This chapter discusses correcting common operator errors. These include keying incorrect values, entering correct values in the wrong place, forgetting to record raises, and improper employee or client setup. Errors almost always happen at the wrong time. It is helpful to analyze the error to decide the best corrective action. Some really massive errors, such as paying everyone on the wrong date, or forgetting across-the-board raises, can take a very long time to undo using the procedures in this section. Such massive errors are best corrected by restoring the payroll to its condition prior to the error, and redoing the job.
In this chapter you will learn:
• How to correct errors while a job is open
• How to change entries after a job has been closed
• How to correct an employee's rate
• How to remove an employee who shouldn't have been paid
• How to correct improper recording of §125 cafeteria plans
• How to correct errors in recording deferred compensation plans
• How to reprint a single check
• How to cancel one or several checks
• How to make adjustments to payroll
• How to erase a whole year's payroll
• How to pay an employee you forgot
This topic in the Maintaining the Employee Master File section is also useful. “How to remove an employee’s YTD earnings” on page 36.
Correcting errors while a job is open
A payroll job is open until you tell CCIS Payroll to start a new job. If the job containing the error is not available, please see Correcting errors after a job has been closed to make corrections.
Many errors in Calculate Pay are discovered while the employee is still displayed on the screen. To correct an error while the employee is still on the screen, navigate to the place you want to change.
Make the change and select Compute. CCIS Payroll will compute the taxes again (if appropriate) and wait. If everything is OK, choose the Post.
Other errors are caught during a desk review after the checks and registers have been printed.
Here's how to correct those errors. You are working with the Payroll Recording Window.
1. Destroy the registers and any bad checks.
2. Select the Calculations link if necessary to get to the Calculate Pay menu.
3. Select Continue this job.
4. Select the Back button until the employee you want is on screen.
The next step completely removes the posting!
5. Select the Edit button. (Confirm if asked).
6. Make the necessary corrections.
7. Select the Compute button.
8. Carefully check the window.
9. Select Post to post, or make other corrections.
10. Reprint the checks and registers.
Correcting errors after a job has been closed
This section describes correcting entries that change the employee's Net Pay after the job has been closed and is therefore no longer available. (Please see Payroll jobs). If you need to correct an error that does not affect the Net Pay, please go to the section called Adjusting payroll.
Each payroll recording function has a direct opposite.
• Cancel Check is the opposite of Import, Automatic and Time Entry.
• Cancel Check is the opposite of After the Fact.
• After the Fact is the opposite of Cancel Check.
To correct an error discovered after the job has been closed; first, use the opposite function to reverse the incorrect posting. Then, use the original function to record the correct values.
For example, you record after the fact payroll. Checking the totals for the quarter, you discover a mistake occurred two months ago. To correct the mistake, you find the Current Payroll Register for that posting. You then use Cancel Check (the opposite of After the Fact) to reverse the erroneous posting, and After the Fact to re-post the correct amounts.
To use Cancel check:
1. Locate the Current Payroll Register for the job with the incorrect entries.
2. Choose the Calculations link 3. Select Close this Job.
4. Select Start a new Job.
5. Choose Cancel Check
6. Set the payroll recording dates to those on the Current Payroll Register.
7. Set the hash totals (optional).
8. On the Payroll Recording Window. Select the New button.
9. Retrieve the employee.
10. Enter the Check Number (optional).
11. Record the time and earnings using a minus sign in front of the number as in -1234.56 12. Record the withholdings using a minus sign in front of the number as in -1234.56.
13. Record any deductions using a minus sign in front of the number as in -1234.56.
14. Select Compute and review the information on the window.
15. If you didn’t want to pay this employee, select New.
16. If it is correct, choose Post to accept. The employee’s records are updated. If it is incorrect navigate to and change the error, and select Compute again.
17. Repeat as needed. Select Stop to end.
18. Print the registers.
Correcting an employee's pay rate after issuing a check
Read this section to learn how to correct a check for someone who received the wrong pay because you forgot to record a raise.
This procedure requires the job to still be open. If the job is not available, use the procedures in Correcting errors after a job has been closed to remove this pay from the employee's records. Then, use Time Entry to pay only this employee.
1. Follow these steps to remove the bad check, change the rate, redo the pay for the employee and issue the check.
2. Destroy the registers and the bad check.
3. Select the Calculations link if necessary to get to the Calculate Pay menu.
4. Select Continue this job.
5. Select the Back arrow until this employee appears.
6. The next step completely removes the incorrect posting!
7. Choose the Edit button.
8. Move to the Rate column beside the incorrect rate and change the rate.
9. CCIS Payroll offers to update the rate in the Employee Master file. Answer Yes or No.
10. Record the earnings and select Compute.
11. Review the information on the screen.
12. If it is correct, select Post to accept. The employee’s records are updated.
13. If it is incorrect navigate to and change the error, and choose Compute again.
14. To change any tax, except FICA and Medicare, select Edit. This stops all withholding calculations except FICA and Medicare. The Taxes label becomes a warning message. Select on the tax you want to change, change it and select Compute.
15. Print the check and reprint the registers.
Removing an employee who shouldn't have been paid
Use this section to remove a check for someone who should not have been paid during the current period. This procedure requires the job to still be current. If the job is not available, use the procedures in Correcting errors after a job has been closed to remove this pay from the employee's records.
1. Destroy the registers and any bad checks.
2. Select the Calculations link if necessary to get to the Calculate Pay menu.
3. Choose Continue this job.
4. Select the Back button to display the Time Entry window.
5. Select the New button and retrieve the employee record. The next step completely removes the posting!
6. Select the Delete button. (Confirm if asked.) 7. Reprint the checks and registers.
Paying an employee you forgot to pay
Use this section to issue a check for someone who should have been paid during the current period but was forgotten. This procedure requires the job to still be current. If the job is not available, start a new Time Entry job on the same date and process only that employee.
1. Destroy the registers.
2. Select the Calculations link if necessary to get to the Calculate Pay menu.
3. Select Continue this job.
4. Select the New button.
5. Retrieve the employee.
6. Record the earnings.
7. Choose Compute.
8. Review the information on the screen.
9. If you didn’t want to pay this employee, select New.
10. If the information is correct, choose Post to accept. The employee’s records are updated.
11. If it is incorrect navigate to and change the error, and choose Compute again.
12. To change any tax, except FICA and Medicare, choose Edit. This stops all withholding calculations except FICA and Medicare. The Taxes label becomes a warning message. Select the tax you want to change, change it and select Compute.
13. Print the check and reprint the registers.
Correcting errors recording cafeteria plans
This is one of the more complex problems to correct. Not difficult, just complex. It will help you to read the next few paragraphs in order to understand how cafeteria plans are processed, before going to the step-by-step instructions.
When you set the Type of any deduction in the Employee Master record of any employee to be pretax Cafeteria Plan, you are instructing CCIS Payroll to keep two separate accumulators for that deduction. Deductions for §125 cafeteria plans are kept in separate accumulators. This allows you to convert ordinary deductions into cafeteria plans at any time.
Changing the Type of a deduction doesn't change what's already in a cafeteria plan accumulator.
CCIS Payroll only updates these special cafeteria plan accumulators when recording payroll using one of the Calculate Pay functions. The only way to change the contents of a cafeteria plan accumulator is by using one of the Calculate Pay functions. Therefore, if an amount is wrongly classified as being a cafeteria plan, simply changing its Type will not correct the error. You need to move the money into a properly Typed deduction field.
1. Write down exactly what you want to do. For example, you have a deduction labeled
"Health" that should be a cafeteria plan but isn't. Your action statement would be "I want to remove the money from the old "Health" label, and put it into a new "Health" label that has a Type containing pretax Cafeteria Plan.
2. Next, write down how you're going to do it. In this example, you need to:
• Create a new label called "Health".
• Change the old "Health" label to "OldHlth".
• Give the new "Health" deduction of every employee in the cafeteria plan a Type containing pretax Cafeteria Plan.
• Subtract the money from "OldHlth" and add it to "Health".
3. Now, perform these steps:
• Each employee that you want to change needs at least two available deductions. One that is a Type containing pretax Cafeteria Plan, and another that is an ordinary Type. Neither deduction can be a deferred compensation plan.
• Click the Employees link if necessary to make sure that the employee has at least one deduction Type containing pretax Cafeteria Plan and one ordinary deduction. Repeat for all employees that participate in the plan and need correction.
• Print an All Quarter Report. This report tells you the amounts that have been accumulated as §125 cafeteria plans.
4. If you need to:
• REDUCE cafeteria plan amount, follow the steps in Adjusting payroll to SUBTRACT the amount from the cafeteria plan deductions and ADD it to the ordinary deduction
• INCREASE cafeteria plan amounts, follow the steps in Adjusting payroll to ADD the amount to the cafeteria plan deduction and SUBTRACT it from ordinary deductions.
5. Print an All Quarter Report to verify the cafeteria plan accumulators.
6. If you made a temporary deduction label earlier in this procedure, you might want to remove it.
Correcting Deferred Compensation contributions recorded as §125 plans
§401(k), §403(b), SIMPLE, and SARSEP deferred compensation plans require a specific setup that is discussed here.
Some people do not follow those steps. Instead, they create a label that reads 401(k), SIMPLE, SARSEP or 403(b). They then set this deduction up as a pretax-cafeteria plan in the Employee Master file for the employee. This, in fact, creates a §125 cafeteria plan, not a deferred compensation plan.
Cafeteria plans follow rules that cannot be applied to deferred compensation. All money accumulated under these rules needs to be moved into the deferred compensation accumulators.
Follow these steps:
1. Begin by verifying the Deferred Compensation setup in the Client.
• Select the Clients link.
• Select the Open button.
• Retrieve the Client.
• Select the Preferences tab.
• Verify that the proper type of Deferred Compensation is selected.
• Select the Labels tab.
• Verify that the first deduction label contains the name of the deferred compensation plan.
• Also, if there’s another deferred compensation label, change it. Finally, make sure you have a temporary label to be used for this procedure.
2. Now, change the deductions for each employee.
3. The deferred compensation deduction is the very first one. The type cannot contain the words
"pretax-cafeteria plan".
4. Next, remove the total accumulated §125 cafeteria plan money into a temporary deduction by following the steps in Correcting errors recording cafeteria plans.
5. Follow the steps in Adjusting payroll to move the money from the temporary deduction to the deferred compensation deduction.
6. If you made a temporary deduction label earlier in this procedure, you might want to remove it.
7. Print Quarterly reports to verify your results.
Reprinting a check
There are two reasons to reprint a check; either the check was damaged by the printer, or the check was wrong.
• To reprint a single check that was damaged by the printer, use the procedure Printing or reprinting a single check on page 81.
• To reprint a series of checks that were damaged by the printer, use the procedure Reprinting a group of checks on page 81.
If the check for an employee is wrong, his payroll information is also wrong and must be corrected.
The procedure Correcting errors while a job is open tells how to correct the payroll information and reprint the check on page 83.
Canceling checks
The need to cancel a check dictates that the employee's payroll information needs to be updated as well. CCIS Payroll provides three ways to cancel a check and update the employee's payroll records to reflect the cancellation. They are:
• Correcting errors while a job is open
• Correcting errors after a job has been closed.
• Removing an employee who shouldn't have been paid
Adjusting payroll
Many people use the term "Adjust" whenever they refer to correcting mistakes. In CCIS Payroll, the term "Adjust" is used to mean fixing mistakes that do not affect the Net Pay. Choose Adjust when you need to move money from one field to another.
This section describes fixing errors that do not affect the Net Pay. If you need to correct an error that increases or decreases the employee's Net Pay, please go to the section called Correcting errors after a job has been closed on page 84.
The Adjust function is used to adjust the earnings, deductions or taxes. You are able to adjust within the earnings area, and within and between the deductions and withholdings. All adjustments to earnings must total zero. The totals of Taxes and Deductions must either be zero, or add up to zero (Taxes + Deductions = 0). The Net Pay must be zero.
Remember that any adjustment to Federal Income Tax, FICA, Medicare, or Advance EIC will affect the client's tax deposit liability for deposit and 941 purposes.
For example, employee Smith had earnings of $250.00 recorded as Regular Pay, when it should have been Holiday Pay. Also, a one-time local head tax of $15.00 needs to be moved from a deduction called Other into the City field.
To correct this error:
1. Select the Calculations link (if necessary).
2. Select Close this Job.
3. Select Start a new Job.
4. Choose Adjust from the pop-up menu.
5. Enter the dates for this transaction. Ignore the Hash Total entry screen. Since all values must balance out, the concept of Hashing doesn’t apply to Adjust.
6. Retrieve employee Smith.
7. Start with the income. Select the Amount column beside the Regular income label. Enter -250.00 and select the Tab key.
8. Select the Amount column beside the Holiday label. Type 250.00 and select the Tab key.
Note that the Total Earnings is zero.
9. Now move the deduction. Select the column beside the other deduction label and enter -15.00 and select the Tab key. Note that the Total Deductions is -15.00 and the Check Amount is negative.
10. Select the column beside the City Tax label. Enter 15.00 and select the Tab key. Note that the Total Taxes reads 15.00, and the Check Amount is zero.
11. Carefully verify the entries.
12. Select the Compute button if the information is correct.
13. Select the Post button to save the adjustments.
Removing an entire year
This is a last-resort measure that sets all numeric accumulators for a client to zero. For example, it might be needed if your data were to become corrupt by a hardware failure.
Here's how to set all of the current year's accumulators to zero for a client. All other clients are not changed.
1. Select the Clients link.
2. Select Open.
3. Retrieve the Client.
4. Choose File | Zero Year 5. This message appears.
6. Choose Yes or No.
Correcting errors after transmitting Direct Deposit to NPC
If you discover any errors after transmitting a Direct Deposit file to NPC, you need to do two things:
1. First, contact NPC (813.222.0333). If the job has not been sent, you can cancel it. Or, if only one entry is incorrect, it can possibly be voided. NPC maintains a qualified staff that is eager to help you with any transmission problems.
2. Next, correct the information in your computer. Remember that once a job is transmitted to NPC, it is closed. The employee records have been updated. What to do depends on how much you have to undo.
a. If only one check is wrong and NPC is able to stop that transaction:
• Use Cancel Check to remove the incorrect entry.
• Use Time Entry to repay the employee.
• Prepare his check by hand this week.
b. If the entire batch has to be destroyed, you have two choices.
• Restore your backup of this client, or
• Use Cancel Check to remove all entries.
Once the payroll records are returned to their condition as of the last pay period, you can proceed to re-enter the payments using Time Entry, and issue new checks and Direct Deposit records. Then, send this new batch to NPC.
Correcting errors after transmitting Direct Deposit to your bank
If you discover any errors after transmitting an ACH-formatted Direct Deposit file to your bank, you need to do two things:
1. First, contact your bank. If the job has not been sent, you can cancel it. Or, if only one entry is incorrect, it can possibly be voided. The banker can locate the transaction using the routing and transit number of the bank that the deposit was going to, and the check number.
2. Next, correct the information in your computer. Remember that once a job is transmitted, it is closed. The employee records have been updated. What to do depends on how much you have to undo.
a. If only one check is wrong and your bank is able to stop that transaction:
• Use Cancel Check to remove the incorrect entry.
• Use Time Entry to repay the employee.
• Prepare his check by hand this week.
b. If the entire batch has to be destroyed, you have two choices.
• Restore your backup of this Client, or
• Restore your backup of this Client, or