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Enter payroll checks

Employee Self-Service overview

With Employee Self-Service, you can upload W-4 information, check stubs, W-2 forms, 1095-C forms, and (for independent contractors) 1099-NEC forms to an employee portal. The client's employees can then log in to view, edit, and print their information. This topic explains the process flow for setting up Employee Self-Service for a client's employees.
note
If your firm is interested in providing this feature for a client's employees, please note that additional charges and licensing would apply.

Employee information that is uploaded and downloaded via the employee portal

note
  • If there's a date in the
    Inactive date
     field in the Main tab of a client record, the application will not send W-2 information to that client's employee portals.
  • The application uploads only payroll checks that were entered after the employee's Employee Self-Service portal was enabled. If the check stubs include a year-to-date section, that section will include all payroll history, even if the checks are not on the portal.

Employee information that is uploaded to the employee portal

The following employee information is uploaded from
Accounting CS
 to the employee portal.
  • New or updated employee W-4 information.
    This includes login information used for portal creation and for disabling Employee Self-Service for an employee.
  • Changes to the status of uploaded employee checks (void or delete).
  • New handwritten payroll checks.
    note
    • Existing handwritten payroll checks and historical checks are not uploaded to the portal.
    • If a handwritten check has been uploaded to the client's portal but was generated as an historical check, the application will remove that check from the portal.
This information is uploaded and immediately available when any of the following occur:
  • Client payroll schedules (timesheets) are uploaded to NetClient CS for remote payroll entry. (Payroll schedules for multiple clients can be uploaded at the same time.)
  • Payroll checks are printed
    for at least one client
     .
  • W-2 forms are printed
    for at least one client
    .
  • 1095-C forms are printed
    for at least one client
     .
  • An employee's W-4 information is changed and the employee record is saved.
    note
    This includes the employee's name, EIN/SSN, address, and W-4 information on the Payroll Taxes tab of the employee.

Employee information that is downloaded from the employee portal

New or updated W-4 information entered by the employee in the employee portal is downloaded to
Accounting CS
 when either of the following occur:
  • The Setup > Employees screen is opened.
  • The client's payroll schedule is selected in the Actions > Enter Batch Payroll Checks screen and the Actions > Enter Batch Handwritten Payroll Checks screen.
note
  • In all of the situations above, information is uploaded for all of the client's employees, whether or not all employees are included in the selected action. For example, if a new employee is added but that employee is not included in the check run, the employee's information is still uploaded during the check printing process.
  • If the client changes the address information in the application, 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.) 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.
Employees can modify the following W-4 information:
  • Name (first, last, middle initial, suffix)
  • Email address
  • Federal W-4 information (filing status, amounts claimed for dependents, other income, and deductions, nonresident alien status, federal tax-exempt status, etc.)
  • State W-4 information for each applicable state (filing status, number of exemptions and allowances, additional or fixed amount or percentage, etc.)
If the client is using Employee Self-Service exclusively, the updated employee’s information appears as a data sharing dialog when you open the Setup > Employees screen in Accounting CS. You can cancel the employee update(s) by marking the
Reject
 checkbox.
If the client is using Remote Payroll as well as Employee Self Service, you can go to
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
 when the timesheets are imported.

Enable Employee Self-Service for a client

Take the following steps to set up the client.
  1. Select
    Setup
    , then Clients.
  2. Select the
    Payroll Information
     tab.
  3. Select the client and click the
    Edit
     button.
  4. In the Employee Data Integration section, mark the
    $ Employee Self-Service
     checkbox.
    note
    • When this checkbox is marked, the client has access to all Employee Self-Service functionality, and Employee Self-Service is automatically enabled for all of the client's employees. If necessary, however, you can disable Employee Self-Service for individual employees.
    • Your firm must be licensed for Accounting CS (including payroll and payroll compliance for clients who will be doing time entry) and NetFirm to use Employee Self-Service. If this checkbox is grayed out and unavailable, verify that you have downloaded and applied your Accounting CS license after you paid the Employee Self-Service fees.
  5. Select
    Enter
      to save the updated client setting.
After you select
Enter
, an email is sent to all employees for the client asking them to register their Employee Self-Service portal. The email is sent from
no-reply@thomsonreuters.com
 and may end up in the spam folder. If you haven't added any employees yet, the email won't be sent.
Do the following if you need to add employees:
  1. Select
    Setup
    , then
    Employees
     to add information for the client's employees.
    note
    In the Main tab of the Employees screen, be sure to enter a valid email address for each applicable employee.
  2. If this is the first time Employee Self-Service has been enabled for this client, a registration email will automatically be sent to all employees with a valid email address specified in the
    Main
     tab of the Setup > Employees screen.
    note
    • The email provides a link that directs the employee to the NetClient CS account registration page, where the employee can create a login and specify a password to access their account.
    • To specify the format and content of the registration email, follow the instructions for modifying templates for notifications that are sent by NetFirm CS and select the User Activation > Employee Self-Service template.

Enable Employee Time Entry for a client

If your client's employees will enter their own time, you can enable Employee Time Entry for the client.
  1. In the
    Payroll Information
     tab of the client record, the
    Employee Self-Service
     checkbox should be marked.
  2. Select the ellipsis button next to the field in the Payroll Schedules section.
  3. In the Payroll Schedules dialog, select the schedule that applies to the employees who will enter their time, and select
    Edit
    .
  4. In the Time Entry Method section, select the
    Import
     option and select
    Remote payroll entry
     in the Source field.
  5. Mark the
    Enable Employee Time Entry
     checkbox, and change any other payroll schedule settings, as needed.
  6. Select
    Enter
     to close the dialog, and then save the client record. The client's employee portals will now include a My Time application.
note
  • Be sure that the employee record includes a valid email address.
  • After the client sends timesheets to the employees through Remote Payroll, the employees can enter their own time (see Employee Self-Service time entry).
  • Remote Payroll should be enabled for only the person who approves employee timesheets.

Sending Form W-2 to the employee portal

To have the application send an electronic copy of the W-2 form to the Employee Self-Service portal when you print your payroll tax forms (to avoid processing the W-2 forms a second time), mark the Send to Employee Self-Service checkbox in the Print Options dialog for Form W-2. The electronic copy of the W-2 form will be sent to the Employee Self-Service portal for all employees. This checkbox affects only the forms currently being printed.
note
If there is a date in the Inactive date field in the Main tab of a client record, the application will not send W-2 information to that client's employee portals

Sending Form 1099-MISC or 1099-NEC to the employee portal (for independent contractors)

You can have the application send an electronic copy of the 1099-MISC and/or 1099-NEC form to the Employee Self-Service portal of independent contractor employees when you print your payroll tax forms (to avoid processing the 1099 forms a second time).
tip
You can send Form 1099-MISC for tax years 2019 and earlier, and 1099-NEC for tax years 2020 and later.
  1. Select
    Actions
    , then
    Edit Payroll Tax Forms
    .
  2. Select
    1099
     as the form type,
    1099-NEC
     or
    1099-MISC
     as the 1099 type, and the applicable year.
  3. Select
    Refresh
    .
  4. By default for the selected client: Mark the
    Send 1099-NEC to Employee Self-Service
     checkbox in the Independent Contractors section of the 1099 Additional Information dialog. The application sends an electronic copy of the 1099-NEC form to the Employee Self-Service portal for all independent contractor employees every time you print 1099 forms, unless you have only Copy A selected during processing.
  5. At print time: Choose File > Process Client Forms and then mark the
    Send to Employee Self-Service (Independent contractors only)
     checkbox in the Print Options dialog for Form 1099. The application sends an electronic copy of the 1099-NEC form to the Employee Self-Service portal for all independent contractor employees. This checkbox affects only the forms currently being printed, regardless of what is selected in the 1099 Additional Information dialog of the Setup > Clients screen.

Send Form 1095-C to the employee portal

To have the application send an electronic copy of Form 1095-C to the Employee Self-Service portal when you print your payroll tax forms, select
Employee Self-Service
 from the dropdown list in the
Employee copy
 field in the Print Options dialog for Form 1095-C. The electronic copy of the Form 1095-C will be sent to the Employee Self-Service portal for all employees.
If you select
Paper
 in the
Employee copy
 field, you can mark the
Send to Employee Self-Service
 checkbox below that field to also send the employee copy of the form to the Employee Self-Service portal.

Activating employee portals

This procedure is to be performed by the client's employees.
After the employee receives the registration email, they can activate their Employee Self-Service account as follows.
  1. Open the registration email and then select the
    Register
     link in the message. Show me.
  2. In the NetClient CS page, enter a unique ID and password to use as your Employee Self-Service login. (The password must be between 7 and 50 characters, and at least one character must be a number.)
  3. Click OK. NetClient CS verifies the employee's credentials and completes the activation.
  4. The NetClient CS login page opens. The employee can access their Employee Self-Service portal by entering their login and password information and then clicking the Login button. 
note
  • If the employee already has a portal, you can link the portals together.
  • If the employee has 10 unsuccessful login attempts, the application locks their account for 30 minutes, after which the employee can try again. If the employee needs to access their account before the 30-minute lock-out period ends, you can ask a Web Services Support representative to unlock the account for your client's employee.
  • If the employee forgets their password, they can select the
    Forgot password
     link on the login screen, enter their login and email address, and choose the reset method (via email or via security questions).
  • If the employee cannot remember their login information, they can contact their accountant.
    The appropriate staff member in your firm can log in to NetStaff CS and view the employee's login information by selecting the
    Users
     link under the Web Employee/ESS heading on the Admin tab.

Viewing or editing an employee's W-4 information

This procedure will be performed by the client's employees.
Once the employee activates their Employee Self-Service account, they can log in anytime to view or modify their W-4 information.
The employee can view the following information.
  • Type (Standard, Agricultural, Household, Independent Contractor)
  • Resident address (street address, city, ZIP code, county, country, etc.)
  • EIN / SSN
The employee can modify the following information.
  • Name (first, last, middle initial, suffix)
  • Email address
  • Federal W-4 information (filing status, amounts claimed for dependents, other income, and deductions, nonresident alien status, federal tax-exempt status, etc.)
  • State W-4 information for each applicable state (filing status, number of allowances, additional or fixed amount or percentage, etc.)
The employee can follow these steps to edit their W-4 information.
  1. Log in to the Employee Self-Service account through https://secure.netlinksolution.com/nextgen.
  2. Select the
    My W4 Information
     portlet to view and edit W-4 information.
  3. Make any necessary changes, and then click the Enter button
    note
    The fields reflect those on the 2020 Form W-4. All employees hired as of January 1, 2020, must fill out the new version of the Form W-4. Any changes to W-4 information for existing employees must be done on the new version of Form W-4.
  4. When you open the Enter Batch Payroll Checks screen or the Enter Payroll Checks screen, you will be prompted to accept or reject the changes the employee made in their portal.

Viewing an employee's check stub information

This procedure will be performed by the client's employees.
The application automatically uploads a PDF of the check stub to the employee portal when the employee's paycheck is printed or when a handwritten paycheck is entered and saved. (The PDF image for uploaded checks will not include the actual check region.)
If you void or delete an employee's paycheck that has already been uploaded to the employee's portal, the application automatically queues the check deletion to be uploaded to the employee's portal.
Once the employee activates their Employee Self-Service account, they can log in anytime to view or print their paycheck stub information.
  1. Log in to the Employee Self-Service account through https://secure.netlinksolution.com/nextgen.
  2. Select the
    My Check Stubs
     portlet to view a list of uploaded paychecks.
  3. Select the paycheck to view or print.

Viewing an employee's W-2 form

This procedure will be performed by the client's employees.
To view an employee's W-2 form, see Viewing W-2s.
note
  • Corrected W-2 forms (Forms W-2c) are not uploaded to the employee portal.
  • If there is a date in the Inactive date field in the Main tab of a client record, the application will not send W-2 information to that client's employee portals.

Viewing an employee's (independent contractor's) 1099-NEC form

This procedure will be performed by the client's employees.
To view an independent contractor's 1099-NEC form, see Viewing Forms 1099-NEC.

Viewing an employee's 1095-C form

This procedure will be performed by the client's employees.
To view an employee's 1095-C form, see Viewing 1095-C forms.

Changing an employee's login information

This procedure will be performed by the client's employees.
You can change your login ID, email address, and password at any time.
  1. Log in to your Employee Self-Service account through https://secure.netlinksolution.com/nextgen.
  2. Click your name in the upper-right corner of the screen, and then choose the appropriate command.
  3. To update your login ID, name, or email address, select
    Edit Account
    .
  4. To update your password, select
    Update Password
    .

Resending a registration email message to an employee

When Employee Self-Service is enabled for an employee, a registration email message is automatically sent to that employee. To resend a registration email message to a specific employee, follow the steps below.
  1. Select
    Setup
    , then
    Employees
    .
  2. Select the employee to whom you want to send the email message, then
    Edit
  3. On the
    Main
     tab of the Employees screen, verify that a valid email address is specified in the
    Email
     field.
  4. Select the
    Personal
     tab.
  5. In the Web Access section, select
    Send Registration Email.
     The email will be sent when Employee Self-Service information is uploaded.
note
After an employee has been registered for Employee Self-Service, the
Send Registration Email
 button is grayed out and unavailable for that employee.

Disabling Employee Self-Service for a client

If you disable Employee Self-Service for a client, that feature is automatically disabled for all of the client's employees.
  1. Select
    Setup
    , then
    Clients
    .
  2. Select the client, then
    Edit
    .
  3. In the Employee Data Integration section of the
    Payroll Information
     tab, clear the
    $ Employee Self-Service
     checkbox.
  4. Select
    Enter
     to save the change for the selected client.
  5. The application displays a message prompt warning you that all existing employee portals for the client will be disabled. To continue, select
    Yes
    .
note
When you disable Employee Self-Service for a client in Accounting CS, NetFirm CS preserves all W-2 and check stub history in the employee portals. As a result, you will continue to be billed for the W-2 and Check Stub modules in NetFirm CS. To learn how to disable these modules, refer to Delete clients from employee self-service.

Disabling the Employee Self-Service features for an individual employee

When you enable Employee Self-Service for a client, that feature is automatically enabled for all of the client's employees. To disable Employee Self-Service for a specific employee, follow the steps below.
  1. Select
    Setup
    ,
    Employees
    , then the
    Personal
     tab.
  2. Select the employee for whom you want to disable Employee Self-Service, then select
    Edit
    .
  3. In the Web Access section, mark the
    Employee Self-Service disabled
     checkbox.
  4. Select
    Enter
     to save the change for that employee.
  5. The application displays a message prompt warning you that the employee portal will be disabled. To continue, select
    Yes
    .
note
  • When you disable Employee Self-Service for an employee, the application doesn't delete the employee's portal. The portal remains, but the employee can't access it.
  • If you disable Employee Self-Service for an individual employee, the application continues to store the check history, 1099-MISC/1099-NEC history (for independent contractors), and W-2 history for the employee. As a result, you'll continue to incur charges for the total number of employees that your firm has set up for the client. For more information, open the
    NetClient CS Users
     screen, select the
    Help
     menu, then select
    Pricing Information
    .

This article applies to:

  • Product: Accounting CS
  • Subject: Clients

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