Using Manual Checks
manual checks are for payroll checks outside of the standard payroll processing routine in Sage 300 Payroll. Sometimes manual checks are referred to as "after the fact" (ATF) checks because you generally enter the manual check data after you have written and issued the check. You can enter as many manual checks per employee per pay period as you need. The information you enter on manual checks is cleared when you post them in the Post Manual Checks window.
- Set up or modify payroll options. Be sure to specify the maximum annual number of part-time hours, if it applies.
- Add all the earnings/deductions used to calculate employees’ pay. Verify that any annual and period minimums and maximums and the start, end, and carry over dates for each earning/deduction are correct.
- Add or update workers’ compensation groups and codes.
- For Canada, activate all income taxes used to calculate employees’ pay. Verify that the percentage (when applicable), calculation base, and G/L distribution set for each tax are correct.
- For U.S., activate all federal and state taxes and add or modify any local or custom taxes used to calculate employees’ pay. Verify that percentages (when applicable), calculation base, G/L distribution set, and annual and period minimums and maximums for each tax are correct.
- Add all employee records and verify that employee earning/deduction and tax assignments are up to date. Be sure you have entered the correct start, end, and carry over dates for all employee earnings/deductions.
Creating or Editing a Manual Check
- Open Payroll > Payroll Transactions > Manual Check.
- To find an existing manual check, click the navigation buttons or the Finder in the Employee Manual Check field. Or, to enter a new manual check, enter the employee number (or select the employee from the Finder) in the Employee field.
- Enter the fields in the top portion of the window.
- Indicate whether or not to print the check.
- If you don't want this manual check included for processing, clear the Active check box.
- If you use Sage 300 Project and Job Costing and you want to enter job-related information (such as for allocating payroll costs to jobs) for the earning/deduction, select the Job-Related check box so that you can enter the Jobs field on the Earnings/Deductions tab.
- Enter or override the information on the Earnings/Deductions tab and on the Taxes tab. You can use the F9 key to replace a line on the tab's entry table with a detailed data entry window.
Important! You must explicitly enter every earning, deduction, benefit, advance, expense reimbursement, accrual, and employee tax withholding amount that you want to record in connection with the manual check payment.
- You can enter an unlimited number of earnings/deductions and taxes on manual checks. Employer tax liabilities are automatically calculated when you process manual checks. Only the Employer contributions to deductions with Flat calculation methods can be overridden. The system will warn you if the rate, amount, or percent has been reached or exceeded.
- If Cost Center Override is selected in G/L Integration setup and the Earning and Deduction is setup to Use Cost Center Override Allocated Based on Calc Base for a deduction using a Flat Employer Calculation Method, and you wish to Override the Employer Rate/Amt/Pct value in a Manual Check, enter the applicable Flat deduction Amount for each G/L Segment in the Override Employer Rate/Amt/Pct field rather than the Flat deduction Rate.
- To post an earning/deduction (or tax) to a cost center other than the displayed account
Type over the displayed account, or click the field and use the Finder to choose an account. Or, if you use the (F9) detailed entry window, click the Segments button to open a window where you enter the override segments you want to post to. This feature is available only if you choose the option to use cost center overrides on the Payroll G/L Integration window.
- When you enter the information, Sage 300 Payroll displays several totals at the bottom of the window, such as the employee's gross and net pay; hours worked; and the hours and amounts paid and accrued for vacation, sick, and compensatory time. These totals reflect the amounts entered for that manual check only. If you use Sage 300 Transaction Analysis and Optional Field Creator and you want to assign optional fields to this manual check, click the Optional Fields tab.
Optional fields set up for automatic insertion in manual check records automatically display on this tab along with their default values. For information about setting up optional fields before you use them here, see About Optional Fields. You can accept or change any default values.
You can accept the optional fields displayed, or you can delete or add them.
- To delete an optional field, select the line on the table, then press Delete on the keyboard.
- To assign additional optional fields, select the table, then press Insert on the keyboard. Complete the fields on the new line.
- Choose the Add or Save button to save the manual check information you have entered.
- To verify entries, print the Manual Checks report.
- Process the manual checks on the same Manual Check window. After verifying the entries, click the Process button to prepare the data for finalization. The manual checks must be processed before they can be printed or posted.
- If you selected the Print Check check box during the entry process, you must print the manual checks to post them. Print the checks from Payroll Transactions > Print/Post Checks.
- If you did not select the Print Check check box during the entry process, use the Post Manual Checks function to post the data to G/L.
- You can enter multiple manual checks per employee per pay period if the check date for each check is unique. If you need to enter more than one to-be-printed manual check for an employee in a pay period, you can process, print, and post the first one, and then you can enter another using the same pay period end date and the same check date.
- After processing manual checks you intend to print, you use the Print/Post Checks window to print and post them. Printable manual checks are cleared once you print and post them using the Print/Post Checks window.
- You cannot calculate payroll for an employee for whom a manual check exists, unless the manual check has a pay period end date earlier than your payroll calculation period end date and has been processed (but not necessarily posted).
- The system does not calculate overtime or shift differential wages for a manual check. To ensure proper posting, you must calculate regular, overtime, and shift differential wages manually and enter them as separate amounts on the manual check indicating the earning type for each entry.
