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Process Direct Deposit

Make sure you have activated direct deposit, entered bank information, entered employee information, and selected direct deposit as the payment method.

Paychecks don't print for employees who use direct deposit, but you can process information for these employees in the same batch as those who get printed checks. The printing process is the same whether you process a batch of only direct deposit transactions or a combination of direct deposits and printed paychecks.

CAUTION: Note About FFCRA/ARPA Changes

Effective April 1, 2020, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) creates some protections for employees and employers. Effective April 1, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) expands this coverage. If you print a paycheck for an employee affected by COVID-19, make sure you select the appropriate FFCRA/ARPA option as described in step 6 below.

Also, make sure you do not mix pay types for regular hours and FFCRA/ARPA hours. The entire paycheck should be for FFCRA/ARPA.

CAUTION: Note About Payroll Tax Deferral

Due to the Memorandum on Deferring Payroll Tax Obligations and with guidance from the IRS, there is a sub-type called Social Security-Deferred.

If an employee opts in to the deferral, add a line and select Social Security-Deferred each time you print a paycheck. Make sure you keep the Social Security line. These lines cancel each other out, so that percentage is not withheld from the paycheck. This allows you to track the deferral going forward.

  1. On the Transactions tab, click Expenses > Print Paychecks.
  2. In the Print Employee Paychecks Setup window, select the employer.
  3. Select which department(s) and position(s) to print paychecks for.
  4. Select which pay period(s) and date range(s) that this batch of paychecks is for, then click Next.
  5. To view an employee's paycheck record, click Pay next to the name or click Pay Employee. If an employee is hourly, the Gross Calculation dialog box displays.
  6. If this employee was affected by COVID-19, click Edit Paycheck Details, select the appropriate option in the FFCRA/ARPA drop-down list, then click Save and Close. For details on those options, see Paycheck Field Information.
    CAUTION: If you select an FFCRA/ARPA option, the entire paycheck will be marked as FFCRA/ARPA, and the employer Social Security amount will be deducted from the total amount. Also, be sure to keep track of the applicable limits for your employees based on the option you select.
  7. If this employee opted in to the payroll tax deferral, add a line and select the type Social Security-Deferred. Make sure to keep the Social Security line as well so that these cancel out the amount.
  8. Click Next.
  9. Select the cash account and check style, and click Print Paychecks.
  10. Click Direct Deposit Process.
    1. In the File Name field, select a location for the file. Name the file, and click Save.
    2. In the ACH File Options section, make your selections.
      • Include File Control Records—Includes the file control records at the beginning and end of the file. This occurs by default if you create a single file. Don't select this if you want to manually combine several ACH files.
      • Force a Blocking Factor of 10—Rounds the number of created records to the next multiple of 10. Any extra records do not contain valid records.
      • Include Offsetting Entry—Includes detailed lines in the file to represent deductions from the bank account set up in the Direct Deposit window of the cash account's Primary Information window.
      • Discretionary Data Field—Enter up to two numbers or letters to include in the discretionary data field.
      • Entry Description—"PAYROLL" is entered by default. Enter a unique description, if necessary.
      • Paycheck Batches to Include—View the batch currently being created. Later, if you want to include paychecks from several batches, separate the batch numbers with commas.
      • Print Employee Receipts—Employee receipts are similar to printed checks, but it's printed on blank paper. It displays the same information printed on check stubs and also prints details about amounts and bank accounts used for the direct deposit.
    3. Click Build the ACH File.
      An ACH file is created, and you can give it to the bank.
  11. After you print paychecks and process all direct deposits, click Finished.
  12. If you have PDS Employee Self Service set up, a message displays. Click Yes to upload the information to your ESS site.

Send the ACH file to the bank to complete the direct deposits.

Paycheck Field Information

Edit Paycheck Details
You can create a one-time paycheck during the procedure. If an employee was affected by COVID-19 during the time of this paycheck, select the reason in the FFCRA/ARPA drop-down list. Employee protections are divided into the following categories:
  • Quarantine or isolation order (1)—The employee is subject to a federal, state, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19.
  • Advised to self-quarantine (2)—The employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine related to COVID-19.
  • Symptoms and seeking diagnosis (3)—The employee is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking a medical diagnosis.
  • Caring for an individual (4)—The employee is caring for an individual subject to an order described in category (1) or self-quarantine described in category (2).
  • Caring for a child (sick leave) or Caring for a child (family leave) (5)—The employee is caring for his or her child where childcare is unavailable due to COVID-19 related reasons. Select either sick leave or family leave depending on the individual's situation.
  • Other substantially-similar condition (6)—The employee is experiencing any other substantially-similar condition specified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
  • Seeking or awaiting diagnosis (ARPA) (7)—The employee is seeking or awaiting results of a test for or a diagnosis of COVID-19.
  • Obtaining immunization (ARPA) (8)—The employee is obtaining COVID-19 immunization.
  • Recovering from immunization (ARPA) (9)—The employee is recovering from any injury, disability, illness, or condition related to COVID-19 immunization.
These categories are covered as follows:
  • 100% for up to two weeks (80 hours) for categories (1), (2), (3), (7), (8), and (9), with a maximum of $511 daily and $5,110 total.
  • Two-thirds for up to two weeks (80 hours) for categories (4) and (6), with a maximum of $200 daily and $2,000 total.
  • Up to 10 weeks of additional paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave paid at two-thirds for category (5), up to $200 daily and $10,000 total.
CAUTION: PDS does not track the hours and amounts that have already been used, so keep this in mind when issuing checks. Make sure you track the applicable limits for your employees.
Employers will be eligible for reimbursements for these coverages. For now, employers paying for these types of leave will not be responsible for the employer portion of Social Security. For more information, visit the IRS website and the U.S. Department of Labor website.
Delete Paycheck
Delete the selected paycheck line. This does not delete the master paycheck.
Print Requirements
Print a list of the cash requirements, including regular, overtime, and special hours.
Check Date
Displays on all of the paychecks. Once the paycheck is written, you can only change the date if you void and reissue the paycheck.
Check Layout Style
Click Edit Style to create or modify the paycheck and stub styles. For more information, see Set the Check Layout.
Print Batch Report
Print a report of all paychecks that are part of the batch. For more information, see View Paycheck Batches.
Print Account Summary
Print a report of all accounts used in the distributions of the paychecks paid in this batch. For more information, see View Paycheck Batches.
Print Tax Liability
Print a breakdown of the batch's employee and employer taxes.
Print Employee FICA J.E.
Print the adjusting journal entry that was created for the employer portion of the FICA tax. This automatic journal entry is set up in the Employer window. For more information, see Set Up Employer Journal Entries.
Direct Deposit Process
Prints employee receipts, a direct deposit summary, and creates the ACH file that you give to the bank. For more information, see Process Direct Deposit.
Print Positive Pay Report
Create a file that can be used by Positive Pay to verify checks. You can set up multiple banks/accounts. The first one you set up is the Default account. To set up another bank/account, click Add New in the Choose Account drop-down list. Enter the name, and enter the Positive Pay Settings for that bank/account.