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Distributions (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 is optional - If your payroll does not require a Journal Entry report, you can skip this screen. However, you will need to create at least one default Distribution as part of your payroll setup (see below).

This screen allows you work with Distribution codes, often referred to as "departments". Distributions control how an employee’s payroll amounts are allocated between departments and General Ledger (GL) accounts. They are especially useful when an employee works in more than one department, allowing you to divide their hours and payroll costs accordingly. For example, an employee who works 60% in Sales and 40% in Marketing can have their wages and related costs allocated to each department. eNETEmployer uses the applicable distribution to determine where each payroll amount is recorded in the General Ledger.

Step-by-Step tutorial icon View step-by-step tutorial

Default Distribution - All payrolls must be assigned a default distribution at the very least, so that the program can generate the Journal Entry report. After you calculate the pay run, the Journal Entry report will use the distribution entries to separate the total debits and credits for the payroll.

If your payroll requires allocated hours and amounts based on different departments, you must enter a separate distribution for each department. Once the individual distributions are created, you can then assign a GL code for each line item.

Unassigned GL Codes - If you do not assign any GL codes to the various payroll items (Earnings, Deductions, Fed Tax, Net Pay, etc.) , you can still create a Journal Entry report that will show you the total debits and credits for the payroll. However, each payroll item will be uncategorized, and the totals will not be broken down by GL code.

Single-code entry for multiple distributions - If you have multiple distributions with the same GL code structure for each department, you do not need to enter the codes separately in every distribution. Instead, enter each GL code only once in the default distribution and use <code> as a prefix or suffix where the department-specific code should appear. eNETEmployer will automatically replace <code> with the value entered in the Code cell for each distribution.

Tutorial on backups in eNETEmployer View a step-by-step tutorial on this feature

Splitting Amounts Across Multiple Departments - If you need to allocate (split) an employee's hours between several departments, you must override the default distribution code. For example, if Pat worked 80 hours and you needed to split their time evenly between the Sales and Marketing departments respectively, you would create two distribution codes entitled "Sales" and "Marketing", and then you would assign 40 hours to each. eNETEmployer will then split the employee wage costs and all benefit costs proportionately between the two.

Distributions can be assigned at multiple levels:

When using multiple distributions, processing is carried out in the following order:

Note: The one exception to the above is that if a distribution does not have an account entered, the amount will always be applied to the payroll's default distribution.

Action Buttons (included on all screens)

The following action buttons appear on all screens just above the data table. Choose a button to view a detailed description of each command. Note: If a button appears in Gray, either the command is not applicable to the current screen, or its function has already been applied. You can also view the Button Descriptions help page to see the detailed descriptions of all program buttons on a single help page.

Save New Delete Reload Tools Help

Save - Clicking this button saves all pending table changes to the program database. If a row is currently being edited, the changes will be saved and the row's checkmark (save icon) will remain so that you can continue making further edits.

New - This button allows you insert a new row (item) in the current table. Clicking the button adds the new row at the top of the table and activates Edit Mode so you can enter the data required for each cell. Note: If this button includes a drop-down list immediately to its right, you must first select an item from the list so that the new row will be based on the chosen list item.

Delete - Clicking this button removes the current row from the table. If you have multiple rows selected, all of the rows will be removed. When you click the button, you are prompted to make sure you want to delete the item(s) as the action cannot be undone.

Important Considerations - While most program screens allow you to delete a row easily, some screens contain items that require special consideration before deleting:

  • Employees - When you delete an employee from the Payroll tab's Employee - Setup Employee screen, the employee will no longer be visible on any screen in the Payroll tab other than the Employee - Status Parameters screen (the latter screen is required so that the employee can undeleted if necessary). If you delete an employee from the Employee Database, the employee is irretrievable. Refer to the Deleting Employees tutorial for more information.
  • Linked Items - Care should be taken when deleting an item(s) as they may be associated with other items in your database. If you attempt to delete an item and receive the following message: "Cannot delete <item> because it is linked to the following item:", it means that the item is associated (linked) with another item in the program. The item cannot be deleted until you remove the link/association between the two items. Refer to the Deleting Linked Items help page for more information.
  • Sub Rows - Some screens contain sub-rows that will appear under the main row that you are deleting. If you see an Expand icon (expand icon for payroll rows) at the leftmost side of the row, you may wish to expand the main row to ensure that you are deleting the proper items. Note: If you are presented with an error message stating that "the first item should be deleted last", it indicates that you must delete all of the sub rows first before you can delete the main row. For screens that offer a Trash icon (expand icon for payroll rows) to the left of the main row, you can choose the icon to remove the row and all of it's sub-rows in one action.

Reload - Clicking this button refreshes the browser page and replaces the data in the current screen with the last saved copy from the database. This is useful if you have made a number of changes to a row and wish to discard them all in one operation. Note: Remember that eNETEmployer saves the changes to a row each time a new row is selected. Thus, if you edit three rows in succession and then select the Reload button, only the third row will be restored.

Tools - Clicking the button displays a drop-down menu with special data functions that are available for the current screen. Depending on the which screen you are viewing, the options may include any of all of the following:

  • Audit - This option opens the History window that displays a list of changes that have been made to the current row. Changes are shown in colored text. Note: Audit History is a developing feature and subject to updates as new functionality is added.
  • Backup - This option creates a backup file that contains your complete company database (from all program modules, including Payroll, HR, Recruitment, etc.) - including all of the necessary information required to restore your data to the last program state when the backup was created. Depending on your browser settings, the backup file will either be stored in your Downloads folder, or you may be presented with a window that will prompt you where to save the file. Click here to view a detailed description of the Backup command.
  • Export - This option saves the current table's data to a semicolon-separated file that can be opened in a spreadsheet program. The export function is carried out immediately upon choosing the command. Depending on your browser settings, the file will either be stored in your Downloads folder, or you may be presented with a window that will prompt you where to save the file. Refer to the Export a File for Proper Formatting note above for more information on the Export feature.
  • Import - This option allows you to import data from a character-separated (comma or semi-colon) spreadsheet file. Choosing the option opens a popup window where you can specify the file to be imported.
  • Messages - This option displays the Messages Log window that contains a running log of program messages that appear above the table. This log will be active for the login session, and will be cleared when you log out or the program, or if the system times out. The popup window contains thee command buttons:
    • Print - This button opens the Print window so that you can print a copy of the current table. A preview of the table will appear in a preview window before printing so that you can adjust the print settings as needed.
    • Copy - This button copies the full contents of the Messages Log window to your computer's virtual clipboard. If you wish to copy only a portion of the text shown, select the desired text, and then press <Ctrl>+<C> on your keyboard.
    • More - This button scrolls the window so that you can view messages that appear outside of the current view. You can also use the scroll bars at the left of the window to scroll through the window.
  • Print - This option opens the Print window so that you can print a copy of the current table. A preview of the table will appear in a preview window before printing so that you can adjust the print settings as needed.
  • Report - Available on the Payroll tab's Payroll Processing - Calculations screen only, this option generates an interim Payroll Register report so that you can review the details of the current pay sequence.

Help - Clicking this button displays a list of the various tutorials and online help tools that are provided for the current screen. The Online Help option provides a detailed description of each column and item on the current screen. The Step-by-Step option provides a tutorial for the current screen where you can follow along with the lesson one step at a time.

Table Control Buttons

The following table control buttons appear on all screens and are used to control the rows in each data table. Choose a button to view a detailed description of each command. You can also view the Button Descriptions help page to see the detailed descriptions of all table buttons on a single help page.

Views Toggle Edit Edit All Accept All Expand All Collapse All

Views - This button allows you to work with the Customize View feature. Choosing the button displays a drop-down menu that contains any custom views that have been saved, and also provides the option to create new custom views. Refer to the Customize View help page to learn more about this feature.

Toggle Edit - Clicking this button switches from the current mode of editing (either On or Off), to the opposing mode. When the controls for a given row (cells, drop-down lists, checkboxes, etc.) are active and ready for editing, the row is considered to be in Edit Mode. For example, if you have row number one highlighted in the table, selecting the Toggle Edit button will display the editing icons for the row ( edit row icons ) so you can begin making changes. Toggling the edit mode once again will remove the edit icons and save any changes you have made. Refer to the Edit Mode help page to learn more about this feature. Note: If you activate the Edit Mode cell in the User - Options screen, the Toggle Edit button will not appear on the button bar.

Edit All - Clicking this button changes all visible rows to Edit Mode in order to facilitate easy data entry and editing. When the button is chosen, its label will change to read Accept All.

Accept All - Clicking this button deactivates Edit Mode for all visible rows and saves all of the changes that have been made to each row. When the button is chosen, its label will change back to read Edit All so that you can toggle in and out of Edit Mode easily.

Expand All - Clicking this button expands any rows that are collapsed. When the button is chosen, its label will change to read Collapse All so that you can toggle the row display and collapse all of the rows once again.

Collapse All - Clicking this button collapses any rows that have previously been expanded. When the button is chosen, its label will change to read Expand All so that you can toggle the row display to expand all of the rows once again.

Table Columns

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.

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.

Code

Use this cell to enter the name of the distribution. This code will appear on various screen and reports throughout the program.

Default

Select this radio button to designate this distribution as the default. If any account areas are left blank, eNETEmployer will use the corresponding default distribution for the GL account number. In this case, you can input all of the normal General Ledger accounts in the default distribution table (row) and any exceptions to these can be entered separately.

Description

Use this cell to a description for the distribution.

Enable

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

Expense Acct

Use this cell to specify the account to which the selected item's expense will be allocated. This number will be used in conjunction with the value found in the Expense Dept cell (if applicable) when creating the Journal Entry report.

Journal Entry Account Number Format

eNETEmployer uses your Department and Account numbers when it creates the Journal Entry report. These items two are entered into the Expense Dept and Expense Acct fields respectively, and are formatted internally as: Department - Account Major - Account Minor.

Department (defined in the Expense Dept column):

  • The department can contain any number of hyphens.
  • It is displayed in the Expense Dept columns exactly as entered.
  • No special parsing or formatting is applied to this value.

Account (defined in the Expense Acct column):

  • The account can be entered as:
    • A single value with one or more digits, or
    • Two values (with one or more digits) separated by a hyphen (Major-Minor).
  • The Journal Entry report is designed to interpret account numbers as Major-Minor, with the following two distinctions for display purposes:
    • Journal Entry Report - For display purposes only, if a second hyphen is included in an Expense Acct number, the Journal Entry report (.PDF) will omit the second hyphen and everything following it. This shortens longer account numbers to improve readability and fit within the available report space; however, the full account number is retained and used in all calculations.
    • Journal Entry Export - The Journal Entry Export report (.CSV) will always include the entire number, regardless of the number of hyphens.

    Examples:

    Account Entered Journal Entry Report (.PDF) Result Journal Entry Export Report (.CSV) Result
    130 130 130
    4000–01 4000–01 4000–01
    4–00–00–00–282 4–00 4–00–00–00–282

IMPORTANT! - Apart of the Journal Entry reports, hyphens do not affect processing. Accounts are matched and amounts are accumulated based on the full account number entered.

Expense Description

Use this cell to enter a description for the Expense account (e.g. Sales Wages, Company CPP Expense, etc.).

Expense Dept

Use this cell to specify the department to which the selected item's expense will be allocated. This number will be used in conjunction with the value found in the Expense Acct cell (see above) when creating the Journal Entry report.

Item

This uneditable column displays items (e.g. Earnings, Deductions, Benefits , Accumulators, etc.) that are being used in the current payroll. Each of these items require a corresponding General Ledger account designation. Though most of these accounts must have both a credit entry (liability) and the debit entry (expense) assigned, certain items require only one entry (e.g. Earnings). For earnings, you would debit the area where the employee worked and the resulting off-setting credit would be considered "Net Pay". In this case, eNETEmployer would disable the Expense or Liability options.

Each account is broken in two segments. The first segment is the Department and the Account Number.

Liability Account

Use this cell to specify the account to which the selected item's credit/liability will be charged. This number will be used in conjunction with the value found in the Liability Dept cell (if applicable) when creating the Journal Entry report.

Note: A full desciption of how this number is used in the Journal Entry report is found in the Journal Entry Account Number Format note above.

Liability Description

Use this cell to enter a description for the credit/liability account (e.g. Pension Payable, Accrued Vacation Pay, etc.).

Liability Dept

Use this cell to specify the department to which the selected item's credit/liability will be charged. This number will be used in conjunction with the value found in the Liability Acct cell (see above) when creating the Journal Entry report.


See Also