Please note that this article is only for processing regular pay runs without the optional labor sub-module of Harmony.

Table of Contents

Description

You want to process a regular pay run in Harmony Payroll.

Prerequisites

• Set up your employees' and company's basic information
• Activated & set up your employees for payroll
• Know how many hours your employees have worked 
• Know if you need to pay out vacation, sick, or other earnings
• Have entered and tested your email settings (if emailing paystubs or reports) 
• Have tested the bank file (if paying by direct deposit)

Processing a Regular Pay Run

Step 1: Select Your Pay Period

1. Navigate to Processing > Payroll Wizard > Select Pay Period step.
2. Select the correct “Payroll Group”.
3. Select the correct “Payroll Process Period”.
4. Double-check to ensure that your “Payment Date” is correct.
5. Ensure that your "Paycard Type" is set to 'Regular'. 
6. Ensure that all applicable payroll categories are active at the bottom of the page. 
   
7. Click the save button to save the step in the payroll wizard.
8. Click “Complete” at the top-right of the wizard to confirm that you’ve completed this step.

Step 2: Enter Timesheets

1. Navigate to the next step, Timesheets. 
2. If you're importing timesheets, skip to step #4. If you're entering timesheets manually, select the employees on the left side of the screen to add a timesheet for them into this run. By default, it will be for the Hourly Wages payroll category. If you want to add any overtime or other unit-based payroll categories, click the "+" button for each employee to select the different payroll category. 
   
3. Enter the "Units" for the number of hours or units that the employee worked. You can also modify the "Rate" accordingly, but this should come from the employee's master paycard. The "Total" will be calculated automatically. You can also click the three (3) dot button to enter units on a per-day basis for the entire timesheet. 
   
4. If you're importing timesheets, click the 'import' button on the right side of the screen to select your interface and file to upload. Make adjustments as needed. 
   
5. If you made any changes, click the save button to save the step in the payroll wizard. 
6. Click “Complete” at the top-right of the wizard to confirm that you’ve completed this step.

Step 3: Process Payroll & Create Paycards

1. Navigate to the next step, Process Payroll. 
2. Select the employees you want to create a paycard for using the checkboxes. You can also click on the brown button next to the search bar to select all employees. 
   
3. Click “Process” to create paycards for the selected employees.
   
   
4. Click the document icon next to an employee to pull up their paycard. 
5. If required, click “Edit” at the bottom of the paycard to edit it.
   Note: The paycard screenshot below depicts a Canadian database. If you are a US customer, you will see different taxes and categories accordingly.
   
   
6. Update the values as required. 
7. Click “Process” and verify that the employee’s paycard is accurate.
8. Exit the paycard to return to the payroll wizard.

9. Verify that the change in the employee’s paycard was saved by reopening the paycard, or opening the Payroll Journal report. 

10. Repeat steps 3 through 9 for each employee that you want to modify.

11. If you accidentally processed a paycard for someone that isn't supposed to be paid, select the employee and click the "Rollback" button. This will remove the employee's paycard in the current pay run.

12. Click “Complete” at the top-right of the wizard to confirm that you’ve completed this step. 

Step 4: Print/Email Paystubs

Your goal at the end of this step is to ensure that all paystubs have been previewed and/or printed/emailed to all employees. You should see checkmarks next to every employee's name after step #8. If  you do not at least preview the employees' paystubs, you will not be able to post and finalize the payroll. Refer to the Payroll Error Messages for more information.

1. Navigate to the next step, Print/Email Paystubs.
2. On the left side are all your one-time setup items. Once you select the preferences here, it will be saved the next time that you run the payroll. Select "Pay by" (payment method) of the employees. 
3. Select the "Style" you want to print/email. 
4. Select the "Sort Order" of which you want the paystubs to be printed/emailed. 
5. If you're paying by check/cheque, expand the section Items to be printed on the cheque. You can select what items you want to be printed here. Ensure that you also select the "Date Format". 
6. Expand the section Items to be printed on the paystub. You can select what items you want to include on the paystub here. Ensure that you also select the "Date Format". 
7. Click the refresh button at the top-right corner to save your changes. A list of employees with the selected payment method will also appear. 
   
8. Select the employees and click the email button to email the paystubs, or the print button to print the paystubs. 
   1. Tip: If you're printing checks or paystubs, you may want to print a test one on blank paper to make adjustments. You can go to the 'Options' tab in Harmony to make adjustments to the fields that are printed, or add margins for printing. 
   2. Note: The print option allows you to preview the cheques / pay stubs without the need to print. This may be needed if you do not want to print or email anything but want to finalize your payroll still.
9. Click “Complete” at the top-right of the wizard to confirm that you’ve completed this step. 

Step 5: Create Bank File

This step is only required if you need to create a bank, wire transfer, or ACH file from Harmony to upload to your bank. If you are paying another way, or by check, you may skip this step. 

1. Navigate to the next step, Create Bank File. 
2. Update the "Deposit Date" if required. 
3. For Canadian customers, update the "Next bank file sequence number" if required. This would have automatically changed from the last time you ran payroll. 
4. If you have more than one payroll group that you want to include in the same file, select the applicable ones in the "Payroll Group(s)" field. 
5. Click the save button to save your changes. 
6. Click the "Create" button to generate the file. Harmony will inform you the number of employees, transactions, and total deposit amount with this file. 
   
7. Update the "File Name" if required. Click "Download" to download the file. 
   
8. Use this downloaded file to upload to your bank's online portal. 
9. In Harmony, click “Complete” at the top-right of the wizard to confirm that you’ve completed this step. 

Step 6: Generate Reports

The reports that you can generate are called your 'In-Progress Reports'. This means that these reports  can only be generated while you're processing a payroll. Similar reports can be found in your historical reports after you finalize and post your payroll, but it will be in several different reports or formats.

1. Navigate to the next step, Generate Reports. 
2. Select the report by clicking the three (3) dots next to the name of the report. 
   
3. Additional filters or sort orders may appear, so you can select what applies to you. 
4. Click "Open" to open the report. You may download, print, or email the report as required. 
5. Click "Complete" at the top-right of the wizard to confirm that you've completed this step. 

What reports can I generate while I'm processing a pay run? 

There are four (4) reports that you can generate: 

1. The Payroll Journal will include a breakdown of each employee's paycard in detail, with a company total on the last page of the report. This is nearly identical to the Employee History Detail Journal report in your historical reports. 
2. The Deposit Register includes a breakdown of each employee who is paid by direct deposit, including their banking details. 
3. The Check/Cheque Register includes a breakdown of each employee who is paid by check/cheque, including the check/cheque number. 
4. The Posting Balance Sheet is a summary of your payroll and what the values for each payroll category are before, during, and after you post your pay run. 

Step 7: Making a Back Up

1. Navigate to the next step, Back Up.
2. Enter the "Backup File Name". We recommend including as many details as you can, such as the date, reason, and person who is making the backup. 
   
3. Click the "Backup" button. Ensure that you're able to successfully make the backup. 
4. Click "Complete" at the top-right of the wizard to confirm that you've completed this step. 

Step 8: Finalize Your Pay Run

1. Navigate to the last step, Finalize. 
2. Double-check this pay run summary to ensure that the values are what you expect. 
3. Click the print button at the bottom of the page to print this page for you to keep for your records if needed. 
4. Click the "Post" button to finalize and post your payroll. Harmony will confirm a few things with you before doing so. That's it! 
   

Post-Pay Run Steps

There are a few things you can do at the end of your pay run.

1. Run another payroll 
   1. This option will take you back to the beginning of the payroll wizard. From here, you can run an adjustment/bonus/special pay run, or you can run a regular pay run for a different payroll group, 
2. Create your GL records 
   1. This option will take you to Processing > Create GL Records, for you to generate your general ledger records. Generating your GL records will allow you to use one of Harmony's built-in integrations to your financial/accounting/ERP system, or for you to generate the General Ledger report for you to manually make the entries in your accounting system. 
3. Generate your reports 
   1. This option will take you to Reports > Reports, for you to generate any historical reports. 
4. Return to the payroll dashboard 
   1. This option will return you to the payroll dashboard.