Payroll Balancing Basics

July 8, 2020 via Zoom

House Keeping

• Please Mute Audio, Video Optional

• Update Zoom Display Name

• Use the Chat Box for Questions

Training Goals

• Review Payroll Guidelines

• Creating Balancing Spreadsheet

• Balancing and Auditing Payroll

• Understanding and Using Payroll Reports

• Resolving Pay Errors

• Payroll Submission

Provide Payroll users knowledge and tools in

balancing to gross pay outside of Escape and

understand accurate payroll submission.

Payroll GuidelinesReference Documentation

Published Salary Schedules

Published Stipend Schedule(s)

Published School Year

Calendar

List of Add-ons

Bargaining Unit Agreements

Memorandum of Understanding

List of Reduced Workload Employees

Benefit Plans and Rates

Section 125 Vendor, Plans, and Rate

Sheet

Deductions

Union Dues Structure

Account Code Cheat Sheet

District Directory

Payroll Duties Annual Timeline

Payroll GuidelinesForms and Procedures

Personnel Action Form (PAF)

Use for New Hires, Changes,

Terminations

New Hire Checklist

SSN Verification

New Hire Reporting to Employment

Development Department (EDD)

Direct Deposit

Section 125 - Premium Only Plan (POP)

Enrollment

Page 1-16

Escape

Employee Management Tab Dates

STRS/PERS Codes

Affordable Care Act (ACA)

Healthy Workplace Healthy Family Act of

2014 (AB 1522)

Introduction

Todays Topics

• Gross Pay vs. Net Pay Basics

• Pay Periods and Pay Cycles

• Basic Gross Pay Calculations

• Share and Review Gross Pay Templates

• Hands on Gross Pay Exercises

• Basic Payroll Calculation verification in

Escape

How to calculate pay for your

employees….

Let’s watch a quick video on payroll calculation basics…

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75IK5vEhHHw

• Gross pay is the amount you

owe employees before

withholding taxes and other

deductions.

• Gross pay is NOT the

amount you pay your

employee.

• You must use gross

wages to calculate your

employees' net wages.

Gross Pay

amount an employee earns in a specific time period before any

deductions

Net Pay

amount an employee earns in a specific time period

after deductions

• Net pay is what an

employee takes home after

deductions.

What items are needed to Calculate

Gross Pay?

“ “

Pay Cycles

.

Pay Cycles define the pay periods and pay dates, for a

group of employees.

They also define:

•Special processing such as “equal payments,” or pay for

actual hours in the pay period.

•When certain deductions will be taken, if there is more than

one pay period in a month.

•Pay schedule type.

Pay Cycles

.

Regular School District Pay CyclesPaid Once a Month

Independent Charter Pay CyclesPaid Semi-Monthly

Gross Pay Basics

Annual Salary to determine Monthly Amount

Gross Pay Basics

Monthly Gross

Gross Pay Basics

Monthly Gross over 12 Pay Periods

Gross Pay Basics

Semi-Monthly Gross

Gross Pay Basics

Semi-Monthly Gross over 12 Pay Periods

Gross Pay

Calculations and

TemplatesBalancing to Gross Tools…

RecapWhat do you need to be able to calculate Gross Pay?

• District Calendar

• # of Pay Periods

• Salary Schedule/Placement

• Stipend or Addon Amount

• Annual, Monthly or Hourly

Calendar Examples

Salary Schedule Examples

Gross Pay Templates

Example #1 – Certificated Gross Pay Calculation Template

Gross Pay Templates

Example #1 – Certificated Base + Stipends Gross Pay Calculation Template

Employee Management Record – Employee Snapshot

Gross Pay Templates

Example #1 – Certificated Base + Stipends Gross Pay Calculation Template

Adjust Payroll Record – Employee Payroll Snapshot

Gross Pay Templates

Example #2 – Certificated Gross Pay Calculation Template

Late Hire September 14

Gross Pay Templates

Employee Management Record – Employee Snapshot

Example #2 – Certificated Gross Pay Calculation Template

Gross Pay Templates

SEPTEMBER Adjust Payroll Record – Employee Payroll Snapshot

Example #2 – Certificated Gross Pay Calculation Template

OCTOBER - MAY Adjust Payroll Record – Employee Payroll Snapshot

Gross Pay Templates

Example #3 – Certificated Gross Pay Calculation Template

Gross Pay Templates

Employee Management Record – Employee Snapshot

Example #3 – Certificated Gross Pay Calculation Template

Gross Pay Templates

AUGUST - MARCH Adjust Payroll Record – Employee Payroll Snapshot

Example #2 – Certificated LATE START Gross Pay Calculation Template

APRIL Adjust Payroll Record – Employee Payroll Snapshot

Gross Pay Templates

Example #4 – Classified Hourly Gross Pay Calculation Template

Gross Pay Templates

Example #4 – Classified 12 Month Gross Pay Calculation Template

JULY - JUNE Adjust Payroll Record – Employee Payroll Snapshot

Gross Pay Templates

Example #5 – Classified Hourly Pay the Days Calendar Gross Pay Calculation Template

Gross Pay Templates

Example #5 – Classified Pay the Days Calendar Gross Pay Calculation Template

August – June Employee Management Record – Employee Payroll Snapshot

Templates

• Please use the Gross Pay Templates and Examples

• Each Tab has different Templates and Examples

• Use the Templates as a Tool or Guide to create your own

• The goal is to allow district’s to understand how to balance payroll outside, and inside their payroll system.

• Please feel free to use the Chat Box, or ask us questions.

• Remember, your success is our success!!

Helpful Escape Documentation and Tools

Tools available in every activity: How-To is Escape

Documentation and Tutorial is a video

Escape Online Resources

SCOE Resources

SCOE Resources links to the

SCOE Website

Review and Resolve Payroll Errors

Go to HR/Payroll – Reports – Payroll – Pay22

Error Categories:

• General

• Labor

• PERS

• STRS

Click here for Pay22 Report Sample

Labor errors must be resolved

in order for payroll to process!!

All errors should be reviewed

and resolved

Example Pay22 Payroll Errors

• Recommended to Review for Labor Errors First and Resolve

Use Tools to Help Resolve Errors

Go to How-To to Search in Escape Documentation

• Enter “Resolving Pay Compute Errors”

• Click search

• Click on the title of the search results to get more information

Click here: Resolving Pay Compute Errors

Errors Listed by Category then by Code

Scroll to search through the list

Example Pay22 Payroll Errors

• Labor Code 33: Total Contribution is “empty” means missing an account

and no account for the expenses to charge

• Payroll uses the Assignment Account first

• If account can not be located, could be because they do not have a current

assignment

• Possibly open records for Benefits, Deductions or Contributions

• General Code 29: This deduction was not processed because

the employee’s pay would have been negative.

Example Pay22 Payroll Errors

• Labor Code 17: NO GROSS Addon

– Addon requires a valid account code

– First uses the position account, most likely no current assignment

• Labor Code 4: NO GROSS Addon not setup to use specified account

• BENE Benefits only Pay Cycle employees or retirees do not have

an assignment, must add a valid account

Example Pay22 Payroll Errors

• Labor Code 56: Related to Deductions; the amount distributed is

“empty”, account is missing. A deduction may need to be ended or

invoiced to the employee.

• Labor Code 33: Related to Contributions; most likely a result of

missing accounts. A contribution code may need to be ended or the

account must be added to charge the expense.

Example Pay22 Payroll Errors

• Review General Errors and Resolve

General Code 24: The Active Retirement record is missing or ended

General Code 29: Deduction can not be taken because it will cause

negative net pay. Usually a deduction needs to be ended or the employee needs to be invoiced for the amount.

General Code 20: Addon pay rate is missing, need to add or contact IT at helpdesk@scoe.org

Example Pay22 Payroll Errors

General Error Code 26

General Code 26: Employee has negative net pay!

This is a general error; however, payroll can not be

processed with negative net pay

Need assistance with adjustments, contact helpdesk@scoe.org

Example Pay22 Payroll Errors

• Review STRS Errors and Resolve

• STRS Code 32: STRS Matrix Error: The Earnings Amount is higher

that the employee’s retirement pay rate.

• Need to research

• Review the snapshot in Adjust Payroll in the STRS Retirement Detail

• Review Employee Management Assignment record

Example Pay22 Payroll Errors

• Review the snapshot in Adjust Payroll in the STRS Retirement Detail

• Notice this employee is FTE 1.2

• Can not report more than 1.0 FTE; the additional .20 FTE must be

reported as additional earnings with the Assignment Type as EXTRA

in Employee Management Assignment record

Example Correct Pay22 Errors

• In Employee Management change the Assignment Type to EXTRA

• One of the Assignments

must be changed to .40

FTE with PAID Type

• Copy the Assignment

update .20 FTE with

Assignment Type:

EXTRA

Review Pay22 Errors Corrected

• Review Pay22 Report and Review Snapshot for correct retirement

reporting

• The position is now split

• The Retirement Detail is

now reporting the extra

.20 FTE with STRS

Assignment Code 55

and Annual Pay Rate

Rerun the Pay22 to verify the error has

been resolved

Example Pay22 Payroll Errors

• Review PERS Errors and Resolve

• PERS Code 45: PERS Retirement doesn’t match in system wide data

o Login to CalPERS to verify the Retirement Status

o Don’t have login information, contact Maria Aguayo, PERS Analyst,

at maguayo@scoe.org

• This error may also occur for STRS

o Login to SEW (Secure Employer Website) to verify the Retirement

Status

o Don’t have login information, contact Alli Britton, STRS Analyst, at abritton@scoe.org

Example Pay22 Payroll Errors

• PERS Code 58: My CalPERS Member Id is not set up

– Review in CalPERS for retirement status. Contact Maria Aguayo, usually

a timing issue to add in system data.

• PERS Code 53: The employee’s assignment is .5 FTE or greater

– Maybe the assignment changed for the new fiscal year and now the employee qualified to PERS mandatorily

– The employee should be notified, the Retirement record updated and Notification sent to Maria Aguayo

• Form can be found in Escape>SCOE Resources>Forms

Example Pay22 Payroll Errors

• PERS Code 31: The Pay rate may be too high for hourly or some cases too low for type of pay.

– Review the snapshot in PERS Retirement Detail and Reported

Review Pay03 Payroll Detail with Grosses

Go to HR/Payroll – Reports – Pay03

This report is run every pay date as part of the balancing and verifying that

all tasks have been performed before printing checks and transmitting ACH

information to the bank.

Recommended to run

By Person Type to

Separate Classified and

Certificated to identify

Deductions

Example Pay03 Certificated

• Certificated positions are STRS Retirement

STRS Members do not contribute to OASDI

Why could there be OASDI contributions on a Certificated report?

• A certificated employee could have elected to remain in PERS

• Verify in CalPERS and Retirement Tab

Example Pay03 Classified

• Classified positions are PERS Retirement

PERS members contribute to OASDI

Why wouldn’t there be OASDI contributions?

• A classified employee may not have qualified for PERS; therefore not part

of a retirement plan and must contribute to OASDI

• Or a Retiree returned to work, no Retirement, no OASDI

Review Pay15 Pay Difference (Earnings)Shows at a glance which employee have change in Gross Earnings

The report compares the differences between the current pay

cycle/period to the previous pay cycle/period

• Review the Difference Column

• Research why there is a change

Review Pay13 Payroll AdjustmentsThis report is used for auditing one-time adjustments made to the payroll

• One-time adjustments to their earnings or deductions

– Supplemental Payroll is considered all one-time adjustments

• Adjustments to assignments

• Adjustment to contributions

• Adjustments associated retirement information

Review Pay01 Payroll Summary

Review Gross Pay

Review Negative Net Pay

Review Employee Count

Payroll Procedures

Page 17-31

Enter Pay

Process Leaves

Run Reports

Balance outside of Escape

Submit Payroll to SCOE

Escape Snapshots

Calendar – HR/Payroll – Setup – Assignment - Calendars

Salary Schedule - HR/Payroll – Setup – Assignment – Salary Schedules

Employee 99 – HR/Payroll – Employment – Employee Management

Helpful Escape Documentation and Tools

Tools available in every activity: How-To is Escape

Documentation and Tutorial is a video

Escape Online Resources

SCOE Resources

SCOE Resources links to the

SCOE Website

Submit a ticket to helpdesk@scoe.org

Schedule a one-on-one meeting through Calendly

Marie White https://calendly.com/mwhite-22

Tracy Lehmann https://calendly.com/tlehmann-1

Kimberly Lingle https://calendly.com/klingle-1