Payroll Setup

Dayforce Implementation Guide
Version
R2025.1.1
Payroll Setup

The Payroll Setup feature grants access to configure the core payroll functionality of Dayforce.

Payroll Setup Subfeatures

  • Payroll Setup: Enables Payroll Setup in the navigation panel. You must assign subfeatures under this feature to roles before you can enable access to the subfeatures in the user interface.
  • Accumulation Period: Enables the Accumulation Period subfeature, which you can use to define custom accumulation periods. For example, you can define a period of two months, a period of eighteen days, or a combination of months and days that Dayforce references for earning limits, deduction limits, and expressions. See Accumulation Periods.
  • Bank Accounts: Enables the Bank Accounts subfeature, used to enter bank-account information used to store bank account information that your organization uses for payroll and payments to third-party payees.
    • Bank Accounts: Select to make the Bank Accounts tab available in the Bank Accounts subfeature. Used to set up bank accounts used by your organization.
    • Branches: Select to make the Branch Address tab available in the Bank Accounts subfeature. Used to enter different branches of banks for accounts set up in the Bank Accounts tab.
    • Payroll Card Accounts: Select to make the Payroll Card Accounts tab available in the Bank Accounts subfeature. Used to set up payroll cards.
  • Certified Payrolls: Enables the Certified Payrolls subfeature, used to set up tracking and exporting of payroll information that is related to Davis-Bacon Data, which can be optionally submitted to state and federal government agencies. See Certified Payrolls.
  • Check Templates: English (Canada) and English (US). Select to enable the Check Templates subfeature, used to configure additional check templates. All of the payments employees receive are associated with check templates that define which generated earnings, deductions, or taxes are applied.
  • Check Type: English (Ireland) and English (UK). Select to enable the Check Type subfeature, used to configure additional check types. All of the payments employees receive are associated with check types that define which generated earnings, deductions, or taxes are applied.
  • Deferred Comp and Pension Plans: Enables the Deferred Comp and Pension Plans subfeature, used to configure deferred compensation and pension plans, such as 401(k) and RRSP accounts, and to define what limits are applied to contributions toward the plans.
  • Earnings and Deductions: Enables the Earnings and Deductions subfeature, used to configure earnings and deductions:
    • Deductions: Enables the Deductions subfeature, used to configure deductions, which are amounts, either pre-tax (for example, RRSP or 401(k) contributions) or post-tax (for example, insurance plan payments), that are subtracted from an employee’s earnings during the calculation of net pay.
    • Earnings: Select to add the Earnings subfeature to configure earnings. Earnings classify wages and pay into appropriate categories like regular pay, overtime, bonuses, and so forth. Earning definitions also ensure that deductions or other earnings based on those different categories are calculated correctly, and that taxes are applied correctly.
    • Tax Compliance Rules: Select to add the Tax Compliance Rules tab to the Payroll Setup > Earnings and Deductions feature area.
    • Taxability Override Sets: Select to add the Taxability Override Sets tab to the Payroll Setup > Earnings and Deductions feature area.
  • Expression Rate Table: Enables the Expression Rate Table subfeature, used to configure multiple qualifiers to return values that can then be referenced in the expression builder of earnings or deductions. See Expression Rate Tables.
  • Fiscal Calendar: Enables the Fiscal Calendar subfeature, used to define fiscal calendars for use with the Payroll functionality. By defining appropriate fiscal calendars, administrators can reference the fiscal calendar in the application. For example, administrators can define an earning that is limited to some fiscal year to date amount or write expressions that reference the amount of earnings or deductions within fiscal calendar periods. See The Fiscal Calendar Tab.
  • General Ledger: Enables the General Ledger subfeature, used to configure General Ledger (GL) allocations, accruals, and overrides.
    • Account Numbers: Select to enable the Account Numbers tab in Payroll Setup > General Ledger. This tab is used to assign debit and credit journal numbers to different line items or to assign different ledger codes to various cost strings.
    • Allocations and Accruals: Select this subfeature to enable the Allocations and Accruals tab in Payroll Setup > General Ledger. This tab is used to configure allocations, accruals, and week split details for different earning types, deductions, taxes, and garnishments.
    • Chart of Accounts: Select this subfeature to enable the Chart of Accounts tab in Payroll Setup > General Ledger. This tab is used to configure overrides for general ledger segments.
    • Cost String Groupings: Select this subfeature to enable the Cost String Groupings tab in Payroll Setup > General Ledger. This tab is used to assign one or multiple job assignments to a particular cost string grouping.
    • Default Run Settings: Select this subfeature to enable the Default Run Settings tab in Payroll Setup > General Ledger. This tab is used to configure the application to includes or exclude details about disbursements, overtime, deduction arrears, or entitlement liabilities by default when the Payroll GL Export background job is run.
  • Third Party Payees: Enables the Third Party Payees subfeature, used to configure payees, accounts, organizations, and companies that receive payments from the employer in the application on behalf of employees. A payee can be the details of an RRSP or 401(k) account that employers contribute to on behalf of employees or fees that are deducted and paid during the payroll process, such as gym memberships or union dues. Setting up a payee can cover a variety of situations where payments are made on behalf of employees to an account other than the employee's bank account.
    • Payees: Enables the Payees tab of Payroll Setup > Third Party Payee, used to configure payees.
    • Payee Categories: Enables the Payee Categories tab of Payroll Setup > Third Party Payee, used to configure payee categories.
  • Groupings: Enables Payroll Setup > Groupings, used to configure payroll groupings. There are two types of payroll groupings: deduction and earning groupings, used to group and sum specific earnings or deductions so that these accumulated amounts can be used in other calculations. You need to assign one (or both) of the subfeatures as well.
    • Deduction Groupings: Enables the Deduction Groupings tab, used to configure deduction groupings.
    • Earning Groupings: Enables the Earning Groupings tab, used to configure earning groupings.
  • Payroll Policies: Enables the Payroll Policies subfeature, used to assign configurable pay rules and qualifiers to appropriate employees so that their wages are properly classified, calculated, and applied.
  • Payroll Reasons: Configures custom reason codes that you can later link to feature areas in Payroll, such as off-cycle pay runs, rejected pay runs, and checks. After you set up a custom reason code for a particular feature area, a Reason drop-down list is available and contains any custom reason codes that you created for that feature area. See Payroll Setup > Payroll Reasons.
  • Payroll Setup Help: Enables the Help button in the top right of the subfeature, which is separate from the application-wide help button. This Help button launches help for that subfeature.
  • Payroll Taxes: Enables Payroll Setup > Payroll Taxes, used to review the federal, state, and provincial taxes and define their display names.
  • Report Output: Enables the Payroll Setup > Report Output feature, which contains the Delivery Packages and Reports tabs. Here, you can configure delivery packages that can include groups of reports and check records, that are sent to a physical address or email address at user-specified intervals that coincide with pay runs. You can customize each report that is available in the application, including the Earning Statement Report.
  • ROE Contact Assignment: Enables the ROE Contact Assignment subfeature. Used to assign ROE contacts and ROE issuers by pay group or legal entity for Canadian payroll.
  • Payroll Tax Form Mapping: Enables Payroll Setup > Payroll Tax Form Mapping, which is used to review what earnings and deductions are mapped to various boxes and fields on tax forms, such as T4s and W-2s.
  • Third Party Sick Pay Providers: Enables the subfeature to configure third-party sick-pay providers. See Configure Third Party Sick Pay Providers.