Add Payroll Group

These steps explain how to add a new payroll group.

1. Launch Tool #999 Work With Payroll Employer Groups.

2. Enter a number for your new payroll group in the Payroll group field on the Payroll Group Maintenance Selection pop-up.

   • This is an alphanumeric field that can be up to four characters long.

3. Click the forward arrow.

4. Enter a name for your new payroll group in the Description field on the Payroll Group Maintenance General Information (Add) screen.

   • This is generally the company name.

   • For companies with more than one payroll group, the description is often the company name plus another identifier such as "ABC Company Hourly."

5. In the Search field, enter a keyword that you think will most commonly be used when staff are searching for the group.

   • For example, “The ABC Company, Inc.” could be entered as “ABC Company."

6. In the second section beginning with the Company name field, enter the contact information for the company that will be sending the payroll funds and data to your credit union.

7. In the Comment section, enter any comments you feel would be helpful to other staff such as how the payroll should be handled, timing of payrolls, etc.

   • These comments will appear on the payroll posting and balancing screens, so they are a good place for instructions to operators handling payroll processing.

8. Check the Govt payroll box if the employer is a government entity.

   • On government payrolls, the base deposit account must be a share or share draft account.

9. Check the Payroll group locked box if you wish to prevent other credit union staff from accessing this payroll group.

   • Checking this option prevents a work file from being created or posted.

   • This option provides a safeguard against inadvertent posting and is often used when a credit union uses the system to post their own employee payroll.

   • This option is also  used to temporarily lock the payroll group while you are working on an incoming payroll before posting it.

10. Click the forward arrow.

11. On the Payroll Group Maintenance Processing Information (Add) screen, check the Allow distributions box if you'd like to allow members to distribute funds from their base deposit account (where the funds originally get deposited) to other accounts, such as to a loan or a family member's account.

12. In the Check deposit transaction description field, enter a description to be used when the payroll is posted to the Check Clearing GL Acct and the Member G/L accounts.

    • Users often enter the company name here.

13. In the Base deposit transaction description field, enter a description to be used for the deposit of payroll funds into a member's base deposit account.

    • Users often enter the company name here.

    • This text will appear as the transaction description on a member's transaction history and statement.

14. In the Distribution withdrawal transaction description field, enter a description to be used when transferring funds out of the base deposit account into other accounts.

    • Users often enter "Payroll Transfer" here.

    • This text will be appear as the transaction description on a member's transaction history and statement.

    • Withdrawal transfer records will only appear on member statements and transaction history if the Create Transfer Records box is checked.

15. In the Distribution deposit transaction description field, enter a description to be used when transferring funds into a distribution account from the base deposit account.

    • Users often enter "Payroll Transfer" here.

    • This text will appear as the transaction description on a member's transaction history and statement.

16. In the Check clearing G/L account field, enter the general ledger payable account that should be debited when this payroll is posted.

    • The NCUA recommends using the 803.00 account (Accounts Payable - Undistributed Payroll).

17. Leave the Update base accounts box checked if the changes made to base deposit account information in the work file should also be made to the master file when the payroll is posted.

    • Uncheck this box for payrolls with special circumstances, such as bonus checks.  

18. Check the Update distribution accounts box if changes made to distribution account information in the work file should also be made to the master file when the payroll is posted.

19. Check the Create transfer records box if you would like the system to first deposit all funds into the base account, then create transfers out of the base account to the distribution accounts.

20. Check the Allow multiple daily posting box to allow the payroll to be posted more than once during the same calendar day.

21. In the Post reports drop-down menu, select an option to indicate how payroll reports should be handled when the group is posted.

22. Check the Allow distribution maintenance box to allow distribution amounts to be changed directly from the work file list.

23. The Custom work file generated code field is used in cases where the payroll is received via tape or diskette and loaded for you by CU*Answers. If applicable, enter the custom code defined for this process.

24. Check the Post using work file box so that the payroll is posted using the work file created by the normal work file balancing process.

25. In the Excess funds account type field, enter the suffix of the account type into which you'd like excess funds to be deposited for IRA deposits that are over the maximum annual allowance.

    • The recommended setting is “000” for the base share account.

26. In the Default suspense count field, enter 1.

27. From the Default ID field drop-down menu, select Account base or SSN if you'd like the data to be automatically entered into the Special Search by field on each member's individual payroll record.

    • Select N/A if you'd like to manually fill in this field for each member.

28. From the Default search field drop-down menu, select Account base, Name, or SSN if you'd like the data to be automatically

29. Select an option from the Default processing view drop-down menu to indicate the sorting order in which member names are listed when you are verifying a payroll before posting it.

    • This option ensures that your list is in the same order as the list you receive from the company.

30. Click the forward arrow.