NOTE: Before backloading payroll, be sure that all desired tax items are set up on each employee and perform the previously prescribed payroll test to ensure that all items are set up correctly. If tax items such as FUTA and SUTA are not set up on an employee, no tax will be calculated for their pay and your reports will be wrong. When backloading IT IS IMPARITIVE that the correct addition and deduction items are used for any item affecting the W2s, such as Cafeteria and 401K. If the proper items are not used or not set up correctly the W2s will be WRONG and the payroll will need to be voided and re-entered!
Getting Started
Before you may begin backloading Payroll, you'll need to head to Company → Select Open Accounting Period. Select December of the previous year to open all necessary payroll period. This will allow items to be entered without getting a “Period is Closed” error.
Payroll can be back loaded per week, per month, per quarter or year-to-date. How you backload should be determined by the reports you want to run in the future. If you enter payroll per quarter, you will not be able to get monthly payroll reports for that period. Be sure to use a date that falls within the period being entered. For example, if entering June payroll use June 30 as the date.
Unless entering each individual pay period, each employee will need a Commission or Bonus type rate so that the pay amounts can be edited.
Backloading payroll this way will not affect the GL or bank. The only thing affected will be the employee records.
Entering Payroll
To backload payroll, go to Company → Accounting Utilities → Back Load Payroll. Using reports from your previous accounting package, enter payroll information for each employee.
Be sure to put the number of weeks you are covering in that entry in the Weeks Paid box in the upper-right corner of the window for unemployment reports.
DO NOT check the Exclude Write boxes unless instructed to do so by dESCO support.
DO NOT enter in a Department number, Job Number, Job Class or Job Type unlesss instructed to do so by dESCO support.
FICA, Medicare, FUTA, SUTA and any additions/deductions set up as a percentage should calculate to the correct amount within pennies. If they are off more than a few cents find out why.
If you are entering more than one check at a time, the FWT, State (unless it is a straight percentage), and any flat amount additions or deductions will need to be edited.
To edit taxes, make all necessary changes to wages and additions/deductions; then press the Edit Tax button at the top of the window and make any necessary changes to the taxes. DO NOT PRESS THE EDIT TAX BUTTON BEFORE SAVING THE ENTRY. Turning off the Edit Tax function before saving your changes will recalculate the taxes instead of saving the changes you made.
Click the Save or Save & New button then you will need to press the Edit Tax button again to turn off the edit tax function before you will be able to edit the next employee.
After all checks are entered, compare reports from your previous accounting package to the reports from ESC using similar dates to be sure all entries are correct.
Print Payroll Forms
You'll want to print W2s from ESC to ensure everything is in the correct box and the totals are correct.
- To do this, head to Employees → Reports → Print Payroll Forms.
- Choose Per Employee Forms and click Next. If no forms appear call dESCO for help on importing forms.
- Choose W2 and click Next.
- Leave the default dates and click Print.
If you prefer, the W2s can be printed to a file instead of the printer by dropping down the Printer field in the Print box and choosing Microsoft XPS Document Writer or Microsoft Print to PDF. Enter a name for the file and choose where the file will be saved. You can then open the file and check the W2s without printing them.
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