Payroll: Module Overview
- Daria Chebotaieva
Introduction
This article gives an overview of the Adonis Payroll Module.
Here you will explore various components of the Payroll Module, a specialized tool designed for those responsible for payroll management.
Location
The Payroll Module can be accessed from 2 places:
Under Modules tab > Payroll
Under Payroll tab > Payroll
The Payroll Module will only be available if Payroll is enabled on the selected organization.
Additionally, appropriate access rights should be given to the user level beforehand (see section on Access rights).
Functionalities
Once you open the Payroll Module you will see a range of tabs available for you and each of them has its unique purpose. Let's take a closer look at each of them separately -->
Entries - this tab displays the current period payroll.
Payslip - this tab is a preview of what we will see in the standard APM Payslip. The displayed data depends on the setup under the Entry Codes Maintenance > Payslip tab.
Accumulators - here we can view the values stored in permanent and temporary accumulators as well as the history of accumulator movements.
History - on this page, we can view the history of payments for the employee throughout his/her employment.
Annual Summary - here we can view the amount reported under certain AS codes to the Danish government both in current and historical periods.
Back Pay - this tab shows all the back payments that were performed in the system.
Constants - under this tab, we store tax information for the employee as well as personal leave pay factor (if applicable).
Payment - on this page, we fill in all the payment details of the employee. Such as Payment Action, Bank details, Payment currency, etc.
Rates - this tab is used for maintaining personal payment rates for those whose salary is different from what is stated in the payscale.
Comments - under this tab, you can add additional remarks/comments about the employee.
EDAG - here we can view the amount reported under certain to the Norwegian government both in current and historical periods.
Entries tab
The Entries screen is used for managing the current period payroll of a specific person that is selected in the Crew List.
Automatic Tax Section
At the top of the Entries screen, there is the Automatic Tax section.
It gives an overview of the tax details on the employee depending on the National Payroll Code selected under the Constants tab (e.g. with National Payroll Code set to NO (Norway).
Entries section
In the center, there is a list of all the payment transactions of this person within the current period.
The tab displays both auto-generated and manual entries for the current payroll period:
Auto-generated – are created automatically after the calculation based on the person’s payscale and activities (crossing the current payment period). Such entries cannot be adjusted manually from the Entries screen.
Manual – are added manually by the payroll user and do not depend on the person’s activities. If you need to create the same payroll entry (same transaction code) for several crew members, there are several routes that can be used. We will talk about them later on.
By default, the color of the displayed entries is like this:
System-generated allowance entries are blue.
Manually entered deductions and auto-generated allowances (over 900)are usually black.
System-generated deductions have a maroon color.
Manually entered deductions and auto-generated deductions (over 900) are of the scarlet color.
However, it is possible to customize the colors according to your taste under the Manage Menu -> Options (see further).
Totals section:
This section is divided into 2 sub-sections:
Total sum per column (only for numeric values).
Total Amount from all the Entry Codes in this period (Earned, Deducted, Net).
Only the values from L61 on each entry are summed up.
Manage Menu
Manage Menu contains controls for the entries screen management.
Actions:
New – add new payroll entry.
Open – to view entry details.
Delete – remove the selected transaction.
Reference – to add/remove additional payment information on the selected entry. It also allows you to open reference details if they were already added.
Calculation:
Calculate – performs calculation of payments for the selected person.
Period Lock - In APM it is possible to set Period Lock on the person in the current payroll period.When the Lock is set it is not possible to make any changes to the payments of this crew including calculation.
Calculation process
When you calculate payroll in APM, the system checks all activities (onboard days, travel days, etc.) that are registered on a person and calculates the person's salary based on their pay scale or monthly rate. The system also calculates any payroll variables inputted manually by the user (cash advances, expense reimbursements, etc.)
It is only when a user performs the calculation that the payroll entries in the payroll view will be updated. This means that even if there are changes made to a person’s activity, for example, their shift is prolonged by two days in the rotation plan, that won't reflect in the payroll view before the calculation is performed. This ensures that the payroll user(s) have control over the process - no changes are made to the payroll entries before the calculation is performed.
View:
Print – displays customized reports from the Report Generator that were set available in the payroll Module in General Codes > Report Generator.
Temporary – gives an overview of the current values stored in temporary accumulators.
Options – contains custom options for Payroll Module configuration.
Payslip tab
The purpose of the Payslip tab is to give an overview of what will be displayed in the Standard APM Payslip.
Automatic Tax Section
At the top of the Entries screen, there is the Automatic Tax section.
It gives an overview of the tax details on the employee depending on the National Payroll Code selected under the Constants tab (e.g. with National Payroll Code set to NO (Norway).
Preview section
This section serves as a preview of the payslip for the current payment period.
The Preview tab has a default number of columns that have default names.
The names can not be changed, but the displayed value for most of the columns depends on the setup under the Entry Codes Maintenance > Payslip tab.
Field | Description | Value |
Code | Entry code number. | Default, can not be changed. |
Text | Entry code name. | Default, can not be changed. |
Basis | Amount used as a basis for the calculation. | Usually, the basis is stored in some calculated amount from 2-11 (L62-L71). |
Quantity | Number of days/ hours. | Usually equals to L22 – Entry Field 2 |
Rate | Payment rate. | Usually equals to L23 – Entry Field 3. |
Calculation Currency | Currency used for calculation. | Set under Organization Properties > General. |
Message | Text/ comment field. | Default picks up the value stored in L38 Text on the entry. |
Payment Currency/Rate | Dynamic field. | The Payment Currency is set under the Payroll > Payment tab. |
Totals section
Gives an overview of the total payments in the current month for the selected employee.
B/ F From Previous Month - the amount that was not paid out to the crew in the previous period and was transferred into the current period with EC 996.
Net Pay Current Month - the difference between Earned and Deducted.
Earned - shows how much the person earned this month, based on the amounts in L61 field.
Deducted - shows how much was deducted from person's earning this month, based on the amounts in L61 field.
New Balance - the total balance for the current period that will be paid out to the employee:
B/ F amount + Net Pay amount.
Carry Forward to Next Month - the amount to be transferred to the next period.
It appears if the balance action "Carry Forward to Next Month" is set on a person.
Accumulators tab
Under the Accumulators tab, we can check the values stored in the permanent and temporary accumulators as well as review the history of accumulator movements.
Main screen
The main window displays the current balance for all the permanent accumulators.
The balances are split into:
Balance B/F (balance brought forward from the previous period(s)
Current Debit/Credit (balance added/ deducted from the current period entries)
Current Total (the sum of the Current Debit and Current Credit)
Balance C/F (the balance that will be transferred/ carried forward to the next period, equals to the sum of the Balance B/F, Current Debit, and Current Credit )
Employer. This field displays the employer organization code to which the balances belong to.
See the chapter on the Organization Setup for more details.
The Balance B/F can be adjusted manually if required.
Manage Menu
The Manage Menu contains the controls allowing you to:
Hide the permanent accumulators with empty values on the main screen.
Access the history of the permanent accumulators’ movements.
View the current values stored in the temporary accumulators.
Open the Audit Trail to check who and when applied the changes to the permanent accumulators.
Temporary
This option allows to view the current values stored in the temporary accumulators.
When you click on the Temporary button, the overview screen opens up with all the temporary accumulators that are currently is use, along with their values.
The temporary accumulators are re-calculated and saved every time a calculation takes place.
History
This option allows you to review the permanent accumulators' movements by period.
Audit trail
This option allows you to view the history of changes applied to the permanent accumulator in each period. You can see which user and when made a change in the permanent accumulators. This includes automatic changes that happen after the calculation, re-build of accumulators, and manual adjustments of the Balance B/F.
Hide empty rows
When this option is ON all the permanent accumulators with empty values will be hidden from the user view. Only those that have some value - either B/F, Current or C/F - will be displayed.
History tab
This History tab contains the history of payments for the employee throughout his/ her employment.
Main screen
The main window displays the list of historical payments. By default, all the payments for the current year are displayed, but it is possible to select any Year and Month according to your needs.
Manage Menu
The Manage Menu contains controls allowing you to perform different operations with the historical entries.
Let's check each of them in detail.
Open Entry Details
This option allows you to review the details of each entry in the selected Historical period.
The same is possible by double-clicking on the entry.
Open Ref
This option allows you to view the Additional Payment Information/ Comment on the historical entry.
Allows you to generate the standard/ in-build payslip reports directly from the History tab.
Constants tab
Under this tab, we store the tax information on the employee as well the personal leave pay factor (if applicable).
Tax Information
The tax information is required for tax reporting. It should be set for each of the reported employees and updated timely in case of new changes.
The number of the displayed fields depends on the National Payroll Code set for the Automatic Tax.
Leave Factor
The personal leave pay factor identifies how many leave days should be earned/ deducted for the crew.
The factor set on the personal level overwrites the factor set on all the other levels.
You can check this article for more details Leave Days Account.
Payment tab
On this page, we store the payment details of the employee.
The tab is split into the three sub-tabs:
New Balance. It contains such information as Payment Action, Bank details, Payment currency, etc.
Alternative Receiver. Here we can define the alternative payment receiver information.
When is it blank by default the information from Personal Details is used.E-mail Pay Slip. It contains additional options that affect the standard payroll payslip reports.
We will talk about each sub-tab in more detail in the chapter on "Funds Transfer to Banks and Payment Systems".
Rates tab
The Rates tab is used for maintaining the personal payment rates of the employee.
Usually, personal rates are used for those whose salary is different from what is stated in the payscale.
Main screen
The main window contains the list of the personal rates.
In total, there are 99 rates that are split into five views (system 0 - system 4) for more convenience.
Manage Menu
Manage Menu contains controls for the entries screen management.
Audit Trail
This option allows you to check who and when applied the changes to the personal rates.
Show By Payscale
This option allows to filtering of the personal rates list by the Payscale Table set in the Personal Details.
When the option is ON only the personal rates that are set as active under the Payscale Table Properties are displayed.
Rates Setup
Names
The generic names for the personal rates are configured under the Organization Structure -> Top Level (Concern) -> Personal Rates section.
Those names will be applied to all the organizations in the system.
It is also possible to have different names for personal rates depending on the Company.
For this "Personal List of Rates" option should be enabled for the selected company under the Properties > General > Rates tab.
Calculation
For the rates to be considered during the calculation it is necessary to add a certain condition in the Payroll script. The reference code for any personal rate to be used in the script is PRn, where "n" is rate line number. For example →
Comments tab
Under this tab, you can add additional remarks/comments about the employee.
The view is split into 2 main parts:
General Comments
Period Related Comments
General Comments
Here you can add some general remarks on that person that have some relation to payroll.
The remarks can be viewed by any user who has the access to Payroll Module.
This comment will not be reflected on the payslip.
Period Related Comments
Here you can add some remarks that are relevant only to the specific payroll period(s).
Once the comment is added the system will show it under the person’s current Entries list with entry code 997. This entry code with a comment can be set to be displayed on the payslip.
Back Pay tab
The Back Pay tab gives an overview of all the "back-pay entries" ever created for this person.
Under each entry line, you will see its description containing: the payroll period, entry code number, pay-scale table and code, back-pay amount, text/ comment, etc.
The entries can be of two types: historical (paid) and planned (non-paid).
The status can be checked under the "Is Paid" column.
"N" means that the record was only generated, but not paid out to the crew yet.
"Y" means that the record was paid. The payroll entry was generated in the corresponding payroll period under the Payroll Entries screen.
You can delete the generated entries if needed.
To do this, right-click on the selected line and click "Delete".
For more details read https://adonishr.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/KB/pages/3203931672/Payroll%3A+Back+Pay
Annual Summary (Danish specific)
The Annual Summary shows the total amounts reported to the Danish government under the appropriate AS Code (Annual Summary Code). The codes are defined yearly on each entry under the Payroll > Entry Code Maintenance > Details > Annual Summary. Refer to the chapter on Entry Codes for more details.
The view is split into two main tabs:
This Year - YYYY
Previous Years.
This Year
Under the This Year tab, you can see the overview of all the payments reported within the current year.
You can limit the selection by the payment period.
To do this select "From" and "To" periods and click "Go".
The Overview is split into three tabs:
Code - shows the total amount reported under the selected AS Code in this period.
Detail - shows the amount reported under the selected AS Code, split by the Entry Code.
Account - shows the total amount reported under the selected AS Code, split by the Account number.
Previous Years
The Previous Years tab shows the same information as the This Year tab but for the past years.
You can limit the selection by year and period.
To do this select the "Year", then "From" and "To" periods, and click "Go".
EDAG or Electronic Dialogue with Employer (Norwegian specific)
This tab is used for reviewing the information to be reported to the Norwegian Tax Administration (Skatteetaten) through A-Melding under certain Inntekttype.
The view is split into two main views:
Current Period
History Periods
Current Period
The Current Period view shows all the payments reported to the government within the current payment period.
The Overview is split into two tabs:
A-Melding - shows the total amount reported under the selected Inntekttype in this period.
Detail - shows the amount reported under each Inntekttype, split by the Entry Code.
History Periods
The History Periods view shows the same information as the Current Period view but for the previous payment periods.
You can limit the selection by year and period.
To do this select the "Year", then "From" and "To" periods, and click "Go".
Functional buttons
Under the Payroll tab, we have a set of functional buttons performing different payroll operations.
Payroll section overview:
Payroll
Opens the payroll information of the person selected in the Crew List.
Calculation
Allows to perform payroll calculation for the batch of crew.
Three options are available:
Calculate org. unit (currently opened);
Current crew list;
Tagged persons.
Batch Entry
This routine allows to addition of various payment entries for the batch of crew in the current payment period.
We will learn more about this routine in the following chapters.
https://rippleops.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/KB/pages/3214311468
Process
This option is used to transfer the travel expense records and time sheets records for a batch of crew into the current payroll period.
Reports
Contains a list of standard in-build payroll reports available for the Payroll Module.
Some of the reports are generic and can be used by any company.
Other reports are specific to certain national payroll systems: Norwegian, Danish, and US.
Electronic Payment
Stores the electronic payment files generated after producing the Payment List report.
The user can export the file to the local PC and send it to the bank.
Back Pay
This functionality allows to recalculate historical wages of a person using a new rate and then pay out the difference in the current payroll period.
This is usually required when the unions start annual negotiations of CBAs and provide employers with new contracts saying that these new pay rates have been in effect from two months ago.
You can read more about it in this article Back Pay.
Close Month/ Close Year
Those are special procedures that should be performed by the payroll user at the end of each payroll period / payroll year. We will learn more about those routines in the following chapters.
https://rippleops.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/KB/pages/3214311468
Bank Receipt
Used in the Philippine (PH) payroll for registration of Bank Receipts that is required for reporting of SSS, Philhealth or HDMF.
Set
Contains a set of payroll operations performed on a batch of crew.
Click "Set options description" to read about each of the options.
Execution Log
Shows the Audit of all the actions performed in the Payroll Module by different users within the selected period.
Tax Def Files
Allows to Export/ Import the Tax Definition file for the US or NO customers.
Check out this article for more details How to import Tax Tables (annual procedure)
Setup section overview
Payscales
Opens up payscales maintenance screen.
Entry Codes
Opens up entry code maintenance screen.
Payroll Scripts
Opens up the script editor screen.
Tax Module settings
This functionality is used for the configurations of the national tax system.
The setup is based on the National Code set in the Organization Structure.
For each National Code, you can set the accumulator containing the basis amount for tax and define the Tax entry code to be generated on this basis amount.