1. Best Practices in the Payroll Department
By:
Linda Robertson, Payroll Director
Buckeye Elementary School District
&
Tracy McLaughlin, Manager
Heinfeld, Meech & Co., P.C.
Who is our audience? Business managers, payroll staff, who?

2. Where do we start? Communication goes three ways between: Payroll
Human Resources
Business Office
Emphasis customer service and an open door policy. If something cannot be explained thru an ; inviting the employee in to go over it face to face.
HR, PR and business office meet weekly for status updates and sharing information.
When do you need all signatures? If it is affects pay or hours; need EE signature. Otherwise, just supervisor is sufficient.

3. The New Employee Trail
Contracts, Work Agreements and New Hire Checklist
Personnel Action Request Form (PAR)
Pay cycle calendar
Orientation?
Human Resources typically issues these documents. The Checklist is issued to classified new hires for the 90 day probationary period.
Pay cycle calendar provided to all EE’s in the new hire packet. Admin assistants get a copy for each year and then responsible for posting at each site; typically posted in the break room.

4. Personnel File Who should maintain what?
What are the minimum requirements?
-Application -Resume
-Performance Reviews -Loyalty Oath
-Policy Acknowledgement -Pay Decisions
-Training -Background Checks
As stated in the Arizona Library of Archives retention of records

5. Payroll File
What is the minimum requirement? Employee demographic information Work schedule Wages
The basic minimum by the DOL, Wage and Hour Division.
EE Demographic
Address, date of birth, gender, social security number
Work Schedule
Start of workweek
Hours worked each day
Total hours each week
Wages
Basis on which EE is paid (per hour, a week, etc)
Regular hourly rate
Total daily or weekly straight-time earnings
Additions and deductions from wages
Total wages each pay period
Pay date and pay period

6. Employee Leaving
-Personnel Action notification -Calculate -leave balances -final pay out
Discuss checklist that goes in the tickler file for the payroll after resignation to inactive deductions, inactive EE positions, etc.
Combine PR and HR file in storage.

7. Segregation of Duties Human Resources New Hire Checklist
Originals to Payroll
Changes
Service oriented
Enter and forward to Payroll
Checklist includes W-4, A-4, direct deposit, EE demographics, fingerprinting, certificate (if appl.)
HR passes info to payroll after entering into accounting software ; including leave codes.
HR keeps I-9 form
HR creates an HR employee file

8. Segregation of Duties Human Resources Employee demographics
Attach deductions and leave plans
Personnel file
Create contracts and work agreements
New hires and returning staff

9. Segregation of Duties Payroll
Documents that impact the employee’s paycheck
Changes
Service oriented
Enter and file in employee’s payroll file
Verify if made by Human Resource
Reviews EE’s entered info for verification-internal control!!!
PR maintains leave codes

10. Segregation of Duties Payroll Assign employee to position
Create new positions and vacancies
Payroll file

11. Are you ready to post payroll?

12. Balancing Payroll Timesheet Verification Daily Timesheet Tally
Balancing payroll docks
Timesheet Header
Should balance to Gross Pay for pay period
Every district is going to approach and manage this differently.
Timesheet header is a summary from the tally. All EE’s are checked off the tally and the header to ensure that no one is overlooked. At least one other PR EE reviews the header and tally sheet to make sure this is being done and it balances.
Timesheet header includes all EE’s; including contract and work agreement. Header contains supervisor signed t/s behind it.

13. Balancing Payroll Verifying Federal wages calculation
Social Security Wages
Social Security
Medicare
Hand out example of steps to balancing payroll-this can be done even if not using Visions; just a different report name.

14. End of Fiscal Year Reconciling contracts
Reconciling stipends, addendums, etc.

15. End of Calendar Year Circular E updates Balance W-2’s
Second set of eyes
Circular E update for tax tables

16. Additional Information
Arizona Minimum Wage
$7.35 Effective January 1, 2011
State of Arizona Labor Law
What would the auditors say?
Hand out both labor law pamphlets. Point out the phone number and address to order additional copies.

17. Records Retention
Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records
Updated June 2010!!!

18. Additional Information
Who is your back up? Do you have a back up? Are your procedures documented?
Quarterly, annual reporting. New requirements for online federal and state filing; does everyone know how to do this? Are you rotating job duties to give everyone in your department practice? Every district will approach and do this differently-find out what works best for you and your staff.

19. Opportunities of Discussion

20. Key Items
Circular E -Revised each calendar year Publication 505 -W-4 changes
W-4 changes
Page 13-falsifying w-4 just to not have to pay as much in tax. Penalty for willfully supplying the form-this is the employer!!

21. Key Items
Publication 15-b -Fringe Benefits FSLG -Taxable Fringe Benefit Guide

22. Funding Employees Has the grant been awarded?
How are employees funded?
Are you ready to change
Some CSS’s require no employees paid from non-awarded grants-this requires funding from M&O and then changing the funding once the grant is awarded. Some CSS’s allow funding; typically for your consistently awarded grants; i.e. Title I, Title II, IDEA, etc.
By default employees remain in the same funding source unless otherwise notified.

23. Fund Communication FY10 FY11 Name of Grant
Title I LEA Improvement Year 1
McKinney-Vento Homeless
224 N/A IDEA ASA Math Academy Year 2
225 N/A ARRA IDEA Preschool for 2009
ARRA IDEA Preschool for 2010

24. Resources
Internal Revenue Service

25. Did we overlook anything?
1. What about the 20/20 rule for substitute/temporary employees? Any questions, thoughts or comments?

26. Thank you for joining us today!