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Payroll Preferences

Form ID: (PR101000)

On this form, you can do the following:

  • Configure company-wide payroll settings
  • Specify posting and account settings
  • Specify exceptions for transaction dates


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Back to TopGeneral Tab

You use this tab to configure company-wide payroll settings.

Numbering Settings Section

Element Description
Batch Numbering Sequence The identifier of the numbering sequence to be used for the transactions generated in Payroll and posted to the general ledger.
Transaction Numbering Sequence The identifier of the numbering sequence to be used for the reference numbers to be used for tracking payroll transactions (checks, direct deposits, manual checks, and adjustments).
Payroll Batch Numbering Sequence The identifier of the numbering sequence to be used for payroll batches created on the Payroll Batches (PR301000) form.
PTO Adjustment Numbering Sequence The identifier of the numbering sequence to be used for PTO adjustments created on the PTO Adjustments (PR306000) form.
ROE Numbering Sequence The identifier of the numbering sequence for records of employment created on the Record of Employment (PR303000) form.
This box appears only if the Canadian Payroll feature is enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form.
Batch for Submission Numbering Sequence The identifier of the numbering sequence for batches for submission created through the Prepare Tax Forms (PR502000) form.
This box appears only if the Canadian Payroll feature is enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form.

Miscellaneous Settings Section

Element Description
Pay Rate Decimal Places The number of decimal places to be entered for the employee pay rate. For hourly and salaried employees, this is typically set to two decimal places (.00); however, if the employer pays by using piecework rates, this may need to be expanded to four or more decimals.
Deduction and Benefit Decimal Places The number of decimal places to be entered for deduction and benefit amounts. The default value is 2, which refers to two decimal places (.00). However, you can expand it up to six decimals.
This setting affects several forms, such as:
Allow Changing Pay Period Dates A check box that indicates (if selected) that a user may change the pay period date on the Payroll Batches (PR301000) and Paychecks and Adjustments (PR302000) forms.
Regular Hours Earning Type for Quick Pay An earning type code to be used to calculate salary. The system uses it for the quick pay process for regular hours, which is run on the Payroll Batches (PR301000) form.
You can select an earning type code of only the Wage earning type category. You use the Earning Type Codes (PR102000) form to define, edit, or review earning types.
Holiday Earning Type for Quick Pay An earning type code to be used to calculate time off. The system uses it for the quick pay process for time off hours, which is run on the Payroll Batches (PR301000) form.
You can select an earning type code of only the Time Off earning type category. You use the Earning Type Codes (PR102000) form to define, edit, or review earning types.
Commission Earning Type An earning type code to be used to calculate earnings from commissions.
You can select an earning type code of only the Amount-Based earning type category. You use the Earning Type Codes (PR102000) form to define, edit, or review earning types.
Enable Piecework as an Earning Type A check box that indicates (if selected) that the settings related to the piecework earning type are available on the Earning Type Codes (PR102000) form.
Hold Paycheck on Entry A check box that indicates (if selected) that new paychecks will have the On Hold status by default.
Use Benefit Rate from Union in Certified Project Calculation A check box that indicates (if selected) that the system uses only the hours and amount associated with the specified union to determine the benefit rate when calculating union-related benefits associated with certified projects on the Paychecks and Adjustments (PR302000) form. Also, if a labor item is specified for a benefit on the Union Locals (PR209700) form, the system uses for the calculation only the hours associated with the union and labor item.
If the check box is cleared, the system uses the regular calculation for union-related benefits associated with certified projects—that is, it uses the total amount of the benefit and the total hours per year divided by the number of weeks in a year to get the benefit rate.
This check box appears only if the Construction feature is enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form.

Posting Settings Section

Element Description
Project Cost Assignment The payroll expenses associated with a project. The following options are available:
  • No Cost Assigned: No project transactions are created even if some projects are linked with the paycheck. This setting affects only payroll employees.
  • Wage Costs Assigned: Only the cost linked to the earnings will be sent to the project. The system will split the earnings according to the project on the earning line.
  • Wage Costs and Labor Burden Assigned: Earning, benefit, and tax expenses will be allocated to projects. They will be split according to the projects on the earning line. Thus, the taxes and benefit expense will be prorated, and the details will be accessible in benefit details and tax details
This box appears only if the Projects feature group is enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form.
Time Posting Option A setting that indicates how the time and expenses transactions should be processed on release of time activities reported for payroll employees—that is, for employees that have active linked payroll records on the Employee Payroll Settings (PR203000) form. You can select one of the following options:
  • Do Not Post PM Transactions: The system generates no PM transactions.
    • This option appears only if No Cost Assigned is selected in the Project Cost Assignment box.
  • Post PM Transactions from Time Activities Using an Off-Balance Account Group: Project transactions are created during the release of time activities. The project transactions update the balances of the Off-Balance account group selected in the Off-Balance Account Group box, which appears under this box. When released, payroll transactions do not create any PM transactions—only GL transactions are created.
    • This option appears only if No Cost Assigned is selected in the Project Cost Assignment box.
  • Post PM Transactions from Time Activities and Override Them with Payroll Information: Project transactions are created during the release of time activities. The project transactions update the balances of the Off-Balance account group selected in the Off-Balance Account Group box, which appears under this box. When released, payroll transactions create PM transactions and GL transactions while the system reverts the PM transactions that were previously generated from time activities.
    • This option appears only if Wage Costs Assigned or Wage Costs and Labor Burden Assigned is selected in the Project Cost Assignment box.
  • Post PM and GL Transactions from Time Activities and Override Them with Payroll Information: Project transactions and GL transactions are created during the release of time activities. When released, payroll transactions create PM transactions and GL transactions while the system reverts the PM and GL transactions that were previously generated from time activities.
    • This option appears only if Wage Costs Assigned or Wage Costs and Labor Burden Assigned is selected in the Project Cost Assignment box.
  • Post PM and GL Transactions from Payroll Only: No project transactions and no GL transactions are created during the release of time activities. When released, payroll transactions create PM transactions and GL transactions.
    • This option appears only if Wage Costs Assigned or Wage Costs and Labor Burden Assigned is selected in the Project Cost Assignment box.
This box appears only if the Projects feature group is enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form.
You select a posting option for non-payroll employees in the Posting Option for Non-Payroll Employees box on the General Settings tab of the Time and Expenses Preferences (EP101000) form.
Off-Balance Account Group The account group of the Off-Balance type to be used to post transactions originating from time and expenses.
This box appears only if the Projects feature group is enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form and if the Post PM Transactions from Time Activities Using an Off-Balance Account Group option is selected in the Time Posting Option box.
Update GL A check box that (if selected) allows the system to post transactions to the general ledger. If the check box is cleared, a user will be able to create a paycheck and post the transactions to GL, but it will not impact the GL balances.
Post Summary on Updating GL A check box that indicates (if selected) that payroll documents will be posted to the general ledger with summarized row amounts if particular criteria are met. That is, if multiple rows in a payroll document specify the same account (and subaccount, if any) and branch (if the Multibranch Support feature is enabled in your system on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form), then in the GL batch, these rows will be combined into one row with the summarized amount.
The summarized transaction amounts can be posted to an account (and subaccount, if any) only if both the Post Summary on Updating GL check box is selected on this form and the Summary option is specified for an account in the Post Option column on the Chart of Accounts (GL202500) form. (For details, see the description of the Post Option column in the Chart of Accounts topic.)
The GL batch can contain multiple documents if the Generate Consolidated Batches check box is selected in the Posting Settings section on the General Ledger Preferences (GL102000) form.
Automatically Post on Release A check box that (if selected) causes the general ledger posting process to be automatically invoked after general ledger journal transactions are created by the payroll. If the check box is cleared, then the journal transactions are not posted in the general ledger.
Automatically Release on Payment A check box that indicates (if selected) that all paychecks associated with a payment batch will be released automatically when a user selects that payment batch and clicks the Confirm Payment and Release command on the Payment Batches (PR305000) form. The check box is cleared by default.
After you have selected this check box, all previously created paychecks with the Paid status will have to be released manually.
Disable GL Account Warnings on Payment Release A check box that (if selected) suppresses the display of warning-level messages concerning GL account setup at the time of payroll release. Serious error messages are still displayed.
Hide Employee Name on Transactions A check box that (if selected) removes the employee’s name from the check description in bank reconciliation forms; the description box contains Payroll Check instead.

Account Settings Section

In this section, you can specify the sources from which the system selects the GL accounts and subaccounts when transactions that involve earnings, deduction liabilities, benefit expenses, benefit liabilities, tax expenses, or tax liabilities are posted to the general ledger.

If you have specified a source entity for an account or subaccount, the system requires the corresponding account or subaccount to be specified on the maintenance form for the source entity. For example, suppose that you have selected Earning Type in the Use Earnings Account From box and TTT-TTT in the Combine Earnings Sub. From box, meaning that the earnings subaccount of the earning type is to be used as the source of the segment values. In this case, the Earnings Account and Earnings Sub. settings on the GL Accounts tab of the Earning Type Codes (PR102000) form become required settings.

Element Description
Use Earnings Account From The source of a general ledger account used to record earnings. The account from the specified source is to be used on posting. The following options are available:
  • Earning Type
  • Employee
  • Pay Group
  • Labor Item
  • Project
  • Project Task
If Earning Type is selected, Labor Item will not work in the subaccount, and if Labor Item is selected, Earning Type will not work in the subaccount.
The Project and Task options appear only if the Projects feature group is enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form.
If Project, Task, or Labor Item is selected, the Fallback Source for Earning Account box appears next to this box.
Fallback Source for Earning Account The source of the account that the system should use for the earning detail lines that are not associated with any project, project task, or labor item. The following options are available:
  • Earning Type
  • Employee
  • Pay Group
This box appears if Project, Task, or Labor Item is selected in the Use Earnings Account From box.
Combine Earnings Sub. From The subaccount mask that defines the rule of selecting segment values for the earnings subaccount. To set up the rule, select a segment, press F3, and select a source of the segment value, which is one of the following options:
  • B: The subaccount associated with the company branch
  • E: The subaccount associated with the employee
  • L: The subaccount associated with the labor item
  • G: The subaccount associated with the pay group
  • R: The subaccount associated with the earning type
  • J: The subaccount associated with the project
  • T: The subaccount associated with the project task
For a segment, the characters designating each option are repeated as many times as there are characters in the segment. See Combined Subaccounts: General Information for more information.
If you specify an option for a project, project task, or labor item, the Fallback Source for Earning Sub. box appears next to this box.
The box is displayed only if the Subaccounts feature is enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form.
Fallback Source for Earning Sub. The source of the subaccount that the system should use for the earning detail lines that are not associated with any project, project task, or labor item.
To set up the rule, select a segment, press F3, and select a source of the segment value, which is one of the following options:
  • B: The subaccount associated with the company branch
  • E: The subaccount associated with the employee
  • G: The subaccount associated with the pay group
  • R: The subaccount associated with the earning type
For a segment, the characters designating each option are repeated as many times as there are characters in the segment. See Combined Subaccounts: General Information for more information.
This box appears if an option for a project, project task, or labor item is used in the Combine Earnings Sub. From box.
Use Deduction Liability Account From The source of a general ledger account used to record deduction liabilities. An account from the specified source is to be used on posting. The following options are available:
  • Benefit & Deduction Code
  • Employee
  • Pay Group
Combine Deduction Liability Sub. From The subaccount mask that defines the rule of selecting segment values for the deduction liability subaccount. To set up the rule, select a segment, press F3, and select a source of the segment value, which is one of the following options:
  • B: The subaccount associated with the company branch
  • D: The subaccount associated with the benefit or deduction code
  • E: The subaccount associated with the employee
  • G: The subaccount associated with the pay group
For a segment, the characters designating each option are repeated as many times as there are characters in the segment. See Combined Subaccounts: General Information for more information.
The box is displayed only if the Subaccounts feature is enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form.
Use Benefit Expense Account From The source of a general ledger account used to record benefit expenses. An account from the specified source is to be used on posting. The following options are available:
  • Benefit & Deduction Code
  • Employee
  • Pay Group
  • Earning Type
  • Labor Item
  • Project
  • Task
The Project and Task options appear only if the Projects feature group is enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form.
If Project, Task, or Labor Item is selected, the Fallback Source for Benefit Expense Account box appears next to this box.
Fallback Source for Benefit Expense Account The source of the account that the system should use for benefit expenses that are not associated with any project, project task, or labor item. The following options are available:
  • Earning Type
  • Employee
  • Pay Group
This box appears if Project, Task, or Labor Item is selected in the Use Benefit Expense Account From box.
Combine Benefit Expense Sub. From The subaccount mask that defines the rule of selecting segment values for the benefit expense subaccount. To set up the rule, select a segment, press F3, and select a source of the segment value, which is one of the following options:
  • B: The subaccount associated with the company branch
  • D: The subaccount associated with the benefit or deduction code
  • E: The subaccount associated with the employee
  • G: The subaccount associated with the pay group
  • J: The subaccount associated with the project
  • L: The subaccount associated with the labor item
  • R: The subaccount associated with the earning type
  • T: The subaccount associated with the project task
For a segment, the characters designating each option are repeated as many times as there are characters in the segment. See Combined Subaccounts: General Information for more information.
If you specify an option for a project, project task, or labor item, the Fallback Source for Benefit Expense Sub. box appears next to this box.
The box is displayed only if the Subaccounts feature is enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form.
Fallback Source for Benefit Expense Sub. The source of the subaccount that the system should use for benefit expenses that are not associated with any project, project task, or labor item. To set up the rule, select a segment, press F3, and select a source of the segment value, which is one of the following options:
  • B: The subaccount associated with the company branch
  • E: The subaccount associated with the employee
  • G: The subaccount associated with the pay group
  • R: The subaccount associated with the earning type
For a segment, the characters designating each option are repeated as many times as there are characters in the segment. See Combined Subaccounts: General Information for more information.
This box appears if an option for a project, project task, or labor item is used in the Combine Benefit Expense Sub. From box.
Use Benefit Liability Account From The source of a general ledger account used to record benefit liabilities. An account from the specified source is to be used on posting. The following options are available:
  • Benefit & Deduction Code
  • Employee
  • Pay Group
Combine Benefit Liability Sub. From The subaccount mask that defines the rule of selecting segment values for the benefit liability subaccount. To set up the rule, select a segment, press F3, and select a source of the segment value, which is one of the following options:
  • B: The subaccount associated with the company branch
  • D: The subaccount associated with the benefit or deduction code
  • E: The subaccount associated with the employee
  • G: The subaccount associated with the pay group
For a segment, the characters designating each option are repeated as many times as there are characters in the segment. See Combined Subaccounts: General Information for more information.
The box is displayed only if the Subaccounts feature is enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form.
Use Tax Expense Account From The source of a general ledger account used to record tax expenses. An account from the specified source is to be used on posting. The following options are available:
  • Tax Code
  • Employee
  • Pay Group
  • Earning Type
  • Labor Item
  • Project
  • Task
The Project and Task options appear only if the Projects feature group is enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form.
If Project, Task, or Labor Item is selected, the Fallback Source for Tax Expense Account box appears next to this box.
Fallback Source for Tax Expense Account The source of the account that the system should use for tax expenses that are not associated with any project, project task, or labor item. The following options are available:
  • Earning Type
  • Employee
  • Pay Group
This box appears if Project, Task, or Labor Item is selected in the Use Tax Expense Account From box.
Combine Tax Expense Sub. From The subaccount mask that defines the rule of selecting segment values for the tax expense subaccount. To set up the rule, select a segment, press F3, and select a source of the segment value, which is one of the following options:
  • B: The subaccount associated with the company branch
  • E: The subaccount associated with the employee
  • G: The subaccount associated with the pay group
  • J: The subaccount associated with the project
  • L: The subaccount associated with the labor item
  • R: The subaccount associated with the earning type
  • T: The subaccount associated with the project task
  • X: The subaccount associated with the tax code
For a segment, the characters designating each option are repeated as many times as there are characters in the segment. See Combined Subaccounts: General Information for more information.
If you specify an option for a project, project task, or labor item, the Fallback Source for Tax Expense Sub. box appears next to this box.
The box is displayed only if the Subaccounts feature is enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form.
Fallback Source for Tax Expense Sub. The source of the subaccount that the system should use for tax expenses that are not associated with any project, project task, or labor item. To set up the rule, select a segment, press F3, and select a source of the segment value, which is one of the following options:
  • B: The subaccount associated with the company branch
  • E: The subaccount associated with the employee
  • G: The subaccount associated with the pay group
  • R: The subaccount associated with the earning type
For a segment, the characters designating each option are repeated as many times as there are characters in the segment. See Combined Subaccounts: General Information for more information.
This box appears if an option for a project, project task, or labor item is used in the Combine Tax Expense Sub. From box.
Use Tax Liability Account From The source of a general ledger account used to record tax liabilities. An account from the specified source is to be used on posting. The following options are available:
  • Tax Code
  • Employee
  • Pay Group
Combine Tax Liability Sub. From The subaccount mask that defines the rule of selecting segment values for the tax liability subaccount. To set up the rule, select a segment, press F3, and select a source of the segment value, which is one of the following options:
  • B: The subaccount associated with the company branch
  • E: The subaccount associated with the employee
  • P: The subaccount associated with the pay group
  • T: The subaccount associated with the tax code
For a segment, the characters designating each option are repeated as many times as there are characters in the segment. See Combined Subaccounts: General Information for more information.
The box is displayed only if the Subaccounts feature is enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form.
Use PTO Expense Account From The source of a general ledger account used to record expenses associated with paid time off. An account from the specified source is to be used on posting. The following options are available:
  • PTO Bank
  • Employee
  • Pay Group
  • Earning Type
  • Labor Item
  • Project
  • Task
The Project and Task options appear only if the Projects feature group is enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form.
If Project, Task, or Labor Item is selected, the Fallback Source for PTO Expense Account box appears next to this box.
This box is displayed only if the Canadian Payroll feature is enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form.
Fallback Source for PTO Expense Account The source of the account that the system should use for expenses related to paid time off that are not associated with any project, project task, or labor item. The following options are available:
  • Earning Type
  • Employee
  • Pay Group
This box appears if Project, Task, or Labor Item is selected in the Use PTO Expense Account From box.
Combine PTO Expense Sub. From The subaccount mask that defines the rule of selecting segment values for the PTO expense subaccount. To set up the rule, select a segment, press F3, and select a source of the segment value, which is one of the following options:
  • E: The subaccount associated with the employee
  • G: The subaccount associated with the pay group
  • J: The subaccount associated with the project
  • L: The subaccount associated with the labor item
  • O: The subaccount associated with the PTO bank
  • R: The subaccount associated with the earning type
  • T: The subaccount associated with the project task
For a segment, the characters designating each option are repeated as many times as there are characters in the segment. See Combined Subaccounts: General Information for more information.
The T and J options appear only if the Projects feature group is enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form.
If you specify an option for a project, project task, or labor item, the Fallback Source for PTO Expense Sub. box appears next to this box.
The box is displayed only if the Subaccounts and Canadian Payroll features are enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form.
Fallback Source for PTO Expense Sub. The source of the subaccount that the system should use for expenses related to paid time off that are not associated with any project, project task, or labor item. To set up the rule, select a segment, press F3, and select a source of the segment value, which is one of the following options:
  • B: The subaccount associated with the company branch
  • E: The subaccount associated with the employee
  • G: The subaccount associated with the pay group
  • R: The subaccount associated with the earning type
For a segment, the characters designating each option are repeated as many times as there are characters in the segment. See Combined Subaccounts: General Information for more information.
This box appears if an option for a project, project task, or labor item is used in the Combine PTO Expense Sub. From box.
Use PTO Liability Account From The source of a general ledger account used to record liabilities related to paid time off. An account from the specified source is to be used on posting. The following options are available:
  • PTO Bank
  • Employee
  • Pay Group
This box is displayed only if the Canadian Payroll feature is enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form.
Combine PTO Liability Sub. From The subaccount mask that defines the rule of selecting segment values for the PTO liability subaccount. To set up the rule, select a segment, press F3, and select a source of the segment value, which is one of the following options:
  • E: The subaccount associated with the employee
  • G: The subaccount associated with the pay group
  • O: The subaccount associated with the PTO bank
For a segment, the characters designating each option are repeated as many times as there are characters in the segment. See Combined Subaccounts: General Information for more information.
The box is displayed only if the Subaccounts and Canadian Payroll features are enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form.
Use PTO Asset Account From The source of an asset account used with paid time off. An account from the specified source is to be used on posting. The following options are available:
  • PTO Bank
  • Employee
  • Pay Group
This box is displayed only if the Canadian Payroll feature is enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form.
Combine PTO Asset Sub. From The subaccount mask that defines the rule of selecting segment values for the PTO asset subaccount. To set up the rule, select a segment, press F3, and select a source of the segment value, which is one of the following options:
  • E: The subaccount associated with the employee
  • G: The subaccount associated with the pay group
  • O: The subaccount associated with the PTO bank
For a segment, the characters designating each option are repeated as many times as there are characters in the segment. See Combined Subaccounts: General Information for more information.
The box is displayed only if the Subaccounts and Canadian Payroll features are enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form.

Back to TopTransaction Date Exceptions Tab

You use this tab to maintain the list of exceptions for a transaction date—that is, country and state holidays or any other exceptions adopted by your company. The default list of exceptions is loaded from the Symmetry tax engine and updated when you click Update Tax Definitions on the form toolbar.

Summary Area

Element Description
Transaction Date Cannot Be on Weekend A check box that indicates (if selected) that the system adjusts a transaction date if it falls on weekend.

The table toolbar has only standard buttons.

Table Columns

Column Description
Date (Read-only if not added manually.) The date of the exception.
Day of Week (Read-only if not added manually.) The day of the week the exception falls on.
Description (Read-only if not added manually.) The description of the exception.