Cards, wages, deductions, taxes, and vacation/holiday pay
Once your payroll categories and linked accounts are in place (see US Payroll Setup — Before You Start), the next step is setting up each employee. Create an employee card for each person, then complete their payroll details: basic info first, then wage, accrual, deduction, employer expense, and tax settings.
Creating Employee Cards
Lists > Cards to open the Cards List
Click the Employee tab
Click New and enter the employee's name and contact information
Click the Payroll Details tab
Enter the Social Security #, Residence Code, Work Code, and other information you have
Adjusting Wage Information
Click Wages (left-hand side)
Enter the Pay Basis (Salary or Hourly)
Enter the Annual Salary or Hourly rate
Enter the Pay Frequency
Enter the Hours per Pay Period
AccountEdge sets a default wage expense account — change it only if there's a specific need
Tick the wage categories that apply to this employee
Withholding tax is calculated from the gross wages on a paycheck times the pay frequency on the employee's card — that calculation determines annual gross wage and tax bracket.
Adjusting Accrual Information
Click Accruals (left-hand side)
Tick the applicable accrual categories
Scroll down to review Vacation/Holiday Pay Entitlement (see below)
Adjusting Deduction Information
Click Deductions (left-hand side)
Tick the applicable deduction categories
Enter deductions other than withholding taxes
Adjusting Employer Expense Information
Click Employer Expenses (left-hand side)
Tick the applicable expenses — AccountEdge selects defaults; just verify them
Adjusting Tax Information
Click Taxes (left-hand side)
Set Marital Status, Allowances, and Extra Withheld for Federal
Set Allowances and Extra Withheld for State
Verify the tax categories ticked match the employee's situation
Vacation/Holiday Pay Entitlement
On the employee card, click the Payroll Details tab
Click Entitlements (left-hand side)
Click Accruals, tick the applicable accrual category
Use the Carry Over column to add amounts accrued before you started using AccountEdge, or amounts due by agreement on a specific date (year start, employee anniversary)
Click the accrual category's arrow to set Type of Accrual, Accrual Limit, and Linked Wages Category, then click OK
Paying Vacation Wages
If you use timesheets, the vacation pay wage appears as a line item where you can enter paid-out hours; either way, it appears on the employee's pay stub. In Select and Edit Paycheck, verify or enter the hours and dollar amount being paid out. Paying with the vacation pay wage category consumes the accrued balance — both employer and employee taxes are withheld when accruals are paid out, and accruals are expensed at that time.
Adding New Payroll Categories
If you need a category that doesn't exist yet:
Lists > Payroll Categories
Click the specific category type
Click New
Follow the steps to create the category (name, selections)
Next Steps
If your payroll year has already begun and you need to catch up on historical paychecks → Catching Up on Payroll Mid-Year
If you're starting fresh at the beginning of a payroll year, skip ahead to verifying your setup → Catching Up on Payroll Mid-Year
Once setup is verified → Running Payroll & Paying Liabilities