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Enter payroll checks

Set up remote payroll

important
For live payroll processing only
With the remote payroll feature, you can send payroll schedules, unprinted checks, payroll check stubs, and W-2 information to NetClient CS and Employee Self-Service portals.
The Remote Payroll feature is available to firms licensed for:
  • Accounting CS Payroll.
  • NetFirm CS.
  • NetClient CS.
note
  • You'll need to pay a monthly to use the remote payroll feature. For details, contact your CS Sales representative
  • Remote payroll is 1 way for your clients to enter their accounting and payroll information. Accounting CS Client Access is another. To find out more, read our help topic: Differences between Accounting CS Client Access and remote payroll.

Set remote payroll options for the client (Firm)

To set up remote payroll entry clients, you'll need to make or change some settings on the
Payroll Information
 tab.
  1. Select
    Setup
    , then
    Clients
    .
  2. Select the
    Payroll Information
     tab.
  3. If your client will use remote payroll for the majority of their payroll schedules, to save setup time:
    1. Select
      Import
       in the Default Time Entry Method section
    2. Select
      Remote payroll entry
       from the
      Source
       field.
  4. Select the ellipsis button in the Payroll Schedules section.
  5. Add or edit the specific payroll schedule.
    note
    All clients should have at least 1 payroll schedule set up, but for remote payroll entry clients, this is particularly important. Only clients with a valid payroll schedule will display in the Manage NetClient CS screen, which is used to upload payroll information to the portal.
  6. In the Time Entry Method section, select
    Import
    .
  7. Select
    Remote Payroll Entry
     from the dropdown list.
    note
    This step is essential to let the application know that this is a remote payroll entry client. If you select this method and the client has a valid pay schedule selected, this client will display in the Manage NetClient CS screen when it is time to process remote payroll.
  8. For remote check printing clients only:
    1. In the Default Check Output section of the
      Payroll Information
       tab, select
      Remote check printing
    2. Mark the
      Payroll checks
       and
      Send to FileCabinet CS
       checkboxes, if necessary.

Set up remote payroll for the employee (Firm)

Each employee should have at least 1 payroll schedule selected. Only employees with valid payroll schedules are included when the remote payroll information is uploaded to the client's portal.
  1. Select
    Setup
    , then
    Employees
    .
  2. Select the
    Main
     tab.
  3. In the Payroll Schedules section, select the payroll schedule.
tip
If you do any of the following, it will prevent you from including an employee in a remote payroll timesheet:
  • Set up the employee after the time sheet was uploaded in Manage NetClient CS.
  • Enter an employee's hire date to be after the payroll check date.
  • Enter an inactive date (if applicable) that is dated before the next payroll check date.
  • Choose a different payroll schedule in employee setup than was uploaded in Manage NetClient CS.
Only 1 timesheet can be on the client's portal at a time. If your client has multiple payroll schedules that use remote time entry, only the most recently uploaded timesheet will be available.
The remote Payroll schedule won't appear in the Manage NetClient screen until it it's assigned to the employees.

Upload client and employee information to the portal (Firm)

In this step, you specify which information to send to the portal.
  1. Select
    Actions
    , then
    Manage NetClient CS
    .
    note
    The screen shows clients that meet the following criteria:
    • The client has one or more valid payroll schedules set up with the
      Import
       time entry method and
      Remote payroll entry
       as the source.
    • A payroll schedule using the
      Import — Remote payroll entry
       time entry and source is set up on at least one of the client's employees.
  2. Mark the checkboxes for the client payroll information that you want to upload.
  3. You can select
    +
     next to a client to show individual employee information records.
  4. Enter any payroll notes you want to send with the payroll information in the Notes to client column.
  5. When the payroll information is selected for upload, select
    Upload
     to send the information to the portal.
  6. You can view the status of the payroll in the Status column. Status messages are defined in the following section.
note
  • Only 1 payroll schedule at a time can be on the client's portal. If your client has multiple payroll schedules that use remote time entry, upload the timesheet that needs to be completed first. When the client enters the time and completes the payroll, that timesheet must be imported back to into Accounting CS, at which time the next timesheet becomes available for upload. If you upload a timesheet to the portal and then immediately upload a 2nd timesheet, the 1st timesheet will be overwritten.

Change a NetClient CS user's access to remote payroll (Firm)

To complete the setup process, update the permissions on the client portal to enable one or more of the client's staff to complete payroll time entry.

View the timesheet upload status in the Manage NetClient CS screen (Firm)

The status of the current payroll is displayed in the Manage NetClient CS screen. Status messages include:
  • Pending Upload:
     At this time nothing has been pushed. This is the status that displays before a new timesheet is uploaded.
  • Uploaded — Queued:
     The timesheet has been pushed, but the client hasn’t yet received the information on their portlets.
  • Uploaded — Unchanged:
     The timesheet has been pushed up to the portal. At this time, the client hasn’t changed anything.
  • Uploaded — Changed:
     The client has entered time but hasn’t yet completed it.
  • Pending Download:
     The client has completed and approved the time. It is ready to import from the Enter Batch Payroll Checks screen.

Set up the client portal (Firm)

  1. In your internet browser, go to www.netlinksolution.com.
  2. Select the
    Admin
     tab.
    note
    You will see this tab only if you have Administrator rights on your NetStaff CS Portal.
  3. Select
    Users
     under NetClient CS.
  4. In the NetClient CS Users pane, select
    Add
     if this is a new portal.
  5. Highlight the client's sign in name.
  6. In the Permissions section, select
    Enable
     for
    ($) Remote Payroll & Check Printing (ACS)
    .
    note
    Enable
    is not available until at least 1 payroll schedule has been uploaded from Accounting CS.
  7. In the Remote Payroll & Check Printing Permissions window, mark the checkboxes for each client that this login should access
  8. Mark the
    Remote Check Printing
     and/or
    Remote data entry
     checkboxes as needed for each client.
  9. You can mark the Payroll Administrator checkbox to designate this NetClient user as the Payroll Administrator.
    note
    Other NetClient Users with permissions to this client may enter payroll, but only the Payroll Administrator is able to select the Payroll Complete button and submit the payroll information to the firm. 
  10. Select
    Enter
     to save the changes.

Enter time (Client or Employee)

With Remote payroll, there are 2 possible processes for entering and completing payroll timesheets on the NetClient Portal.
  • Client enters payroll and completes the payroll
    . In this process, the client performs this step when the payroll schedule information is uploaded. In the Enter Time screen, the client can enter time and any necessary notes prior to completing the time entry. 
  • The employee enters payroll
    . In this process, you'll need mark the
    Enable employee time entry
     checkbox in the Payroll Schedules window for clients using Employee Self-Service. The employees can then enter their hours via My Time Entry within Employee Self-Service and then select
    Complete
    . The timesheet is sent to the supervisor or manager at the client’s office, who will review and approve the time. The supervisor/manager can edit time sheets in their NetClient CS portal and can select
    Approve Time
     to approve them.
The payroll information is not exported to Accounting CS until the client's payroll processor completes time entry.

Complete time entry (Client)

In either time entry process,
the client must complete the payroll
 by selecting the
Complete Payroll
 button. This sends the timesheets to Accounting CS, where they’ll be imported on the Enter Batch Payroll Checks screen.
When payroll entry is complete, the application sends a confirmation email to the staff members assigned to the roles specified in the Remote Payroll Time Entry Options window. If no staff roles have been assigned there, or if those staff members have no email addresses entered, the confirmation email is sent to the designated NetFirm CS Portal Administrator.
note
Email Notifications selections are available in the Remote Payroll Time Entry Options window once emails are entered for the Client and Staff setup; along with a designation of Primary, Backup, or Reviewer in the Main tab of the Setup > Clients screen.
  1. Go to
    Setup
    , then
    Clients
    .
  2. Select the
    Payroll Information
     tab.
  3. Select the ellipsis button for Payroll Schedules.
  4. Update the Payroll schedule.

Add new employees via the NetClient CS portal (Client)

The client's appointed processor can add employees or edit existing employee information from the NetClient CS portal.
The processor can add new employees in the Employees pane. However, only the following information can be added or changed via NetClient CS. All other employee information must be added or changed within Accounting CS.
On the
Main
 tab:
  • EIN/SSN.
  • Employee name: First, Middle, Last, Suffix.
  • Employee street address, City, State, ZIP, County, Country.
  • School District, Municipality (if necessary for the city, state, ZIP, and county).
  • Email.
  • Phone.
  • Work Location (locations can be added for new employees but can't be changed for existing employees via NetClient CS).
On the
Personal
 tab:
  • Date of birth.
  • Marital status.
  • Date of hire — you can add Hire date for new employees but you can't update it for existing employees via NetClient CS.
  • Last raise date.
  • Gender.
  • Race.
  • Inactive date.
On the
Payroll Taxes
 tab:
  • Filing status.
  • Total allowances.
  • Additional or Fixed amount or percentage.
  • Nonresident alien.
  • Federal tax exempt.
  • New hire FICA credit.
  • State Additional or Fixed amount or percentage.
  • Nonresident exemption certificate.
  • State tax exempt.
The new and updated employee information appears in the Remote Payroll Entry Import window when a payroll batch is processed in the Enter Batch Payroll Checks screen in Accounting CS. 

Update existing employees information on the NetClient CS portal (Client)

You can update the following information on the Enter Time and Employees panes
  • Employee pay rate.
  • Employee address.
  • Phone number.
  • Work locations (If they exist in Accounting CS).
    note
    You can add locations and select a related department, unless the employee is limited to the options specified in the payroll schedule.
When the client updates employee information in NetClient CS, you will be prompted to update that information in the Employees screen when you download payroll information to Accounting CS.
note
If you change the address information, the application verifies that the address information is valid. (For example, the application will verify that the city exists in the selected state, that the ZIP Code is valid for the city, and so forth.) It is important to fill in all address fields with correct information because Accounting CS uses this information to determine the taxes. If the application finds that any of the information is not valid, it will revert the address to the previous valid address, and you will be prompted to correct the address information in the employee record.

Update information via Employee Self-Service in My W4 Information (Employee)

Employees can update the following information.
  • Name (first, last, middle initial, suffix).
  • Email address.
  • Federal W-4 information (such as: filing status, number of allowances, nonresident alien status, federal tax-exempt status, extra or fixed amount or percentage, and EIC status).
  • State W-4 information for each state (such as: filing status, number of allowances, and extra or fixed amount or percentage).
If the client uses Employee Self-Service exclusively, the updated employee’s information appears as a data sharing window when you select
Setup
, then
Employees
 in Accounting CS. If you want to cancel the employee updates, mark the
Reject
 checkbox.
If the client is using Remote Payroll as well as Employee Self-Service, you can select
Setup
, then
Employees
 to update the employee’s information in Accounting CS before timesheets are retrieved, or go to Actions, then Enter Batch Payroll Checks screen when the timesheets are imported.

Enter batch payroll for remote payroll entry clients (Firm)

  1. In Accounting CS, select
    Actions
    , then
    Enter Payroll Checks
    .
  2. In the Enter Batch Payroll Checks screen, select the client.
  3. Choose the payroll schedule for which you want to create checks.
  4. You can take the following actions on the
    Updated Employees
     tab, which shows any changes to employee records made by the client:
    • Select
      +
       next to any employee to see details about the changes that were made and use the checkboxes to accept or reject any of the changes.
    • If a pay rate is selected, the employee's current check and employee record will be updated. If unselected, the employee's current check will be updated and their employee record will remain unchanged.
    • Any Notes entered by the client will appear on the
      Notes
       tab. The Notes tab only appears if the client entered notes.
    • Select
      Print
       to print a report of the information from all tabs in the window.
      important
      You can't print notes after you've selected
      Continue
      .
  5. You can take the following actions on the
    Added Employees
     tab, which shows any employees added by the client.
    • Select
      +
       next to an employee to see the details of their record.
    • Use the checkboxes to accept or reject the new employee record.
    • Before you can accept any new employee records, you'll need to enter an Employee ID.
  6. You can use the
    Remote Entry Detail
     tab to review details about the payroll data entered by the client.
  7. You can use the
    Notes
    tab to review any general or employee-specific notes entered by the client.
  8. Make any necessary changes to the payroll information for the employees on either the
    Rapid
     or
    Detail
     tab, then select
    Enter Batch
     to create the payroll checks.

Add new employees to the current batch

When you add new employee IDs via the
Added Employees
 tab, those employees are not included in the current batch payroll entry session. If necessary, you can use the following process
before clicking the Enter Batch button
 to include those new employees in the batch.
  1. Select
    Actions,
    then
    Enter Batch Payroll Checks
    .
  2. Select
    Suspend Batch
    .
  3. Select Setup, then Employees.
  4. Make selections for the employee in the
    Payroll Items
     tab and save the information.
  5. Return to the Enter Batch Payroll Checks screen and select the payroll schedule.
  6. Select
    Yes
     to refresh the suspended batch with the latest employee information.
  7. Clear the
    DNP
     checkbox for the employee, and enter their hours.
  8. Select
    Enter Batch
    .

Print payroll checks for remote payroll clients (Firm)

  1. Select
    File
    , the
    Print Checks
    .
  2. Select the
    Payroll Checks
     tab.
    note
    The
    Payroll Checks
     tab of the Print Checks screen shows payroll check information for all unprinted checks, including those for remote payroll entry.
  3. Mark the checkbox for the client or checkboxes for individual employees
  4. Select
    Print Selected
    .
  5. Make your printing option selections, then select
    OK
    .
    note
    If you have enabled remote check printing for the client, the checks go directly to the client's portal without showing the Print window.
  6. Make sure the call checks printed successfully, then select
    OK
    .
    note
    If you selected FileCabinet when setting up your remote payroll entry client, the FileCabinet window will appear.

This article applies to:

  • Product: Accounting CS
  • Subject: Clients

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