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Calculations (Payroll Tab)

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.

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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 (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.

Context-Specific Buttons (unique to this screen)

The following command buttons perform actions that are unique to this screen. Choose a button to view detailed description of each command. Note: If a button appears in Gray, either its function has already been applied, or the function is not applicable in the payroll's current state.

Calculate Close Backup Restore

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.

If the calculation is successful, a colored bar will appear above the table indicating that the pay was calculated successfully, and that you should check the payroll register report for final verification before closing the pay.

If the calculation is not successful, a Red bar will appear above the table indicating issues that were encountered. You must take care of these issues before you can finalize the procedure and close the pay.

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.

If the close operation is successful, a new pay-sequence is created automatically and displayed in the table. This new sequence will advance the payroll period and pay dates accordingly.

If the close operation is not successful, a Red bar will appear above the table indicating the issues that were encountered. You must take care of any issues before you can close the pay.

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.

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.

View the Admin - Tools help page to learn more about this feature
View a step-by-step tutorial on this feature

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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:

Normal - This is the default method, representing the most commonly used pay type. This option will process all active employees in the payroll.
View a step-by-step tutorial on Normal pay types
Additional - This pay type is used to calculate a special pay run where the pay amounts need to be combined with other pay runs in the same period (in order to correctly calculate taxes). Additional pay runs take into account statutory deductions for the period (e.g. if an employee reached the EI maximum contributions on the previous pay run, no additional EI would be deducted from the additional pay run).
Note: Employees must be set to the Special status in order to be included in this pay run (see The "Special" Status note below).
View a step-by-step tutorial on Additional pay types
Extra - This pay type is used to calculate a special pay run whose values will be included as part of the next Normal pay run (i.e. this pay is considered separate from previous pay runs in terms of its tax calculations).
Note: Employees must be set to the Special status in order to be included in this pay run (see The "Special" Status note below).
View a step-by-step tutorial on Extra pay types
Reversal (Special) - This pay type is used to cancel the effects of a previous pay run for one or more specific employees. When you initiate a Reversal (Special) type of pay run, you must specify the pay period that is to be reversed. Reversal (Special) pay runs will be assigned the same Period number because they take place in the current pay period.
Note: Employees must be set to the Special status in order to be included in this pay run (see The "Special" Status note below). Also, see the Reversal (All) option below for if you wish to perform this action for all employees at once.
View a step-by-step tutorial on Reversal (Special) pay types
Reversal (All) - This pay type is used to cancel the effects of a previous pay run for all employees in the previous pay run. When you initiate this type of pay run, you must specify the pay period that is to be reversed. Example: If all the employees were paid an incorrect amount, you would use the Reversal (All) pay type to cancel the entire previous run and to correct the year-to-date balances.
Note: Reversal (All) pay runs will be assigned the same Period number as they take place in the current pay period.
View a step-by-step tutorial on Reversal (All) pay types

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:

New - The payroll has either A) not yet been calculated, or B) It has been calculated before, but requires a new calculation because the payroll database has changed since the last calculation.
Calculated - This status indicates that the payroll has been calculated and is up-to-date (i.e. no further changes have occurred in the payroll database since the calculation).
Closed - This status indicates that the payroll has been closed. A closed payroll can no longer be calculated. Note: If you need to make corrections to a closed payroll run, refer to the Un-Close option below).

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:

Employee work hours are restored to their pre-closed values. This includes hours entered in both the Payroll Processing - Speedy Update and Employee - Earning Items screens.
Any salary adjustments made in the Employee - Earning Items screen are set back to their pre-closed values.
YTD values for earnings, deductions/benefits, and accumulators are restored to the pre-closed amounts.
Temporary earnings, deductions, and benefits are restored along with their amounts and settings.
Accumulators that were to set to This Pay Only will have this option restored.
Note: If you are unclosing an Additional or Extra pay type, your employee Status settings are not reset when you unclose a payroll (i.e. anyone marked with the "Special" status will have been reset to "Active" when you closed the payroll, and they will remain active after the unclose procedure). Therefore, you will need to reset the applicable employees to the "Special" status once again after you unclose.

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