Accumulators (Payroll Tab)

This screen is optional - If you do not have any vacation pay, sick time, or banked time accumulators in your payroll, you can skip this screen.

This screen allows you to work with payroll Accumulators. Accumulator records are used to collect or build up amounts that will be used in various payroll calculations. Each accumulator contains settings that control how the accumulator accrues (gathers) its amount. Accumulators are used to keep a running total of specified information or amounts and can be used to automatically generate earnings or hours for the current pay. The most common use of accumulators is to calculate vacation pay owing to the employee as well as to disburse vacation pay on each cheque. Other common uses of accumulators are to calculate sick entitlements, seniority time, banked time, etc.

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Common Buttons

Visit the Button Descriptions help page to view detailed descriptions of each button that appears on your screen (whether in the Button Bar at the top of the table, or in the table itself). Note: If a button is unavailable (i.e. its text appears in Gray), either the command is not applicable to the current screen, or its function has already been applied (e.g. you clicked the New button for an item that can only be added one time).

The following section of this help page describes the various columns that can appear in the main table on this screen. If you see a column description below that does not appear on your screen, you can add the column to your view by using the Customize option under the Views button (located at the left side of the screen just above the table). Refer to the Customize View help page for more help on this feature.

# (Number)

Use this cell to enter a number that will uniquely identify the accumulator. This number has two purposes:

It can be used to as a reference to this accumulator when sorting items on this screen
It is used to set the order of accumulator processing. The accumulator with the lowest number will be processed first, followed by the next lowest number, etc.

Allow Negative

Use this cell to specify whether the accumulator will be allowed to have a negative balance. A negative balance occurs when you pay out an amount that is greater than the value currently held in the accumulator (e.g. you pay an employee two weeks' vacation, but they have only accumulated one week to date).

Editing the cell will display a checkbox where you can specify the two available options:

Yes - The accumulator is allowed to enter a negative position.
No - The accumulator is not allowed to enter a negative position, and it will not pay out any more than is currently in the accumulator. In this case, only an amount which will not create a negative balance in the accumulator will be subtracted from the accumulator.

Alt. Name

Use this cell to enter an alternate name for the accumulator that can be useful when used in conjunction with the program's Language feature. The alternate name can be set to a different language so that employees' pay stubs will display their preferred language. Refer to the employee's Status Parameters screen to learn more about individual employee Language settings.

Appear on Pay Statement

Use this cell to specify whether the accumulator's accrued and balance amounts are to appear on each employee's pay statement. Editing the cell will display a checkbox where you can specify the two available options: Yes (the amounts will appear on pay statements) or No (the amounts will not appear on pay statements).

Audit

This button allows you to view a list of changes that have been made to the current item. Choosing the button opens the Audit History window where item changes are shown in colored text. Note: Audit History is a developing feature and subject to updates as new functionality is added.

Calculate

Use this cell to specify the method that will be used when the accumulator is calculated. Editing the cell displays a menu where you can choose the various calculation methods that may be assigned.

Individually - The accumulator amount will be calculated for each individual employee based on the amount defined in the Employee - Accumulator Items screen.
By Fixed Amount - The accumulator will use a fixed amount calculation. This amount is defined in the Fixed Amount cell.
By Function - The accumulator amount will be calculated using the specified function shown in the Calculate Function cell.

Calculate Function

Use this cell to specify the function that will be used if the accumulator is calculated using the By Function method. Editing the cell displays a menu where you can choose from a list of available functions. Note: Items appearing in this list are created using the Payroll tab's Current Payroll - Functions screen.

Do Not Journalize

Use this cell to specify whether the accumulator will appear on the journal entry. Editing the cell will display a checkbox where you can specify the two available options: Yes (include the accumulator on the Journal Entry) or No (exclude the accumulator from the Journal Entry). The accumulator is included on the journal entry by default.

Enable

Use this cell to specify whether the accumulator is active in the current payroll. Editing the cell will display a checkbox where you can specify the two available options: Yes (the accumulator is active in the payroll) or No (the accumulator in not active in the payroll).

Fixed Amount

Use this cell to specify the amount that will be used when the accumulator is calculated using the By Fixed Amount method. This cell can only be edited if the By Fixed Amount option is chosen in the Calculate cell.

Name

Use this cell to enter the name of the accumulator. The name entered here will appear on various screens and reports throughout the program.

Pay Out As

Use this cell to specify the Earning to which this accumulator will be distributed (paid). Editing the cell displays a menu where you can choose from a list of available earnings. Note: Items appearing in this list are created using the Current Payroll - Earnings screen. Any payments applied to the chosen earning type will reduce the accumulator's overall value.

Short Name

Use this cell to enter an abbreviated name for the accumulator. This short name will be used when space restrictions are limited for screen display or printing (e.g. the employee pay stub).

Short Alt. Name

Use this cell to enter the short version for the alternate accumulator name (shown in the Alt. Name column). The short name will be used when space restrictions are limited for displaying or printing.

See Also