Background

This article covers the different payroll reports and the differences between them. It also covers why some reports may not tie together and possible causes of discrepancy.

Payroll Categories

Payroll Category Transactions (transaction-based)
Date range report of transactions recorded in each category.

Payroll Summary (bucket/history-based)
Report lists totals of each category for either a date range or specified period. If report is run for specified month, and compared to same date range, numbers should match.

Employees

Payroll List (from card file)
Report taken from card file payroll information.

Activity Summary (transaction-based)
Date range report by employee of all wages, deductions, taxes, expenses, and accruals.
Total wages should match the 940 report.

Activity Detail (transaction-based)
Date range report by employee of all wages,deductions, taxes expenses, and accruals.
Should match Payroll Register Report.

Register Summary (bucket/history-based)
Report from pay history, by employee of all wages, deductions, taxes, expenses, and accruals.
Should match the payroll activity detail for same time period.

Register Detail (bucket/history-based)
Report from pay history, by employee of all wages, deductions, taxes, expenses, and accruals.
Should match the payroll activity detail for same time period.

Payroll Earnings (transaction-based)
Date range report by employee with details of each paycheck.

Employer Accruals

Accrual Balance Summary (history)
In hours, add vacation and sick accrual.

Accrual Balance Detail (history)
In hours, add vacation and sick accrual listed separately.

Tax and Compliance

940 (FUTA) (history)
From Pay history, wages are taken from pay history; calculation done at the time the report is run.
Should match the FUTA amount on Tax Liabilities report for same time period.

941 (from history)
Wages are taken from pay history, calculation done by percentage, at the time the report is run. It is run quarterly to fill out the 941 form for IRS, due end of month following quarter end. Report is actually a reconciliation of what has been paid against what should have been paid.
Should match Tax Liabilities report for same time period.

Tax Detail Employee (bucket/history-based)
Similar to the quarterly tax totals, but lists by employee and payroll category. Wage Basis: Wage Max DOES NOT = Wage > Max.
Wage Max = sum of all employees individual wages that exceed the max.

Tax Liabilities (transaction-based)
If the employee Social Security and Medicare differ from the marching Employer Expense, then a paycheck was deleted. Should match the 941 report for same time period.
Note: In order to delete a paycheck, everything on the employee's card (residence and work code) and in payroll categories (exempt/non-exempt) should be the same as when the paycheck was written.

Quarterly Tax Totals (bucket/history-based)
Wage Basis: Wage Max DOES NOT = Wage > Max.
Wage Max = sum of all employees individual wages that exceed the max.
Should match the Tax Liabilities report for same time period, if it doesn't then history was changed.

Transaction Journal

Payroll Journal
Date range report showing each employee listed with details of each paycheck.

Recurring Transactions

Recurring Pay Details
Paychecks report lists recurring paychecks by employee

Calculations on the 941 Report

The 941 Report is a bucket/history-based report. To see a detail of the amounts on the 941 Report run the Tax Detail Report which is also a bucket/history-based report. The Wage Basis column will show amounts per employee and a total amount. Note: Payroll History can be edited and can cause discrepancies if you choose to edit history.

941 Report Differs from the Tax Liability Report

Because of the different ways the figures are calculated, rounding can cause the amounts to be different.

The 941 Report shows what the tax amount SHOULD be. Wages for each employee, on each paycheck are totaled, then this total is multiplied by a percentage.

The Tax Liabilities Report shows EXACTLY what tax was recorded. Wages for each employee are taxed on each paycheck, then each of these tax amounts are totaled.

The Tax Liabilities report is a transaction-based report (based on paycheck transactions). To see detail of the amounts on the Tax Liabilities Report, have the customer view the Payroll Category Report, which is based on paycheck transactions.

Differences Between Bucket Reports and Transaction Reports

• If the totals differ between the two types of reports, then Pay History on the employee's card may have been edited.
• If there are Bucket Report values but no transactions, then Pay History on the employee's card may have been edited.