Copyright (c) 1983 Compumax Associates,Inc. All rights reserved. MICROPERS User Manual The COMPUMAX business application programs are computer programs that keep records and compute transactions for business use. They are designed for people who have little familiarity with com- puters and only a basic knowledge of accounting rules. This is possible because the programs themselves are self-explanatory, telling you ex- actly what is needed at every step. After you have become acquainted with this program, you might want to save even more time and frustration using also the other available modules of the MICROBIZ programs, described in this Manual. LIMITATION OF LIABILITIES AND DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES Compumax Associates, Inc. has dedicated great care in designing, developing,coding and publishing its programs. It, however, makes no express or implied warranties of any kind with regard to performance or fitness of purpose of any product. In no event shall Compumax Associates, Inc. be liable for inci- dental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of the distribution or use of its products. Title and ownership shall at all times remain with Compumax Associates, Inc. COMPUMAX P.O. BOX 61956, SUNNYVALE CA 94086 CHAPTER 1: MICROPERS Personnel Accounting System Functions Usual activities performed by personnel accounting systems include payroll computations, updating of employment histories, and, in a resourceful system, keeping records of the labor costs required for various jobs or functions within a business. The larger a payroll, the more complex and time- consuming these record-keeping tasks become, often requiring personnel managers to commit much more time to accounting functions than to the interactive aspects of employee relations. How MICROPERS Can Help MICROPERS is a series of computer programs that organize and carry out the payroll/personnel and associated cost accounting functions for a small business. MICROPERS is capable of handling pay schedules for both hourly and salaried employees, and can keep an updated employee file containing data on current standing (salary, position, tax, status information, and other vital statistics) and employment history going back to the date of hire. MICROPERS computes payroll amounts, including tax and other deductions, and keeps updated records of the accumulated totals of wages earned and taxes (and other deductions) withheld. MICROPERS prints paychecks, carries out the annual W-2 run, and computes the quarterly 941 deposit. Moreover, it generates the Job Cost Report/Labor, showing you labor costs for specific jobs or end products. The programs in MICROPERS are fast, accurate, and easy to use, saving you time and freeing your personnel management staff for other activities. For Users of the CompuMax MICROINV Package: MICROPERS, used together with MICROINV, the CompuMax Inventory Control record-keeping programs, gives you a complete job cost control system. If you have sufficient knowledge of BASIC programming you may customize this program for other states by modifying the source code yourself. For Users of the CompuMax MICROLEDGER Package: MICROPERS offers an additional bonus to those who also use the CompuMax MICROLEDGER system. MICROPERS creates Journal File records identical in format to the Journal File records in MICROLEDGER. You can then post these transaction records into your ledger's Chart of Accounts. In a similar fashion, the other CompuMax packages (MICROPAY, MICROREC, and MICROINV) can communicate with the MICROLEDGER programs. The MICROLEDGER- MICROPAY-MICROREC-MICROINV-MICROPERS combination provides you with an effective and powerful software package. Using This Manual First, read the manual to Chapter 3, Getting Started. Know how to bring up the computer and get it operating (read the operator's manual if you haven't done so yet). Then follow the step-by~step instructions in Chapter 3 to enter your own data. MICROPERS Overview The run begins with a selection of programs, often called a "menu." You may return to this general menu from any program by selecting the option Run Another Program. By selecting 0 (zero) in this menu you can sign off the system. The MICROPERS general menu contains six programs for payroll/personnel data manipulation. They are: PROGRAM 1 -- PERSONNEL DATA ENTRY PROGRAM 2 -- PAYROLL DATA ENTRY PROGRAM 3 -- FILE LISTING PROGRAM 4 -- PAYROLL REGISTER & PAY CHECKS PROGRAM 5 -- JOB COST REPORT/LABOR, 941, W-2 0 -- QUIT You run Program 1 to set up the Master File (PERSMASTER) and enter employee data. Running a program means that you select a particular program by typing its number and then respond to the questions the program asks you. The program tells you what information it requires. You then run Program 3 to list the master File so you can verify the accuracy of the information. When you are ready to enter data for a payroll period's transactions, you run Program 2 to do so; then list the PAYROLL file (using Program 3) to check it. At this point you should back up the PAYROLL file by making a copy of it on the same or another diskette, because later computations will destroy this data. Now you compute the payroll and print the Payroll Register by running Program 4. Option 41. After you have done this (and only after) you may print paychecks by running Option 42 of Program 4. The records in PERSMASTER are automatically updated at this point. If you use MICROLEDGER, you may now transcribe the data into JOUFIL, the Journal File. Now you can run the various options of Program 5: Option 51, the Job Cost Report/LABOR; Option 52, the Bank Deposit for the 941 (done quarterly); Option 53, the annual W-2 run. The procedures for running these programs are described in more detail in Chapter 3. The MICROPERS Files: PERSMASTER, PAYROLL, and JOUFIL The two primary files used in MICROPERS are PERSMASTER and PAYROLL. The third file, JOUFIL, is the Journal file, which you use to transfer data into your general ledger JOUFIL if you use the CompuMax MICROLEDGER package. Otherwise you may disregard JOUFIL. PERSMASTER This is the Master File for personnel/payroll records. You enter information as it is requested by the data entry program, and PERSMASTER organizes, stores, and updates records as you enter new data into the PAYROLL file. PERSMASTER contains a history of every employee in the company. Consecutive "actions" such as hire, promote, raise, and terminate are accumulated into this file. The file handles two types of employees: salaried, whose earnings are entered in a weekly dollar figure, and hourly, whose regular earnings are entered in an hourly dollar figure. The file also contains all data necessary for the proper application of federal, state, and local withholding tax tables. Furthermore, each employee record provides for up to five job classification codes that are can describe a job, a product, or a profit/cost center to which all or part of the wages earned are allocated. PAYROLL This is a temporary file into which you enter weekly or biweekly payroll data - regular time worked and overtime or special work information. After checking and verifying PAYROLL's listing, you may compute the payroll and print your checks with Program 4. This operation automatically updates the information in PERSMASTer. CHAPTER 2: MICROPERS PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS Look again at the selection of programs in MICROPERS: PROGRAM 1 -- PERSONNEL DATA ENTRY PROGRAM 2 -- PAYROLL DATA ENTRY PROGRAM 3 -- FILE LISTINGS PROGRAM 4 -- PAYROLL REGISTER & PAY CHECKS PROGRAM 5 -- JOB COST REPORT/LABOR, 941, W-2 0 -- QUIT Each program in MICROPERS has its own menu--a selection of options from which you may choose. The following is a description of what each option does and the data (if any) it requires you to enter. PROGRAM 1 PERSONNEL DATA ENTRY Option 10 -- Initialize JOUFIL If you use MICROLEDGER and wish to create a JOUFIL to transcribe MICROPERS records into MICROLEDGER, select this option. The program asks you for start and end dates for the Journal period. Option 11 Initialize Master File You must select this option when you use a new data diskette for the first time. The program requests a title (your company name) and the start date (you must use two digits each for month, day, and year). This information becomes part of the "header" record for PERSMASTER. If you want to create two or more Master Files (for separate companies or separate divisions of a company, for example) you must use two or more data diskettes. Option 12 -- Add or Update Master Records 121 -- Add a New Employee to Master Record Choose this option to create employee records, both when you are creating the new PERSMASTER file and when you must set up records for a new employee at a later date. The program asks you for the data elements I listed below. If any particular data are not relevant, enter a zero and press RETURN. Data Required for Adding Employee Records to PERSMASTER: NAME STREET ADDRESS CITY STATE ZIP Do not use commas TELEPHONE Maximum 10 characters, no hyphens SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER Maximum 9 digits, no hyphens STATUS M (married) or S (single) ACTION Describes nature of action (i.e., hire, raise, terminate) DATE OF ACTION Two digits each for month, day, year POSITION Job title or description CATEGORY $(salaried) or H (hourly) RATE/WK or RATE/HR Enter the weekly salary for S (salaried) employees, hourly wage for H (hourly) employees NUMBER. OR EXEMPTIONS This is the number reported in the W=2 form MISC. WEEKLY DEDUCTIONS Weekly amount of total voluntary deductions (such as employee's share of group insurance and company pension plan JOB CLASSIFICATION CODES You select codes to identify jobs, products, divisions, profit/cost centers, etc., to which the wages earned are apportioned. When you enter payroll transaction data, you enter the percentage of the employee's time (and, therefore, wages) devoted to each job or product. The corresponding Job Costs are computed and reported to you. Example: Enter 1/4 as 0.25. 122 -- Change an existing Record If you have made a mistake or an omission in entering data into the Master File, use this option to correct it. 123 -- Add a Continuation Record Select this option to record changes in status for an employee--e.g., marital status, job position, number of exemptions, salary. You need enter only the information which has changed; MICROPERS creates an entirely new record for that employee which contains the new information and all of the unchanged old information. MICROPERS preserves the old record (it appears in the listing immediately below the new record), which becomes "frozen" with the last accumulated values ~- before the update. Thus the PERSMASTER file becomes an employee history file. The top record for an employee is the current one. 124 -- Run Another Program Choose this option to access another program. Option 13 -- Annual Restart of Master File Run this option at the end of the year to clear the accumulated annual figures. The rest of the master data is preserved. PROGRAM 2 -- PAYROLL DATA ENTRY PROGRAM Option 21 -- Initialize PAYROLL File Run this option each week before you enter records for a new payroll period. You are asked for your company name and the ending date for the period. You must also enter O (odd for a week when only hourly employees are paid) or E (even for a week when both hourly and salaried employees are paid). Option 22 -- Add or Update PAYROLL Record 221 -- Add a New PAYROLL Record Choose this option to create PAYROLL records. You need not complete this entry at a single session, because Option 221 allows you to add more payroll transactions at a later time. The program asks for the data elements listed below. If any data are not relevant, enter a zero and press RETURN. The program goes to the next question. Data Required for Adding Records to PAYROLL: EMPLOYEE NUMBER A sequential number assigned by the listing and reporting programs. To obtain the employee number, run the listing program for PERSMASTER. REGULAR UNITS WORKED Number of weeks, if category is S (salaried); number of hours, if category is H (hourly). Number may contain a fractional part. SPECIAL UNITS WORKED Same as above; this refers to non-regular work. SPECIAL RATE CLASS Describes nature of non-regular work (overtime, jury duty, etc.). SPECIAL RATE $/UNIT Wage per week (if S) or per hour (if H) for non-regular work performed. PERCENTAGE FOR JOB CLASSIFICATION Percentage of time (and therefore wages) allocated to a job or product identified in PERSMASTER by a job classification code (1/4 = 0.25). NOTE: Run Option 221 only after PERSMASTER has been created (Option 11), because at entry time the program asks for the employee number assigned to the employee by PERSMASTER at the time of entering records in PERSMASTER. 222 -- Change a PAYROLL Record Run this option if you have made an error or omission in entering PAYROLL data or if you want to change anything in the PAYROLL file. 223 -- Delete a PAYROLL Record This option deletes an entire record from PAYROLL. 224 -- Run Another Program Option 23 -- Run Another Program PROGRAM 3 -- FILE LISTING PROGRAM Option 31 -- List an Employee Master Record Use this option to display a record for a given employee. You are asked to enter the employee number assigned by the system (this number is shown in the Master File listing -- Option 32). Option 32 -- List Employee Master File Run this option after entering new employee master information to check for errors or omissions. This option supplies a complete listing of the Master Pile and the employee numbers required in PAYROLL data entry. Option 33 -- List a PAYROLL Record You may inspect any PAYROLL record by running this option. Use of the listing options is recommended after making updates. Option 34 -- List PAYROLL File This option provides a listing of the entire PAYROLL file. Use this option to list PAYROLL after entering records. Option 35 - List one Employee's History Enter the employee number assigned by the system and the program generates the history for any employee. Option 36 -- List All Employees' History Outputs the complete personnel history information contained in the personnel Master File. Option 37 -- Run Another Program PROGRAM 4 -- PAYROLL REGISTER & PAY CHECKS Option 41 -- Compute Payroll & Print Payroll Register BEFORE RUNNING OPTION 41 ALWAYS BACK UP THE PAYROLL AND PERSMASTER FILES. All payroll transaction data is lost from the PAYROLL file after you run Option 41, so be sure to copy the files before you run this option, in case you need to recover the data later. Option 41 is the main working program of the system. It computes the total gross earnings for each employee, the federal, F.l.C.A., and state withholding taxes, the S.D.I payment, the total deductions, and the next pay. The values are displayed in the Payroll Register and written back into the PAYROLL record of the employee, to be used to print checks when Option 42 is run. Study the figures shown for each value in the Payroll Register. If any figure is wrong, you must recover the original PAYROLL file--the backup file created before the Option 41 run. Use Option 22 of Program 2 to update the PAYROLL data. DO NOT RUN OPTION 41 MORE THAN ONCE BEFORE YOU RUN OPTION 42. NOTE: For instructions on how to update the federal and state tax table withholding rates, see Appendix A. Option 42 -- Print Pay checks and Journalize Payroll Transactions This option prints checks and provides the check stub values. It is assumed that you have check forms printed with your company name according to the format shown. However, you are free to use any check forms that employ the same quantities in any different format; in this case you must change the appropriate BASIC print and format statements as necessary. You may also change the account numbers shown on the check stub to use account numbers of your own choice (respecting the rules of MICROLEDGER, if you use that system). These account numbers are defined in the source code in Program 4, and it is easy to see which numbers to change if you observe these lines together with the stub output. The system is set up to create JOUFIL entries for the MICROLEDGER accounts. The amounts are entered as positive values, so check the "+" and "-" values you want your entries to have. You may have to use the MICROLEDGER update option to change the sign of an entry. NOTE: If you want to create JOUFIL and your version does not contain an initializing routine, follow this procedure: Before running Option 42, remove the MICROPERS program diskette and insert the MICROLEDGER program diskette in its place. Run the MICROLEDGER option which initializes JOUFIL. Then replace the MICROPERS program diskette and continue running the programs. Option 43 -- Run Another Program PROGRAM 5 -- JOB COST, 941, W-2 Option 51 -- Print Job Cost Report/Labor This option creates a report showing the total amount of wages allocated to each job code. The output handles the complete labor part of the job cost control. Used with Program S of MICROINV, the CompuMax Inventory Control system that supplies the Job Cost Report/Materials, you have a complete job cost control system. Option 52 -- Bank Deposit for 941 This option computes the quarterly 941 deposit. It sets the field back to zero after it is run, so don't run it before you need it. Option 53 -- Annual W-2 Run Prints the W-2 Run forms corresponding to each employee in the Master File. Option 54 -- Run Another Program CHAPTER 3: GETTING STARTED You are almost ready to enter your own accounts and run the programs. Read How to Run the Programs and then practice running the data diskette containing the sample data. Then you are ready to enter your own personnel/payroll records and set up files following the step-by-step instructions provided. How to Run the Programs Load the program and data diskettes into the disk drives according to the computer system instructions. Issue the commands to run the programs, and MICROPERS tells you what to do at every step. All information is fed into or taken out of the system using the keyboard to respond to questions displayed automatically by the program. Answer all questions, unless instructed otherwise, by typing the Arabic number of the operation desired. (Remember that the Arabic number one is NOT the lower case "L", and the number zero is NOT the letter "O".) If you make a mistake, use the BACKSPACE key to correct the error. After answering the question or entering new data, press RETURN to proceed to the next step. Step by Step: The Sequence of Running the Programs in MICROPERS STEP 1 Run Program 1, Option 11 to Initialize the Master File. STEP 2 Run Option 12 or Program 1. Choose Sub-Option 121 to enter records into PERSMASTER. STEP 3 Run Program 3, Option 32 to list the Master File and check it for accuracy and completeness. If you have made errors or left out information, run Program 1, Option 12, Sub-option 122 to correct this. STEP 4 Run Program 2, Option 21 to initialize the PAYROLL File. STEP 5 Run Option 22, Sub-Option 221 of Program 2 to add PAYROLL records. Remember, each PAYROLL transaction record that you enter here must have a corresponding record already in PERSMASTER STEP 6 Run Program 3, Option 34 to list the PAYROLL file. Check it for accuracy and completeness. If you need to make any updates, run Program 2, Option 22, Sub-option 222 to make the change. STEP 7 Create PAYROLL and PERSMASTER backup files. STEP 8 Run Program 4, Option 41 to compute the payroll and print the Payroll Register. Remember, you should have created a backup PAYROLL File and PERSMASTER in case you need to rerun this program. STEP 9 If you want to create a JOUFIL you must do so before you run Option 42. Each payroll transaction record creates seven JOUFIL records. Run Option 42 of Program 4 to print paychecks. You are requested by the program to put the required number of blank checks into the printer. STEP 10 Run Program 3, Option 32 to list the Master File. At this point the payroll transaction data has been posted to the Master File, and the accumulated totals in PERSMASTER include wage and withholding information from the pay period just completed. STEP 11 Run Program 5, Option 51 to print Job Cost Report/Labor. This is meaningful only if you have been entering job classification codes and amounts in the PAYROLL File. STEP 12 Each quarter, run Program 5, Option 52. The program calculates the 941 amount to be deposited, then clears the file. STEP 13 Annually, run Program 5, Option 53 to print W-2 forms for employees. ---------------------------------------------------------------- APPENDIX A HOW TO UPDATE THE TAX WITHHOLDING TABLES Instructions for Updating the Federal and State Tax Tables: These instructions are a guide to locating the proper lines and figures to be changed if you want to change the tax computation method or the tax table values. If you do not know how to program the appropriate changes, please consult your Operating Manual. Also, all alterations to the program should be made on a COPY of the original Program Disk you received, so that if you make any mistakes, you can use the original as a backup. All lines referred to below are found in Program 4 of MICROPERS. To update Tax Table Values: The Federal Tax Table values are found in lines 9520-9592, and are labeled according to the tax category they refer to. For example, the REMARK statement in line 9549 identifies the figures that follow as pertaining to married persons who are paid biweekly. The California State Tax Tables are found in lines 9060-9163, and are also labeled according to the tax category they refer to. For example, the REMARK statement in line 9149 identifies the figures that follow as pertaining to married persons who are paid an hourly wage on a weekly basis. To Alter Tax Computation Tables: The Federal Tax Computation is performed in lines 3200-3320, and the State Tax Computation is carried out in lines 3330-3630. First, the withholding rates (found in lines 9540 and 9570 for Federal and in lines 9110-9112 for State) are read. Then the program computes taxes based on marital status and the length of the payroll period. (A sample computation is provided in Figure A.) For instance, employees who are paid weekly and are married have their deductions computed in lines 3380-3410. In each section, the earnings are first checked to see if they exceed the low income level (Table A), which is identified by REMARK statements in the source code. The program computes standard deductions based on marital status and number of exemptions claimed (Table C). The standard deductions are also identified throughout the source code by REMARK statements. The program cannot compute the optional itemized deductions because only the total number of withholding allowances is available. Finally, the taxes are computed using Table E. The tax credits are computed using Table D (located in lines 8480-8560). To aid you in identifying the exact values you are altering, we have defined the appropriate variables. To Alter Tax Table Values: Look for the following variables in the source code to change the values for the tax tables. V(1,n) = the percentage rate V(2,n) = the cutoff point For the above variables, "n" signifies the order in which these figures appear in the table. For example, in line 9110, the tax rate charged for the first entry is 0.01. The corresponding cutoff point for this tax rate is found in line 9135, and is 1. The next set of percentage tax rates and the cutoff point found in these same lines is 0.02 and 219, respectively. These figures correspond to the ones given in the California State Withholding Tax Table for married persons paid biweekly. To Alter Tax Computation Tables If you need to change the method used to compute taxes, the following variables used in MICROPERS can help you structure your own tax computations. E1 = Total Gross Earnings E2 = Social Security Tax E3 = F3 = Federal Income Tax E4 = State Disability Insurance E5 = F4 = State Tax E6 = Total Deductions E7 = Net Pay AO = Number of With. Allowances SO = Total Gross Earnings--State S1 = Total Gross Earnings--Fed. S2 = Social Security % S3 = State Disability Insur. S4 = Soc. Sec. cutoff S5 = S.D.I. cutoff S6 = Misc. Deductions Hold If you need only eliminate the State Income Tax and/or State Disability Insurance, just make the following changes: To eliminate the State Income Tax, add line 3331 as follows: 3331 F3# = 0: (The "0" must be a zero.) To eliminate the S.D.I., modify line 9040 to read as follows: 9040 S3=0.0: S5 = 17000 (The "0" must be a zero.)