Payroll_Items

Payroll Items

Payroll Items window displays a table of the payroll items you created during the installation process. To create additional payroll items, click the New button associated with the type of payroll item you want to create. To modify an existing payroll item, highlight the item and click the Edit Item button in the tool bar.

For better organization and display purposes, the Payroll Items window separates the payroll items into their specific categories:

• BLUE text is used for Income Items

• RED text is used for Deduction Items

• GREEN text is used for Employer Paid items.

Another useful feature of this window is that you can quickly view the detailed setup of your payroll items (e.g., Limit). You can turn on/off this detail by clicking the Hide/Show button. Click the Print Report button to print a detailed payroll items report for the employee or Settings option you have selected in the Employee list.

Once a payroll item is created, you can assign it to your employee files. For details, refer to Assigning payroll items to employees .

Creating payroll items

There are three different types of payroll items you can create: income, deductions, and employer paid contributions. Instructions for creating each type of payroll item are detailed in the following sections.

The payroll program uses the payroll items you create to track individual amounts on a paycheck and the year-to-date wage and tax amounts for each employee.

The names of the payroll items are used when printing your reports and employee paychecks. You can set up a payroll item at any time however, we recommend that before processing your first payroll, all the payroll items you need are set up and assigned to the appropriate employees.

Income

Several income items are already created in the payroll application: Regular Pay, Overtime, Double Overtime, Commission, and Bonus.

Extra income may include such things as travel reimbursement, different pay rates for performing different jobs, piecework, or any additional type of pay including vacation, sick, or holiday.

The number of extra income items you can assign to each employee file depends on which Aatrix payroll program you are using. Aatrix Paycheck, for example, is limited to two extra income items.

The next instruction set will guide you through the process of creating a new income item.

Creating a new income item

1. In the Payroll Items window, highlight Employee List Settings at the top of your Employee List.

2. Click the BLUE New button.

If the option called "Menu link to" in Program Preferences is set to anything other than None, and you have not yet imported your chart of accounts into the payroll program, an alert message will appear asking if you want to import your chart of accounts now. Click No if you don't want to import your chart of accounts now. You can import them later in the Send/Post Payroll window or the next time you create a new payroll item. Clicking Yes will display an Open dialogue where you can locate and select the chart of accounts file you need to import. Once imported, the account names will display in the Liability pop-up menu. (Note: If needed, refer to the User Guide of your accounting program for information on how to export your chart of accounts.)

3. In the Title text box, enter the name of the income item.

The title can be anything you want. It should be descriptive enough so you can distinguish it from others you set up because it will be used throughout the program (e.g., checkforms, reports).

4. From the Type pop-up menu, select the type of income item it is.

Salary

This type is used for any flat dollar amount to be paid to the employee. You might not call it salary, but this simply means any flat amount. Enter the flat amount into the Salary field.

Hourly

Use this type for an income item that is paid on an hourly basis.

Commission

Select this type if the income item is to be used for employees who earn their wages according to what or how much they sell. The amount entered represents the commission. This field corresponds to the commission field in the EZ Report Builder.

Bonus

The bonus type can be used to enter a bonus amount. This field corresponds to the bonus field in the EZ Report Builder.

Bonus pay can be taxed differently than regular income, so check with your state and federal laws for the current rates. If, after creating a bonus, you need to change its tax rate from the normal tax rate default, refer to Processing bonus checks .

Minimum Pay

This type is for employees who need to be paid a minimum amount each pay period. The amount you enter in the Amount field is the minimum amount the employee can be paid. If the employee does not make this much from their other sources of income, Minimum Pay will add in the difference. If the other income sources exceed the minimum pay, then this income item is not used.

Minimum Per Hour

This type is for those employees who get paid at least the minimum wage on a per hour basis. It is generally used by restaurant businesses. For example, if a waitress earns $2. 25 an hour and works 10 hours, and also receives $10 in tips, she would receive $32. 50. The program would calculate her hourly wage to be $3. 25, which is less than the minimum wage. The Minimum Per Hour feature would "kick in" so the employee would receive the minimum wage on a per hour basis.

Tips

This income type allows you to keep tipped wages separate from the other wages for FICA reporting purposes.

Differential

Differential is shifting your regular rate pay to a higher rate. The program offers four different differential types. Depending on which type you select determines the options for setting the differential rate.

Reimbursement

Use this income type for reimbursement payments (e.g., gas, travel, Medical Spending Account) that are not part of the employee's gross pay (i.e., non-taxable income that is a straight, flat amount).

Job Task

Select this type if the income item is related to a specific job that you will select from the Default Job pop-up menu.

Per Unit/Other

This type is used for any amount that is to be paid on a variable basis where you will enter a number during payroll which will stand for number of pieces, number of feet, the number of something completed.

The number entered during payroll will be multiplied by the fixed amount you enter for this extra income item (which can be personalized for each employee, once assigned). The fixed amount you enter (or after the extra income is on the assigned side) is multiplied by the variable amount entered during payroll. Enter hourly rates (e.g., 4. 50), piecework rates, or other rates in this field. This field can be used for all types of hourly rates including overtime or double overtime.

In Payroll Preferences, you can name the third "per item" extra income to fit your needs.

Vacation, Holiday, Personal Pay, Sick Pay

Select the appropriate type for the income item(s) you are creating. For detailed information, refer to Setting up paid time off (PTO) items .

Reimbursement per unit

Use this to set reimbursements based on units, such as mileage, which are not part of the employee's gross pay.

5. From the Income Settings pop-up menu, select the appropriate option.

Regular

Select this option if the income item is an hourly or salary rate and then enter the appropriate amount.

Tips

Select this option if you need to enter a straight dollar tip amount.

Look-Up Table

Select this option if you want to link this extra income item to a table. When selected, another pop-up menu appears allowing you to select the appropriate table for this income item.

You must first set up a look-up table for this option to work.

Deduct after

Use Regular Pay Rate. This will assign the regular pay rate paid to the employee to the income item being created.

This method can be used for an income item that is added into the gross pay for tax purposes, then taken out after the deductions have been figured. The most common use for this method is tips, which are added to the gross for taxes, but not added to the net pay because the employee has already received their tip income.

6. If applicable, from the Default Job pop-up menu, select the job you want assigned to this income item.

For details, refer to Job costing overview .

You can create jobs on the fly by selecting the Edit Job List command in the Default Job pop-up menu.

7. If you've already imported your chart of accounts, you can link this income item now, or later in the Send/Post Payroll window.

If you prefer to designate the link now, select the account that this income item should be linked to from the Expense pop-up menu.

8. Click the OK button when you have finished setting up this income item.

The income item will appear in the Income portion of the Payroll Items window.

9. Assign this income item to applicable employees.

If needed, see Assigning payroll items to employees .

Once the income item has been assigned to all applicable employees, you can personalize it for individual employees, if needed. Refer to Editing payroll items .

Setting up paid time off (PTO) items

Setting up your payroll program to calculate special paid time off, or PTO, items such as vacation, holiday, personal, and/or sick pay is a two step process. This includes:

• Setting up income items for your vacation, holiday, personal, and/or sick pay and assigning them to all applicable employees.

• Setting up the calculation method of the vacation, holiday, personal, and/or sick pay for each employee. Please see Paid Time Off tab window for information on how to set up the calculation methods in the Human Resources window.

Step One - Creating a PTO payroll item

1. In the Payroll Items window, highlight the Employee List Settings at the top of your Employee List.

2. Click the BLUE New button.

3. In the New Income window Title field, enter a name for the vacation, personal, sick, or holiday item.

4. From the Type pop-up menu, select the appropriate type (Vacation, Sick, Holiday, Personal).

For the Income Settings, use Regular Pay Rate from the pop-up menu and then click ok. This will assign each employee their Regular Rate to the income item.

6. Click the OK button.

The item will appear in the Income portion of the Payroll Items window.

7. Assign this income item to those employees it applies to. If needed, refer to Assigning payroll items to employees .

Step Two - Setting the PTO calculations

1. In the Human Resources window, click the Paid Time Off tab.

2. Highlight the New Employee settings option in the Employee List to set this up for all new employees or you can highlight a specific employee.

3. Set up the vacation time calculations that apply to all or most of your employees.

For an explanation of the available options see Setting up vacation, sick, holiday and personal time pay on page 3-27.

4. To set up your Holiday pay, mark the Include holiday time checkbox and select the income item from the pop-up.

5. Click the Options button to open the Holidays Preferences window

Assign and /or create additional holidays as needed.

6. In the dialogue box that displays, enter the text to print on the check stubs 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.

7. 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 that the holiday

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.

If you need to include personal time and/or sick pay in your payroll, complete the same steps changing the options as needed.

8. Click the Save button when finished assigning Paid Time Off.

9. Click the Done button to return to the Payroll Navigator window to select the Payroll Items application to continue working creating or modifying Payroll Items.

Deductions

Deductions are anything that must be withheld from an employee's gross pay. They include the basics such as federal and state tax, Social Security, and Medicare as well as retirement funds like a 401K, KEOGH, or IRA. They also include such things as health insurance, union dues and anything else that you as the employer need to withhold from an employee's gross pay. Depending on the type of deduction you are creating, it can be set up so it is deducted before taxes, after taxes, or sheltered from specific payroll items that you designate.

The following instruction set will guide you through the process of creating a new deduction.

Creating a new deduction

1. In the Payroll Items window, highlight the Employee List Settings at the top of your Employee List.

2. Click the RED New button.

If the option called "Menu link to" in Program Preferences is set to anything other than None, and you have not yet imported your chart of accounts into the payroll program, a dialogue will appear asking if you want to import your chart of accounts now. Click No if you don't want to import your chart of accounts now. You can import them later in the Send/Post Payroll window or the next time you create a new payroll item. Clicking Yes will spawn an Open dialog where you can import your chart of accounts file. Once imported, the account names will display in the Liability pop-up menu. (Note: If needed, refer to the User Guide of your accounting program for information on how to export your chart of accounts.)

3. In the Title text box, enter the name of the deduction.

The title can be anything you want. It should be descriptive enough so you can distinguish it from others you set up because it will be used throughout the program (e.g., checkforms, reports).

4. From the Type pop-up menu, select the type of deduction it is.

Federal Income Tax

This type should only be used for the Federal income tax deduction.

Social Security

This type should only be used for the Social Security deduction.

Medicare

This type should only be used for the Medicare deduction.

State Income Tax

This type should only be used for a State withholding deduction. Select it for each state deduction you set up.

Local Income Tax

This type should only be used for a Local withholding deduction. Select it for each local deduction you set up.

Miscellaneous Deduction

Select this type for any miscellaneous deduction you create for your employees such as coffee fund, uniform maintenance, union dues, cash deductions, etc.

Pension

This type is for a pension plan your company may be contributing to. Generally, Federal, State, and Local deductions are exempt from pensions.

Disability

Select this type for each disability deduction (e.g., SDI) you create.

Training

Select this type for each training deduction you create.

Garnishment

Select this type for any sort of general garnishment, such as unpaid debt.

Child Support

Select this type for each child support deduction you create.

Flexible Spending Account

This type is to be used for the Medical and/or Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) of a Cafeteria Plan.

Special Groups

These deductions are the same as Miscellaneous deductions. The program allows three different ways to group your miscellaneous deductions. Each group of deductions can then be sheltered from other deductions, such as tax deductions.

Insurance

Can be set up as a deduction from the paycheck for the employee's portion.

Please check with your accountant to see if your insurance deductions are exempt from federal and state taxes.