The pay period cycle corresponds to the frequency in which you pay your employees. Weekly, fortnightly, bi-monthly, three weekly, four weekly or monthly pay periods can be processed, with no limit on the number of pay frequencies, so whilst some employees may be paid weekly, others could be paid monthly or fortnightly.
After you have set up the system, the normal operating procedure each pay period is:
- Enter any changes to payee information to take effect with the new pay period. This is to ensure that the pay is based on the correct pay rates.
- Open the next pay period. You select the Next Period option on the menu line; a form will be displayed showing the next period number and pay date for the current selected pay group. When you click OK, each employee's pay will be calculated based on the payments and deductions entered in the previous pay.
- Go to the Calculation screen and modify the details for those employee's whose pay is different. For example, the basic hours worked may have changed, or they may have worked some overtime.
- When all the changes have been entered in the Calculation screen, you can then print any of the pay period reports. After you have printed the pay register, pay advices or costing report plus one of the net pay reports such as the direct credit report or signature list, the pay period will be closed and you cannot make any further changes in the Calculation screen.
At the end of the tax year you'll just need to print the Year End Summary report in order to reconcile the year to date totals for each employee.
Australia Only After you have checked the totals, you can print the Payment Summaries. The employee's copies of the Payment Summaries can be printed on plain paper and the ATO's copy provided on floppy disk.
Note that you do not have to complete the year end reports before opening the first pay period in the new tax year. If you wish, you can open the next period and print the year end reports any time before the tax office's closing date for returns.
OverviewPay Period