Once you've connected a journal service and imported your chart of accounts, you can map those accounts to various payroll transaction types. The chart of accounts page is typically divided into two sections:
- Primary Accounts: These are required accounts that will be used for all transactions unless overridden.
- Location-Specific Accounts: These accounts can be used to override the primary accounts for transactions at a particular business location.
Account Mapping Hierarchy
Journals are generated based on the general ledger (GL) account mapped to each transaction type. Transactions are matched to a GL account using a hierarchy from the lowest to the highest level, which allows for granular control.
- 1st Level: Location-specific accounts for income types, deduction categories, and expense categories.
- 2nd Level: Location-specific default account mappings.
- 3rd Level: Income type, deduction category, and expense category mappings.
- 4th Level: Default account mappings.
Default Account Mappings
These are the primary accounts mapped at the highest level of the hierarchy.
- Payment Account: Often called a "payroll clearing" account, this is used to reconcile the net payroll payment to the transaction from your bank account.
- Gross Wages/Salaries Expense Account: This account records the total gross wages expense for the pay run before any deductions.
- Default Payroll Liability Account: This is where all deductions are journaled if a more specific liability account isn't set up.
- Source Deductions Payable Account: This liability account tracks all statutory deductions owed to the government, including federal and provincial income tax, Canada Pension Plan (CPP), and Employment Insurance (EI).
- Employer Contributions Expense Account: This account is used to track the employer's portion of payroll contributions, such as the employer's share of CPP and EI.
- Pension Plan Expense Account: This account tracks the employer's pension plan contributions.
- Pension Plan Liability Account: This liability account tracks the funds for pension contributions that have been deducted but not yet remitted to the plan provider.
- Employee Expenses Account: This account records any employee expenses processed within a pay run. These are not considered part of employee wages.
Specific Transaction Accounts
You can map specific transaction types to different GL accounts for more detailed tracking.
- Income Type Accounts: Used to allocate specific wage expenses, such as bonuses, time-off pay, or allowances, to different GL accounts. If not specified, the default Gross Wages/Salaries Expense Account is used.
- Deduction Category Accounts: Used to allocate specific deductions to different GL accounts. If an account isn't specified, the default Payroll Liability Account is used. A specific example would be a Benefits Liability Account for health insurance or other benefit premiums deducted from an employee's pay.
- Expense Category Accounts: Used to allocate specific employee expenses to different GL accounts. If an account isn't specified, the default Employee Expenses Account is used.
Splitting by Location
The "Split by location" feature allows you to create a separate transaction line in the journal for each location. This is useful for accounting packages that use locations, classes, or tracking categories for financial reporting.
If you want to split by location and allocate transactions to different accounts, you can define location-specific accounts. These function just like primary accounts but only apply to their designated location.
Entity-Specific Accounts
For greater reporting flexibility, you can map GL accounts to specific employing entities for file export and detailed file export journal types.
- How They Work: Employing entity-specific accounts override primary and location-specific accounts. If an employing entity account is mapped, it takes precedence. This feature only applies to file export journal types.
- Setting Them Up: To set up these accounts, navigate to Payroll Settings Chart of Accounts, scroll to Entity specific accounts, click Add, select the employing entity, assign the relevant GL accounts, and save.
- Important Notes: If you use entity-specific accounts, location-specific accounts cannot be used. You must also have a working file export or detailed file export integration.
Exporting the Chart of Accounts
If you have multiple sets of location-specific accounts, finding a specific account can be challenging. The Export Configuration feature allows you to export your entire chart of accounts to a spreadsheet. You can find this option under Payroll Settings Data Extracts.
NOTE: Any changes to your journal service (e.g., switching from "File Export" to "Detailed File Export") will require you to re-map your entire Chart of Accounts.