Payroll Interface To GL

There are two points of interface to the GL from payroll. The first that occurs is the POST CHECKS function. This function is self-contained in that it does not rely on anything that happened prior, nor is it affected by the timing of anything else: the post checks uses immediate information from the checks file as it posts. This post does the CREDITS in detail for the checks, cash being the largest credit for the net amount of checks, and all withholdings/deductions/taxes go to their respective liability accounts. All the DEBITS on this post go to the holding account(s). The period that you post to is always based on the CHECK DATE. The defaults for GL period and year that appear on this post screen are always correctly derived from the check date, so you should not need to change them.

The second interface takes place under Periodic Processing, POST EXPENSE to GL. This gets more complicated because there are several things that can influence the results. The way this works is that the Department file has the definition of all the respective expense accounts. The department file also has what can be considered holding pots for the expense to accumulate. These holding pots are labeled, CURRENT, QUARTER-TO-DATE, and YEAR-TO-DATE. When you Post Expense, what happens at that point is relatively straightforward: the program goes through the department file, looks at the CURRENT figures sitting in the holding pots, then it posts those amounts to the respective GL accounts. It zeros out the current figures as it posts them. NOTE: It is not uncommon for the Post Expense to go to a different period than the Post Checks. For example: if you are paid semi-monthly, and the first check in a month is for the last half of the prior month, then the Post Checks would go to the current month while the Post Expense would go to the prior month. The user should always pay close attention to selecting the appropriate GL period and year when posting the expense.

To understand why you may get a surprise and not balance as expected, it is essential to understand how the expenses get into the department holding pots to begin with. Here are some rules:

• Holding pots keep accumulating until you post. So if you forget to post, it will combine figures from multiple check runs, void checks, or manual checks
• Wage expenses for hourly employees get into the holding pots when you post Daily Work in Payroll
• Salary wages (or manual checks) get into the holding pots when you Post Checks
• Employer taxes and employer paid deductions get into the holding pots when you Post Checks
• The department file is year specific, so if you post Daily Work in one year, then do Payroll Year-end, then process the first check in the new year, the Post Checks in sending expenses to the department file in the new year, while the daily work sent the expenses to the department file in the prior year.

The last point is important to understand. The preference would be to perform Payroll Year-End, prior to posting any Daily Work in payroll for the new year. This is not always possible, and it may simply be missed until you already moved past that point. The payroll system is still doing a good job of keeping track of everything, it is just that this has created a situation in which you have payroll expense for one pay period sitting in two different department files – the current (new) year, and last year. Most would discover this when they post expense from the new payroll year, and the expense that posts is significantly lower than expected. Fortunately, the solution is very simple: Change the payroll year back to the prior year. Under Payroll, Periodic Processing, print the Department report. It is important to note that the department report can be printed at any time and it will show you what will post (if anything) to the GL expense accounts. The department report will confirm you have expenses sitting in the current holding pots. You can then Post Expense to GL from this payroll year, and simply select the correct GL period and year to post these expenses.

The expenses should all go where they belong, they were just hiding for a while.