Set up weighted allocation of fixed amount payroll items
Introduction
Use a weighted allocation to automatically distribute fixed amount deduction or employer contribution items across locations and departments. Weighted allocation is helpful when a client has employees working in multiple locations and/or departments especially for:
- Hourly employees whose pay per distribution changes frequently.
- Salaried employees whose pay per distribution changes when payroll checks are entered.
- Auto-pay employees whose distribution rates are edited when payroll checks are entered.
You can choose to set up weighted allocation at the client level, by setting up the calculation for the deduction and employer contribution items, or at the employee level by modifying payroll item settings for individual employees.
Client-level: Set up weighted allocation calculation for payroll items
Using this method, you can set up deduction items or employer contribution items to use weighted allocation. These payroll items are then available to use for any of the client's employees.
- Using thePayroll Itemsscreen, create or modify a deduction or employer contribution item with aFixed amountcalculation type.
- Mark theWeighted allocationcheckbox directly underneath theCalculation typedropdown.
- Add the deduction or employer contribution item to the appropriate employee records by selecting theActivecheckbox for that payroll item in thePayroll Itemstab of the Employees screen.
- Select the ellipsis button next to the payroll item in thePayroll Itemstab of theEmployeesscreen to open theEmployee Payroll Item Settingswindow. TheWeighted allocationcheckbox is selected by default for that payroll item in theEmployee Payroll Item Settingswindow for that deduction or employer contribution.
- If necessary, you can enter or modify the fixed amount of the item in the amount field next to the checkbox. This updates theRatefield in the grid on thePayroll Itemstab of theEmployeesscreen.
Employee-level: Set up weighted allocation calculation for employees
Using this method, you can specify that deduction items and employer contributions use weighted allocation for individual employees, rather than for the payroll item itself. Follow the steps below to specify that deduction items and employer contributions use weighted allocation for individual employees, rather than for the payroll item itself.
- Create and add payroll items to your client.
- SelectSetup, thenEmployees, select the employee to edit, and then select thePayroll Itemstab.
- Select theActivecheckbox for the deduction or employer contribution to allocate.
- Select the ellipsis for that payroll item next to theRatecolumn.
- In the Rates and General Ledger Accounts section of theMaintab, select theWeighted allocationcheckbox.
- You can enter or modify the fixed amount of the item in the amount field next to the checkbox. This updates theRatefield in the grid on thePayroll Itemstab of theEmployeesscreen.
note
You can modify weighted allocation settings for several employees at a time using the
Edit Multiple Employees
wizard, which you can open by selecting Edit Multiple Employees
at the bottom of the Employees
screen.Enter payroll checks with weighted allocation
- Enter payroll checks as usual, using either theEnter Batch Payrollscreen or theEnter Transactionsscreen.
- Select the ellipsis button next to the pay item to open thePayroll Item Distributionswindow.
- Distribute the hours for the pay item across locations/departments.
- To verify the deduction item or employer contribution item has been distributed appropriately based on the pay distribution, select the ellipsis button next to that weighted deduction or employer contribution item in the grid to open thePayroll Item Distributionswindow.
Rounding example
If there's a need for rounding, the extra amount goes into the location or department marked as
Primary
in the Main
tab of the Employees
screen.Rounding distributions example:
An Oregon employee worked in Medford, Brookings, and Portland earned $530.00 in each location.
Brookings
was marked as the primary location, so the deduction would be split as follows.- Medford: $33.33
- Brookings: $33.34
- Portland: $33.33