Add Explanation Statements

You can change the order of the sections in an earning statement (payslip) and use default descriptions or create custom descriptions for each section and line item in Payroll Setup > Explanation Statements. See Explanation Statements.

In Payroll Setup > Explanation Statements, the descriptions that you create in the Overview section can be used as both the section description and the default description. Default descriptions are automatically applied to line items that don’t have a defined description.

Add Default System Descriptions

When adding a default description, you can apply out-of-the-box system descriptions either by making bulk selections using the System Overview Descriptions dialog box or you can choose a default system description per item by selecting the Apply System Description checkbox. All sections that you selected are applied when viewing the employee’s record in People, in the Statements > Earnings screen, in the Explanation tab.

To add a default description:

1. Go to Payroll Setup > Explanation Statements.
2. Select a country in the Country drop-down list. Descriptions are localized and unique to each country. The descriptions that an employee sees depends on their culture setting.
3. Select an Earning Statement section in the Section drop-down list.
4. Find the line item that you want to edit and choose one of the following options:
   • To view default system descriptions at the overview level and make bulk selections, click System Overview Descriptions: 
     1. Review the default descriptions for the different sections in the System Overview Descriptions dialog box.
     2. Select the Apply System Description checkbox for the system descriptions you want applied to the section overview on the earning statements and click OK. Applying the system description enables the corresponding Display for items without Description checkbox, which, when selected, applies the system description to all subitems under the section that don’t have their own custom description defined.
     3. 
   • If you already know the system description for a single item and want to apply the default description to the section overview on the earning statement, select the Apply System Description checkbox and click OK.
5. In the Explanation Statements screen, click Save.

Add Custom Descriptions

Instead of using the default system descriptions, you can create your own customized explanation statement in the Description section.

To add a custom description:

1. Go to Payroll Setup > Explanation Statements.
2. Select a country in the Country drop-down list. Descriptions are localized and unique to each country. The descriptions that an employee sees depends on their culture setting.
3. Select an Earning Statement section with the Section drop-down list.
4. 
4. Find the line item that you want to edit and click Add Description. You can create multiple descriptions for each line item. If a description already exists, select it, and click Add to create an additional description.
5. 
5. Enter information in the fields to create a description. For more details about each field, see "Fields for Descriptions in Earning Statements" section in this topic.
6. Click Save.

Fields for Descriptions in Earning Statements

Available fields to add descriptions in earnings statements or payslips

Field	Description
Effective From	Select a start date for the description. Employees see the description in the first explanation statement that they receive on or after the effective from date. For example, if the effective from date is set to January 1, and the employee is paid on January 6, the new description is shown in the explanation statement generated on January 6.
Effective To	Select an end date for the description. If the description is permanent, leave this field blank. The description is removed from the explanation statement with the first pay date on or after the effective to date.
Apply System Description	Select this option to apply the default system description to the section overview on the Explanation Statement. Click OK to apply the system description and disable the Description text editor so custom descriptions cannot be applied.
Display for items without Description	This checkbox shows when you create overview descriptions. When selected, the description is used for both the section description, and as the default for line items in the section that don’t have a defined description. When cleared, the description is used only as the section description.
Apply Criteria	Select this checkbox to show the Level Description section where you can create alternate descriptions for groups of employees based on Pay Type, Pay Group, Tax Type (US only), and Legal Entity.
Culture	Click Add and select a culture from the drop-down list to create an alternate description for that culture setting. The alternate descriptions are automatically applied for employee's with the culture setting. For example, you can create an alternate description in French that is automatically shown for employees with the French (Canada) culture setting.
Description	Enter the description in the text box. The text box allows a maximum of 1024 characters and formatted text can, in some cases, use additional characters that count towards the max. To override the default description and replace it with a blank description, click the Enter key to insert a blank line. A blank description shows for the line item.
Level Description	This section shows when you select the Apply Criteria checkbox. In this section, you can create alternate descriptions for groups of employees based on Pay Type, Pay Group, Tax Type (US only), and Legal Entity. To override an overview default description and leave the description blank for a group of employees, add a level description and click the Enter key to insert a blank line. The blank description shows for employees who match the selected criteria.
Level Name	Shows the level description that you are currently editing. Line items can have multiple level descriptions. To change descriptions, click the field and select a description name in the drop-down list.
Add	Click to create a level description.
Delete	Click to delete the level description that is currently selected.
Criteria and Lookup Value	This section is enabled when you select the Apply Criteria checkbox. Select a criteria option with the Criteria drop-down list, then select one or more values with the Lookup Value drop-down list. The description is only visible to employees who match the selected values.
Tokens	Click to add employee WFM time data by project or job assignment related to earnings in the description. You can apply tokens to both general and level descriptions.

Change the Section Order

To change the order of the sections:

1. Go to Payroll Setup > Explanation Statements.
2. Select a country in the Country drop-down list.
3. Click Sequence.
4. Select a section and use the arrows to change its position.
5. Click OK.

Edit the Background Image

You can configure country-specific background images or set one default image for all employees.

To change the background image:

1. Enable the feature for a role:
   1. Go to System Admin > Roles and select a role.
   2. In the Features tab, under Payroll Setup > Explanation Statements, select the Explanation Statement Background Image checkbox.
2. Upload a background image:
   1. Go to Site Setup > Client.
   2. In the Images tab, click Add.
   3. Enter a name and start date for the image.
   4. In the Image Type drop-down list, select Explanation Statement Background.
   5. Select an image to upload and click Save.

Note: Explanation statements are responsive and can scale to fit background images of various sizes. For quality purposes, we recommend a minimum image size of 700x700 pixels.

3. Set the background image:
   1. Go to Payroll Setup > Explanation Statements.
   2. In the toolstrip, select a country in the Country drop-down list.
   3. Select the background image in the Image drop-down list. The image that you select is applied to explanation statements for employees in the country selected in the Country drop-down list.
   4. Note: The Image drop-down list shows all of the images that are added with the Explanation Statement Background image type in Site Setup > Client
   4. Click Save.