Frequently Asked Questions and Troubleshooting

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Question: I set the Force Post field to Yes and my payroll did not post, why?

Answer: The cardinal rule for posting a positive or an exception payroll is always set the Post field. Force Post ignores the effective date.

 

Question: Payroll NNN was not set to post last night, can it be posted today?

Answer: Yes, it can be posted online if your credit union uses Online Payroll Posting and depending on the type of payroll (A-ACH, E-Exception, P-Positive,). ACH and exception payrolls can be set to post by the credit union. Positive payrolls can be set to post but require additional intervention from Phoenix so the Payroll Coordinator must be notified/involved in this process. Check the Post field on the Payroll Posting Summary window. If it is C, it must be change to B. Online Payroll Posting does not happen immediately. It can take up to 2 hours before the payroll posts.

 

Question: Can online payroll errors be posted?

Answer: No, they can be monitored from the Online Batches window. Deductions will be held only if the deductions flag is set on the processing rule.

 

Question: The payroll distributions did not occur. What happened?

Answer: This most commonly happens to ACH payrolls when something changes between the file information and the payroll assigned table. Usually, it is the OFI and/or COID. This may require an ACH table addition for the new OFI/COID. If the payroll is an exception or positive payroll, go the 262 Report and read the exception error codes at the end of the report.

 

Question: PAYROLL POSTING EFFECTIVE DATE CONTAINS INVALID VALUE : What does this message mean and how do we post the payroll?

Answer: An attempt has been made to post the payroll within the four (4) day limit (future/past) of the current effective date. You must change the date to day within 4 days of the effective date.

 

Question: The payroll is pending and did not post. What happened?

Answer: a) Verify the Payroll Posting Summary window was set up correctly. b) Compare the Percent Tolerance field with the value in the Computed Amount field on the 261S Report. If the percent was not set high enough or not set at all; this can prevent the payroll from posting if the computed amount and posted amount values have too much of a variance. c) If there are multiple payroll files for the same positive payroll number, the first file will post and any remaining files will be pended. Further action will require intervention by the payroll coordinator.

 

Question: What is the difference between the 262 and 263 Reports?

Answer: The 262 Report is the posting detail for exception and positive payrolls. The 263 Report is the posting detail for ACH payrolls.

 

Question: What is the 261S Report?

Answer: This is the Pended Positive Payroll Activity report for pending positive payrolls and payrolls that did not post due to posting errors. The credit union should look for this report daily if they post insurance payrolls and positive payrolls. Insurance payroll transmissions are retained for 21 days. After 21 days, the Phoenix team must recall the transmission.

 

Question: The ACH direct deposit posted to checking but was intended to post to the savings, what happened?

Answer: Check the Member Payroll Maintenance dialog box. The ACH record may be transaction coded for savings (32) but the payroll record is coded for checking (75) which directs the deposit to that account.

 

Question: What are the insurance payroll reports?

Answer: Insurance payrolls (List Bill Premiums Registers) produce the 580 Report for payrolls 050 through 059. The 581 Report (Insurance Premium Advance Register) is for payrolls 075 through 079. These payrolls are sent by the sponsor company via transmissions to File Exchange (XROADS). If they are pended, they are on the 261S Report.

 

Question: Payroll posted last night and a dollar amount is left in the suspense ledger. What happened?

Answer: Check either the 262 or the 263 Reports respectively for the member detail and error reason codes. Post the exceptions accordingly. If there are no exceptions, compare the Request Post Amount to the Computed Amount. The variance is most likely the amount that is in suspense. Reconcile this by offsetting entries to the suspense general ledger and the clearing general ledger.

 

Question: The check amount sent by the sponsor company is more/less than the request posted amount. Why?

Answer: Verify the maintenance performed on the Payroll Group Details window for members that were added or deleted from the payroll list. If the maintenance totals are correct, contact the sponsor company to confirm the totals. Compare the last posting on the 262/263 Reports with the list of current members from the sponsor company. If the credit union chooses to post the check total, be sure to use a Tolerance field of one hundred percent to allow the payroll to post.

 

Question: What is difference between Posting Option B and Posting Option C?

Answer: Posting Option B posts the deduction to the designated share account then does the distributions. This is recommended for ACH payrolls. Posting Option C does the distributions first, then posts the excess amount to the designated share account.

 

Question: What is the easiest way to set up a member payroll record?

Answer: Go to the Payroll Group Details window by payroll number, add the member information (member number, deduction amount and share type) then go to the Member Payroll Maintenance dialog box and add the line item distribution information.

 

Question: Can the credit union use old payroll numbers?

Answer: Yes, but make sure that all old members are deleted from the Payroll Group Details window.

Before you begin troubleshooting an issue, be sure to identify the CUID, zone and payroll number. On the payroll number’s Payroll Posting Summary window, determine the payroll type and source.

Positive Payroll Posting Problems

If a positive payroll will not post, complete the following steps:

  1. Using the Type and Source fields on the Payroll Posting Summary window, verify that the payroll is positive.
  2. Using the 261 Report, check the COMPUTED AMT and PERCENT TOLERANCE fields for errors. Verify the payroll number on the report is correct. If the payroll is pending and did not post, review the explanation on the 261 Report.

If the payroll is pending and did not post:

  • Verify that the Payroll Posting Summary window is set up correctly. Make sure the Post field is Yes and the Effective Date, Force Post and Last Posted fields are correct. Compare the value in the PCT TOL field with the value in the COMPUTED AMOUNT field on the 261 Report or the amount in SAM (DUBJ012X).
  • Verify there are not multiple payrolls with the same payroll number in the pending file. The system will post the first payroll in the queue. If you want to post the second payroll in the queue, instruct Portico Customer Service to delete the bad payroll from the pending file. Instruct the Payroll Coordinator to delete the bad payroll and confirm the Payroll Posting Summary window is set up correctly.

Payroll Effective Date Contains Invalid Value

If you are trying to setup the Payroll Posting Summary window for posting or make a change to the Payroll Posting Summary window and the following error message appears: PAYROLL EFFECTIVE DATE CONTAINS INVALID VALUE

An attempt has been made to post the payroll within the four (4) day limit (future/past) of the current effective date. You must change the date to day within 4 days of the effective date.

 

Credit in Suspense GL After Payroll Posting

If the credit union posted a payroll last night and a dollar amount is credited to the suspense GL:

When a payroll posts it credits the member accounts and debits the clearing GL specified on the Payroll Posting Summary window. If for any reason the system cannot credit the member’s account, the system credits the suspense GL specified on the Payroll Posting Summary window. To resolve this issue, you must identify who the funds belong to, debit the suspense GL, and credit the member’s account.

To locate the correct member, check the following reports:

  • For non-ACH payroll reject items with member detail and error reason codes, check the 262 morning short report.
  • For ACH payroll reject items with member detail and error reason codes, check the 263 morning short report.
  • For non-ACH payroll, check the 262 detail report.
  • For ACH payroll, check the 263 detail report.

If there are no exceptions/reject items on the Transactions – Single Deposit, Withdrawal, Payment or Loan Advance tab for a positive payroll, you need to determine the amount that actually posted. Refer to the T account on the 262 Report and the Total Posted and Total Rejected fields on the Payroll Posting Summary window. If a 261 Report was generated, check the COMPUTED AMT on the 261 Report. Was the dollar amount entered in the Amount to Post field on the Payroll Posting Summary window too high? If the overage in the Amount to Post field is the same amount as in the suspense GL, determine if debiting the suspense GL and crediting the clearing GL will reconcile the GL accounts to the true payroll amount.

Whenever an exception or positive payroll posts, the system debits the clearing GL the amount that was entered in the Amount to Post field on the Payroll Posting Summary window, and….

  • If a positive payroll, credits the member’s account the amount on the transmission, or
  • If an exception payroll, credits the member’s account the total amount in the Payroll Deduction Amount field for all members associated with the payroll number.

Example: The true amount of the payroll transmission is $2500.00. The credit union enters $2700.00 in the Amount to Post field on the Payroll Posting Summary window. The payroll transmission only contains member records totaling $2500.00. When the payroll posts, the system credits the members $2500.00, debits the clearing GL $2700.00, and credits the suspense GL $200.00. The clearing GL should be $2500.00, the amount on the payroll transmission and the amount on the check from the sponsor company. To reconcile the GLs, the credit union must debit the suspense GL $200.00 and credit the clearing GL $200.00. The suspense GL should be clear and the clearing GL should have a balance of $2500.00.

 

Debit in Suspense GL After Payroll Posting

If the credit union posted a payroll last night and a dollar amount is debited to the suspense GL:

When a payroll posts, the system debits the clearing GL the amount that was entered in the Amount to Post field on the Payroll Posting Summary window, and…

  • If a positive payroll, credits the member’s account the amount on the transmission, or
  • If an exception payroll, credits the member’s account the total amount in the Payroll Deduction Amount field for all members associated with the payroll number.

To resolve this issue, you need to determine the true payroll amount based on the sponsor company’s check, the sponsor company list, or the transmission file. If a 261 Report was generated, check the COMPUTED AMT on the 261 Report. Was the dollar amount entered in the Amount to Post field on the Payroll Posting Summary window too low? If the payroll amount based on the sponsor company’s check minus the amount in the Amount to Post field is the same amount as in the suspense GL, determine if crediting the suspense GL and debiting the clearing GL will reconcile the GL accounts to the true payroll amount.

Example: The true amount of the payroll transmission is $2500.00. The credit union enters $2200.00 in the Amount to Post field on the Payroll Posting Summary window. The payroll transmission contains member records totaling $2500.00. When the payroll posts, the system credits the members $2500.00, debits the clearing GL $2200.00, and debits the suspense GL $300.00. The clearing GL should be $2500.00, the amount on the payroll transmission and the amount on the check from the sponsor company. To reconcile the GLs, the credit union must credit the suspense GL $300.00 and debit the clearing GL $300.00. The suspense GL should be clear and the clearing GL should have a balance of $2500.00.