How do I input Payroll?

I know this is a stupid question, but I just can't seem to figure it out.

How do I input payroll into my system?  I'm using TM8 Professional with BM Plus for all of my billing and accounting.  I use an outside vendor (ADP) to process payroll and handle all withholding, health and 401K deductions, and Flexible Spending Accounts.

I get a report twice a month breaking down how the checks are done, but I have no idea how to update my system either for purposes of tracking income and expenses or to update my bank account register.  I'm three months into my new practice, so I need to get this up to date pronto.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

The way I do it is write a check using check express and make all the entries there. The check is made out to the employee and I enter the net amount of the check. I then in the GL distribution window enter the gross amount of the check as a payroll expense, then enter the deductions in the Liability portion of the General Ledger, go to the individual items i.e. Federal Income Tax Withheld, enter a description in the Memo section if needed and then tab over to the amount. In the amount column I enter the amount with a minus sign first so that it deducts the amount from the gross amount. When all items are entered I print the check on blank paper that is then destroyed. I believe this is correct, my accountant hasn't questioned it and I've been doing it this way for a couple of years now.

David Bert Havas
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You can do what David does and actually enter each item as a check with the appropriate deductions.  Or, you can take your report from ADP and enter the totals as Journal Entries.

Does ADP issue checks or is it direct deposit for your employees?  Do you use a separate payroll bank account or does ADP issue checks against your Operating account.

If ADP issues checks against your operating account then using David's method is best because all the checks will be entered and will agree with your bank statement for reconciliation purposes.

If  Payroll deduction then you don't really need to enter each item, you can do journal entries.

 

Pretty much everyone does direct deposit.  What makes it a bit tricky is all of the deductions (FSA, 401k, dental, health).

I'm still struggling with the Journal entry funtion as I've yet to post the ledger.  This means no income, cash flow, etc. reports.  Of course without the payroll those numbers aren't very enlightening anyway.

I'll take a stab at this.

Thanks.

One more question.  I originally input my general journal entries for about 4 payrolls today.  They showed up on the check register as today.  I went back to fix to put the right dates in, and they show up with the right dates on the general journal but still show up as "today" in the account register.  Do I have to delete these and re-enter them to make them have the correct date?  I sure hope not as this took a while to do....

Sorry, there does not seem to be a way to change the date on the register. 

You should consider creating an Auto-Entry Form for your Payroll.  While the numbers may change, the basics are all there and it is much easier to do each time you have a payroll.

Suggest you delete and re-enter with correct dates.

 

In addition to the excellent input you have received you should consider how much detail you really need in Billing Matters Plus. Since ADP will provide all the detailed reports you need and you do not need to worry about specific checks clearing if you use direct deposit, you might be able to just enter a limited amount of information into the system. Perhaps you just need to know Net Wages, employer Payroll taxes paid and payroll preparation charged by ADP. This would be a significantly simpler set of journal entries each payroll.