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How Do I Inactivate an Employee?

  
  

Here's how to inactivate an employee in Patriot PAY:

  1. Start at Home > Employee List.
  2. Click the name of the employee you need to inactivate.
  3. Click the Pay Info link > Edit.
  4. Uncheck the box marked Active? and click Save.

The employee's name will not appear on the Payroll Entry screen the next time you run a payroll. However, you cannot delete the employee from your records.

  

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Filing Your W-3 Using Patriot PAY W-3 Summary

  
  
After you distribute W-2 forms to your employees, you must file a W-3 Transmittal of Wages with the Social Security Administration along with a copy of each employee's W-2. The W-3 must be typed on the official red-lined paper or filed electronically with the SSA. The W-3 cannot be printed from Patriot PAY. However, you can print a W-3 Summary Report from Patriot PAY to help you prepare the W-3 form. 

Here's how to print the W-3 Summary:

  1. Go to the PAY tab > Year-End Tasks > Company W-3 Summary.
  2. Select the year, and click Run.
  3. Use your browser’s print settings to print the report for your records. For more information, read "Printing from Patriot PAY Using Common Web Browsers." If you have problems opening the PDF, check your browser's pop-up setting. For more information, read "How Do I Disable the Pop-Up Blocker?"
  4. Use this data from the summary to complete the W-3 by mail or electronically with the SSA.
For more information, read the article "Company W-3 Summary Report." To order the W-3 form, refer to the IRS website.
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How to Print W-2 Forms in Patriot PAY

  
  

Here's how to print year-end W-2 forms for the employees on your payroll:


Review your W-2 Summary.
    • Go to the PAY tab > Year-End Tasks > Employee W-2 Summary.
    • Select the employee and choose the year.
    • Review your Employee Summary report for each employee. If it looks correct, continue with the steps below. For more information, read "Employee W-2 Summary Report."
Print W-2 Forms.
  1. Click the PAY tab > Year-End Tasks > Print W-2 Forms.
  2. Select the year. 
  3. Select All or an individual employee.
  4. Load perforated paper in your printer. You can purchase the IRS-approved W-2 paper (4 down a page) from an online office supply site.
  5. Click “Print.” A PDF will open showing your W-2 forms. 
  6. Print W-2 forms following your browser’s printing instructions. For more information, read "Printing in Patriot PAY Using Common Web Browsers."
Note: If you have problems opening the PDF, check your browser's pop-up blocker setting. For more information, read: "How Do I Disable the Pop-Up Blocker?"
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Employee W-2 Summary Report

  
  

The Employee W-2 Summary report shows a preview of the information that will be printed on the employee Form W-2. This is helpful at the end of the year, when confirming that income is properly reported. 

W2 summary resized 600

If you are a TaxBeGone customer, this report is found under the TaxBeGone tab.  Otherwise, click  PAY > W-2 Summary.

      • You can view one employee at a time or "All."
      • Select the employee and the tax year, and click Run. The W-2 Box Number, Description, and Amount will appear.
      • If you need to make changes to the amounts shown, you can run an additional payroll, or enter a Payroll Edit.

Note: Box 13, in which you will mark whether Statutory Employee, Retirement Plan, and Third Party Sick Pay applies to this employee, can be administered from the employee's Payroll Information screen.

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Company W-3 Summary Report

  
  

The Company W-3 Summary Report shows a preview of information that will be printed on the company Form W-3.   Form W-3 shows the total of all amounts reported on W-2 forms for all employees.  This is helpful at the end of the year, when confirming that income is properly reported. 

W3 summary resized 600

To find the W-3 Summary Report:

      • If you are a TaxBeGone customer, click the TaxBeGone tab> Tax Reports> Company W-3 Summary. Otherwise, click the PAY tab > Year-End Tasks > Company W-3 Summary. 
      • Select the tax year, and click Run.
      • The W-3 Box Number, Description, and Amount will appear. 

If you find that you need to make changes to the amounts shown, you can run an additional payroll for individual employees, or enter a Payroll Edit from the PAY tab.

For more information, read "Filing Your W-3 Using Patriot PAY W-3 Summary."

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How Do I Reactivate an Employee?

  
  

If you rehire an employee, or need to pay a terminated or inactive employee in Patriot PAY, you must first reactivate the employee. Here's how:

1. From the Home tab, choose the employee from the Employee List.

2. Click the Pay Info link > Pay Information > Edit.

3. Check the box marked Active? and click Save.

The employee's name should appear on the Payroll Entry screen the next time you run a payroll.

Note:  At the time you inactivate an employee, any deductions or contributions on their record will also be inactivated.  If you reactivate the employee, their deductions and contributions will remain inactive, unless you activate each deduction and contribution.

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How Do I Change a Pay Rate in Patriot PAY?

  
  

To change a pay rate for an employee in Patriot PAY:

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How Can I Reprint a Paycheck?

  
  

While you can reprint pay stubs in Patriot PAY, you cannot reprint a paycheck that has already been issued.

If an employee has lost or damaged their paycheck, you will need to void the check. Then, create a new paycheck by processing a new payroll. 

For more information, read the training articles How to Void a Paycheck and the Payroll Process.

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NACHA File Questions and Answers

  
  

If you use direct deposit to pay your employees, here is some information about NACHA files.

What is a NACHA file?
In general, a NACHA file is a means to communicate requests to transfer funds electronically.  In the context of Patriot PAY, a NACHA file is a text file that contains specific payment information for direct deposits.

What does NACHA stand for and what do they do?
NACHA stands for National Automated Clearing House Association. NACHA is an organization that establishes the standards and rules followed by financial institutions for transferring payments.  A NACHA file meets the format specifications set forth by NACHA.

Do I have to use a NACHA file to transmit my employees direct deposit information?
No. Your financial institution or 3rd party provider may provide you with other options for sending direct deposits to your employees, such as a web application. Keep in mind that such applications may require you to manually maintain your employees direct deposit information and enter the net amount to be paid each time you process a payroll. Let your financial institution or 3rd party provider know that Patriot PAY can produce a NACHA file when discussing which option will work best for you.

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Introduction to the Payroll Entry Screen

  
  

To run a payroll in Patriot PAY, you'll use the Payroll Entry screen to enter the hours and money for your employees. You can get to the Payroll Entry screen in two different ways:

Here's an explanation of the information that may appear on the Payroll Entry screen, and how you can change it to see only what you need.

Deductions and Contributions

By default, all active deductions and contributions that haven't met limits will be included in the payroll.

You can exclude any or all deductions and contributions in this payroll. For example, you're running payroll for a second bonus check, and you've already collected the proper amount of deductions/contributions. Click the Skip Deductions or Skip Contributions link, and any marked deductions and/or contributions in the list will NOT be included in the payroll.


Direct Deposits

By default, once you set up direct deposit accounts for employees, the system will not generate live checks for those employees.

If you need to give your employees live paychecks for a payroll run, you can turn off direct deposits for all employees. Check the box beside Turn Off Direct Deposits to print or manually create live checks for everyone in the payroll.

Employee List

Active and Inactive Employees
The Payroll Entry screen lists all active employees. If an employee does not appear in this list, they may be inactive. To activate an employee:

1.  Start at Home> Click the employee> Pay Info
2. Pay Information> Edit> Check the Active? box.

Missing Information
If an employee is missing required information for payroll processing, a warning message appears beside their name. You must fill in any missing info on the employee's screen before you can pay that person.


Hours and Money Types

Each employee's row includes fields for Regular Hours and Overtime Hours. To enter other hours such as vacation, or to pay a flat dollar amount:

1. Click the Add Hours/Money link at the end of the employee's row.  You will see columns for Other Hours and Money.
2. To add more than one Hours or Money Type for an employee, click Add again.

Adding Other Hours Types
Choose from the Other Hours list and enter the number of hours.  (Note: All active Hours Types in Settings > Patriot PAY Settings > Payroll Settings are included in the Other Hours list. To make an item appear or disappear from the Other Hours list, click Edit in that Hours Type row, and check or uncheck the Active? box.)

Adding Money Types
Choose from the Money list and enter the flat dollar amount. (Note: All active Money Types in Settings > Patriot PAY Settings > Payroll Settings are included in the Money list. To make an item appear or disappear from the Money list, click Edit in that Money Type row, and check or uncheck the Active? box.)
 

Hourly and Salary Employees
For hourly employees, you must enter hours, since gross pay calculation depends on the number of hours paid.

For salary employees, it's not necessary to enter hours, but you may choose to for tracking purposes. The number of hours worked won't affect gross pay. The Salary box is automatically checked and their flat dollar salary rate will be included in the payroll. To turn off a salaried employee’s regular pay, uncheck the Salary box.

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