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Manual Checks

Overview

Manual checks are payroll checks written outside the normal payroll schedule, typically for terminated employees or special circumstances. ProPay tracks these checks to maintain accurate payroll records and tax calculations.

When Manual Checks Are Needed

Common situations requiring manual checks:

  • Employee termination (final paycheck)
  • Forgot to include an employee in regular payroll
  • Special bonus or commission payment
  • Emergency advance
  • Payroll correction

Two Types of Manual Check Entry

Client-computed manual checks

When clients calculate and write their own manual checks using tax tables:

  1. Client must report all manual checks to you on the next scheduled pay date
  2. Enter current payroll hours for all employees as usual
  3. Then enter the manual checks under Enter Manual Checks

Critical: DO NOT enter these checks as regular payroll checks. This will cause incorrect calculations and duplicate entries.

ProPay-computed manual checks

When clients call you to compute a check for special reasons:

  1. Go to Paychecks > New Payroll under the next scheduled pay date.
  2. Go to Paychecks > Enter Manual Checks.
  3. Enter the employee and pay information.
  4. ProPay computes gross pay, taxes, and deductions
  5. Provide all amounts to the client
  6. Client hand-writes the check from their checkbook
  7. Click Accept to enter the paycheck in the register

Why Manual Check Entry is Important

Proper manual check entry ensures:

  • Accurate year-to-date totals
  • Correct tax withholding calculations
  • Proper W-2 reporting at year end
  • Complete payroll audit trail
  • Accurate tax deposit schedules

Reporting Requirements

All manual checks must be:

  • Reported to the payroll processor
  • Entered in ProPay before the next regular payroll
  • Included in tax calculations for the period
  • Recorded with the correct pay date

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake 1: Entering manual checks as regular payroll

  • Why it's wrong: Creates duplicate records and incorrect calculations
  • Correct method: Use the Enter Manual Checks function

Mistake 2: Forgetting to report manual checks

  • Why it's wrong: Creates incorrect year-to-date totals and tax reports
  • Correct method: Report all manual checks on the next scheduled payroll

Mistake 3: Using the wrong pay date

  • Why it's wrong: Affects tax period reporting and deposit schedules
  • Correct method: Enter manual checks under the date they were actually issued

Related Topics

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