company, select the company and click the Delete Company button. An alert will display warning you that all data for the company will be erased if you proceed. Click the Proceed button to continue with the delete process, or Cancel to abort.
Quit
To stop the launching of the payroll program, click the Quit button.
Continue
Select the company you want to open, then click the Continue button. The program will open to the Employees tab window of the company you selected.
The Aatrix Payroll Setup Utility was created to help guide you through the steps needed to start processing payroll as quickly as possible. Required fields (for example, Company Name) must be entered before accessing the next screen. A progress bar at the top of the Setup Utility displays the setup status as you enter information. Additionally, a context-sensitive help window displays with steps to complete each screen.
The Payroll Setup Utility is accessed when you click the New Company button in either the Select Company window or in the Company tab window within the program.
Cancel
Clicking this button will close the Setup Utility without saving any data. A confirmation window will display that gives you the option to not exit in case you accidentally clicked the Cancel button.
Finish
If you click the Finish button, the information that you have entered will be saved and any additional information will need to be added in the appropriate tab window.
Back
Returns you to the previous screen to enter or edit information.
Next
Advances you to the next screen to continue adding information.
Help
This button will open or close the Help window.
To save time during the setup process, please have the following information readily available:
Creating a new company
If you are using your payroll program with QuickBooks®, you MUST create
the necessary links either within the Payroll Setup Utility or within the payroll
program as described in
Menu link to.
This launches access the Payroll Setup Utility.
The only required field is the Company Name. If you wish to link the payroll program with another accounting program (example, QuickBooks® Pro), you will also need to enter your Employer Identification Number (EIN).
There is a 25 character limit on the Company Name. If your company name is longer, abbreviate it in this step. When you have created the new company, you can change the company name to the legal name within the Company Tab window.
You can also click the Cancel button to enter the data via the tab windows in the Payroll program. Once you have begun entering data within the Payroll Setup Utility, to quit and save what you have currently entered, click the Finish button.
Detailed online QuickHelp is available for each screen of the Company Setup Utility. Click the Help button in each dialogue to activate QuickHelp if not already visible.
The program creates a folder ƒor this company and saves it in the Aatrix Payroll folder. The company folder will contain a Checkforms ƒ folder, an Employee Files ƒ folder, a Registers ƒ folder and a Reports ƒ folder.
The next time that you launch the payroll program, the name of the new company will be displayed in the Companies list.
After you have set up your company with the Payroll Setup Utility, you will be entering information directly into the tab windows. Before you begin using your payroll program, there are some things you should become familiar with in order to use the program more easily.
There is no need to close or minimize windows when switching between modes in the payroll application or your accounting application.
It is helpful to think of your payroll program as operating in six different modes: Company Setup, Human Resources, Employees, Payroll Items, Process Payroll, Reports, and Liabilities.
To access any one of the modes, click the appropriate tab.
Each tab window contains a set of toolbar buttons that change depending on which mode you are in. Clicking these buttons will execute the command that the button represents. For example, clicking the New employee button allows you to create a new employee file.
Clicking the QuickBooks® tab will launch the QuickBooks® program.
Click the Company tab to open the window that contains your company information.
The Company tab window displays buttons in the toolbar that allow you to set up new companies, store bank information such as bank routing number for printing checks on blank checkstock or direct deposit.
The Company tab window is discussed in detail in Chapter Two- Company .
Click the Human Resources tab to set up the human resources information for your employees, such as Cafeteria Plans, Pension Plans, Paid Time Off (PTO), Evaluations, and Loans.
The buttons on the toolbar are context-sensitive to the tab selected in the Human Resources window.
For detailed information, access Chapter Three- Human Resources .
It is in the Employees tab window that you will set up your new employee files with such information as name, address, pay rate, and tax information. This is also where you will make changes to your existing employees or delete them from the system. Chapter Four - Employees discusses the Employees tab window and all of its features.
Add, create, assign, and edit payroll items in this mode. Any payroll item that is displayed in this window is available to assign to your employee files. The payroll items you initially see are the ones you created via the installation process. A checkmark ( √ ) will appear next to the name of the payroll item to indicate that it is assigned to the currently highlighted employee in the Employee List. Learn more about the Payroll Items tab window in Chapter Five - Payroll Items .
The Process Payroll tab window displays the selected employee's timesheet with all assigned items such as income, deduction, and employer paid contributions. You can enter or change many of the values as well as add or remove payroll items on-the-fly. You can queue all the checks for printing at the same time if desired, and send or post your payroll information to various accounting programs such as QuickBooks®, MYOB, and Quicken®. Process Payroll is explored in depth in Chapter Six - Process Payroll .
A huge array of reports and configurable reporting options is one of this applications most powerful features. You can generate reports for an entire Employee List or a specific employee. There are Print & Mail reports, a subscriber service which allows you to generate state and federal reports ready to file and offers the easy and exciting eFile service. A broad selection of pre-made and customizable Standard Reports deal with the everyday running of a business. The Standard reports and any customized reports you create can be grouped into bundles to be printed all at once.
All users of Aatrix Payroll series applications have access to the EZ ReportBuilder, a utility that enables you to quickly put payroll information together into a report format. Ultimate Payroll users also have a powerful report designer that allows you to build an incredible array of customized reports.
The Freeform Report Builder is a feature only available in Ultimate Payroll.
Aatrix Top Pay and Aatrix PayCheck both have EZ Report Builder, but do not have
the Freeform Report Builder. If you require the ability to customize reports,
you can upgrade your current payroll program. Call (800) 426-0854 for details.
Read more about the Reports tab window in Chapter Seven - Reports .
In the Liabilities tab window, you can set up your payments (e.g., 941 deposit, health insurance payment) beforehand and use them whenever you write checks. When you use a payment, the program calculates the amount of the check using data it gathers from the Pay History records. Calculate and print checks, make deposits and withdrawals into various check registers, and view payment histories.
Chapter Eight - Liabilities details the Liabilities tab window.
Preferences can be set or changed any time and any place in the application. In the Company tab window, click the Preferences button. Elsewhere in the program, access the Preferences dialogue by selecting Program (Program name, e.g., Aatrix Top Pay > Preferences... ) from the File menu at the top of the window.
Following is a description for each option in the Program Preferences window:
Currency symbol
Use this field to define the monetary symbol to print on checks. The program defaults to the standard "$" sign. To change the program default, tab to the Currency symbol field, delete the $ character, then enter the symbol you want.
Plural of currency name
Use this field to define the monetary unit to print on checks. The program defaults to Dollars. To change the program default, tab to the Plural of currency name field, delete the text, then enter the text you want.
Select the accounting program you are linking your payroll program to. If this option does not apply to you, or your accounting program is not listed in the pop-up menu, choose the None option.
If you choose an accounting program, its name will appear as a pull-down menu in your payroll program. For example, if you choose Intuit QuickBooks®, your payroll program will have a QuickBooks® menu listed.
Automatic backup
The program defaults to automatic backup. This means that whenever you print or edit a check, you are prompted to back up when you quit the program. There is always the possibility of hard disk failure or damage to your data due to a variety of causes. Therefore, always keep a backup of your data. If needed, refer to Backing up payroll data.
Support large employee lists
If selected, the Create Custom List dialogue will appear when opening the program that allows you to create a customized Master List on the spot.
In this dialogue, all employees are initially selected. To exclude an employee from the list, click the employee's name. Click the None button to exclude all employees, then you can select just those employees you want to appear on the list. Click Active Only to display only active employees. The Employee List pop-up menu will display your customized employee list as Modified Master List.
If the Support Large Employee Lists option remains marked in the Program Preferences, the Create Custom List dialogue will appear every time you launch the application until you unmark the checkbox.
Auto-create employee lists
By default, the program automatically creates an employee list for each of your different pay periods and your active and inactive (terminated) employees. These employee lists are saved to the Employee Files ƒ folder and are displayed in the Employee List pop-up menu. See Chapter 4, Employees for more on Employee Lists
Disable Payment History window on start up
If selected, the Payment History window will not appear upon program startup. You can, however, view the Payment History window at any time by selecting Utilities > Payment History.
Disable automatic Help display
If selected, the QuickHelp window will not automatically display the context-sensitive help window. To display the QuickHelp window, you can click the help icon located in the lower left-hand corner of each window.
In the Security preferences tab view, the Password sections are grayed out until you mark the Password protect this program checkbox.
It is highly recommended that you use password security to protect the integrity of your payroll data. Password protection is beneficial in protecting your payroll data from unauthorized use and alteration of data. The program offers two levels of password protection as well as password access to the Time Card application. This allows you to limit portions of the program to certain individuals. For example, you may not want some individuals to have the capability of editing your employee records and printing reports.
Passwords are case sensitive. This means if you set up the password(s) in capital
letters here, you must use capital letters when entering your password to access
the program. You will only be allowed to enter the program if you type in the
correct password.
When you open the program and enter in your password, the letters of the password appear on the screen as bullets ( · ). This prevents anyone looking over your shoulder at the monitor from learning the password while you are typing.
Following is a description for each option in the above preference window:
Password protect this program
Select this option to set up passwords for accessing the program. Textboxes will appear allowing you to enter the Admin, User, and Time Card passwords. To turn off password protection, deselect this option.
Admin Password
Entering the Admin password at program startup allows the user to access and perform all the functions of the program.
User Password
Entering the User password at program startup allows the user to access selected functions only, such as editing checkforms and employee records. If users attempt to access a function that is not selected, they will be warned that they do not have security clearance for that function.
Time Card entry only
Entering the Time Card password at program startup takes the user directly to the Time Card application, allowing the user to enter punch in/out times.
The program requires you to set up all three passwords. If you don't need a User password or you aren't using Time Card, enter the same password in all three text boxes. If you want to change your password(s), open the Preferences window and select the Security tab to enter your new passwords.
If your password doesn't work, or the password dialogue appears and you never set up password protection, type in the default password, password, in lower case letters. Once you are in the program, set up your passwords in the Security Preferences dialogue or uncheck the Password protect this program box if you choose to not have any passwords set up.
If you can't open the Employees tab window and the Preferences command in the Edit menu is grayed out, enter your Admin password when you launch the program. If you did not password protect your program with an Admin password, enter the default password, password, in lower case letters. Once you are in the program, set up your passwords in the Security Preferences dialogue.
Following is a description for each option in the Time Card preferences dialogue.
Time format
The manner in which you plan to enter your employee's hours is set up with the Time Format options. The 12 Hour option uses the standard AM/PM format. The 24 Hour option uses a 0-23 hour format. The Minutes option uses the standard minute (0-59) format. The Hundredths option allows you to enter the fractions of hours in hundredth (e.g., 6:92).
Automatic Overtime Calculation
If you want the program to automatically calculate the overtime hours when you import time card hours into your payroll program, select the Automatic Overtime Calculation checkbox.
Work week begins on
Select from the pop-up menu the day of the week the program should start accumulating hours worked. For example, if your regular work week starts on Monday, select Monday from the pop-up menu.
Overtime hours
In the appropriate boxes, enter the number of hours your employees must work before they begin to earn overtime and double overtime. Then select the period of hourly calculation, either by day or week.
Saturday / Sunday / Holiday hours
Select the proper pay rate for weekend hours worked on Saturday, Sunday, and holidays, as either regular, overtime, or double overtime hours.
If you select overtime and/or double overtime for Saturday, Sunday, and/or Holiday hours, the program will override the number of hours you entered in the above text boxes.
Payroll preferences options are explained below.
Store payroll records by
All payroll data is saved by date. By default, the program stores the payroll data in the employee's Pay History records using the Paycheck date. If you want the program to store your payroll data using the pay period ending date, select the Pay Period ending date option.
Reports are generated using the date that the payroll checks were stored in Pay History.
Alternate default hours
If you want to change the default hours (e.g., 86.67) to a different number, select this option and enter the hourly number you want the program to default to. So instead of the standard hours like 86.67 for semi-monthly employees, the amount could be changed to 70. This number would be the default and it would automatically display in the employee's paysheet.
Default to employee hours from previous period
When this option is selected, the program will enter the hours you entered for your employees in the previous pay period into the current paysheet.
Make sure this option is not selected if you plan to import Time Card hours for processing payroll.
QuickCalc™ real time check calculation
When you are entering or changing values in an employee's paysheet, the program, by default, uses a real-time check calculating process called QuickCalc™. When the QuickCalc™ option is selected, the program automatically calculates the employee's deductions and contributions when an income value is changed.
If you deselect QuickCalc™, the program will not calculate the paycheck values until you click the Calculate button. The Calculate button is displayed only after deselecting the QuickCalc™ option.
Include tips in gross pay
Select this checkbox if you want to include your employee's tips in their gross pay.
Per item income sources
Extra Income items can be set to reflect Per Hour, Per Unit, or some other "per item" rate of income. You can name this third rate of income to fit your needs. When creating a New Extra Income item, use the Income Types pop-up menu to select the newly-created option.
Additional setup (optional)
Error Checking Setup
The Error Checking feature enables you to catch errors before recording your payroll into Pay History. For more information, please see Error checking.
Checkstock Watcher Setup
The Checkstock feature will warn you when the number of checks you have on hand is running low when you quit the payroll program. For more information, please see Checkstock Watcher.
Following is a description for each option in the Printing preference window:
Precede/follow net pay amounts
These fields allow you to insert special characters onto your printed checks before and after both the numerical value of the check as well as the written text value on the check. This is an excellent feature to prevent anyone from writing extra dollar amounts, either numerically or with text, onto your checks.
The program defaults to asterisk characters. You can change the default setting by using your cursor to delete the current characters and entering the characters you want.
Language on check
The language option allows you to decide which language the text of the check should be printed in. English and French Canadian are the only options available at this time. If you would like to use other languages, please contact Aatrix Software, Inc. with your request.
Don't zero out negative value paychecks
Restaurateurs may find this option useful. Sometimes because of deduction amounts, an employee can have a negative net pay. If this happens, the program automatically makes the check amount $0. 00 and warns you. Select this option to turn off this warning and allow the program to write negative checks.
When printing queue, print __ checks per page
This option allows you to print a specified number of checks per page. Use this option for printing two, three, or four checks on a pre-printed laser check form. Your checkform template must correspond to the number of checks per page. Refer to Form Setup options.
Automatically print liability checks
Selecting this option will bring up the Print Liability Checks dialogue when you quit the payroll program. It allows you to print your liability checks. For details, refer to Printing liability checks.
You can print your checks on blank check stock using this optional MICR (magnetic ink character recognition) check printing feature. Just insert blank check stock and the MICR toner cartridge into your laser printer and print your checks complete with the MICR line at the bottom of the check. You no longer need separate check stock for each checking account.
When the checkbox is marked, the MICR Setup button is available. Please note that you will be prompted for the unlock code to proceed with the MICR setup. For information on purchasing the MICR kit, contact Aatrix Sales at (800) 426-0854. Instructions for setting up the MICR Check Printing feature are located in the Documentation folder on the CD-ROM.
Include commas in numbers over 999.99
Selecting this option will print commas in numbers larger than 999.99, making it easier to read large amounts. Keep in mind that government forms like the 941 and W2 require no commas in large numbers.
Reports Font
Use the pop-up to select the default printing font for reports.
Size
Use the pop-up to select the default printing font size for reports.
Printing to an Imagewriter
Select this option if you use the Imagewriter dot matrix printer. The program has a built-in mode it needs to switch to when printing to this type of printer.
Following is a description for each option in the Holidays preference window:
Mark the checkbox next to the holidays observed
The dates for the ten "fixed" holidays default in for the current year, but they can be edited in the text field to the right of the appropriate holiday. To un-assign a holiday, click the checkbox to the left of the holiday.
Create Additional Paid Holidays
To add any additional holidays that are not displayed in the Holiday preferences window, click this button. In the Additional Paid Holidays dialogue, enter the text to print on the checkstubs and reports, the date (MM/DD/YY) and how many hours to pay for the holiday. Additionally, mark the checkbox next to the holidays that you want to activate.
Click the OK button to save the additional holidays or click the Cancel button to return to the Holiday Preferences window.
Automatically assign holiday hours
Marking this checkbox will automatically assign and pay the holiday pay for the pay period in which the holiday occurs.
Auto assign to salaried employees only
Mark this checkbox to assign the holiday pay to only those employees who have been set up as salaried.
The Employees preferences window is designed to help you quickly set up your employees by having the information entered in this window default into each new employee's setup window. For example, if the majority of your employees are from the same city, start at the same basic pay scale, and/or have similar tax filing status, you can enter default information into this dialogue. This can be changed as needed from the Employees tab window to suit individual employees as needed.