When to Install Payroll

Because the Payroll application accumulates quarter-to-date and year-to-date wage and withholding amounts, it is important that you choose an installation date that ensures your payroll amounts are reported correctly.

When you select an installation date, remember that payroll is cash-basis in nature. Technically, a payroll takes place on the day that paychecks and direct deposits are distributed, which is not necessarily the same as the payroll period end date.

For example, if you pay employees on January 1, 2018, for their labor during the second half of December, the payroll technically belongs in the month of January. It should be included, for payroll and accounting purposes, in the first quarter of 2018, and should appear on the employees’ W-2s. Deltek recommends that you handle this situation in the same way that you always have.

If you are currently using another application to process payroll, Deltek recommends that you use both your old system and the Payroll application for the first few payrolls. By running the first few payrolls in parallel, you can check the accuracy of the data by comparing results from both systems.

Timing recommendations:

• Beginning of W-2 Year: This is the easiest time to install the Payroll application because you do not need to enter any payroll history information. You must install the Payroll application prior to your first payroll of the new W-2 year. The quarter-to-date and year-to-date amounts all begin at zero.
• Beginning of W-2 Quarter: This is the next best option because you only need to enter the previous quarter amounts as year-to-date history. You must install the Payroll application before your first payroll of the new W-2 quarter. You must be sure to enter previous quarter amounts as year-to-date amounts correctly, so the amounts are accumulated correctly during the year.
• Middle of W-2 Quarter or any other time during the W-2 Year: This is the least desirable of the options because you have to enter both year-to-date amounts and current quarter amounts as history. You must be sure to enter both the year-to-date amounts and the current quarter amounts correctly, so the amounts are accumulated correctly during the year.

If you install the Payroll application after timesheets have been posted for the current payroll period, Payroll will not include those hours in the first regular payroll run processed after installation. When you process your first regular payroll after installation, you must use the Manual Select Process Type (selected on the General tab of Payroll Processing) to enter pay hours for all employees.