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USPS Housekeeping-USPS Payroll Item News You Can Use

Payroll Item Mass Change

Do you need to make changes to city tax percentages, Employee Annuity or Employee Regular Payroll Item Rates? There is a quick and simple way to achieve this.

There is a  Mass Change process that will allow you to change Payroll Item rates (City, Annuity, and Regular) and it is located in the Payroll Items screen. The Mass Change Service module needs to be turned on in order for the process to be available. (contact your ITC if this feature is currently unavailable)

The steps below are an example of how to change Employee rates on an Annuity Payroll Item record.

1. Go to Core/Payroll Items and filter on the grid for the Payroll Item Code and any other fields (Rate, Start Date, etc) that will pull in the Payroll Item records you are wanting to update.
2. You will then click on the  button. 
3. In the Load Definition field use the drop down and click on the Change Rate (SSDT) option. 
4. In the Script Parameters section, you will then add the newRate that needs to be updated on the Payroll Item in the Default Value field.
5. Click on the Execution Mode bubble and click the button.

All selected records will be updated with the New Employee rate.

The steps below are an example of how to change Employer rates on an Annuity Payroll Item record.

To change Employer Rate on an Annuity Item download the following json file- Annuity Employer Rate.mcd-json from Redesign Shared Report or Mass Change Definitions found under Mass Change Definitions. After the file has been downloaded go to Core/Payroll Item/Select Payroll Item- Annuity Item and use the following steps:

1. Filter on the grid for the Payroll Item Code and any other fields (Employer Rate, Start Date, etc) that will pull in the Annuity Payroll Item records you are wanting to update.
2. You will then click on the  button.
3. Click on the Import Definition button and import the Annuity Employer Rate.mcd-json file that you downloaded.
4. Click on the button.
5. Go to the Load Definitions field and choose the Annuity Employer Rate definition from the drop down.
6. In the Script Definition change the employerRate New Value to what the new Employer Rate should be.
7. Click on the Execution Mode bubble and click the button. 

All selected records will be updated with the new Employer Rate on the Annuity Records

The steps below are an example of how to change Employer rates on a Regular Payroll Item record.

To change Employer Rate on a Regular Item download the following json file- Regular Employer Rate.mcd-json from- Redesign Shared Report or Mass Change Definitions found under Mass Change Definitions.  After the file has been downloaded go to Core/Payroll Item/Select Payroll Item- Regular Item and use the following steps:

1. Filter on the grid for the Payroll Item Code and any other fields (Employer Rate, Start Date, etc) that will pull in the Regular Payroll Item records you are wanting to update.
2. You will then click on the  button.
3. Click on the Import Definition button and import the Regular Employer Rate.mcd-json file that you downloaded.
4. Click on the button.
5. Go to the Load Definitions field and choose the Regular Employer Rate definition from the drop down.
6. In the Script Definition change the employerRate New Value to what the new Employer Rate should be.
7. Click on the Execution Mode bubble and click the button.

All selected records will be updated with the new Employer Rate on the Regular Records

*Note  - the downloading of the Annuity Employer Rate and Regular Employer Rate definitions will be a one time process. Once they are downloaded they will remain as an available option in the Load Definition field. 

**Note-There is a Mass Load option under Utilities that can be used to update employee and employer rates as well , if you prefer to make the rate changes using a csv file. See Mass Load#PayrollItem for field headers needed on the csv file to accomplish a Mass Load to change rates.

Payroll Item Templates 

Don’t forget that there is an option in Payroll Item that will allow you to create template records for any Payroll Item. When these templates are created, they can then be used when adding payroll items for a new employee.

How do I create these templates you ask? Well, here are the steps to create Payroll Item Templates:

1. After you have added a new employee or if you do not have a Default Employee (111111111) record you can create one. Then go to Core/Payroll Items and click on   Enter in the 111111111 ID, or find the new employee in the Employee field.
2. Enter the Payroll Item you wish to create a Template record for (ex 001)
3. Click 
4. Choose the Rate Type (Tax Tables), from the drop down.
5. Verify  and enter if needed the Pay Cycle, Pension Plan and you can choose a Marital Status from the drop down if desired (single)
6. Click the  button.
7. Name your template in the Save Template As field- (Ex- 001 Federal-Single)
8. Click 
9. Go back into the record and change the Marital Status to Married
10. Click the  button.
11. Name your template in the Save Template As field- (Ex- 001 Federal-Married)
12. You can do the same process with all other Payroll Items.
13. If you are using the new employee that you are adding instead of the 111111111 record you can click on the  button and the record will be created for the new employee.

When payroll items are being added for a new employee,  after you click  and you find the Employee and choose the Payroll Item you are wanting to add and click  you can go to the  drop down and select the Payroll Item Template you are wanting to use (ex. 001-Federal-Single)

If additional data is needed or specific rates are required, for this employee, you can enter that now and then click on 

Payroll Item Templates can be created for many different circumstances. (Example- you have a single withholding amount for Health Insurance and a Family withholding amount for Health Insurance.) You can create two different templates for Health Insurance one with the Single rate and the other with the Family Rate. They will be differentiated by the unique template name you give them. Maybe- 555-Single Health Premium and 555- Family Health Premium.

Templates are designed to be flexible, allowing you to enter as much or as little pre-defined data as you would like.  It's just one more way to allow for a faster and more efficient process when adding new records for an employee.