Steps
to Complete Batch Options for Employee AbsencesFrom the Payroll screen, select the Data Entry menu and then Employee Absences.
If a batch already exists, the Employee Absence Batch Search screen will appear. To continue adding employee absences to an existing batch, select the desired batch by double-clicking on the batch description; otherwise, to enter a new batch, click the New Record button and then complete the batch options. If a batch does not exist, the batch options screen will appear immediately in order to create a new batch.
Tip: If absence entries will be processed in a different Payroll check cycle than the entries to pay the substitutes who filled in for the employees who were absent, create two batches of employee absences, with the first batch containing only the absence entries and the second batch containing only the substitute entries.
Steps
to Complete Batch Options for Employee Absences
The Employee Absences screen will appear for the selected employee absences batch. The description for the selected batch will appear in the title bar, and if the Recurring Entries field is selected for the batch, (recurring batch) will appear after the batch description.
On the Individual Entry screen (tab), click the New Record button to initialize the screen for a new entry.
Note: For any field equipped with the repeat function, click the Repeat button or press the Ctrl+R keys to repeat the previous entry for the specified field. The repeat function is only available after your initial entry. If desired, set the screen preferences for the Employee Absences screen to define which fields to repeat information automatically from the previous entry without requiring an additional keystroke.
Steps
to Set Screen Preferences
Enter the ID of the employee for which to record the absence (and pay, if applicable) in the Employee ID field. If the ID is not known, click the down-arrow button to select the correct one, or press the Ctrl+F keys to access the search feature.
Enter the ID of the pay code for which to pay the employee for the absence (if applicable) and deduct from the designated leave in the Pay Code ID field. If the ID is not known, click the down-arrow button to select the correct one, or press the Ctrl+F keys to access the search feature (the search screen lists the pay codes defined for the employee at the top of the list). If the Use Primary Pay Code as Default field is selected in the Set Screen Preferences option and the employee has a primary pay code specified in the Employee File, the ID of the primary pay code will appear as the default (unless the field is set to repeat within Set Screen Preferences), but can be changed.
Note: Once the pay code is specified, the information for the unit or contract pay code displays under the Comments field for reference only, and if applicable, the balance for the leave (and main leave, if applicable) tied to the pay code displays in the lower left corner of the screen, along with the unit of tracking (as defined in the Leave File); if desired, click the Go To button to the right of the leave balance to open the Employee File and display the leave information for the specified employee. For organizations that have licensed the Web Link module and utilize leave requests, if the employee has approved leave request entries that have not been processed, the total for the approved and unprocessed leave request entries for the leave (and main leave, if applicable) for the employee displays in the lower right corner of the screen; also, if the entry was created from a processed leave request, click the Go To button to the right of the Default Rate field in the Unit Pay Information section to display the Leave Request Inquiry screen for the applicable leave request entry.
If a contract pay code is specified in the Pay Code ID field, the Absence field is enabled. Select the Absence field if the entry is being made to deduct from the employee's wages (for example, if an employee needs to be docked one day of pay from the regular contract payment). A checkmark will appear in the box if the field is selected. The Absence field will be selected by default.
Enter the ID of the checking account from which to pay the employee in the Checking Account ID field. If the ID is not known, click the down-arrow button to select the correct one, or press the Ctrl+F keys to access the search feature. Leave this field blank to use the checking account entered for the specified pay code on the Wages screen of the Employee File for this employee; otherwise, if the pay code is not set up in the Employee File, leave this field blank to use the default checking account as entered on the Employment screen in the Employee File.
Enter the number of the check sequence (1 to 99) for which check the entry is to be included in the Check Sequence field. For example, if the employee will receive two checks during the Payroll check cycle and the entry should be included on the first check, enter 1 in this field. Leave this field blank to default to the check sequence defined for the specified pay code for this employee on the Wages screen in the Employee File, or the default check sequence defined for the pay code in the Pay Code File if the pay code is not defined for the employee in the Employee File, or a check sequence of 1 if the pay code is not defined for the employee and a default is not defined for the pay code.
If the Hide Date Sequence field is not selected within the Set Screen Preferences option, the Date Sequence field appears. If the employee absences batch will be included with the Pay Off Contracts or Reversing GAAP (applicable for Iowa school districts who reverse GAAP expense only) payroll batch processed at the end of the fiscal year, enter the number of the date sequence (1 to 99) for which to include this entry in the Date Sequence field. Leave this field blank to default to a date sequence of 1 if calculating all other payroll types.
Note: The Date Sequence field is disabled if the Expense Payroll field is selected on the batch options for the batch.
Enter the number of units (for example, hours or days) to pay the employee for the absence (if applicable) and deduct from the designated leave in the Units field. The number can be up to 14 digits long (including the decimal point and comma(s) if applicable) and will be rounded to 4 decimal places by the system if capable.
If desired, enter the number of hours the employee worked (or did not work) in the Hours field. The number can be up to 14 digits long (including the decimal point and comma(s) if applicable) and will be rounded to 4 decimal places by the system if capable. If the pay code is set up to track the hours worked (the Hours Worked field is selected in the Pay Code File), the appropriate number will automatically display in this field, but can be changed if needed; the number displayed here will be the number in the Hours Per Unit field from the Pay Code File multiplied by the number entered in the Units field for the entry.
Note: Tracking hours worked is required if the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Hours Tracking option within the School Accounting System will be completed. Also, tracking hours worked is required for inclusion on the applicable government reports for school districts in Illinois (for applicable employees to be included on the Illinois Monthly Teachers Retirement Report, including only employees with absences on contracts or rehired retirees), Missouri (for only employees with a wage type of R for Retired Working Member, T for Non-Member Sub Teaching WAR Waiver, or X for Non-Member), Nebraska, North Dakota (for teachers only), South Dakota (for only employees without retirement), and Wyoming.
If applicable, enter the amount to pay (or deduct) per unit for the entry in the Pay Rate field. The amount can be up to 14 digits long (including the decimal point and comma(s) if applicable) and will be rounded to 4 decimal places by the system if capable. If applicable, the pay rate (or the rate for the absence per day) entered for the specified pay code on the Wages screen of the Employee File for this employee, or else the default rate defined for the pay code in the Pay Code File will appear, but can be changed, if needed.
Note: For employee absence entries using a contract pay code, if the Absence field is selected, the amount entered in the Pay Rate field and the Dollars field must be negative in order to deduct the absence from the regular contract payment.
If the Units field and Pay Rate field were completed, the system automatically calculates the amount to pay the employee for this entry and displays it in the Dollars field (can be changed, if needed); otherwise, enter the amount to pay the employee for this entry in the Dollars field, if applicable. The amount can be up to 14 digits long (including the decimal point and comma(s) if applicable) and will be rounded to 4 decimal places by the system if capable.
Note: For employee absence entries using a contract pay code, if the Absence field is selected, the amount entered in the Pay Rate field and the Dollars field must be negative in order to deduct the absence from the regular contract payment.
If the pay code entered in the Pay Code ID field is not tied to a leave in the Pay Code File, the Subbed For Employee ID field is enabled. If desired, enter the ID of the absent employee for whom this employee worked (replaced) in the Subbed For Employee ID field. If the ID is not known, click the Search button to select the correct absence record (from within all unposted batches of employee absences), click the down-arrow button to select an employee from a list of all active employees, or press the Ctrl+F keys to access the search feature (will display all active employees or only the employees with absence entries as defined within the Set Screen Preferences option). If applicable, the employee ID specified in the last absence entry (within the batch) will appear, but can be changed.
If the Subbed For Employee ID field is completed with an employee who has an unposted absence entry (in this or another unposted employee absence batch), the Tie to Absence Entry field is enabled. To tie the current entry to an absence record (so the substitute entry is tied to an absence entry), select the Tie to Absence Entry field. A checkmark will appear in the box if the field is selected. The field will be selected by default if the specified employee (in the Subbed For Employee ID field) only has one unposted absence entry, or a specific absence record was selected.
Tip: In order to track the complete history for all the employee absence entries and generate reports showing the employees and who subbed for them, the substitute entries must be tied to absence records.
Enter the starting date of the employee’s absence or the substitute's entry in the Start Date field. Use the mm/dd/yyyy format or click the down-arrow button to select the desired date. Leave the field blank to default to the Start Date entered in the batch options. If making an entry for a substitute and the Tie to Absence Entry field is selected, the date entered for the employee who was absent (from the specified entry) will be the default but can be changed.
Note: If the date entered in this field is more than 60 days different from the current date, or more than 60 days before the End Date, a warning icon will appear to the right of the field; verify the date entered is correct.
Enter the ending date of the employee’s absence or the substitute's entry in the End Date field. Use the mm/dd/yyyy format or click the down-arrow button to select the desired date. Leave the field blank to default to the End Date entered in the batch options, or if a Start Date was manually keyed for the entry, leave the End Date field blank to default to the date entered in the Start Date field. If making an entry for a substitute and the Tie to Absence Entry field is selected, the date entered for the employee who was absent (from the specified entry) will be the default but can be changed.
Note: If the date entered in this field is more than 60 days different from the current date, or more than 60 days after the Start Date, a warning icon will appear to the right of the field; verify the date entered is correct.
If desired, enter a description to explain the reason for the employee’s absence in the Comments field. The description can be up to 1,000 characters long.
Note: If applicable, to use the comment entered for the pay code for the employee on the Wages screen in the Employee File, enter an E in this field.
In the Expense Accounts List, enter the expenditure account number(s) to be debited for the salaries from this entry for the employee, if applicable. To enter an account number, in the blank line (indicated with an asterisk) at the bottom of the Expense Accounts List, enter the account number in the Chart of Account Number field. If the account number is not known, click the down-arrow button to select the correct one, or press the Ctrl+F keys to access the search feature. Then click Enter Percents to designate what percent of the total rate is to be expensed to the specified account number; when entering the first account number, 100 will default in as the percent but can be changed as needed. To specify a fixed dollar amount of the total rate to be expensed to the specified account number, click Enter Dollars and then key the amount; the system will then calculate the percentage automatically. If applicable, the account number(s) entered for the specified pay code on the Wages screen of the Employee File for this employee, or else the default account number(s) defined for the pay code in the Pay Code File will appear, but can be changed, if needed.
Note: To copy an expense account number from another pay code defined for this employee, click the Search Employee Expense button located at the bottom of the Expense Accounts List and then select the desired pay code. When making an entry to pay a substitute and the entry for the employee specified in the Subbed For Employee ID field included an account number (for example, if the entry was an absence from a contract), click the Copy Subbed For Expense button to use the expense account from the entry for the employee who was absent. When making an entry to pay a substitute and the previous entry did not include an account number (for example, was not an absence from a contract), click the Search Subbed For Expense button to use an expense account from one of the pay codes defined for the employee who was absent.
In the Cross References List, select the taxes and deductions that apply to the entry for this employee. If the wages paid with the entry are to be included in the taxable gross for a particular tax, the tax must be selected. If the deduction is to be expensed against the entry, the deduction must be selected. If applicable, the cross references defined for the specified pay code on the Wages screen of the Employee File for this employee, or else the cross references defined for the pay code in the Pay Code File will be selected, but can be changed. To select a tax or deduction, click once on the box for the Selected column to the right of the ID and description. A checkmark will appear in the box if the deduction or tax is selected.
Note: If the wages for this entry should be taxed at the supplemental rate (only applicable for FIT and SIT), click the box for Supplemental Rate that appears to the right of the tax ID and description in the Cross References List.
For Illinois school districts only, complete the Illinois Teachers Retirement System section and/or the Illinois EIS List if needed.
If applicable, complete the following fields in the Illinois Teachers Retirement System section for use with the retirement report:
Note: The Illinois Teachers Retirement System section will only appear if the Hide Fields in Pay Period Entries field is not selected within the Illinois Monthly Teachers Retirement Report option and the entry is for a unit pay code or else an absence on a contract (which is an entry for a contract pay code with the Absence field selected).
If the entry is for a unit pay code or the entry is for an absence on a contract, complete the Hours Override field to use a different number of hours for the entry than what is specified in the Hours field (above). The number can be up to 14 digits long (including the decimal point and comma(s) if applicable) and will be rounded to 4 decimal places by the system if capable. Typically, this field is used with rehired retirees since they must not have more than 5 hours per day reported on the retirement report, or else used with entries for absences on contracts if a different number of hours should be used than what is specified in the Hours field (as entries for absences on contracts are part of the calculation to determine the number of docked days reported on the retirement report).
The Days Paid Override field is only enabled if the entry is for a unit pay code. If applicable, enter the number of days (up to 2 digits) the employee was paid for the particular entry in the Days Paid Override field; otherwise, leave the Days Paid Override field blank to have the system calculate the number of days paid when the retirement report is generated, by adding the days between the Start Date and End Date of the entry that are Monday through Friday.
Note: The Days Paid Override field is disabled if the entry is for a contract pay code.
The Retirement Payment Reason Override field is only enabled if the entry is for a unit pay code. If applicable, in the Retirement Payment Reason Override field, enter the appropriate 2-character code to use for the entry if the employee's retirement payment reason is different than the default designated for the pay code (when generating the retirement report), or click the down-arrow button to select the correct one. If applicable, the code entered in the Retirement Payment Reason Override field for the specified pay code on the Wages screen of the Employee File for this employee will appear but can be changed. Leave the Retirement Payment Reason Override field blank for the entry to use the default designated for the pay code (defined when generating the retirement report).
Note: The Retirement Payment Reason Override field is disabled if the entry is for a contract pay code.
If the entry is for a unit pay code, complete the Illinois EIS List for use with the Illinois Employment Information System option. If applicable, enter the employee's position information for the pay code entry for use with the Illinois Employment Information System option; refer to the Tip at the bottom of the Illinois Employment Information System Setup Procedures.
Note: The Illinois EIS List only appears if the entry is for a unit pay code (it does not appear if the entry is for a contract pay code), and the Hide Fields in Pay Period Entries field is not selected within the Illinois Employment Information System option.
For Wyoming school districts only, if the entry is for a unit pay code, tie the entry to the assignments in the Assignments List as follows for use with the Wyoming Staff Member Collection Report option (refer to Step 6 of the Wyoming Staff Member Collection Report Completion Checklist):
The employee's assignments (as defined on the Employee Assignment Maintenance screen (tab) within the Wyoming Staff Member Collection Report option) display in the Assignments List; only the active assignments appear, unless an inactive assignment has a percentage entered. For the applicable assignment records, enter the percentage of the salaries for the entry that applies to each of the employee's assignments in the Split Percent field. The total percentage of all the applicable assignments for the entry must equal 100%; if the entry applies to only one assignment, enter 100 as the percentage in the Split Percent field for the appropriate assignment. If the pay code is defined for the employee with the Split Percent field completed for the applicable assignments in the Assignments List on the Wages screen in the Employee File, the information from the Employee File will appear as the default, but can be changed if needed.
Note: The Assignments List will only appear if the Hide Fields in Pay Period Entries field is not selected within the Wyoming Staff Member Collection Report option. The Assignments List does not appear if the entry is for a contract pay code.
Click the Save button.
Note: If the entry was for a leave (for example, sick leave) and the employee already has an entry saved and/or posted for that particular leave with the specified start date, a message will appear prompting to save the entry; click Yes to save the entry or click No to not save the entry in order to make changes. Also, if the entry was for a leave that has a negative balance (or the main leave has a negative balance, if applicable) and the Warn if Negative Balance field is selected in the Leave File for the leave, a message will appear prompting to save the entry; click Yes to save the entry with the negative balance or click No to not save the entry in order to make changes.
Tip: To view all entries within the batch without employee subtotals, click the Display All (No Totals) button located above the Batch Entries List. To view all entries within the batch with subtotals by employee, click the Display All (With Totals) button. To view entries for only one employee with subtotals, specify the desired employee by clicking on an existing entry or enter the ID in the Employee ID field and then click the Employee Only button. To view the entries for only one employee and the entries for who subbed for them along with subtotals, specify the desired employee by clicking on an existing entry or enter the ID in the Employee ID field and then click the Employee and Substitute button.
Once all the entries have been entered, print a listing to verify the information.
Note: The subbed for information for substitute entries that were not tied to an employee absence entry (the Tie to Absence Entry field was unselected) will only be included (printed) on the Substitutes Listing and Pay Period Entries Listing-Detail reports, while the subbed for information for substitute entries tied to absence entries will be included (printed) on the Absence Listing by Absent Date, Absences Listing by Employee with Substitutes, Pay Period Entries Listing-Detail, and Substitutes Listing reports.
Tip: If desired, the employee absence entries can also be viewed and edited directly in the Batch Entries List (grid) by clicking the Grid Entry tab and then making the desired changes to the fields (columns) of information. Typically, the Grid Entry screen (tab) is only used to make changes for existing entries such as when working with recurring employee absences batches, imported employee absences, or after keying the employee absences with the Individual Entry method, because the account numbers, cross references, and ability to tie a substitute's entry to an employee's absence entry do not appear on the Batch Entries List on the Grid Entry screen (tab).