Tag: pu19

  • 10 most critical factors of SAP payroll: Year-end processing

    Year-end processingYear-end processing encompasses several areas already discussed or will be discussed in the next post of the 10 most critical factors of SP payroll series.

    The year-end process should not begin in October, but should start immediately after annual tax reporting is complete for the previous year. The initial tasks should be a lessons learned document and business process documentation updates. This documentation will help us to not forget what we just went through in getting the previous year done.

    Nailing down an exact schedule of the year-end project can be determined by looking up the tentative release schedule of HRSPs and CLCs on the SAP customer portal. We can then incorporate overlapping projects impacts and staff vacation scheduling. We want to have a detailed project plan just like any other project because year-end requires significant amounts of resources from payroll and other areas to apply updates, configure, etc. Luckily, the year-end project plan will look similar year after year so creating the detailed project plan will occur only once and then only tweaked from year to year.

    Create a periodic process to run year-end reports and review to reduce the surge at year-end. Ongoing review will make it easier at year-end, but may also identify an issue earlier in the year and configuration or processes may be adjusted with less impact. Communications to employees confirming information such as addresses, marital status, and exemptions will also reduce year-end workload.

    Please join us for our next blog post where we’ll discuss Overpayments and claims as another critical factor in SAP payroll.

    Here at Integrated Consulting Group, we specialize in the design, development, and customization of SAP Human Capital Management business software for leading edge North American companies with global reach. Have any questions about SAP? Feel free to contact us via the contact page of our site, or on Twitter or LinkedIn.

  • 10 most critical factors of SAP payroll: Troubleshooting

    TroubleshootingIn this post we will cover troubleshooting as part of the series 10 most critical factors of SAP payroll. As we have discussed in previous posts in the series, payroll is greatly influenced by and processes the combined data from several sources.

    Troubleshooting requires a good deal of diligence of keeping track of what is going outside of just payroll. Many of the areas we’ve previously covered can impact payroll such as

    • updates have been recently applied – Stacks, HRSPs, CLCs
    • new or updated configuration or customization has been recently applied
    • new divisions or groups of employees recently hired or brought on SAP
    • process changes – HR, time capture, etc.

    SAP does provide some reporting tools to assist in the troubleshooting effort such as the Payroll Log. However, the payroll log can be a little daunting because it looks like code and the messages are not always easily understandable. Understanding the Payroll Log will help you better understand how the schemas, functions, rules, and operations work. Gaining this understanding will better your troubleshooting skills and ability to identify ways to improve payroll itself.

    After you access the Payroll Driver (PC00_MC10_CALC or PC00_M10_CALC_SIMU), check the ‘Display log’ option on the selection screen. Since the ‘Display log’ option does slow down the payroll process, it is a good idea to narrow down the number of employees you process to a small range or individual personnel number.

    display payroll log

    Here we can see a successful Payroll log. In this example, an employee processes through payroll without an error. By breaking down the Payroll log, we can see the employee processed through four period, three of which were retroactive.

    payroll log retro

    Now let’s throw in a twist. We set Infotype 0207 Residence Tax Authority to IN (Indiana), a state that has not been configured for this company. When we run payroll, this will result in an error for the employee.

    payroll log error

    When an error like this is received, we need to review the employee paperwork to make sure the Residence Tax Authority should actually be IN. If IN was a typo, change Infotype 0207 to the correct tax authority and process payroll for the personnel number.

    If the employee paperwork shows it should actually be IN, then we need to request an EIN for IN and setup the configuration to allow IN to process through payroll without an error. We will need to add the configuration to the appropriate tax company in table V_T5UTI keeping in mind that the error states only tax type 01, but there may be additional tax types to configure.
    payroll log error

    Implementing the use of proactive audits where possible will reduce the need for reactive error resolution. Here are a few examples of proactive audits that can be put in place:

    • Check that employees have cost centers
    • User exits to validate during time entry
    • Tax infotypes only contain tax authorities set up for the company

    With some patience, willingness to learn, and due diligence, the troubleshooting process can be learned. Keeping in mind the different areas providing input and implementing proactive audits will greatly reduce how much troubleshooting needs to occur.

    Please join us for our next blog post where we’ll discuss Year-end processing as another critical factor in SAP payroll.

    Here at Integrated Consulting Group, we specialize in the design, development, and customization of SAP Human Capital Management business software for leading edge North American companies with global reach. Have any questions about SAP? Feel free to contact us via the contact page of our site, or on Twitter or LinkedIn.

  • 10 most critical factors of SAP payroll: Tax reporting and auditing

    Tax reporting and auditingWe have covered 6 of the 10 most critical factors of SAP payroll in this blog post series. The next area we’ll cover is Tax reporting and auditing.

    Over the years, SAP has developed many payroll reports to make tax reporting and audit simpler process. However, these monthly, quarterly, and annual rituals can consume significant amounts of time and energy from payroll departments depending on the level of understanding of what SAP provides. Hopefully, you are already aware of the following reports you can use to audit your payrolls throughout the year.

    Wage Type Reporter (tcode PC00_M99_CWTR)

    • Data is pulled from the RT and WPBP tables of payroll results selected
    • The report has several organizational structure object options to evaluate the results
    • Unfortunately, tax authority is not available for this report

    Payroll Journal (tcode PC00_M10_CLJN)

    • Payroll results are pulled and displayed in this this easy to use report
    • Selection criteria are very limited and the underlying layout is configured
    • Changes to the layout require the transport process

    Cost Center Report (tcode PC00_MNA_CC_ADM)

    • Managers of cost centers like this report’s availability
    • Detailed payroll charges can be seen and reconciled against FICO reports
    • Unfortunately, there are many HR objects not available for this report

    Payroll Reconciliation Report (tcode PC00_M10_REC)

    • There is a great deal of flexibility in this report, but that flexibility can be confusing
    • Validation of both Tax Reporter and amounts posted to FI are great applications of this report
    • Wage types can be configured as part of a Wage Type Application, which will combine the wage types in display
    • Retro activity in payroll can be easily displayed and tweaked for more informative output
    • The report can be run for specific types of payrolls making for easy identification of Voided checks or specific types of Off-Cycles during a period

    reconciliation report

    • Finally, individuals can create and save the ALV layout of their liking

    Flexible Employee Data Report (tcode S_AHR_61016362)

    • You’ll see this report often used for Birthday lists
    • However, it can provide a great deal of information about the employee population and make year-end validation easier
    • Flexible means you get to pick up to 20 fields to display in the output

    flexible employee data report

    Withholding Allowances Report (tcode S_PH9_46000361)

    • Provides a reconciliation between what an employee has claimed for exemptions in Infotype 0210 W-4 and what is allowed for a tax authority

    Exemption Expiration Report (tcode S_PH9_46000360)

    • Provides information about Infotype 0210 W-4 records that will expire

    Tax Infotype Summary (tcode S_AHR_61016142)

    • Provides tax infotypes information that can be sent to employees for validation

    Tax Reporter (tcode PU19)

    • After validating employee master data and payroll results data, running the tax reporter to validate is the next step
    • If you are using a third-party for tax filing, this is a great way to validate against the data they have
    • Keep in mind you’ll need to configure Tax Reporter in addition to maintaining the third-party programs and tables
    • Review the Log Manager to see if any warnings or errors exist
    • Compare the output of data against the Payroll Reconciliation Report

    pu19

    Using the reports SAP has developed and provided should allow for complete and accurate tax reporting and auditing. Understanding what and how each report works and where it fits in the overall process is very important.

    Please join us for our next blog post where we’ll discuss Troubleshooting as another critical factor in SAP payroll.

    Here at Integrated Consulting Group, we specialize in the design, development, and customization of SAP Human Capital Management business software for leading edge North American companies with global reach. Have any questions about SAP? Feel free to contact us via the contact page of our site, or on Twitter or LinkedIn.

  • Streamline Year-End Payroll and Processes: Q&A with SAP Payroll Expert Mike Timm

    Date: Wednesday, November 5, 2014
    Time: 12:30pm EST / 9:30am PST
    Duration: 60 minutes

    Prepare now for year-end payroll in this live Q&A with Mike Timm. Join this one-hour online chat with payroll expert Mike Timm, a featured speaker at SAPinsider’s seminar Optimizing Payroll in SAP.

    Mike will take your SAP payroll questions on Wednesday, November 5 at 12:30pm ET. Listen to Mike’s recent podcast on SAPinsider, then follow up with with your specific questions, including:

    • What are the changes you need to be aware of in Tax Factory BSI 10?
    • When should HRSPs or CLCs be in place?
    • Do we have other options to make updates besides HRSPs and CLCs?
    • Where can we look for the updates we need to put in place towards year-end?

    We look forward to your questions and a great discussion on streamlining SAP Payroll processes and preparing for year-end payroll.