Payroll Help

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Employee-Level Contributions in Patriot Software

You can calculate company contributions to be posted on employee paychecks for various reasons, such as showing company paid benefit premiums, 401k company match, company HSA contributions, etc. It is important to note that these company contribution amounts do not affect the employee’s earnings. It is simply an informational dollar amount that will appear with other paycheck details and reports. Using company contributions is a helpful way to show your employees the additional costs that the company is paying on their behalf. It is also helpful for calculating 401k match detail for each pay. You will first need to set up the contributions under the Company level, and then can assign them to individual employees.

  • Payroll > Employees > Employee List
  • Click the employee’s name in the Employee List.
  • Click the “Deductions & Contributions” link on their record.

To add a new contribution, click the “Add New” link under the Contributions section. A set of blank fields will appear.

Contribution:  Select from the dropdown list of available contributions set up at the company level.  To add a contribution that is not in the list, you will first need to add the contribution at the company level.

Method:  The Method will either be “Fixed Dollar” or “Percent.” This is determined by the contribution you have selected, and is set up at the company level. This is for information purposes on the employee’s contribution screen and cannot be changed here.

Formula:  Depending on the above Method, enter either the dollar amount or percent of pay that should be contributed on each paycheck. If there is a Company Default Amount set up at the company level, the default amount or percent will automatically fill in the field. If you do not want to use the company default amount, click “Use a Custom Amount” and fill in the custom amount for this employee.

Active:  This checkbox will be marked by default. When the Active box is checked, the contribution will occur in any payrolls for this employee as long as a limit has not been reached, and the contribution has not been turned off on the Payroll Worksheet. If the active box is unchecked, the contribution will not occur. If a contribution is active, but its corresponding deduction is inactive, the contribution will not be included in the paycheck. It will only appear if the deduction on which it is based is also deducted.

For Deduction:  If this contribution is based on a deduction, the deduction will appear in this field.  This can only be set up at the company level.

Limits:  This field is optional. The Contribution can be set up with a dollar limit so that once the limit is reached, the Contribution will automatically stop. See more information about Deduction and Contribution Limits.  If there is a Company Default Amount set up at the company level for a limit field, the default amount or percent will automatically fill in the field. If you do not want to use the company default amount and want to use a custom limit, click “Use a Custom Amount” and fill in the custom amount for this employee. If you want to remove the limit, click “Use a Custom Amount,” delete the default amount, and leave it blank.

To edit a contribution, click the Edit icon in the row. You can now make changes in the appropriate fields for that contribution. You can inactivate or activate a contribution, or change the amount per pay and limits. Click Save.

To delete a new contribution, click on the trashcan icon at the end of the row and click Yes to delete the contribution. Note you may only delete a contribution if it has not yet been used in a payroll. If the contribution has been used in a payroll, the delete icon will not be visible.

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