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Use the Accruable Benefits screen to set up a list of client-specific accruable benefits that can be selected for the client's employees.

Note that all accruals and available balances are based on the period end date for the payroll check.

Choose Setup > Accruable Benefits and click the Main tab.

Fields & buttons

All the following sections display for live payroll clients. For clients using after-the-fact payroll, only the Identification and the Exclusions sections are available.

Description. Enter a unique description for the accruable benefit.

Report description. If you enter a report description for this accruable benefit, it will display on reports and check stubs instead of the Description. If this field is left blank, Accounting CS will use the Description.

Method. From the drop-down list, select the method of accrual for the accruable benefit. The fields available for further specifying accrual information vary depending on your selection here.

  • Anniversary - The accrual is based on the employee's date of hire. This requires that you enter a hire date in the Personal tab of the Employees screen for all employees using this accruable benefit. Note that Accounting CS uses the system date to determine when to accrue the benefit.
  • Per Calendar Year - The accrual is based on the date you specify in the Date of accrual field. Accounting CS uses the system date to determine when to accrue the benefit.
  • Per Hour Worked - The accrual is based on hours that have been entered on payroll checks once they are printed. You can choose to include OT hours, DT hours, and used accruable benefit hours in the accrual hours by marking the appropriate checkbox(es).
  • Per Hourly Increment - The accrual takes place each time a specific hourly increment is posted over the course of multiple checks for the employee. Specify that increment in the Hourly increment field. You can choose to include OT hours, DT hours, and used accruable benefit hours in the accrual hours by marking the appropriate checkbox(es).

    Note: This method can be used to handle state-mandated minimum sick pay regulations in California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Washington, and states with similar requirements.

  • Per Month - The accrual takes place once a month, based on the day selected in the Day of accrual field. If you enter day 31, Accounting CS treats that as an end of month option. If the month does not have 31 days, the accrual will happen on the 30th (April, June, September, November) or the 28th/29th (February).
  • Per Paycheck - The accrual takes place each time a payroll check is created.
  • Per Quarter - The accrual takes place once per quarter, based on the Date of accrual selected for the first quarter. Accounting CS uses the date selected for the first quarter to fill out the details for each following quarter. Accounting CS uses the system date to determine when to accrue the benefit.

Hourly allowance. Enter the hourly allowance for this accruable benefit. You can select a fixed amount accrual or you can choose to use a graduated table.

  • Fixed - If you choose this option, you can enter that fixed rate in the field next to the option. The amount you enter here will be the default accrual amount when this accruable benefit item is selected on an employee. However, the accrual amount can still be overridden at the employee level.
  • Graduated - If you choose this option, the Table button becomes available. Clicking the Table button opens the Accruable Benefit Item Settings dialog, where you can set up a table based on the number of days, weeks, months, or years of service an employee has. Here you can enter the allowance, limits, and maximum carryover amount associated with each level. For more information see Setting up a graduated table for accruable benefit items.

    Note: The graduated table is based on the employee's hire date. If no hire date is entered for the employee, the accruable benefit item will always use the first allowance level.

Use the fields in this section to specify when the application should begin to accrue hours for the benefit item for the employee and when the employee can start to use the accrued benefit item hours.

Note: Setting up accrual and use delays here for the accruable benefit does not activate the benefit on any employee records automatically. It will apply the appropriate delays to employees for whom the accrual benefit has been activated in the Accruable Benefits tab of the Setup > Employees screen.

  • Delay benefit accrual until X days/weeks/months after employee's hire date. Use these fields to specify a period of delay that requires the employee to be employed for a specified number of days, months, or weeks before they are eligible to accrue benefit hours. For example, if you specify 90 Days in the fields, the application will begin accruing benefit hours for that employee 90 days after their hire date. For employees that are set up with check-based benefit accruals (Per paycheck, Per hour worked, or Per hourly increment), benefit hours will not start to accrue on payroll checks unless the period end date for the check is at least 90 days after the employee's hire date.
  • Delay accrued hours availability until X days/weeks/months after employee's hire date. Use these fields to specify a period of delay that requires the employee to be employed for a specified number of days, months, or weeks before they are eligible to use the benefit hours they have accrued.  If someone entering time uses the accrued benefit hours for the employee before the specified time, the application provides a prompt informing them that the employee is not yet eligible to use the hours, but will allow them to continue if they choose to.

Note: If the accruable benefit item is using a graduated table, the limit fields in this section are unavailable and display the words (See Table).

Available limit. This limit represents the maximum number of hours that an employee can have available to use at a given time. The application calculates the available hours for the item based on the beginning balance, plus or minus adjustments, plus the number of hours accrued, minus the number of hours used. When the employee accrues the amount entered in this field, the accruable benefit will stop accruing until some accrued hours have been used by the employee and entered in a printed or handwritten payroll check. This field is available for all accruable benefit items and displays a 0.0000 limit (no limit) by default.

Annual limit. This limit represents the maximum number of hours that an employee may accrue in a particular benefit year , regardless of the beginning balance, adjustments, or the number of hours used. When the employee accrues the amount entered in this field, the accruable benefit stops accruing until the following benefit year. This field is available for all accruable benefit items and displays a 0.0000 limit (no limit) by default. 

Per check limit. This field is available only if the Per hour worked or Per hourly increment accrual method is being used for this accruable benefit item. The amount entered here is a per paycheck limit on the number of hours that can be accrued for this accruable benefit.

Per month limit. This field is available only if the Per hour worked or Per hourly increment accrual method is being used for this accruable benefit item. This is a per calendar month limit on the number of hours that can be accrued for this accruable benefit.

Annual limit. This limit represents the maximum number of hours that an employee may use in a particular benefit year. The field is available for all accruable benefit items and displays a 0.0000 limit (no limit) by default.

Per check limit. This limit represents the maximum number of hours that an employee may use per paycheck. The field is available for all accruable benefit items and displays a 0.0000 limit (no limit) by default.

Per month limit. This limit represents the maximum number of hours that an employee may use per month. The field is available for all accruable benefit items and displays a 0.0000 limit (no limit) by default.

The methods in this section determine when and if balances for the selected accruable benefit should be reset.

Anniversary. When this option is chosen, each year on the employee's anniversary date, the available amount should become the new beginning balance and the accrued hours and used hours should be reset to zero. The application uses the system date to determine when to reset the balance.

Never. When this option is chosen, the employee amounts for beginning balance, hours accrued, hours used, and hours available will continue to accumulate and never reset.

Per year. (Default) When this option is selected, you can then select a balance reset date. When that balance reset date is reached, the amount available for the specified accruable benefit item should become the new beginning balance and hours accrued and hours used fields should be set to zero. Accounting CS uses the system date to determine when to reset the balance.

Note: The definition of benefit year depends on the selection made in the Method field.

  • When the balance reset method is Anniversary, the benefit year begins on the employee's anniversary (based on their hire date).
  • When the balance reset method is Never, the benefit year has no beginning and no end. The benefit year represents the employee's entire time of service with the company.
  • When the balance reset method is Per Year, the benefit year begins on the calendar date specified in the Date fields in this section.

Reset beginning balances to zero. This checkbox is available for all reset methods other than Never. When this checkbox is marked, the beginning balance for the accruable benefit item will be set to zero instead of to the current available amount when balances are reset (with the exception of negative balances, which will remain as they are).

Carryover maximum. Use this field to enter a maximum number of hours to carry over when balances are reset. If an employee's current available hours are fewer than the carryover maximum, that amount will become the beginning balance. If the employee's current available hours are greater than the carryover maximum, the new beginning balance will be the amount entered in this field.

Notes

  • This field is available for all reset methods other than Never and only when the Reset beginning balances to zero checkbox is unmarked. If the accruable benefit item is using the graduated table allowance type, this field will be unavailable and display the words (See Table).
  • If you enter 0.00 as the carryover maximum because there is no carryover maximum, the application carries over the full number of available hours. If you actually want to carry over 0.00 hours, mark the Reset beginning balances to zero checkbox, which disables the Carryover maximum field.

If pay period spans multiple benefit years. You can choose to apply benefit hours used either to the new benefit year or to the prior benefit year if the pay period spans multiple benefit years. For example, if a two-week pay period includes dates in both December 2018 and January 2019, the option you choose here will determine if the benefit hours used amount will be applied to the employees' 2018 or 2019 totals.

In this section, you can specify if an accruable benefit should be excluded from Workers' Compensation calculations for all jurisdictions, no jurisdictions, or selected jurisdictions. If you choose the Selected option, you can click the Ellipsis button to open the Workers' Compensation Exclusion Details dialog, where you can mark the checkboxes for the jurisdictions to select.

Note: Some jurisdictions may be marked by default.

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