how2pr05.htm

How to fix an erroneous payroll or payroll entry - four scenarios

Scenario 1: If you catch the problem BEFORE printing checks, do this:

1. After keying a payroll, always be sure to print the payroll entries audit report. This can help you find problems.
2. Exit the payroll module, and then exit Club Office.
3. Now sign back into Club Office but this time, use an administrator account. This will ensure that you have high-enough access to the payroll module to delete an entry.
4. Start the payroll module; you'll get a warning message that there are entries in the workspace -- click OK.
5. Scroll down the grid and find the erroneous entry. Highlight the whole line by clicking on the far left side of the grid, just to the left of the column that says "P/R DATE"
6. Press the DELETE key on your keyboard. You'l get a warning message that tells you you're about to delete a line. Click OK to delete it.
7. Exit the payroll module back to the main pyramid menu. This will ensure that some things are reset inside payroll.
8. Now start the payroll module again and re-key the entry properly.
9. Print another payroll entries audit report to make sure the right information has been keyed.
10. Continue by performing another "trial process" to calculate the payroll, after which you can continue as normal.

Scenario 2: If you have already printed checks but have not distributed them to employees, do this:

1. If you have only a few payroll checks, it might be easier to just destroy the checks, fix the entry as decribed above, perform another trial process and use a new set of checks.
2. If you have a LOT of employees and therefore don't want to destroy a large quantity of expensive check stock, do the following:
3. Finish the current payroll.
4. Pull the erroneous check so you don't distribute it -- be sure to mark it VOID.
5. Use the void payroll check function to void the check in the payroll module and recalculate the employee's earnings.
6. Start a new payroll but key only that single employee, run the trial process, etc. and finish the payroll as you normally would.

Scenario 3: If you have already printed checks AND have already distributed them, do this:

1. Finish the current payroll.
2. Recover the erroneous check from the employee so he/she doesn't cash it -- be sure to mark it VOID.
3. Use the void payroll check function to void the check in the payroll module and recalculate the employee's earnings.
4. Start a new payroll but key only that single employee, run the trial process, etc. and finish the payroll as you normally would.

Scenario 4: If you have already FINISHED the payroll AND the checks were distributed a day or more ago, do this:

1. If the error was an underpayment, it's a simple thing to either add the unpaid amount to the next payroll or issue a supplemental payroll check just to that employee (start a new payroll, key the information for that one employee and process it as normal.) Be sure to discuss it with the employee.
2. If it's an overpayment, scream. Blame the employee and threaten to fire him/her. Stomp around the office and curse at your boss. Throw things at your officemates. While none of these will likely help (and some may be really, really strategically stupid...) it's fun to imagine the possibilities...
3. Contact the employee and find out if the check has been cashed or deposited. If not, you're in like Flint and you can just use the scenario 3 solution above. <WHEW!>
4. If the employee has already cashed it, you could consider a "stop payment" on the check, but we suggest that this be used only in situations where there's a gross error, such as in thousands of dollars (example: you keyed 40 hours in for a salaried individual which multipled the pay by a factor of 40. If you didn't catch this before you sent out the checks, shame on you. If the employee didn't catch it and deposited it anyway, you should fire him/her for either theft or blatant dishonesty and sue the employee to recover the overpaid wages.) In any case, you should certainly contact the employee in question and discuss it.
5. If the overpayment is really small, you might ask the employee to write you a check for the overpayment. More than likely, the employee will request that it be taken out of the next payroll check. In this case, you may be able to just take it out of his/her next payroll check as a single, lump-sum garnishment (perhaps as an "employee purchase") but be sure to discuss it with the employee first.
6. If the overpayment is large enough so that it would create a financial bind for the employee if it were taken out of the next payroll check as a lump-sum, divide the overpayment by the number of payroll periods remaining in the current payroll year. This will give you the amount to deduct from the employee's earnings as a regular garnishment, and you might set up a special deduction to recover the money. Be sure to discuss this with the employee so there's no misunderstanding.

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