The system posts payroll totals and, optionally, creates transaction batches for posting to the general ledger, when you approve printed paychecks in the Print/Post Checks window or post manual checks in the Post Manual Checks window.
You should not approve paychecks until you are sure that payroll calculations are complete and correct, although you can always recalculate payroll, using the same pay period end date, and print and approve additional checks if you discover that you omitted or underpaid an employee. When you approve the additional paychecks, the additional amounts are posted in Payroll.
If you discover other types of errors after approving paychecks, however, you may need to reverse the paychecks (in Bank Services) or restore data from the backup you made before printingpaychecks. Once you restore your data, you can correct the errors and recalculate payroll, either erasing or merging with previous activity.
Approving Payroll
When you approve payroll, the system:
- Deletes all timecards processed through Calculate Payroll. If a timecard has been designated reusable, the system deletes all earnings dates and leaves other timecard information intact for subsequent use.
- Carries over any employee accruals with carry-over dates earlier than or equal to the pay period end date you entered in the Print/Post Checks window.
- Updates payroll to-date totals.
- Generates G/L batch files if you elected to Create G/L Transactions During Posting in Payroll G/L Integration. (Otherwise, you must use the Generate G/L Batch window to generate G/L batch files.)
Transactions in the Posting File
When you approve paychecks or post manual checks, the system produces a posting file of G/L transactions regardless of whether you opted to create G/L batches immediately or later. Transactions in the posting file credit the Salary and Wages Payable account with the amounts paid to employees for the pay period (including net salaries and wages, tips disbursed, accrual payments, cash advances, and expense reimbursements). The system generates corresponding debit transactions to various wage and benefit expense accounts, depending on your G/L account setup.
To reflect amounts paid on printed paychecks, the system also produces debit transactions to the Salary and Wages Payable account and credit transactions to the bank account. Again depending on your account setup, the system produces balancing transactions to earning/deduction and tax expense and liability accounts and, in the case of a repayment deduction, to an advances receivable account.
Posting Dates
The dates associated with these G/L transactions depend in part upon whether you choose (in Payroll G/L Integration) to use the check date or the pay period end date as the journal entry date. Your choice affects the dates associated with transactions posting to expense and employer liability accounts only; the check date is always associated with transactions posting to the bank and employee liability account.
Therefore, if you opt to use the check date as journal entry date, all your G/L transactions post to the check date. If you opt to use the pay period end date as the journal entry date, your expense and employer liability account transactions post to the period end date and your bank and employee liability account transactions post to the check date.