Business Assistant/Business Assistant.iso/acctg/payr222/emp_updt.stx

Text File | 1990-03-05 | 17.0 KB | 280 lines

Screenfile EMP_UPDT.SCN Screen# 01

You will only see this screen if you have employees on file who are paid at
different frequencies, example if the managers are paid monthly but the office
staff are paid every 2 weeks.  If it appears it will be at the start of the
employee update program, the same message will also appear at the very start of
the pay cycle program.  The message on the screen describes its purpose. Be
sure you understand that if you select only one group of employees then that is
all that will be processed - if you try to find an employee from a different
group he will appear to be not on file even if he is.  If you need to process
more than one group of people select all the ones you need.

Screenfile EMP_UPDT.SCN Screen# 02

This is the main menu of PAYUSEDT.EXE - the program which maintains your
employee database (file PAYUSA.DTA).   This program can either be run on its
own (not recommended) or run from the PAYUSA.EXE MAIN MENU (strongly
recommended).   If run from PAYUSA.EXE then Esc will return you to that program
else Esc will return you to DOS.  Toggling F4 will prevent accidental
alterations if you just want to look at the employees without making changes.

Screenfile EMP_UPDT.SCN Screen# 03

The user has selected to update an employee, and this window pops up to ask how
the employee is to be located in the file.  Salaried people may not need
updates from one pay to the next, but hourly paid will need hours entering each
pay so the default choice F4 will pull all of those people up one after the
other to make the task easier.  With the F4 choice, Employees will appear in
alphabetical order of surname then firstname - if time sheets or cards are used
it would be faster if they are kept in the same sequence.

Screenfile EMP_UPDT.SCN Screen# 04

Possible matches appear in this window and the user can either accept the match
(by just pressing Enter) or go on to the next possibility (by pressing Ctrl Y),
or end the search (by pressing Esc).  The key to the employee file is the
Social Security Number plus the Employee Number and the combination must be
unique.  We made it both in case an employee is re-hired and you wanted to set
up a new record (same SSN but different Empl. No.).  Empl. No. is optional.
Because they are key information, once entered SSN and Empl. No. cannot be
altered from these employee update screens, but they can be changed by a utilty
program available from the Configuration and Utility sub menu of the Main
PAYROLL USA menu.

Screenfile EMP_UPDT.SCN Screen# 05

Having selected an employee the user is asked where to start looking at the
records.  The usual choice would be F6 to just update current hours, but we
will take F1 and go through the whole record. When first adding a new employee
you must complete one screen at a time and cannot go back to earlier screens
until all screens are entered (as we do not want a partial employee record on
file). However, in the update mode you can skip around from one screen to the
next in any sequence. Pressing PgUp will go to the previous screen, PgDn will
go to the next screen.  For longer jumps instead of paging through all screens,
press Home to return to this screen select menu then choose the screen you want
directly. When you are finished with the employee record press End or Esc from
any employee information screen.

Screenfile EMP_UPDT.SCN Screen# 06

The start of the basic employee information.  The bright bar next to PREV EMPL
NUM is the cursor (shown as a row of underline characters __________ if these
screens are printed out ). The format of the employee number is your choice -
numbers and alpha characters can be mixed - you allocate the number. PREV EMPL
NUM is one field that is not used by PAYROLL USA but is provided in case you
re-hire a terminated employee using a different employee number and want to
remind yourself where previous records might be filed. There are several
screens of basic information - PAYROLL USA stores more information than might
be strictly needed for payroll so that you have it all easily available in one
place. Each item of information is called a "field" in computer jargon.

Screenfile EMP_UPDT.SCN Screen# 07

Some fields are optional and PAYROLL USA does not care if they are completed or
not as it does not use them, but some fields are essential and these are
checked as the cursor passes over them.  If the cursor will pass over an empty
field without complaining then it is an optional field. If it is an essential
field and the value in it is blank or in error then a window pops up with a
reason for the error, or a cursor selectable choice of valid values. Example
EMPLOYEE STATUS has been left blank and when Enter is pressed with the cursor
on that field the above window pops up.  Simply select the value you need from
the choices offered and it will be filled in for you.  This is particularly
useful when setting up a new employee - you do not need a coding manual or desk
ready reference card as the program shows the valid codes.

Screenfile EMP_UPDT.SCN Screen# 08

The above screen is a continuation of the employee basic information.  Fields
that are meaningless to your operation (e.g. SALARY TERRITORY / SALARY LEVEL /
SALARY PERFORMANCE are meaningless if you don't use a structured salary
grade/step table) can be left empty.  Until you get used to PAYROLL USA you
might want to move the cursor from field to field by pressing Enter when first
setting up the basic information and tax information screens for new employees
so that all the fields can be checked.  The up arrow and the down arrow can be
used to move the cursor up or down a line at a time for speed, but not all
fields will be checked if you do that (it should not be necessary to re-check
them once entered unless they are being changed).

If OVERTIME PERMITTED is set FALSE an employee will not be paid for overtime
even if overtime hours are inadvertantly entered.  Example a manager might not
be eligible for overtime as his salary and bonus might be considered enough to
justify extra effort when needed.

If VACATION ACCRUAL P'CENT is greater than 0.00 then a percentage ADDITIONAL to
each pay will be set aside in a vacation accrual field.  This accrual will also
appear in your journal entries so that you know what liability you have to pay
for vacations the employee's are entitled to. If the employee is entitled to a
paid vacation then this additional percentage is actually the employee's money
over and above his regular pay - it has to be set to one side and taxed when
paid out. The percentage to use depends on the employee's annual vacation
entitlement.  In essence the weeks he is working have to contribute to the
weeks he is on vacation so the most accurate formula would be (weeks vacation x
100) divided by (52 - weeks vacation). This equates to: 2 weeks = 4.00%, 3
weeks = 6.12%, 4 weeks = 8.33%, 5 weeks = 10.64%, 6 weeks = 13.04% .  You can
easily adapt this formula to some other way of doing vacation, example if it is
based on days and there are assumed to be 52 x 5 = 260 working days in a year
then use (days vacation x 100) divided by (260 - days vacation).  Vacation
accrual is automatically reduced by the dollar value of any vacation hours
entered on the current hours screen.  If vacation hours will produce more
vacation pay than is in the accrual you will be warned but the operation is
permitted as you may be intentionally giving the employee vacation time that he
has not yet earned.  In these circumstances there will be a negative vacation
accrual balance and it will automatically return to a positive amount as the
vacation time is later earned back. The types of pay that are included in the
accrual calculation can be set from the Configuration program.

The current hours screen also has a PAY ALL VACN. ACCRL. field to set automatic
pay out of all accumulated vacation accrual (example when an employee
terminates, or if he wants to take the maximum vacation pay). In some trades
where employees may not be around for a long period (example construction) it
is customary to pay vacation with each pay check rather than accumulate it for
time off and this can also be handled by leaving PAY ALL VACN. ACCRL. set true
for every pay.

The next two fields, VACATION ALLOW and VACATION TAKEN, are not used by PAYROLL
USA. They are a place for you to keep notes to yourself if you wish to.

SICK ACCRUAL P'CENT works exactly the same as vacation. Both are optional,
leave them set to 0.00 if you do not wish to use these features.

Screenfile EMP_UPDT.SCN Screen# 09

This screen is where each individual employees Federal, State, and Local (if
any) tax information is kept.  If no local taxes apply then set Exempt Local
Tax to true. The EIC W5 fields are for employees who wish to claim Advance
Earned Income Credit. Whatever is in the W2 Box 16 fields on the input to the
last pay cycle of the year will be printed in that area of the W2 - leave it
empty if nothing is required to be printed in W2 Box 16. MEDICARE QUALIFIED FED
EMPL should be left set FALSE unless you are a Federal, State, or Local
Government organisation entitled to pay only the hospital insurance tax portion
of FICA / Social Security. The NUM OF ADDL. STATE EXEMPTIONS field is used only
in State taxes calculated by the California method. Leave it set to 0 for other
States. The VOL FED (or State) ADDTNL WHOLDG fields are used when an employee
wishes to pay more income tax than normal (example, he owes the IRS from last
year, or he just likes to use the IRS as a savings bank even though he gets no
interest on his money) - enter the extra amount per pay.

Screenfile EMP_UPDT.SCN Screen# 10

Now that the IRS are collecting more information on the W-2 form and employee
benefit plans are becoming more popular we have added this additional tax set
up screen for those purposes (Vers. 2.0 and up of PAYROLL USA).  It will be
defaulted and can be left set at the FALSE / 0.00 defaults if you do not need
these items.

Screenfile EMP_UPDT.SCN Screen# 11

We have provided a mini word processor and one screen per employee of free form
textual comments.  You can put whatever you want in this screen.  F1 will
display editor help, as with the entry of fields, and F2 will justify text.
Word wrap is automatic at end of line so use Enter only at end of paragraphs or
where you want to force a permanent line break.  On the above example Enter is
marked by a triangle on its side (or < on the print out).

Screenfile EMP_UPDT.SCN Screen# 12

You can see an employee's YTD position at any time.  If starting PAYROLL USA
mid year then you must also enter the YTD from your existing system on these
screens. You must start the YTD entry from this first YTD screen. You are given
that option until the first pay cycle has been run for that particular
employee. After that the YTD screens are locked (become read only) to preserve
system integrity. Your auditor or accountant will prefer it that way. They can
only be unlocked again by calling Anthistle Systems and explaining to them why
you need to do so.  YTD screens are automatically updated by the pay cycle.

Screenfile EMP_UPDT.SCN Screen# 13

More on the YTD.  If you remember from the presentation on the Configuration
program PAYUSCNF.EXE we provided specific lines for most popular items, than
added "Other" categories for pay items, fringe benefits, deductions, and
expense reimbursements. You can customize what prompt is displayed instead of
"Other" from the Configuration Menu. In this example DEDUCT OTHER 1 has been
changed to read CALIFORNIA S.D.I. and the automatic calculation facility that
can be used for "DEDUCT OTHER" items has been turned on (also from the
Configuration) so SDI is automatically calculated. Normally Tips are paid
outside of the payroll system, but they are taxable - the fringe benefit item
TIPS (for reported tips) will increase taxable pay without increasing the pay
check and will also result in a seperate FICA entry for them on the 941 report.

Screenfile EMP_UPDT.SCN Screen# 14

The final YTD screen. The NON TAX REIMBURSE items between NET PAY and ISSUE
CHECK  FOR are optional to simplify employee expenses rather than issuing an
Accounts Check.  In this example NON TAX REIMBURSE 1 has been changed to read
ENTERTAINMENT EXPN. and NON TAX REIMBURSE 2 has been changed to read BUSINESS
GAS/OIL EX - you can use whatever is appropriate for you. ALLOCATED TIPS are to
provide a W-2 record of additional tips assigned to employees whose reported
tips are below the IRS requirements, NO Tax or FICA is withheld on these tip
allocations but the pay check will be increased by this amount unless you put
an offsetting deduction on the previous screen (use one of the DEDUCT OTHER
lines).  The Government items on the right hand side of the screen MUST be
completed when transferring YTD part way through a year.

Screenfile EMP_UPDT.SCN Screen# 15

This is the start of the current pay screens.  Same as equivalent YTD screens
except you can always enter or change information.  Note we gave you several
methods of categorising pay for accounting/statistical purposes - GL Account,
Branch, Department, Project being worked on.  These can be left empty if not
needed, though GL/Branch/Dept/Project combined are the key for sub totals on
the Payroll Register and Journal reports which can be printed after the Pay
Cycle. P.P.EXCEPTION can be used to vary tax on special pays where the earnings
represent more or less than a normal pay period, example weekly paid employee
takes 3 weeks vacation (paid in advance) and collects 4 weeks pay in one check.
To avoid this being taxed as one week's pay set P.P.EXCEPTION to the number of
days pay this represents (in this case 20 days).

Screenfile EMP_UPDT.SCN Screen# 16

When using these screens note that the cursor will not go to fields that do not
need an entry (e.g. Salary/Wages/Taxes when previous screen indicates that the
computer is to calculate them). If on the previous screen either or both of
COMPUTER CALC PAY or COMPUTER CALC TAX are set FALSE the cursor will go to the
locked fields (for special entries or after the fact payroll). Pressing F8 will
calculate the pay and taxes and put them on the screen so you can see what they
will come to, and make changes if required.  F8 can be pressed repeatedly to
recalculate.  It is a convenience feature only.  It is NOT necessary to press
F8 to pay an employee.  Note that F8 only pre-calculates current pay and taxes
- it does not update YTD, print checks , or anything else. Note that the ANNUAL
BONUS line gives special tax treatment to infrequent big payments.

Screenfile EMP_UPDT.SCN Screen# 17

The last of the current pay screens.  See the equivalent year to date screen
(Y.T.D. PAGE 3 OF 3) for notes on expense reimbursements and tips.  (Also for
tips see the notes on the prior YTD screen (Y.T.D. PAGE 2 OF 3)).  All pay and
taxes are normally calculated for you, but if, and only if, on the current
hours screen, COMPUTER CALC TAX is set FALSE (for special entries or after the
fact payroll) then the figures on the right side of the above screen MUST be
manually calculated and entered else Government reports will be incorrect. Use
the above screen as an example. At 1990 rates FUTA LIAB is FUTA WAGE times
6.2%, FUTA STATE CREDIT AVAIL is FUTA WAGE times 5.4%, AMT SOC SEC ON WAGES is
TXBLE 941 SOC SEC WAGES times 15.3% (includes both employer and employee
contributions). SUTA LIAB is calculated at your individual rate. There are
annual maximum (cut off) wages's for all these calculations. (1990 $7,000 for
FUTA and most SUTA, $51,300 for SOC SEC).

Screenfile EMP_UPDT.SCN Screen# 18

The final employee screen is an overview of what has been done in the last 10
pay cycles, and in this and previous Quarters.  It is read only, updated
automatically in the pay cycle.  Unlike the YTD screens there is no provision
to transfer these figures when first starting to use PAYROLL USA part way
through a year. This is because these figures are not needed for current
calculations or for W-2's. When the screen is full then the oldest entry is
dropped from the bottom of the screen as the latest entry is inserted at the
top. These figures are also the basis for the Quarterly State Unemployment
Report which is part of the Government Reports available only to Registered
Users.

Screenfile EMP_UPDT.SCN Screen# 19

This screen is reached by pressing "F4 Documentation, Registration Info." from
the main menu of the PAYUSEDT.EXE employee update program.  The same screen is
available from other programs and is in the PRINTDOC.EXE program.  The files
referred to can be selected for display on the screen or for printing out at
your option. The screen display of selected files is quite sophisticated
allowing you to view one screenful at a time and to page up and down in the
file and to jump to the start or end of the file.