Calculation of gross salaries and deductible amounts is a tedious task which involves risk.

Some of the organizations use the traditional manual method of payroll processing and some go for the advanced payroll processing software. An organization opts for any of the following payroll processing methods available:: Manual System Manual payroll system is the traditional payroll system which involves pen and ink, adding machine, spreadsheet, etc instead of computers, software and other computerized aids. The process was very popular when there were no computerized means for payroll processing. Now-a-days it is only few small scale organizations in the remote areas that use the manual payroll. Sometimes the construction industry and manufacturing industry also use the manual payroll systems for the contractual labour, as theses contracts are on daily/weekly basis. There is full control in the hands of owner. But the process is tedious, time consuming and risky as it is more prone to errors.

Figure: Various Payroll Processes Accountant Accountant is a professional having a degree/diploma course in finance/accountancy. He/she is responsible for all the activities related to payroll accounting. He/she has the sound knowledge of accounting principles and globally accepted standards. The process adds costs to the organization. It involves paying someone who is responsible for calculating the salaries of others. The financial control regarding salary goes in the hand of accountant. Payroll Software In todays computerized environment, payroll system has also developed itself into automated software that performs every action needed by the payroll process. It helps in calculating the payable amounts and deductions very easily. It also helps in generating the pay slips in lesser time. Automated calculations result in no errors. Data is validated automatically by the software. It needs professionals to make use of the software for its efficient working. Payroll Outsourcing Payroll outsourcing involves a third party (an outsourcing company) in the calculations of salaries and deductions. The outsourcing organization is responsible for all the activities of the payroll accounting. It saves time and cost for the organization. If there is more number of employees (say more than 9001000) in the organization, payroll outsourcing would be very much beneficial.

The data is provided to the consultants/outsourcing firms. The various payroll functions undertaken by the outsourcing organizations are as follows:

Analysis of Payroll records, payroll taxes

Medical claim processing

Employee Insurance & Provident fund processing

Quality Audit procedures & planning

Payroll Department Duties

Payroll departments ensure payday is always on time.

The payroll department works as a team to get payroll checks distributed to employees in a timely fashion. More goes into processing time to pay employees than just documenting time and issuing checks. The payroll department works collectively and responsibly for

payroll accuracy. This department is usually divided into three essential duties to get the job done.

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Payroll Administrator Responsibilities

The Regular Payroll Process

1. Payroll Clerk and Time Coordinator

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The payroll clerk documents and records paid time into a database specified for such. He generally uses basic typing skills and related computer application skills. The time coordinator comes behind the payroll clerk or may even act as a backup when the payroll clerk is absent. The time coordinator ensures that the payroll clerk has recorded all time correctly for each pay period. This person makes sure that payroll is accurate and complete for each pay period deadline. She may also have to review leave request forms against time entered on the time sheet to make sure requested hours of leave match the time sheet. In the case of errors on payroll time, the coordinator makes the call to forward errors to the supervisor, allow an exception or send errors back to the payroll clerk for correction.

Payroll Supervisor
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The payroll supervisor comes behind the clerk and coordinator to ensure all information on payroll time sheets is correct and accurate. He evaluates time sheets and sends verified time sheets on to the paycheck issuer for paycheck processing. The payroll supervisor has the final say in approving leave request or sending it back to the time coordinator for denial. If all information is qualified suitable for payment, the supervisor signs off with a stamp of approval.

Paycheck Issuer
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In general paychecks are issued by paper check, direct deposit or another system of electronic payment, including a direct deposit to a prepaid debit card. The person approving time, verifying time or putting payroll information into the system should not issue paychecks. The paycheck issuer must first check to see if the employee should be granted a paycheck for any given pay period. If employees pick up paper checks in person, they are subjected to presenting a picture ID to the paycheck issuer before receiving the check. Paycheck issuers can distribute the check only to the actual employee. Depending on the employer, if a check is not picked up by the employee after a certain number of days, the paycheck issuer cannot issue that check and must send the employee through the process of getting an updated check issued.

Payroll coordinators have numerous roles and responsibilities for their department. First and probably most important is they act as the liaison between employees, payments, and the Payroll Office. They are typically the ones responsible for processing OPUS entries such as hiring, budget number changes, leave of absence changes and separations. It is also their duty most often to enter employee hours into the Time Reporting system for payroll processing. Once payroll has processed, review of employee payroll needs to be done by the payroll coordinator by viewing the online check registers. If any errors such as underpayments or overpayments occur, it is the responsibility of the payroll coordinator to work with the Payroll office and submit necessary documentation for correction. Another responsibility of the coordinator is coordination of payroll pick up or hand drawn check pick up with the departmental green authorization card.

ASTRA Access
All payroll online systems require users to have access. Access is done at the departmental level in ASTRA by the designated authorizer. There is more informaiton about ASTRA located in the Payroll Online Systems section.

Final Cutoff Time Reporting Deadline

Departments not completed by the 3:00pm deadline will be contacted directly by the Payroll Office to ensure unit completion.

Payroll Green Authorization Card

The Payroll Green Authorization Card provides the proper authorization for the holder of the card to pick up payroll, hand drawn checks and other documents (UPass validations, W-2s).

Payday Pick-up
Paydays fall on the 10th and 25th of each month (unless othewise noted due to weekends and holidays) and is ready by 9:00am for pick up. Please refer to the Payday Schedule for dates throughout the year. Each payday the payroll coordinator or the designated back up is responsible for coming to Main Campus Payroll to pick up the payroll for their department. Whoever is picking up must have the Payroll Green Authorization Card. Please note that if a department is completely on direct deposit, there may only be reports to pick up.

Back-up Payroll Coordinator

The Back-up Payroll Coordinator performs the same role as the primary payroll coordinator. It is highly recommended that each department have at least one back up who can process changes in OPUS, enter hours in the Time Reporting System, pick up payroll, and fill in for other payroll duties especially in the case of emergencies, disasters, and vacations. The Payroll Office is not considered a back up for departments.

Emergency Plan
In the event of an emergency, disaster, vacation or illness, campus departments should have an emergency plan that will outline what actions they will take to ensure payroll is processed for their department on time. This includes having back up enterers and approvers for OPUS and Time Reporting entries, designating who will pick up paychecks/payroll so employees get paid or verifying access to the systems from other locations home, another building on campus, libraries, etc. The Payroll Office will serve as support to an emergency plan, however, they should not be considered as a back up in the case of emergencies.

1) It is necessary for HR to check and authorise Salary Details before processing. This is done with the view to check that the person has been given all his variables, attendance has been properly calculated and necessary statutory deductions had been made. This is done because in case of any Salary Discrepancies it is HR to whom a person approaches and HR has to deal with them. For example; Leave availed not recorded, special sanctions of leave or special payments; person has been marked absent while he was on Out Door duty (Happens in case of Marketing), increments and there are countless others. 2) Various Data needs to be generated for MIS from the Employee Payments to calculated various indicators like Labour productive, Labour Cost. 3) Proper Statutory Records must be maintained and it is the responsibility of the HR to keep all Statutory Records in Order.

Processing Tips to Help Make Payroll Painless! Beginning with the first payroll in May, Brown University will be sending university generated payroll files to ADP for the printing of checks and direct deposit advices, funding employee direct deposit bank accounts, and depositing federal and state payroll taxes. This project benefits the university on many levels, including business continuity, employee selfservice, and compliance with tax deposit requirements. Whereas payroll checks/advices are currently printed at Brown Universitys data center, in May they will be printed at one of ADPs two check facilities in the United States and shipped via Federal Express to Brown. The additional transportation time to the current payroll processing schedule means that it has become extremely important for all departments to submit payroll documents to the Human Resources Department and the Payroll Office by the date and time outlined in the payroll cutoff schedule located on the Payroll Department website (http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Controllers_Office/payroll/paydates.html). The following suggestions will help you process payroll more quickly and accurately. Personal Action Forms (PAFs) No one can be paid (faculty, staff, students, and LDP) unless their record has been established in the Human Resources

Management System (HRMS). The Human Resources Department receives and processes over 25,000 PAFs and adjustments a year - a daunting task! The Human Resources Department has created a wonderful website to assist staff with PAF/Payroll responsibilities (http://brown.edu/Administration/Human_Resources/PAFs/index.html). BioMed For

Departments, deadlines for monthly and semi-monthly PAFs and related paperwork are two business days prior to University deadlines. (Please contact BioMed Payroll at biomed_payroll@brown.edu if you have any questions). Other tips include: Do not wait until you are ready to pay your employee to process your employee's HR record. Almost always, this will result in a delay in payment. Contact HR Records and Data Services with any processing questions. Respect the HR/Payroll deadlines. PAFs must reach Human Resources before the deadline in order for the changes to post accurately and to guarantee the employee is paid correctly. Refer to the Payroll Office's website for a list of deadlines by payroll cycle. Please note that Student Payroll has two deadlines - one for the submission of student PAFs to HR and one for the submission of time sheets to the Payroll Office. Make sure all PAFs have authorized signatures. Human Resources cannot process transactions without them. HR Department Coordinators have the authority to sign off on all PAFs in their respective departments, except their own.

 Sponsor-funded positions need additional approvals. PAFs for transactions on sponsor-funded positions require approval from the Office of Sponsored Projects before being entered into HRMS. Please allow for additional time for this approval. Keep a copy of all PAFs sent to HR. That copy should be used to verify data accuracy once the Turnaround PAF is received. Turnaround PAFs are received for monthly, semi-monthly, and regular weekly paid employees. Undergraduate student and Limited Duration Payroll employee PAFs do not generate a turnaround PAF. For undergraduate students and LDP employees, please compare your copy of the PAF sent to HR to the data recorded on the time sheet (payroll cycle, name, SS#, earn code, and account). Take steps to protect personally identifying information. PAFs must be placed in a sealed envelope marked "Confidential", and hand-delivered to Human Resources Records and Data Services. Only use PAFs to process future adjustments to an employee's salary. The PAF was not designed to make retroactive adjustments to an employees pay. Instead, use the Brown University Payroll Adjustment Form for these types of transactions. Use colored ink. This will make data entry easier and more accurate. Keeping the changes legible and accurate will also help ensure the employee gets paid correctly. These forms are for adjustments. Use these forms to make corrections to an employee's paycheck either an increase or a decrease in pay.

Payroll Adjustment Forms Adjustments will appear in the next paycheck. Payroll adjustment forms will not generate a separate check but will be an adjustment to the next employee paycheck. Verify employee's status with HR. Employee must be active in the HR system in order for the adjustment to process. Verify the employee's status with HR prior to completing the form if you are unsure of employees status. Check the numbers! Review account numbers, dollar amounts and hourly rates. Sponsor funded transactions need additional approvals. Payroll adjustment forms for transactions on sponsor funded positions require approval from the Office of Sponsored Projects before being processed. Please allow for additional time for this approval. Protect your employee's identity by writing in just the last four digits of the employee's social security number. Mail or hand deliver. Mail or hand deliver the payroll adjustment form. If you must fax, please call the Payroll Office first to alert them of the incoming form. Submit on time! Submit all time sheets by Payroll Time Sheets deadlines listed on the Payroll website (http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Controllers_Office/payroll/paydates.html ). Make sure your employee is hired! Make sure your employee has followed through on the hiring process by completing the I-9 requirements and other Condition of Employment forms. Employee name should be on the pre-printed time sheet. If employee is not preprinted on the timesheet,

check with HR/Records to find out why. Do not just write in the employee's name because the employee's HR record may not yet be active Please review your changes. Verify all handwritten changes such as account numbers, hourly rates, hours, etc. for accuracy and verify that a PAF has been submitted to Human Resources reflecting these changes. . Use colored ink. This will make data entry easier and more accurate. Keeping the changes legible and accurate will also help ensure the employee gets paid correctly Check your totals! Attach a calculator tape verifying the time and rate of pay totals on the bottom of the time sheet. Sign the time sheet. An authorized signature must be on the time sheet. Submit on time! Submit all Kronos time by Kronos Timekeeping System deadlines listed on the Payroll website. Make sure your employee is hired! Make sure your employee has followed through on the hiring process by completing the I-9 requirements and other Condition of Employment forms. Employee record in the HR System must be complete. listed/showing in Kronos, then verify If employee is not

employee's status with HR/Records. Employee will not appear in Kronos until the employee's record is processed. HR/Records does not back-date PAF start dates. Make sure all your employees, especially students and Limited Duration Payroll employees, are in the HR system prior to beginning work.

 Please check your daily reports. Three daily reports are sent to Kronos departments that list swipes with old ID's, erroneous swipes, and swipes made by individuals without an active job in HRMS. Please review these reports daily and address any outstanding issues. Do not use old id's to swipe the Kronos timeclock. Remind employees that they must use currently issued ID's when swiping the Kronos timeclock.Tips from Academic and Administrative Department Managers Do not wait until the end of the payroll period to review timecards. It often takes time to track down information needed to fix missed swipes (Kronos) or other errors, and this can cause delays and compromise deadlines. Review and update timecards throughout pay periods. Kronos Always look at total hours on timecards. Problems that might otherwise be overlooked because they aren't flagged by Kronos can often be detected by seeing unusually large or small totals. It is a good idea to have your employees (especially those who don't work a set schedule) keep track of their hours, as they can't view their electronic timecard. Be sure all timecard entries have a "transfer code" (which reflect payroll account numbers) before approving time. (There is a report you can run that highlights entries that are missing these.) Add comments to explain exceptions for easy reference and tracking (i.e. paying vacation time if an employee runs out of sick time; scheduled OT; employee out but didn't call, etc.).