Distributions (Payroll Tab)

This screen allows you work with Distribution codes - codes that are used by the program to translate allocated hours and amounts that correspond to a General Ledger (GL) entry. Many businesses prefer to use distributions to "break down" hours by department (distributions are often referred to as "departments").

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. If any account areas are left blank, eNETEmployer will use the 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.

When you set up an employee in the eNETEmployer, you may assign them a default distribution code. Each new payroll is assigned an initial code entitled "Default", but you may rename it as needed so that the employee's work time can be allocated accordingly.

However, if you need to split the employee's hours between several departments, you must override the default distribution code. For example, if Joe worked 80 hours and you needed to split his time evenly between the Sales and Marketing departments respectively, you would create two distribution codes entitled "Sales" and "Marketing", 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:

All companies have a default distribution.
Employees may be assigned a distribution.
Each payroll item (e.g. Earnings, Deductions, Federal Tax, CPP) can also have an assigned distribution with each item containing a series of "accounts". These accounts include a department number and an account number.

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

If the payroll item has a distribution, the amount will be dispersed to the distributions account for that item.
If the payroll item does not have a distribution, the amount will be dispersed to the employee's distributions account for that item.
If the employee does not have a distribution, the amount will be dispersed to the company's default distribution account for that item.

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 company's default distribution.

Single-code entry for multiple distributions - If your payroll has mutiple distributions with each item sharing the same numbering system, you do not have to enter the same account number across all of the distributions. Rather, you can enter all of your account numbers into the default distribution only, and include the <code> (i.e. the word "code" surrounded by angled brackets) before or after each account number. eNETEmployer will then substitute the appropriate distribution code in place of the <code> placeholder.

View a step-by-step tutorial on this feature

Common Buttons (included on all screens)

The following command buttons appear on all screens. Choose a button to view detailed description of each command. 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). You can also view the Button Descriptions help page to see the detailed descriptions of all program button 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 () 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 () 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 () 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 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.

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.

Name

Use this cell to enter the name of the distribution. The name shown here will appear on various screen and reports throughout the program.

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.

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.

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.

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.

See Also

Creating Payroll Distributions