Use the Payroll Check Entry window for all paycheck data entry in Payroll CS. You can use this window to enter payroll checks manually and use the batch processing feature that creates checks for salaried employees automatically, using information already stored in the employee records. The monthly, quarterly, and year-to-date amounts in each employee record are updated automatically when a paycheck is printed or marked as handwritten.
Click here for additional information regarding automatic generation of vendor agent checks.
Choose Payroll Check Entry from the Tasks menu. If more than one payroll checkbook has been defined for this client, the application will prompt you to choose the checkbook you want to use so that the payroll journal entry will be made to the correct cash account.
Notes
- When the calculation profile for payroll check entry is single frequency and an employee has pay items with differing frequencies (other than Non-periodic), that employee will not display in the Employee drop-down list.
- If the frequency specified for a particular pay item does not match the frequency specified in the selected calculation profile, that pay item will not display in the Payroll items grid during payroll check entry.
- If any fields are disabled, you can enable them from the Payroll Check Entry > Data Entry Options dialog.
Special information
- To record a handwritten check: Enter both the Check date and the Check number. When you click the Enter button to accept the handwritten check, the application records a journal entry, automatically updates the earnings history in the employee record, and (if applicable) generates the vendor agent check(s).
Notes
- If you leave one or more of the date fields blank, the application will prompt you to enter them when you print the check.
- After a check has been recorded, a change to the period end date or to the check date will trigger an automatic recalculation of the check amounts.
- When the Payroll Check Entry dialog is active, several special commands are available from the Edit menu and from the right-click context menu:
Fields & buttons
Enter the employee's ID number or name in this field, or select it from the drop-down list. Payroll CS completes the actual check calculation (based on the currently selected calculation profile) when you move the cursor to the next field.
Notes
- The drop-down list for this field includes all employees whose Inactive date (on the Personal/W-2 tab of the Employee record) is blank and whose pay items match the frequency criteria specified in the currently selected calculation profile.
- If you wish, you may sort by employee name (rather than employee ID) during payroll check entry. Choose the Sort by Employee Name checkbox in the Data Entry Options dialog (which is accessible from the Edit menu when the Payroll Check Entry dialog is active). The current option setting is saved and restored each time that you return to this data entry dialog.
- To designate the profile you wish to use as your default calculation profile during payroll check entry, use the Setup > Calculation Profiles dialog. To specify a different (non-default) calculation profile during any data-entry session in the Payroll Check Entry window, choose Options from the F3 or right-click context menu.
Displays the net pay amount for the current payroll check and reflects the sum of the net pay amounts for all of the employee's departments.
Displays the total number of hours reflected on this paycheck and includes regular, overtime, and double-time hours for all of the employee's departments.
You can enter (but are not required to enter) the following dates for this payroll check:
- Period beginning date
- Period end date
- Check date
Any date you enter will repeat automatically for subsequent checks during the current data-entry session but may be overridden at any time until the check is printed. If one of these fields is disabled, you can enable it from the Payroll Check Entry > Data Entry Options dialog.
You can enter (but are not required to enter) the following dates for this payroll check:
- Period beginning date
- Period end date
- Check date
Any date you enter will repeat automatically for subsequent checks during the current data-entry session but may be overridden at any time until the check is printed. If one of these fields is disabled, you can enable it from the Payroll Check Entry > Data Entry Options dialog.
You can enter (but are not required to enter) the following dates for this payroll check:
- Period beginning date
- Period end date
- Check date
Any date you enter will repeat automatically for subsequent checks during the current data-entry session but may be overridden at any time until the check is printed. If one of these fields is disabled, you can enable it from the Payroll Check Entry > Data Entry Options dialog.
Unprinted check: Leave this field blank. The check number will be entered when you print the check.
Handwritten check: Enter both the Check date and the Check number. When you click the Enter button to accept the handwritten check, the application records a journal entry, automatically updates the employee record, and (if applicable) generates the vendor agent check(s).
Enter the employee's dollar amount of sales associated with the selected department for the pay period(s) reflected on this payroll check. The application uses this amount to calculate commissions and tips that are based on a percentage of sales.
Note: The percentage used in the commission or tip calculation is determined by information entered for this employee in Pay Item Properties dialog, which is accessible from the Setup > Employees window.
Units are most often used for SUTA forms to track credit weeks or weeks worked (one week worked = one unit). If you don't need to track weeks, units could also represent hours worked for those clients who have salaried employees but still need to report hours for SUTA forms.
You may enter the employee's number of work week units within the selected department for the pay period(s) reflected on this payroll check. The number you enter should be based on the same wage type and pay frequency specified for this employee and this pay item on the Pay Item Properties dialog, which is accessible from the Setup > Employees window.
A period represents the number of payrolls covered by a particular payroll check. As such, periods affect the calculation of a check.
Enter the number of periods reflected on this payroll check for the selected department. This field automatically defaults to 1, but can be higher (for instance, if you include vacation pay in a regular paycheck).
This number you enter governs how the application calculates withholdings. The more closely this figure matches the actual pay period that the paycheck covers, the more accurate the withholdings will be.
Note: If you enter a number larger than 1 in this field, be sure to adjust the units amount as well. (That is, two pay periods cover twice as many units as one pay period, three pay periods cover three times as many, and so on.)
Payroll items grid
Information in the Payroll Items grid is displayed by department.
For an employee associated with multiple departments, the home department is listed first, followed by the other departments in alphabetical order.
Selects the employee's home department.
Selects the employee's previous department.
Selects the employee's next department.
Displays the total values for this payroll check across all of the employee's departments.
When you have finished entering information for the current paycheck, click the Enter button to save the information and move to the next check record.
- If adding a new check, this will take you to a new (blank) record.
- If editing an existing check record, this will move you to the next check record on file.
To abandon the current check record without saving any changes, click the Cancel button.
- If adding a new check, this will clear all the fields and leave you on a new (blank) record.
- If editing an existing check record, this will cancel any changes but leave you on the current record.
This row displays the total amount of employer expenses
(FICA-SS, FICA-MED, FUTA, and SUTA) for a payroll check for the currently selected department or all departments (depending on which option is selected in the Department field).
If SUTA is listed as XX SUTA, more than one SUTA state is included, and the correlating amount is the total SUTA for the department(s).
Related topics
Recording handwritten checks
Procedures for handling third-party sick pay (PDF)