Help Toolbar   (select a button to browse other online help sections)

Home  Index  Tutorials  Resources  Search  Tabs & Menus  Button Bar  Table & Data Display

Calculations (Payroll Tab)View the next screen based on the program's menu orderView the previous screen based on the program's menu order

This screen allows you to work with all aspects of your payroll calculation, from choosing the pay type, setting the start and end dates, and performing the actual pay calculation.

Step-by-Step tutorial icon View step-by-step tutorial   Video tutorial icon View video tutorial

The table displays a list of previous pay runs, along with their pertinent details. A payroll may be calculated as many times as needed before it is closed. This allows you to review and correct the details before it is finalized. Each time the calculation is performed, the results of the previous calculation are erased and replaced with the new results.

Calculating a Payroll - The approach is straightforward; you calculate your payroll by choosing the Calculate button, and then you generate a Payroll Register report to verify the results. If data corrections are needed, you make the corrections, recalculate the payroll, and then generate the payroll register once again for review. Repeat this process until the desired results are achieved.

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).

Sample command buttons

Context-Specific Buttons (that are unique to this screen, or that require additional instruction)

Calculate - This button allows you to initiate the payroll calculation process for the active payroll. If a Red border appears around the button, it indicates that changes have been made to the payroll, and that it must be calculated before proceeding with any reports. If a Green border appears around the button, it indicates that the payroll has been calculated and is displaying up-to-date information for all reports.

Clicking the button displays a status indicator as the current pay sequence is processed.

Backup - This button allows you to create a backup file that contains your complete company database. This includes the information from all program modules (Payroll, HR, Recruitment, etc.), and all of the necessary data required to restore your data to the last program state when the backup was created.

Help page icon for backups View the Admin - Tools help page to learn more about this feature
Tutorial icon for backups View a step-by-step tutorial on this feature

Report - This button allows you to create an interim Payroll Register report so that you can review the current pay run for accuracy, prior to finalizing the run. When you click the button, the program calculates the current pay sequence, and the results are then presented in a PDF file. Depending on your browser settings, any of the following may occur; 1) the PDF file may open in a window for you to view, 2) the file may be sent to your Downloads folder where you can access it for viewing, 3) you may be presented with a window that will prompt you where to save the file.

The Payroll Register report provides a complete description of all calculations performed for each employee, including: Employee Name and Address, Current and Year-to-Date values for Gross Wages, Deductions, Benefits, Current Net Pay, Insurable Earnings, Transfers to bank accounts and Accumulators. The payroll register is assigned a sequential run number. Saved reports should be filed according to this run number. This run number automatically increases by the next sequential number each time the payroll is calculated and cleared. The run number will revert back to 1 for the first payroll of the new year. The last page of the report provides the accumulated totals for the current payroll, including Earnings, Hours, Deductions, Benefits, Net Payroll Value, and other statistical information.

Note: This button performs that same action as choosing the Generate Report button from the Generate Report column in the main table below.

Checking Balances - Each time the payroll register is created, you can check the balance by adding the current gross earnings to the previous register's year-to-date gross, which should be equal to the current year-to-date gross. This will confirm that your payroll is in order.

Close - This button allows you to finalize the pay sequence by closing the pay sequence. Clicking the button displays a pop-up message notifying you that closing the pay will prevent you from making any further adjustments to this pay. Choose Yes to proceed or No to cancel the close request.

Backup Procedure Required: Before closing a pay, a backup file must be created! This step is required in the event that the close pay procedure encounters an unexpected error. The backup procedure will create a file that will allow you to restore the pay to its current state if required. Refer to the Admin Tools help page for more information on this procedure.

Note: Pay sequences must be closed before you can print cheques or process EFT transactions. This restriction ensures that there are no discrepancies between the values stored in the permanent payroll history file and any disbursements used for the employees' pay. The close process also generates the information necessary to create a Journal Entry report for the payroll.

Restore - This button allows you to reload or restore a payroll database file to a previous state. Refer to the Restore command's help page for more information on this feature.

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.

Backup

Backup - Click this button to create a backup file that contains your complete company database. This includes the information from all program modules (Payroll, HR, Recruitment, etc.), and all of the necessary data required to restore your data to the last program state when the backup was created. Refer to the description for the Backup button at the top of this help screen for more details (this button performs the same function).

Backup Saved

This cell indicates if the payroll has been backed up (i.e. the Backup button has been clicked). Although the cell automatically changes to read "Yes" when the Backup button is pressed, you may also edit this cell manually to set the two available options: Yes (the payroll has been backed up) or No (the payroll has not yet been backed up).

The manual option is included for accounts where the payroll database is very large, where the backup takes a longer time to run. In such cases, you could backup your payroll, mark the payroll as "backed up", and then be free to review your payroll as needed knowing that it has been backed up (even though the Calculations button may switch to Red during your review). As long as you do not make any data-related changes, your payroll reports will always represent current data.

Calculated By

This cell shows the name of the user who most recently calculated the pay sequence (i.e. the user who was active when the payroll was calculated). This is useful for audit purposes.

Calculated Times

This cell displays the number of times that the payroll was calculated. The value increments after each calculation, and payrolls can be calculated as many times as needed. All pay types are included in this number (e.g. Normal, Additional, Reversal). This cell is uneditable It is provided for both audit and training purposes only.

Cheques Issued

This cell signifies the number of cheques that have been issued to employees. Cheques are considered "issued" when you create either of the two Pay Statements with Cheques reports where one or more employees have current pay amounts that are not included in an EFT (and thus will require a manual cheque for disbursement).

If all employees have been paid by EFT (i.e. no cheques have been issued), this cell will display a value of <none>.

Clear YTD Balance

Use this cell to specify that the year-to-date balances should be cleared when the first pay of the next year is calculated. Editing the cell will display a checkbox where you can specify the two available options: Yes (the year-end balances will be cleared when the first payroll of the new year is calculated) or No (the year-end balances will not be cleared). If you do not place a check in this box, the first calculation of the new payroll year will generate an error message stating that you need to place a check in the box.

This checkbox is included as a safeguard to ensure that payroll administrators explicitly clear the previous year's balances - as they should - before a new payroll is calculated in the new year. Note: This check box can only be used when calculating the first pay of the new year. If you place a check in this box for any other pay run, you will receive an error message and the payroll will not be calculated.

Clearing YTD Values - When you calculate the first payroll of a new year, all year-to-date values must be reset to zero (with the exception of accumulators - see the note below). You can view/verify the cleared (zero) values by viewing the Employee - YTD Earnings or Employee - YTD Deductions & Benefits screens.

Note: Items that have the Carry Forward Year-End Balance checkbox activated for their associated deduction will not have their YTDs cleared. This is common for Vacation accumulators where the accumulated amounts must continue to accrue until they are disbursed. If you do have an accumulator that needs to be cleared at the start of the year (e.g. unused Sick Time that expires at year end), you can do so manually by setting its value to zero in the Employee - Accumulator Items screen.

Help page icon for year end View the Year End Overview help page to learn more about this feature

Year-End Tasks - Once the year-to-date values are cleared, you may wish to perform a series of year-end tasks as suggested below:

  • Create a Workers' Compensation report - This can only be done once the year-to-dates have been cleared (because the report uses the values from the previous year).
  • Create an Employee Profile Report - For record keeping purposes, many companies choose to create an Employee Profile report to store in each employee's file.
  • Review and edit your final T4s - It is common to make final adjustments to your payroll information prior to actually printing the T4s. You may wish to add special items (e.g. auto allowances for executives not set up in payroll, special bonuses paid, etc.).
  • Delete Unused Employees - If you have a CPS Self-Service payroll account, you can reduce your monthly cost by removing employees who are no longer active (you are billed for each employee in your payroll regardless of their status). Note: Since employees cannot be deleted if they have YTD values in the current payroll year, removing them at the start of the following year (after their YTD values have been cleared) is the best time to perform this operation.

Closed By

This cell shows the name of the user who finalized and closed the pay run (i.e. the user who was active when the procedure was completed). This cell is uneditable and is included for audit purposes.

Close Date

This cell displays the date that the pay run was finalized and closed. This date can differ from the pay period's End Date. This cell is uneditable and is generated by the program after each pay is closed.

Created By

This cell shows the name of the user who created the pay run (i.e. the user who was active when the payroll was added). This cell is uneditable and is included for audit purposes.

Description

Use this cell to enter a description of the pay sequence. This is an optional field used for administrative purposes only and does not appear on any reports. For example you can enter "This run corrects a missed employee payment", or any other pertinent text.

End Date

Use this cell to specify the closing date of the current payroll run. Note: Each time you add a new pay sequence, this date advances automatically based on your previous Normal pay run - you can change it as needed.

Generate Report

Generate Report - Click this button to create an Interim Payroll Register report so that you can review the current pay run for accuracy, prior to finalizing. Refer to the description for the Report button at the top of this help screen for more details (this button performs the same function).

Note: This button becomes unavailable whenever the payroll is in need of a calculation (i.e. a Red border appears around the Calculate button).

Lock

Lock - Click this button to prevent the current pay run from being calculated. This can be useful in cases where you have multiple users who access the payroll, but one user needs to make important changes without the payroll being affected by another logged in user who is also making changes. For example, you should avoid calculating the payroll while another user is adding new employees to the payroll. In such a case, you would choose the Lock button during the add-employee process, and then unlock the payroll once the employees are added.

Message

Use this cell to enter a message that will be included on all employee pay statements. For example you can type "Your annual bonus is included on this pay". If you enter a properly-formed URL in this cell, the resulting PDF report will include a clickable hyperlink that can direct the employee to a website page, image, video, or any web-based item of your choosing.

For example, if you enter "https://www.canpay.com" into this cell, the employee can click the link in their pay statement to be directed to the CanPay website.

Pay Date

Use this cell to enter the actual date on which the employees receive their pay. If you are printing manual cheques, this would be the day that the cheques are distributed. If you are using the EFT feature, the date that you define here will be the day that the funds will be deposited into the employee bank accounts.

The Pay Date (also referred to as "Pay Day" or "Cheque Date"), is also used to determine when payroll liabilities are due, based on deposit schedules. This date also is used to determine when any assigned tax calculation formulas may be applied. Note: Each time you add a new pay sequence, this date advances automatically based on your previous Normal pay run - you can change it as needed.

Pay Type

Use this cell to specify the calculation method that will be used when the payroll is calculated. Pay types can be any of the following:

The "Special" Status - Additional, Extra and Reversal pay types will only calculate employees that have their Status set to "Special". This status can be set in the Payroll tab's Employee - Status Parameters screen. Employees who are marked as Special will be automatically set back to the Active status when the special pay run (or any other pay type) is closed.

Reversal Pay Adjustments - When you run a Reversal pay, the payroll calculation is reversed which generates a negative run result to offset the original run result. You then have an audit trail for reference.

Reversal pays take into account the following::

  • The affected employee's hours, earnings, deductions, and contributions are reversed for the period.
  • Year-to-date values for all related items are updated so that year-end reporting will be accurate (e.g. T4s, T4As, RL1s).
  • Earnings are updated so that ROEs will show the correct employer portion of CPP/QP, EI, and QPIP (where applicable).
  • Remittance amounts are adjusted.
  • Employee vacation accumulators are adjusted (for employees who are accruing vacation pay).
  • Province health tax and WCB premiums are adjusted where applicable.

Period

This cell displays the pay period that is associated with each payroll. A pay period is defined as the time frame for which employees are paid. For example, if your payroll is set to semi-monthly, this cell will have a maximum of 24 periods. This cell is uneditable and is generated sequentially by the program after each pay is closed.

Note: The period value will not begin incrementing until you calculate the payroll at least once.

Additional and Extra Pay Types - In terms of pay periods, there is a notable difference between Additional and Extra pay types:

  • When you run an Additional pay type, its values are added to a previous, closed Normal pay run. Therefore, the Period value will not advance.
  • When you run an Extra pay type, the values are calculated in advance of the current Normal pay period. Therefore, the Period value will increment from that of the current pay. Once the next Normal pay is run, that run will be assigned the same Period as the Extra pay.

Restore

Restore - Click the button in this column to reload or restore a payroll database file to a previous state. Refer to the description for the Restore button at the top of this help screen for more details (this button performs the same function).

Reversal Payroll

Use this cell to select a pay run that is to be reversed (only previously closed pay runs will appear in the list). A reverse pay procedure is best used in cases where the taxes must be corrected (e.g. when an employee has been overpayed). You could also use a reversal pay if an employee has been underpayed, however many employers choose to simply add the missing amount as part of the employee subsequent pay (if the employee agrees to this). Note: Reversal pays can only be run for payrolls in the current year.

Review

Review - Click the button in this column to display the Calculation Review report that provides a list of exceptions/warnings that were encountered during the payroll calculation.

Sequence

This cell displays payroll sequence number, a number that is sequentially assigned and increments for every pay calculation regardless of the calculation type. For example, if your payroll is set to semi-monthly, and you calculated only Normal pay types throughout the year (i.e. no other special pay types), the final sequence at year-end would be 24 (24 normal pays per year). Each time you run other pay type (e.g. Additional, Extra, Reversal, etc.), this number increments accordingly. This cell is uneditable and is generated by the program after each pay is closed. This number is for convenience only and can be used to track specific pay runs for historical or review purposes.

Start Date

Use this cell to specify the beginning date of the current payroll run. This date represents the start of the current period in which employees worked or earned wages. Note: Each time you add a new pay sequence, this date advances automatically based on your previous Normal pay run - you can change it as needed.

Status

This cell displays the current state of the pay calculation. This cell is uneditable and is generated by the program automatically. A pay sequence's status may be any of the following:

Un-Close

Un-Close - Click this button to reopen your payroll. This is useful in cases where you need to make changes or corrections for the run (and you have not yet disbursed funds to your employees or to your bank - see the Un-Close Procedure and EFT's note below). Unclosing a payroll is simple and can save you the time of creating another type of pay run to correct the issue (e.g. Additional, Extra, Reversal).

When you unclose a payroll, you are safely reverting to the state of the pay run just before it was closed. This following occur when you unclose a payroll:

Un-Close Procedure and EFT's - The Un-Close feature should not be used once the EFT's have been sent to your bank or financial institution, or after cheques have been issued. Depending on the reason for the unclose, it is often recommended that you create a subsequent pay run (e.g. Additional, Extra, or Reversal) in order to correct any errors. For example, if an employee was to receive a bonus but it was missed on the normal pay run - and their bank already received the EFT - you would create an "Additional" pay run to make up the employee's shortfall.

Conversely, if an employee was overpaid and the funds were already sent via EFT, you would have several choices: 1) If the employee had not yet withdrawn the funds, you could contact the banking institution and recall the funds. 2) If the employee had already withdrawn the funds, you could issue a Reversal Pay (to keep the CRA amounts in balance), and then notify the employee that the overpayment would be deducted from a subsequent pay run.

Record Keeping - When you use the Un-Close feature, you can use the pay sequence's Description cell to indicate that the pay run was re-opened, and to include the reason.

No Extra Self-Service Charges - If you are a self-service client and need to unclose one of your regular payrolls to make corrections, you are not billed extra when you close it again.

Un-Closed By

This cell shows the name of the user who un-closed the pay run (i.e. the user who was active when the payroll was un-closed). This cell is uneditable and is included for audit purposes.

Un-Close Date

This cell displays the date that the pay run was un-closed. This cell is uneditable and is included for audit purposes.

Unlock

Unlock - Click the button in this column to unlock a previously locked payroll. Payrolls may need to be unlocked in cases where multiple users have access the payroll, but where one user has locked the payroll for a period of time. This button becomes unavailable if the payroll has not yet been locked.

Updated By

This cell shows the name of the last user to edit the row for the pay run (i.e. the user who was active when the payroll row was edited). This cell is uneditable and is included for audit purposes.


See Also