Write Payroll Command

This section explains how to use the Write Payroll command to calculate deductions, set up employee payroll and write paychecks.

HINT-- The Write Payroll command is an important part of the Goldenseal payroll software.

WRITE PAYROLL BASICS
Payroll Basics | Payroll Setup | Entering Hours | Starting in Mid-Year
Printing Paychecks

PAYROLL DETAILS
Canada Payroll | US Payroll | Multiple Wage Rates | Advances

WEBSITE INFO LINKS
Payroll Software | Payroll Accounting Software

Write Payroll Window

After you have entered Labor Hours records into the Goldenseal payroll software, follow these steps to prepare payroll from them:

Choose Write Payroll from the Bank menu.
You'll see a 'quick report' list of employees, hours and payroll deduction amounts.
Double-click in the Wages column to see the itemized hours for each employee.
Double-click in the Deductions and Category Tax column to see itemized deductions for each employee.
Double-click in the Benefits column to see itemized benefits for each employee.
Double-click in the Employer Tax column to see itemized employer taxes for each employee.

To write paychecks, follow these steps:

Turn on the checkmark in the first column to mark the employees you'd like to pay now.
Click the Write Payroll button.
You'll be asked which bank account to use for the paychecks. Enter a bank account, and choose the checkbook from which checks will be written. Then click OK.
Goldenseal will create Payroll Records for each employee. If you entered a bank account, it will also create paychecks.

HINT-- You can leave the Account field blank, if you don't want to create paychecks immediately

Pay Periods

The Goldenseal software starts out with the earliest pay period that includes unpaid labor hours. Use the Pay Period popup menu to change to a different pay period.

You can enter the current pay period, any of the three previous periods, or the next pay period. You can also view all labor hours, or you can enter a custom range.

After you change to a different pay period, Goldenseal automatically adjusts the Start Date and End Date fields and fills in the appropriate labor hours.

Wage Schedule Field

The Goldenseal payroll software starts by including all employee hours in the payroll report, even if you used more than one wage schedule.

NOTE-- If you use more than one pay interval (for example, weekly and biweekly), you'll only see labor for one payroll interval at a time.

To see the work done under just one wage schedule, enter a wage schedule into the Wage Schedule field. The Wage Schedule field is useful if you have a mixture of salaried and hourly employees, or if you write separate paychecks for different types of work.

To write payroll for just one wage schedule, follow these steps:

Choose Write Payroll from the Bank menu.
Enter the wage schedule into the Wage Schedule field.
Click the Write Payroll button.
Repeat steps 1 to 3 for each additional wage schedule. You can also leave the Wage Schedule field blank to include all remaining work.

Itemized Hours

To see an itemized list of the hours worked, double-click in the employee's row on the Hours column.

You'll see a list of work done during the pay period, based on the Labor Hours records for this employee.

You can adjust the overtime hours if they are not correct. You can also decide not to include some hours in this pay period-- simply turn off the check mark in the far left column.

When you have finished adjusting hours, click OK.

Commissions

To see an itemized list of the commissions earned by an employee, double-click in the employee's row on the Commissions column.

You'll see a list of commissions earned during the pay period, based on the Sales, Projects, Leases and Rental Transactions that have this employee as the Sales Rep. Commissions are calculated from the Commission Rate that is listed in the Employee account.

You can also decide not to include some commissions in this pay period-- simply turn off the check mark in the far left column.

When you have finished adjusting commissions, click OK.

Itemized Deductions

To see a list of tax deductions, double-click in the employee's row on the Deduction column.

You'll see a list of employee withholding items, with the amount for each.

If there are some deductions that should not be included, turn of the checkmark in the first column.

HINT-- If you see X's in the first column, then you can't adjust the deductions here. You'll need to assign a new Tax Package to the employee instead, or turn on the editable status for payroll in Expense Preferences.

When you have finished checking deductions, click OK.

HINT-- Normally you cannot change deduction amounts. If you'd like to be able to, choose Preferences from the Options menu, choose Expenses from the submenu, and turn on the Allow Payroll Deduction Changes checkbox.

Itemized Employer Taxes

To see a list of employer taxes, double-click in the employee's row on the Employer Tax column.

You'll see a list of employer tax items, with the amount for each.

If there are some deductions that should not be included, turn of the checkmark in the first column.

When you have finished checking deductions, click OK.

Itemized Category Taxes

The Goldenseal payroll accounting software calculates some taxes based on the category of work entered in the Labor Hours records. For example, some states base worker's comp rates on the actual work done.

To see a list of category taxes, double-click in the employee's row on the Category Tax column.

You'll see a list of category taxes and cost categories, with the amount of tax for each.

If there are some deductions that should not be included, turn of the checkmark in the first column.

When you have finished checking deductions, click OK.

Itemized Benefits

To see a list of benefit deductions, double-click in the employee's row on the Benefits column.

You'll see a list of benefits, with the amount for each.

HINT-- Some benefits include a payment to the employee, some include a deduction from the employee, and some include an employer payment that goes to a tax or insurance agency.

If there are some benefits that should not be included, turn of the checkmark in the first column.

HINT-- If you see X's in the first column, then you can't adjust the benefits here. You'll need to assign a new Benefit Package to the employee, or allow payroll deductions to be changed in Expense Preferences.

When you have finished checking benefits, click OK.

Itemized Vacation

To see a list of vacation items, double-click in the employee's row on the Vacation column.

You'll see a list of vacation items, with the amount for each.

If there are some vacation items that should not be included, turn of the checkmark in the first column.

HINT-- If you see X's in the first column, then you can't adjust the deductions here. You'll need to assign a new Vacation Package to the employee instead, or turn on the editable status for payroll in Expense Preferences.

When you have finished checking benefits, click OK.

Multiple Wage Rates

When you pay one employee more than one wage rate during a pay period, enter Labor Hours records for all the work done by that employee, and change the Wage Schedule field so it has the proper rate for each piece of work.

When you write payroll, you'll need to use the Write Payroll command once for each wage schedule.

To do so, follow these steps:

Choose Write Payroll from the Bank menu.
Enter one of the wage schedules into the Wage Schedule field.
Click the Write Payroll button.
Repeat steps 1 to 3 for each additional wage schedule. You can also leave the Wage Schedule field blank to include all remaining work.

Goldenseal will create a separate payroll record for each wage rate. To pay them all at once with a single check, follow these steps:

Choose Checking Transactions from the Bank menu, and choose an account from the submenu.
Click the New button.
Choose Employee in the Pay To field, and enter the employee into the Account field.
Click on the Breakdown popup and enter Payroll. Goldenseal will fill in all unpaid payroll records for this employee.
Turn off the checkbox for any items that you don't want to pay now.

Advances

In most tax districts, you need to base deductions on the actual amount worked in each payroll period, and then give advances (or subtract the repayment of advances) after that is calculated.

To give an advance to an employee, follow these steps:

Choose Payroll Records from the Costs menu.
Click the New button.
Enter the Employee into the Employee field.
Enter Advance into the Transaction Type field.
Enter the amount in the Amount field.

To deduct the repayment of an advance from an employee, follow these steps:

Choose Payroll Records from the Costs menu.
Click the New button.
Enter the Employee into the Employee field.
Enter Repay Advance into the Transaction Type field.
Enter the amount in the Amount field.

To combine advances or advance repayments with a regular paycheck, follow these steps:

When you use the Write Payroll command for the regular pay period, do not enter a checking account for the payment.
Goldenseal will create a Payroll Record for the regular pay period, but no paycheck.
Choose Checking Transactions from the Bank menu, and choose a checking account.
Click the New button.
Enter Employee into the Pay To field.
Enter the employee into the Account field.
Enter Payroll into the Breakdown popup field on the left side of the window.
Goldenseal will automatically fill in all unpaid Payroll Records for this employee (including the advance or advance repayment, and the regular paycheck).

To include advances and advance repayments in with a cash payroll payment, follow the steps above but use a Cash Transaction and enter a Cash account.

Goldenseal keeps track of the advances owed by each employee-- to see it, check the Advances Owed field in the Employee account records.

Click here for more about payroll advances in Payroll Topics.