Payroll Entry

How Do I...

Use the Payroll Entry window (access from the Tasks menu) to create paychecks to print for individual employees. All entries made here are posted both to general ledger and the employee record. This information for the selected employees is pulled from the employee records, the payroll formulas, and employee defaults.

Note: You must subscribe to a Sage Business Care plan to have access to payroll formulas and to have payroll taxes and other deductions calculated within Sage 50. If you don't subscribe, you will have to manually calculate and enter payroll taxes and other deductions on your paychecks.

I got an error that says I've exceeded the number of employees that my payroll solution allows me to pay. Why did I get this error and what should I do?

Your payroll subscription limits the number of employees that you can pay per month. For example, you may be subscribed to a Sage Business Care plan that allows you to pay 50 employees per month. This means that during each calendar month you can pay up to 50 employees as many times as you want to.

You have received this error because paying this employee will exceed the limit. You can only pay an employee that has already been paid this month. Otherwise, you will need to upgrade your Sage Business Care plan or monthly subscription to allow you to pay more employees.

To see which employees have been paid this month, you can view the Payroll Check Register. To do this, go to the Employees & Payroll Navigation Center and click the Reports navigation aid. Double-click Payroll Check Register in the list of Payroll reports. You can filter this report by different dates by selecting Options.

To see if you are subscribed to a Sage Business Care plan, go to Help>About Sage 50 Accounting.

Learn More

Do you want to pay a single employee or more than one?

If you want to pay a single employee, you've come to the right place. The Payroll Entry window lets you enter pay information and print a paycheck for one employee at a time. (You pay a group of employees using the Select for Payroll Entry option on the Tasks menu.) Also, if you have already issued payroll but want a historical record of the payment, use the Payroll Entry window to enter manual paychecks covering the transaction.

Pay Employees

Enter Manual Paychecks

Are jobs or time-ticket hours involved in this payroll entry?

If your employee's hours need to be applied to a job, you can do that in the Payroll Entry window. You can tell Sage 50 the hours and type of work (such as salaried or commission) that the employee did on the job. If the employee enters time-tickets for Time & Billing projects, you can create a paycheck that reflects time-ticket hours worked.

Apply Payroll Expenses to a Job

Pay Employees Using Time-Ticket Hours

Printing and previewing paychecks

Sage 50 gives you the opportunity to review the information that will appear on forms before you print them. The Print button in the toolbar of Payroll Entry gives you two options: Select Preview to look over a paycheck before printing; when you're ready, select Print for a hard copy of the check.

Preview Forms Before Printing

Print a Form from a Task Window

Set Up Check Printing Defaults

Voiding a paycheck

Sometimes you need to void a paycheck. You'll be able to do this for any paychecks that have been posted but not cleared with the bank. To void a paycheck:

Display it in the window.
Select the Delete button.
From the drop-down options, select Void.

Void a Paycheck

Recalculating the cash balance in Payroll Entry

If you see the word Uncalculated in the Balance field of the window, then the Recalculate cash balance automatically in Receipts and Payments in Maintain Global Options is currently not selected. However, you can manually update cash balance; click the link to find out how.

Recalculate Cash Balance Automatically

Why does Sage 50 print "duplicate" on my check when I know it isn't a duplicate?

Sage 50 will print "duplicate" on the check if a Check Number has already been assigned to the check, either because it was printed before or because the Check Number field on the Payroll Entry window was filled in prior to printing. On the Payroll Entry window

Complete the Check Number field ONLY if the check was printed outside of Sage 50, such as by hand.
Leave the Check Number field blank if you plan to print the paycheck you are entering. Sage 50 will automatically assign the next check number when you click Print and it will not print "duplicate" on the check.

Help with specific fields

For a listing of fields in the Payroll Entry window, click the link.

Payroll Entry Fields

Add an Attachment

You can attach files, such as Word or Excel documents, to a payroll entry. How do I add an attachment?