Running the Paycheck Modeler in HRS
Overview
The Paycheck Modeler functionality allows payroll coordinators to model paychecks on an employee’s behalf. The modeler is useful for estimating the impact of various changes to an active employee’s net check such as tax withholding updates, additional earnings, changes to deductions, etc.Process Considerations:
- The Paycheck Modeler will be locked out whenever a payroll calc is running as well as during the afternoons of final calc/confirm.
- HRS users with the following security roles will have access to the Paycheck Modeler:
- UW_UNV_PY_PAYROLL_UPD (PY Payroll Processing)
- UW_UNV_BN_CAMPUS_BN_UPD (BN Campus Benefits Update)
- To pull the information presented on the Paycheck Modeler-Earnings page, the system uses the employee’s standard hours/FTE and rate of pay from Job Data that were in effect on his/her last confirmed paycheck. If the employee has any active additional pay records for the current period, these will also show up in the earnings calculation. If an employee has multiple active jobs, you can only model a paycheck for one job at a time.
- When Calendar-Year-End pay calendars are open, paycheck modeler cannot be used for employees enrolled in a FSA. An error will be returned as the FSA deduction is not able to be calculated.
- Please note that Paycheck Modeler is not intended for use in certain situations or for certain kinds of employees:
- Do not use the modeler to calculate off-cycle transactions such as missed payrolls or check corrections.
- The modeler will not pick up rate changes that have not been in place for a confirmed paycheck, nor can it be used for a brand new employee who has not yet had a confirmed paycheck.
- The modeler is not intended for use for foreign nationals, especially those whose payments are reported on a 1042-S.
- The modeler cannot be used to project some types of future scenarios because it pulls the employee’s current Job Data information. For example, FICA status cannot be altered within the modeler, so projecting a change in FICA status is not possible. Additionally, the modeler cannot project a pay basis change such as a transfer from biweekly to monthly.
You may click on the links below to navigate directly to a section:
Instructions
Instructions
Navigation: Payroll for North America>Payroll Processing USA>Paycheck Modeling>Paycheck Modeler
- Enter the Empl ID of the employee you are modeling a check for in the Empl ID field. You will be taken into the Modeler. If multiple search results are returned on this page, just click one of the options to be taken to the next step.
- Start: Review the Usage Terms and Conditions with the employee whose check you are modeling. Once they agree to the terms and conditions, click the “Yes, I have reviewed and agree to the terms and conditions” check box. This activates the “Let’s Get Started” button. Click on that to proceed with modeling the paycheck.
- Jobs: Select the job for which you want to create the modeled check by selecting the radio button next to that job (if an employee has multiple active jobs you can only model a check for one job at a time). Click the Prepare My Modeled Check button to trigger the system to mock up the initial modeled check for the employee. You will receive a pop-up message stating “Your modeled check has been calculated.” Click OK, and then click the “Next” button to proceed to the Earnings page.
- Earnings: Verify the earnings amount is correct for the modeled check or make updates as needed.
- You can update/edit the earnings by clicking the pencil icon next to the earnings amount. A box will pop up in which you can change the earnings hours or amount.
NOTE: Since the Modeler uses the employee’s standard hours/FTE to pull in the projected hours and amount, employees with an FTE of 0.000250, such as Student Help or University Staff Temporary, will pull in with very few hours. Just edit what comes in to reflect the correct number of hours desired. - To zero out the amount for an existing earnings type, click the curved arrow button for that earnings type.
NOTE: For hourly employees with leave benefits, if the next open biweekly calendar contains a legal holiday, the initial modeled check will pull in additional regular hours associated with the holiday (based on the employee’s FTE). These extra hours can just be cleared out. - To add new earnings to the modeled check, click the “Add Earnings” button. Use the lookup icon (magnifying glass) on the Earnings Type field to choose the desired earnings code (clicking the Earnings Code column header will re-sort the codes in alphabetical order). Based on the earnings code chosen, enter in the number of hours or amount to pay.
- Click the Next button to move on to the Deductions page.
- You can update/edit the earnings by clicking the pencil icon next to the earnings amount. A box will pop up in which you can change the earnings hours or amount.
- Deductions: The Deductions page shows the employee’s active deductions set to be taken on the next on-cycle payroll.
NOTE: if an employee has any deductions in arrears, these will also be pulled into the initial modeled check.- You can edit the amount of the existing deductions by clicking the pencil icon next to the deduction.
- To zero out the amount for an existing deduction, click the curved arrow button for that deduction.
- Add new deductions by clicking the “Add Deductions” button. Use the lookup icon (magnifying glass) on the Deduction field to choose the desired deduction code. The results list will only return the first 300 deduction codes, so to find the correct code/narrow the search, enter part of or the entire deduction code in the “Deduction Code” field (see KB General Deduction Codes Job Aid for HRS ) and click the “Look Up” button. Enter the amount of the chosen deduction.
NOTE: only employee amounts are available to model. Employer paid deductions are not part of the paycheck model. - Click the Next button to move on to the Taxes page.
- You can edit the amount of the existing deductions by clicking the pencil icon next to the deduction.
- Taxes: This page allows you to edit the employee’s tax marital status and/or the withholding exemptions for federal and state taxes.
- To update tax withholding information for the employee, click on the pencil under the Edit section on the Federal or Wisconsin line. A new box will pop up where you can update marital status, the number of withholding allowances, and/or add an additional flat dollar withholding amount.
NOTE: Employees who are currently claiming “exempt” from state tax withholding will not be able to make changes to their state withholding. - Click Next to be taken to the Paycheck Modeler-Calculate page
- To update tax withholding information for the employee, click on the pencil under the Edit section on the Federal or Wisconsin line. A new box will pop up where you can update marital status, the number of withholding allowances, and/or add an additional flat dollar withholding amount.
- Calculate: Click the Calculate My Modeled Check button to initiate the calculation process that will take into account all the changes made on the previous pages. When the check has been modeled, a message will appear. Click the Next button to view the modeled check results.
- Results: The Paycheck Modeler-Results page displays the results of the mocked up paycheck.
- The “Modeled Check Results” section shows the gross-to-net calculation.
- Click the Details link to the right of the earnings, taxes, or deductions calculations to see a breakdown of the calculation based on your entries on the previous pages.
NOTE: If an employee has taxable “deductions” they will not show up in the deduction list. However, the taxable amount will have been factored into the taxable gross amount used to calculate the employee’s tax withholdings. - In the “Modeled Check Ratio” section a pie chart and listing show what percentage of the employee’s check is taken up by taxes, before-tax deductions, after-tax deductions, and net pay.
- To print a copy of the modeled check for the employee, click the Print My Modeled Check button. A PDF statement will appear with the breakdown of the employee’s earnings, taxes, and deductions. This statement does not have the employee’s name or UW’s name on it, and there is a watermark saying “Estimate” across it so that it cannot be used as a valid earnings statement.
- Click the Print My Change button to view a PDF of the changes that were made on the modeled paycheck.
- When you’re finished, leave the Paycheck Modeler by clicking the Exit button.
