Earning/Deduction Codes Setup Field List

For repayment deductions, you enter the code for the advance you are repaying with the deduction being created. You can override the advance code when you assign the deduction to an employee. You must link a repayment deduction to the advance it was set up to repay.

If you have not yet set up the advance to be repaid, be sure to return to this field and enter the advance code as soon as you have set up the advance.

From the list of options, choose one of the following categories:

• Accrual.  Vacation, sick, and compensatory/banked time accruals.
• Advance.  Money or goods provided to an employee in anticipation of repayment.

  If the advance is subject to taxes, specify these taxes in the Subject to the Following Taxes field on the Employee tab.

  Note: To ensure that taxes are calculated correctly for a taxable advance (and the corresponding repayment), pay the advance as a single payment that is not combined with any other payment.

  You can also set up an “advance” with the category Earning. If you do this, you can pay the "advance" together with other payments.

• Benefit.  Cash and noncash contributions made by the employer on behalf of the employee.
• Deduction.  Amounts taken from employee pay to pay for union dues, disability insurance, and other items.
• Earning.  Salaries, wages, tips, commissions, bonuses, and so forth.
• Expense Reimbursement.  Payments to the employee to reimburse company-related expenses incurred by the employee (but do not use this category for excludable moving expense reimbursement; select Benefit).

The category you select, in conjunction with the Type and Calculation Method, determines which fields and which tabs of the window you must complete.

The cost center override option displays only for an earning, benefit, or deduction whose calculation method is Amount Per Hour, Percentage Of Base, or Flat. See Using Cost Center Override Allocated Based on Calc Base to learn more.

From the list of options, select the method to be used in calculating the amount deducted from, paid to, or accrued by the employee for this earning/deduction. You select an employee calculation method for vacation and sick time accruals, deductions, and earnings only. The list of options displayed at this field shows only the calculation methods that pertain to the category of earning/deduction being set up. All the available Employee Calculation Methods are:

Flat

Use the Flat calculation method for employees whose salaries will always be posted to a single cost center. (The Fixed calculation method is provided for employees whose salaries will be apportioned across cost centers.)

To apportion a $600 flat earning among five departments, you would need to make five entries and in the timecard's Rate/Amt/Pct field for each entry, enter a fifth of the $600 amount, or $120.

Fixed

Use the Fixed calculation method to pay employees whose salaries will be apportioned across cost centers.

Suppose you set up a Fixed salary of $2,000 per month for an employee who works in three departments. On the employee's timecard you enter the earning three times, specifying for each entry the hours worked in each department. $2,000 displays in the Rate/Amt/Pct field for each entry and you cannot override it. However, when Calculate Payroll processes the timecard, the system calculates an hourly rate and apportions the fixed $2,000 among the three departments. The employee's total salary is $2,000, distributed to the three departments in proportion to the hours worked in each department.

Hourly Rate

Hourly Rate earnings are always associated with a number of hours worked that you specify in the employee record or on a timecard. When you set up an earning for hourly employees that is, employees whose primary earnings are calculated by multiplying hours worked by an hourly rate of pay choose Hourly Rate as the calculation method.

Amount per Hour

Amount Per Hour earnings are always associated with a calculated base of eligible hours that you enter on the Calculation Base tab of the Earning/Deduction Codes window rather than with a specified number of hours worked. When you set up an earning for the system to calculate by multiplying an amount by a calculated number of hours, choose Amount Per Hour as the calculation method. To allow the system to calculate an Amount Per Hour earning, rather than specifying the number of hours worked, you specify the hours-based earnings and accruals that make up the calculation base by which the amount per hour is multiplied.

Piece Rate Table

If you choose to use the Piece Rate Table calculation method, you then need to set up the table to which the system refers for information about piece rates. Sage HRMS Payroll multiplies the number of units entered on the employee's timecard by dollar amounts defined in the piece rate table.

Percentage of Base

If you choose to use the Percentage Of Base calculation method, you must specify the base hours, earnings, deductions, and taxes that make up the calculation base for the earning/deduction.

Sales Commission Table

If you choose to use the Sales Commission Table calculation method, you then set up the table the system uses to calculate sales commissions. Sage HRMS Payroll multiplies the dollar amount of sales entered on the employee's timecard by percentages defined in the sales commission table.

Wage Bracket Table

If you choose to use the Wage Bracket Table calculation method, you then set up the table defining the rates for each wage bracket. You also specify the base hours, earnings, deductions, and taxes that make up the calculation base for the earning/deduction.

Hours per Hour Worked

If you choose to use the Hours Per Hour Worked calculation method for accruals, you must specify the base hours, earnings, deductions, and taxes that make up the calculation base for the earning/deduction.

Hours per Frequency

Sage HRMS Payroll provides the Hours per Frequency calculation method (for accruals only) for calculating a specific number of hours per earning/deduction frequency. Use this calculation method to determine accrual of vacation, sick, and compensatory/banked time by the week, by the month, and so on.

Select from the list the method to be used in calculating the amount contributed or paid by the employer for this earning/deduction. You select an Employer Calculation Method for benefits and deductions only. The selection list displayed by the system contains the methods that pertain to the category of earning/deduction being set up. All the available Employer Calculation Methods are:

Flat

Use the Flat calculation method for employees whose benefits and deductions will always be posted to a single cost center. (The Fixed calculation method is provided for employees whose benefits and deductions will be apportioned across cost centers.)

Amount per Hour

Sage HRMS Payroll provides the Amount Per Hour calculation method so you can enter a dollar amount that is applied to a calculated number of hours. When you choose the Amount Per Hour calculation method, you must specify the base hours, earnings, deductions, and taxes that make up the calculation base by which the amount per hour is multiplied.

Piece Rate Table

If you choose to use the Piece Rate Table calculation method, you then need to set up the table to which the system refers for information about piece rates. Sage HRMS Payroll multiplies the number of units entered on the employee's timecard by dollar amounts defined in the piece rate table.

Percentage of Base

If you choose to use the Percentage Of Base calculation method, you must specify the base hours, earnings, deductions, and taxes that make up the calculation base for the earning/deduction.

Percent of Employee Contribution

Sage HRMS Payroll provides the Percent of Employee Contribution calculation method for calculating a percentage of the amount being deducted from the employee's pay (for two-sided deductions only).

You can enter the month, day, and year that calculation of the earning/deduction is to end.

From the list of options, choose the frequency with which you want the earning/deduction to be taken.

Frequency is provided for earnings/deductions as well as employees so you can set up a deduction, for example, that is taken monthly from a semimonthly employee's pay. You can assign an earning/deduction to an employee only if the earning/deduction's frequency is the same as, or less frequent than, the employee's pay frequency. For example, if the employee's pay frequency is monthly, you can assign to the employee an earning/deduction whose frequency is monthly or ten times per year.

Frequency is not applicable for accruals with any calculation method other than Hours Per Frequency.

The frequency, Float, indicates that the earning/deduction assumes the frequency of each employee to whom it is assigned. Float is not selectable if you are setting up an Hours Per Frequency accrual or any earning/deduction that uses the Piece Rate Table or Sales Commission Table calculation method.

Select the Inactive option if you want to prevent this earning/deduction from being assigned to any new employees. If you choose to make an earning/deduction inactive, the system displays the current DOS date in the As-Of field to indicate the date on which the inactive status takes effect.

Setting an earning/deduction to Inactive has no effect on the payroll calculation of employees who have already been assigned this earning/deduction.

This field displays only for the following types of earnings:

• Salary & Wages that uses an employee calculation method of Flat, Fixed, or Hourly Rate.
• Reported Tips.

Select this check box if you want to include this earning in the regular pay rate that is used for overtime calculations. After you save this setting, this will be the earning's default setting when you subsequently assign the earning to employees. Read more about Overtime Calculation Setup.

The system assigns a level to each earning/deduction you set up. The level determines whether one earning/deduction can be included in the calculation base of another earning/deduction. Read more About Earning and Deduction Levels.

This field appears only for vacation and sick accruals. To enable the program to automatically calculate the dollar value of vacation (or sick) time paid out in a timecard enter the earning that is associated with the vacation (or sick) accrual. The earning you enter must have an employee calculation method of Hourly Rate, Fixed, or Flat.

In order for the program to calculate the dollar value of the accrual payout:

• If you entered an Hourly earning in the Link Accrual Earning field, ensure that you have entered an hourly amount in the Rate/Amt/Pct field for that Hourly earning in the employee’s record.
• If you entered a Fixed or Flat earning in the Link Accrual Earning field, ensure that you have entered for that Fixed or Flat earning in the employee’s record:
• A fixed or flat amount in the Rate/Amt/Pct field, and
• The hours associated with that amount, in the Default Hours field.

For example, assume for a Vacation accrual, you enter a flat Salary earning in the Link Accrual Earning field. You then pay out eight hours of accrued vacation in an employee’s timecard. Assume the flat Salary earning is assigned to the employee’s record, with $1000 in the Rate/Amt/Pct field and 40 in the Default Hours field. The Payroll program will automatically calculate the dollar value each of the eight hours as $25 ($1000 / 40), for a total accrual payout value of $200.

In the example, if you did not enter the Salary earning in the Link Accrual Earning field, you would have to manually enter the dollar value of the eight hours ($200) in the Rate/Amt/Pct field of the timecard.

Select this check box if you want to post amounts for this noncash benefit to G/L expense and employer liability accounts.

Select this check box if you want the amounts for this earning/deduction to print on employees' pay stubs.

Select this option to indicate that a deduction is an automatic deduction to repay a cash or noncash advance.

A repayment deduction must be associated with an earning of the category Advance. Specify the advance that a deduction is repaying in the Advance to be Repaid field, which appears when you select the Repayment Deduction option. You can click the Finder button to display a list of the advances assigned to the employee.

To set up a repayment deduction for a taxable "advance" against future earnings that you have set up as an earning, do not select the Repayment Deduction option. Also, set up this type of deduction to be taken before any taxes, since the "advance" earning has already been taxed at source.

Enter a short description of up to 15 characters. The short description is required because it prints on T4s and Relevé 1s (when applicable). Make the first part of the short description meaningful, since the entire 15 characters may not print in the space provided on the T4 and Relevé 1. The short description is also used on certain reports and data entry windows in order to save space.

The start date dictates when calculation of this earning/deduction will begin.

• Specific Month/Day. Calculation of the earning/deduction starts on a specific month and day, which you enter in the Month and Day fields that display. 
• Date of Hire. Calculation of the earning/deduction starts on the employee's hire date. 
• Months After Hire. Calculation of the earning/deduction starts a specific number of months after the employee's hire date. E enter the number of months in the Months After Hire field displayed. 
• Days After Hire. Calculation of the earning/deduction starts a specific number of days after the employee's hire date. Enter the number of days in the Days After Hire field. 

When you assign this earning/deduction to an employee, the system supplies the start date for the earning/deduction based on the employee's hire date.

Select this check box to indicate that the accrual, earning, or benefit you are setting up is subject to workers' compensation premiums.

Only the payment of vacation, sick, or compensatory/banked time (and not the accrual of vacation, sick, or compensatory/banked time hours) is subject to the premiums.

Tip disbursements occur when you pay employees tip amounts that customers added to a credit card total rather than the customers paying directly to the employee in cash.

Select this check box to indicate, for a reported tips earning, that the reported tips are disbursed on a payroll check.

Tip disbursement earnings are added to gross pay on an employee's paycheck.

This field lets you specify a sub-classification of an earnings/deduction. The selections that display for Type field depend upon your entry at the Category field. (The categories Deduction and Expense Reimbursement have no type.) Read more About Types of Earnings, Deductions, and Accruals.

You enter the annual amount at which calculations for this earning/deduction should stop.

The Annual Maximum does not apply to tips earnings or to any earning with the calculation method Fixed or Hourly Rate.

Depending upon the calculation method chosen for this earning/deduction, you enter the hourly rate, the amount, or the percent to be used in the calculation of this earning/deduction. You can override the rate, amount, or percent when you assign the earning/deduction to the employee.

The rate/amount/percent field does not display for earnings/deductions that use the Piece Rate Table, Sales Commission Table, or Wage Bracket Table calculation method.

For earnings/deductions (except accruals) that let you enter an Annual Maximum amount, you can also enter a Lifetime Maximum amount.

This field enables you to specify when the Sage HRMS Payroll program should stop calculating the earning/deduction, without specifying a time limit. For example, if you create a Car Payment deduction with a lifetime maximum of $100,000, then during every Calculate Payroll run, the program will deduct a Car Payment amount for employees who have been assigned that deduction, until $100,000 has been deducted.

The value you enter on the Earning/Deduction Codes setup window becomes the default for all employees. However, you can change the value on individual employee records where appropriate.

From the list of options, choose the unit or amount on which the annual and period minimums and maximums for the earning/deduction are based. Period minimum and period maximum refer to the minimum and maximum amounts that can be calculated for the earning/deduction in the period dictated by the earning/deduction's frequency. For example, an earning/deduction with a weekly frequency would have weekly minimum and maximum amounts; an earning/deduction with a monthly frequency would have monthly minimum and maximum amounts.

Your selections for entry in this field depend upon your entry in the Employee or Employer Calculation Method field. (The Minimums And Maximums Based On field does not display for advances or expense reimbursements or for any earnings/deductions with the calculation methods Flat, Fixed, Hourly Rate, and Wage Bracket Table.)

If the calculation method is:

• Piece Rate. Select No Limit, Piece Count, or Dollar Value.
• Amount Per Hour. Select No Limit, Hour Count, or Dollar Value.
• Percentage Of Base. Select No Limit, Pay/Deduction Amount, or Base Amount.
• Sales Commission Table. Select No Limit, Commission Amount, or Sales Amount.
• Percentage Of Employee Contribution. Select No Limit, Deduction Amount (employer contribution), or Employee Contrib (employee deduction amount).

If you select No Limit, the system calculates the earning/deduction each period without regard to any minimums or maximums (and the Annual Maximum and period Minimum and Maximum fields do not display).

If you select an item other than No Limit and you are adding an earning/deduction with the frequency Float, the period minimum and maximum fields are labeled Minimum And Maximum Amounts By Frequency. If you are setting up an earning/deduction with any frequency other than Float, the period fields are labeled (Frequency) Minimum and (Frequency) Maximum.

Type the smallest and the largest amounts, base amounts, or number of units, based on your response at the Minimums And Maximums Based On field, that may be used in calculating the amount for each pay frequency your company uses.

The Minimum and Maximum fields are skipped if the Minimum/Maximum Based On field is set to No Limit.

Type the smallest and the largest amounts, base amounts, or number of units, based on your response at the Minimums And Maximums Based On field, that may be used in calculating the amount for the pay frequency.

The Period Minimum and Period Maximum fields are skipped if the Minimum/Maximum Based On field is set to No Limit.

This field applies only to deductions that let you enter an Annual Maximum amount (that is, if you have set the Minimum And Maximum Based On field to an option other than No Limit), and that uses an employee (or employer) calculation method of Flat, Amount per Hour, Percentage of Base, or Percentage of Employee Contributions (the latter being an employer calculation method only).

This field enables you to specify a second rate (expressed as a percentage, amount, or amount per hour, in accordance to the calculation method chosen) to be used for a deduction, once the maximum (Annual or Lifetime Maximum fields) for the first rate has been reached.

An associated field, Secondary Rate (Percent/Amount/Amount Per Hour) Effective, enables you to specify when the Secondary Rate should be effective.

• To stop deducting the secondary rate for all employees, set the Secondary Rate Effective field to Never.
• To stop deducting the secondary rate for individual employees, open the Employee Payroll window, select the deduction on the Pay tab, and clear the Calculate Earning/Deduction option.

For example: assume you created a flat $1,000 car payment deduction with a lifetime maximum of $100,000. You also specified a secondary rate amount of $500, to be effective After Lifetime Maximum Reached.

Then during every Calculate Payroll run, the program will deduct a $1,000 car payment for each employee who has been assigned that deduction, until $100,000 has been deducted for the employee. The program will then deduct $500 during every Calculate Payroll run, until you stop the deduction, using one of the methods described earlier.  

This field displays if the Secondary Rate (Percent/Amount/Amount Per Hour) field is displayed.

You can use this field to designate when the secondary rate comes into effect (never, or after the Annual Maximum or the Lifetime Maximum is reached).  

Select the taxes the earning/deduction is subject to.

The taxes you enter in the Subject To The Following Taxes field must have levels higher than the level of the earning/deduction you are setting up. You can type in the taxes or click the Finder box to choose from a list of all taxes with levels higher than the level of the earning/deduction you are adding.

Select the taxes that are to be taken after the deduction is deducted. In other words, the deduction you are setting up is a pre-tax deduction in relation to the taxes you select in the Taxes field.

The taxes you enter in the Take Deduction Before field must have levels higher than the level of the deduction you are setting up. You can type in the taxes or click the Finder box to choose from a list of all taxes with levels higher than the level of the deduction you are adding.

Your choice dictates the placement of information for the earning or deduction on the employee's T4 and T4A forms, and the T4A Earns/Deds Summary report. From the list of options, choose the option that applies to the earning or deduction if it needs to print in one of the boxes on the T4 or T4A. Not Applicable means that information about the earning or deduction does not print as a separate item on the T4 form (although it may be a part of other totals that print on the T4).

Your choice dictates the placement of information for the earning or deduction on the employee's Relevé 1 slips and the R2 Earns/Deds Summary report. From the list of options, choose the option that applies to the earning or deduction if it needs to print in one of the boxes on the Relevé 1. Not Applicable means that information about the earning or deduction does not print as a separate item on the Relevé 1 slip (although it may be a part of other totals that print on the Relevé 1).

Filing for the Relevé 2 is currently not supported in Sage HRMS Payroll. Use the Earns/Deds for T4A/R2 Summary Report to review the amounts to enter on the Relevé 2 slips when you are ready to file.

Your entry in this field determines the default date when unused vacation, sick, and compensatory/banked time up to the limit specified in the Maximum Carry-over column for the employee's years of service, is carried over to the new accrual period. (You can override the default when you assign the accrual to each employee.)

For more information about how the program carries over vacation, sick, and compensatory/banked time see Carrying Over Accruals.

Select from the following choices:

• Month/Day. Carry-over of the unused accrual hours or amount occurs on a specific month and day, which you enter in the Month and Day fields that subsequently display.
• Date of Hire. Carry-over of the unused accrual hours or amount occurs on the month and day of the employee's hire date.
• Months After Hire.  Carry-over of the unused accrual hours or amount occurs a specific number of months after the employee's hire date. Enter the number of months in the Months After Hire field that subsequently displays.
• Days After Hire.  Carry-over of the unused accrual hours or amount occurs a specific number of days after the employee's hire date. Enter the number of days in the Days After Hire field that subsequently displays.

The carry-over year is automatically set when you complete this field and is updated when the carry-over date has passed. If you change the carry-over date elsewhere (in Update Earnings/Deductions, for example), enter the month, day, and year of the next desired carry-over date.

Select the taxes the accrual is subject to.

The taxes you enter in the Subject To The Following Taxes field must have levels higher than the level of the accrual you are setting up. You can type in the taxes or click the Finder box to choose from a list of all taxes with levels higher than the level of the new accrual.

Select this option to specify that an employee cannot accrue more paid time off (vacation, sick, or banked time) in a year than the amount specified for the employee in the Max. Accrual field.

Select this box if you want to credit accrued vacation or sick dollars to the liability account. When you pay the vacation or sick time dollars, Sage HRMS Payroll debits the liability account and credits your cash account.

The Post The Liability field displays only when you are working with vacation or sick-time accruals which use the Percentage Of Base Calculation method.

This check box lets you specify how the program calculates an employee’s carry-over amount (or hours) for a new year. It identifies which component to compare with the Maximum Carry-Over field. The calculated carry-over amount (or hours) will vary, depending on the method chosen.

Enter each service year bracket for which the accrual is different. You can define up to 10 service year brackets.

For example, suppose that vacation time is accrued at 120 hours (3 weeks) per year for an employee's first 5 years of employment, at 180 hours (4.5 weeks) per year for employment years 6 through 10, and at 240 hours (6 weeks) thereafter. You would enter 5 in the first Through Service Year field, 10 in the second Through Service Year field, and 99 (or equivalent high number) in the third Through Service Year field.

Then at the other fields for each service year bracket, you enter the accrual statistics that pertain to that bracket, such as any beginning accrual, the increment (rate of accrual) and the maximums.

Enter the vacation or sick time dollar amounts or hours added to an employee’s outstanding balance at the beginning of each carry-over year. (This column is not shown for compensatory/banked time entries.)

For example, your company may provide 64 hours (8 days) of paid sick leave per year, regardless of the number of service years or hours worked. You would have a Through Service Year entry of 99, where its corresponding Beginning field would be 64, and the next field, Increment, would be 0.

The Increment column refers to the percentage of a dollar amount, or the number of hours, by which the employee’s vacation or sick time is automatically increased each time you process the accrual. This field is not shown for compensatory/banked time entries.

Enter the accrual increment amount or percent for each service year bracket for which the accrual is different.

For example, suppose that vacation time is accrued at 120 hours (3 weeks) per year for an employee's first 5 years of employment, at 180 hours (4.5 weeks) per year for employment years 6 through 10, and at 240 hours (6 weeks) thereafter.

Suppose you are accruing vacation for your employees by means of a monthly Hours Per Frequency accrual.

• On the line that corresponds to Through Service Year 5, you would enter 10 hours as the monthly increment.
• On the line corresponding to Through Service Year 10, you would enter 15 hours as the monthly increment.
• On the line corresponding to Through Service Year 99, you would enter 20 hours as the monthly increment.

Then at the other fields for each service year bracket, you enter the maximums that pertain to that bracket.

Enter the maximum dollar amount or number of unused hours of vacation, sick, or compensatory/banked time that an employee may accrue in each service year bracket.

• For example, for employees with 5 or fewer years of service, you would enter 120 hours in this field to indicate that the maximum accrual of unused vacation is 3 weeks.
• For employees with between 6 and 10 years of service, you would enter 180 hours, to represent a 4.5-week maximum accrual of unused vacation.
• For employees with over 10 years of service, you would enter 240 hours to indicate that the maximum accrual of unused vacation is 6 weeks.

Enter the maximum dollar amount or number of hours of unused vacation, sick, or compensatory/banked time, accrued during the current year, that an employee may roll forward into the next carry-over period.

Sage HRMS Payroll evaluates the Maximum Carry-over field according to the carry-over method you choose in the Calc Max. Carry-over Based On Remaining Balance check box.

Enter the asset account to which you will post cash and noncash advances made to employees in anticipation of repayment.

Type a distribution code of up to six characters to define the set of default G/L expense and liability accounts you are setting up.

Type a name or description for the distribution code, in up to 15 characters.

Enter the liability account to which you will post the tax or earning/deduction for any employee assigned this distribution code.

Enter the account to which you will post the employer's liability for this tax or earning/deduction for any employee assigned this distribution code.

The Employer Liability account column displays in the G/L Distributions field for the following types of earnings/deductions and taxes:

• Percentage of Base vacation and sick time accruals for which you have selected the Post The Liability option.
• Reported Tips earnings for which you have selected the Tip Disbursement option.
• Employer-only and two-sided deductions.
• Noncash benefits that are marked for posting to the general ledger.
• Taxes or portions of taxes paid by the employer.

This tab of the Earning/Deduction Codes setup window allows you to assign default expense and liability accounts to any number of distribution codes. When you assign an earning/deduction to an employee, you also assign a G/L distribution code for the earning/deduction, which sets up the G/L accounts to which the earning/deduction amounts will be posted.

If you plan to use cost center posting to replace segments of the G/L accounts to which you post payroll transactions, you may want to use "base accounts" as part of your distribution account sets. An earning's base expense account might be made up of the account segment followed by zeros for all segments that will be replaced. You can replace segments for each employee assigned a particular earning/deduction, either in the Employee Payroll windows or during timecard entry.

Enter the Overtime Expense account to which you will post overtime wages that are assigned this distribution code.

The Overtime Expense Account column displays in the G/L Distributions field for earnings that use the calculation methods Flat, Fixed, and Hourly Rate.

Enter the Regular Expense account to which you will post amounts calculated for earnings/deductions assigned this distribution code.

The Regular Expense Account column displays in the G/L Distributions field for accruals, earnings (other than reported tips), employer and two-sided deductions, expense reimbursements, cash benefits, and noncash benefits marked for posting to the general ledger.

Enter the Shift Expense account to which you will post shift differential wages assigned this distribution code.

The Shift Expense Account column displays in the G/L Distributions field for earnings that use the calculation methods Flat, Fixed, and Hourly Rate.

Depending upon the calculation method chosen for this earning/deduction, you enter the hourly rate, the amount, or the percent to be used in the calculation of this earning/deduction. You can override the rate, amount, or percent when you assign the earning/deduction to the employee.

The rate/amount/percent field does not display for earnings/deductions that use the Piece Rate Table, Sales Commission Table, or Wage Bracket Table calculation method.

Enter the annual earnings amount at which the system is to stop calculating the employee deduction and employer liability.

For earnings/deductions (except accruals) that let you enter an Annual Maximum amount, you can also enter a Lifetime Maximum amount.

The Lifetime Maximum field enables you to specify when the payroll program should stop calculating the earning/deduction, without specifying a time limit.

For example, if you create a Car Payment deduction with a lifetime maximum of $100,000, then during every Calculate Payroll run, the program will deduct a Car Payment amount for employees who have been assigned that deduction, until $100,000 has been deducted.

The value you enter on the Earning/Deduction Codes window becomes the default for all employees. However, you can change the value on individual employee records, where appropriate.

From the list of options, choose the unit or amount on which the annual and period minimums and maximums for the earning/deduction are based. Period minimum and period maximum refer to the minimum and maximum amounts that can be calculated for the earning/deduction in the period dictated by the earning/deduction's frequency. For example, an earning/deduction with a weekly frequency would have weekly minimum and maximum amounts; an earning/deduction with a monthly frequency would have monthly minimum and maximum amounts.

Your selections for entry in this field depend upon your entry in the Employee or Employer Calculation Method field. (The Minimums And Maximums Based On field does not display for advances or expense reimbursements or for any earnings/deductions with the calculation methods Flat, Fixed, Hourly Rate, and Wage Bracket Table.)

If the calculation method is:

• Piece Rate. Select No Limit, Piece Count, or Dollar Value.
• Amount Per Hour. Select No Limit, Hour Count, or Dollar Value.
• Percentage Of Base. Select No Limit, Pay/Deduction Amount, or Base Amount.
• Sales Commission Table. Select No Limit, Commission Amount, or Sales Amount.
• Percentage Of Employee Contribution. Select No Limit, Deduction Amount (employer contribution), or Employee Contrib (employee deduction amount).

If you select No Limit, the system calculates the earning/deduction each period without regard to any minimums or maximums (and the Annual Maximum and period Minimum and Maximum fields do not display).

If you select an item other than No Limit and you are adding an earning/deduction with the frequency Float, the period minimum and maximum fields are labeled Minimum And Maximum Amounts By Frequency. If you are setting up an earning/deduction with any frequency other than Float, the period fields are labeled (Frequency) Minimum and (Frequency) Maximum.

Type the smallest and the largest amounts, base amounts, or number of units, based on your response at the Minimums And Maximums Based On field, that may be used in calculating the amount for each pay frequency your company uses.

The Minimum and Maximum fields are skipped if the Minimum/Maximum Based On field is set to No Limit.

Type the smallest and the largest amounts, base amounts, or number of units, based on your response at the Minimums And Maximums Based On field, that may be used in calculating the amount for the pay frequency.

The Period Minimum and Period Maximum fields are skipped if the Minimum/Maximum Based On field is set to No Limit.

This field applies only to deductions that let you enter an Annual Maximum amount (that is, if you have set the Minimum And Maximum Based On field to an option other than No Limit), and that uses an employee (or employer) calculation method of Flat, Amount per Hour, Percentage of Base, or Percentage of Employee Contributions (the latter being an employer calculation method only).

This field enables you to specify a second rate (expressed as a percentage, amount, or amount per hour, in accordance to the calculation method chosen) to be used for a deduction, once the maximum (Annual or Lifetime Maximum fields) for the first rate has been reached.

An associated field, Secondary Rate (Percent/Amount/Amount Per Hour) Effective, enables you to specify when the Secondary Rate should be effective.

• To stop deducting the secondary rate for all employees, set the Secondary Rate Effective field to Never.
• To stop deducting the secondary rate for individual employees, open the Employee Payroll window, select the deduction on the Pay tab, and clear the Calculate Earning/Deduction option.

For example, assume you created a flat $1,000 car payment deduction with a lifetime maximum of $100,000. You also specified a secondary rate amount of $500, to be effective After Lifetime Maximum Reached.

Then during every Calculate Payroll run, the program will deduct a $1,000 car payment for each employee who has been assigned that deduction, until $100,000 has been deducted for the employee. The program will then deduct $500 during every Calculate Payroll run, until you stop the deduction, using one of the methods described earlier.  

This field displays if the Secondary Rate (Percent/Amount/Amount Per Hour) field is displayed.

You can use this field to designate when the secondary rate comes into effect (never, or after the Annual Maximum or the Lifetime Maximum is reached).  

Select the taxes the earning/deduction is subject to.

The taxes you enter in the Subject To The Following Taxes field must have levels higher than the level of the earning/deduction you are setting up. You can type in the taxes or click the Finder box to choose from a list of all taxes with levels higher than the level of the earning/deduction you are adding.

Your choice dictates the placement of information about the earning, deduction, or benefit on the employee's T4, T4A, and Relevé 1 slips. From the list of options, choose the term that applies to the earning, deduction, or benefit if it needs to print in one of the boxes listed. Not Applicable means that information about the earning, deduction, or benefit does not print as a separate item on the T4 and Relevé 1 slips (although it may be a part of other totals that print on the T4 and Relevé 1).

Select the deductions to be included in the calculation of this earning/deduction. (The deductions you enter in the box are deducted from earnings to arrive at the calculation base for the earning/deduction.)

This option displays when you are setting up an accrual, earning, deduction, or benefit that uses the calculation method Percentage Of Base or Wage Bracket Table.

Select the accruals, earnings, and benefits to be included in the wage base for this earning/deduction. You can include or exclude regular, overtime, and shift differential earnings.

This option displays when you are setting up an accrual, earning, deduction, or benefit that uses the calculation method Percentage Of Base or Wage Bracket Table.

Select the hours-based earnings and accruals to be used in calculating the number of hours on which this earning/deduction is based. The earnings included in the calculation base must be of the type Salary And Wages and must use the calculation method Flat, Fixed, Hourly Rate, Piece Rate Table, or Sales Commission Table. You can choose to include or exclude regular or overtime hours.

This option displays when you are setting up an accrual, earning, deduction, or benefit that uses the calculation method Amount Per Hour or Hours Per Hour Worked.

Select the taxes to be included in the calculation of this earning/deduction. (The taxes you enter in the box are deducted from earnings to arrive at the calculation base for the earning/deduction.)

This option displays when you are setting up a deduction that uses the calculation method Percentage Of Base or Wage Bracket Table.

Select this option if you want to set up the wage brackets table to use annualized wages. If you choose this option, be sure to convert ranges of pay for your employees to an annual basis. For example, enter a pay range of $2,000 to $2,500 per month as $24,000 to $30,000 in the wage bracket table. The system converts the wage table-based amounts back to amounts appropriate for the pay frequency when the deduction or benefit is calculated.

If you do not select this option, the wage brackets table calculates the deduction or benefit based on the amount of the pay period detail.

Select this check box if you want the wage brackets table to use progressive calculation for determining the total amount of a wage-table-based deduction or benefit. If you want the system to use non-progressive calculation (that is, focus only on the amounts entered for the range of wages applicable to the employee), clear the check box. Learn more About Progressive or Non-Progressive Calculation Wage Brackets.

The Tax or Wage Bracket From column displays the lower limit (dollar amount of wages) of each range for which you set a specific tax or earning/deduction amount and percentage of excess. The system displays zeroes as the first lower limit, and the upper limit of the previous range (plus a penny) for each subsequent lower limit.

Type the upper limit (dollar amount of wages) of each range for which you have set a specific tax or earning/deduction amount and percentage of excess. As you enter an amount on one line of the To column, the system defaults 999,999,999,999,999.99 on the next line of the To column. 999,999,999,999,999.99 represents the uppermost limit of the wage bracket table.

Type the dollar amount deduction to be deducted from wages that fall in the bracket.

Enter the percentage to be applied to the amount of employee wages that exceeds the upper limit of the range in the previous row in the bracket table. The product of this calculation is also deducted from wages.

The Of Excess Over column automatically displays, for each range of wages, the upper limit of the range in the previous row. For example, on a line that covers wages falling between $15,000.01 and $20,000, the Of Excess Over field displays $15,000.

Sage HRMS Payroll applies the percent entered in the Plus Percent column to the wages over this amount. You cannot edit the Of Excess Over field.

Select this check box if you want the system to use progressive calculation to calculate the total commission on sales. If you want to use the non-progressive method, clear the check box.

In both types of calculations, the rate varies according to the total sales during the pay period. Learn more About Progressive or Non-Progressive Calculation Sales.

This column displays the lower limit (number of pieces or units or dollar amount of sales) of each range for which you have set a specific pay amount or commission percentage. The system displays zeros as the first lower limit, and the upper limit of the previous range (plus one) for each subsequent lower limit. The system displays zeros as the first lower limit, and the upper limit of the previous range (plus a penny) for each subsequent lower limit.

Enter the upper limit (number of pieces or units or dollar amount of sales) of each range for which you have set a specific pay amount or commission percentage.

In this field, the system displays the dollar amount you entered in the last To field.

You enter the percentage of sales to be calculated for the employee for each range of sales you entered.

Select this check box if you want the system to use progressive calculation to calculate the total commission on sales. If you want to use the non-progressive method, clear the check box.

In both types of calculations, the rate varies according to the total sales during the pay period. Learn more About Progressive or Non-Progressive Calculation Piece Rate.

Enter the upper limit (number of pieces or units or dollar amount of sales) of each range for which you have set a specific pay amount or commission percentage.

In this field, the system displays the dollar amount you entered in the last To field.

Enter the dollar amount per piece to be paid the employee for each range of pieces you enter.

Use the Finder to select the optional field codes you want to use with this employee. You can select only the optional fields that you have already set up on the Payroll Optional Fields window.

When you select an optional field code, the program displays the description for the optional field.

If you want to set a default value for the optional field, double-click in the Value Set column to change it to Yes.

The Yes flag in the Value Set field alerts the data entry clerk that a seemingly blank optional field actually has an entry. By looking at the Value field, you cannot tell whether it has a “blank” default value or no value at all.

Enter or select the value that the program will display as the default for the optional field.If the optional field you selected requires validation, you must select a value that is defined for the optional field in Common Services. However, if the optional field allows blanks, you can leave the default value field blank.If the optional field does not use validation, you can do one of the following:Select a value that is defined for the optional field in Common Services.Leave the field blank.Enter a combination of alphanumeric or special characters and spaces. The entry must be consistent with the type of field (text, number, date, amount, and so on) and must not exceed the number of characters specified for the optional field. In a Yes/No field, you can enter only Yes or No.When you specify a value from Common Services, the program displays the description for the value.