Pay cheques are issued for specific pay periods. The Canada Revenue payroll calculations use the pay period to calculate the amount of tax owed. You also need to report earnings by pay period for employee’s Record of Employment. When you’ve finished issuing all the cheques for a pay period, you advance to the next pay period.
How Often is Payroll Run
Payroll can be weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly (the 15th and the 30th of the month) or monthly. The very first time you run a new style of pay period, you’ll have to set the current pay period on your company record. Navigate to [d] General Ledger, then [u] Set Up, then [a] Company Entry.
The start refers to the number of the pay period. We show you how to set those up below.
Different unions can run different pay periods. This is set up on the trade union record.
Setting Up Pay Periods
You will set up the pay period start dates for each type of pay period you run. To do this, navigate to [c] Payroll, then [u] Set Up, then [g] Pay Period Start Dates.
The list tab displays the current pay periods.
Click on the Details tab to add or modify a pay period.
Pay Period Actions
Click on the action field to see the available actions.
Inquire
This action allows you to view pay period start dates, but not change them.
Add
Add a new set of pay period start dates.
Change
Change the pay period start dates.
Delete
Delete this set of pay period start dates.
History
Move this set of pay period start dates to history.
Print, email, or export this set of pay period start dates to excel.
Pay Period Fields
Pay Period Type
Pay period type can be one of:
- B = bi-weekly
- W = weekly
- M = monthly
- S = semi-monthly
Year
The fiscal year these dates cover. The pay period type plus the year uniquely identify the set of pay period start dates.
Pay Periods/Year
- B = bi-weekly: There are always 26 bi-weekly pay periods.
- W = weekly: 52 or 53. Include the 53 week if employees are paid for that week before the end of the year.
- M = monthly: There are always 12 monthly pay periods
- S = semi-monthly: There are always 24 semi-monthly pay periods
Pay Period Start 1-53
Abio will display a box for each pay period you are defining. When you enter the first date, the remaining dates default according to the pay period type.
Advancing to the Next Pay Period
Navigate to [c] Payroll, then [l] Advance Pay Period.
The Pay Period End utility will display and the next pay period start date will be defaulted.
You will need to advance the different pay periods individually: bi-weekly, weekly, monthly, or semi-monthly.
Each time you advance the pay period, Abio will check that all your active employees have been paid. It’s likely an oversight if they haven’t been paid.
If this is an oversight, you can roll back the pay period by adjusting the pay period in the company record.
