Set up sort and filter defaults

By default, Powerpay sorts your Employee List by Employee Surname, and displays all employees. The sort order also applies to payroll preview and the HR reports.

Use the Sort option in the Employee List to specify:

  • the order you want employee records to be listed and,
  • the employee records you want appear in the Employee List.

The settings you specify here do not affect your payroll register and reports. They are only meant to display the Employee List in a way that makes entering your payroll data in Powerpay easier. You can change the sorting of the list at any time, but the default settings you specify using this procedure are applied each time you open the Employee List.

Sorting

A common practice is to sort the Employee List by Employee Surname. When you do this, Powerpay displays your employee records in alphabetical order by employee surname.

The Group By option allows you to group employee records by a common attribute, for example, by department, and then sort them in the order you want (by employee number or surname) within each group. For example, employees can be grouped first by department and then, within those departments, sorted in numerical order by employee number.

To set a sort for the register and pay statements, contact your Customer Support Team.

Filtering

The Filter options are used to specify which employees appear in the Employee List. For example, if you choose Active, Powerpay does not display records for employees who are on leave or terminated. You can change the filtering at any time to see all employees in Powerpay, or employees that meet other filtering criteria. Filtering does NOT delete any records; it just removes them from view.

Sort and Filter options work together

For example, choosing the Employee Surname sort option and the Active filter, results in the Employee List displays only active employees in alphabetical order by surname.

The sort and filter defaults are meant to make your work easier. Use them whenever it is more convenient to have your employee records display in a different way. For example, it might be most convenient for you to display your employee records by employee number and grouped by department when you're working with the Employee Timesheet. On the other hand, when you are changing group insurance premiums, you might prefer to see your employees in alphabetical order by surname if the insurance company's report is sorted that way. It is quick and easy to change these settings for any task.

Note: All saved sort and filter options remain in effect after logging off Powerpay.

Tip: The sort is set for your user ID not the payroll. Each user may set their own sort options for the payroll.

Tasks

  1. Open the Employee List. It is available on every page on which you need to select an individual employee record to work with, such as the Employee Timesheet, and the Deductions & Contributions page.

  2. Click the Sort button in the Employee List.

    The Sort options display.

  3. From the Sort By list, select the sort option to apply.

  4. From the Group By list, select how to group the employees within the selected sort option.

  5. Click Apply.
  1. Open the Employee List. It is available on every page on which you need to select an individual employee record to work with, such as the Employee Timesheet, and the Deductions & Contributions page.
  2. Select or clear the Active, On Leave or Terminated checkboxes as required.

Field Information

Note: Only the appropriate options for your company appear for sorting. For example, if your company does not use the ID fields, they are not displayed.

Displays the Employee List sorted in numerical order by Employee Number.

Displays the Employee List sorted in alphabetical order by Employee Surname.

Displays the Employee List grouped by Pay Types (Hourly or Salaried) and then sorted in each pay type grouping by employee number or in alphabetical order by employee surname depending on the selected sort option.

Displays the Employee List grouped by the provinces where your employees work and then sorted in each provincial grouping by employee number or in alphabetical order by employee surname depending on the selected sort option.

Displays the Employee List grouped by the distribution ID Dept (for example, Sales, Accting) and then sorted within each distribution for ID Dept (for example, all the sales representatives, all the accountants) by employee number or in alphabetical order by employee surname depending on the selected sort option.

Displays the Employee List grouped by the distribution ID Z (for example, 83452, 06589) and then sorted within each distribution for ID Z (for example, all the employees costed to GL #83452, all the employees costed to GL #06589) by employee number or in alphabetical order by employee surname depending on the selected sort option.

Displays the Employee List grouped by the distribution ID Y (for example, MG, AD) and then sorted within each distribution for ID Y (for example, all the managers under MG, all the administrative staff under AD) by employee number or in alphabetical order by employee surname depending on the selected sort option.

Displays the Employee List grouped by the distribution ID X (for example, FT, PT) and then sorted within each distribution for ID X (for example, all the full time employees, all the part time employees) by employee number or in alphabetical order by employee surname depending on the selected sort option.

This field appears when the Compensation feature is enabled and set up for the payroll.
Displays the Employee List grouped by Job and then sorted in each Job by employee number or in alphabetical order by employee surname depending on the selected sort option.

This field appears when the Compensation feature is enabled and set up for the payroll.
Displays the Employee List grouped by Position and then sorted in each Position by employee number or in alphabetical order by employee surname depending on the selected sort option.

Displays all employees with an Active status in the Employee List. No other employees are displayed until another filter is selected.

Displays all employees with an On Leave status in the Employee List. No other employees are displayed until another filter is selected.

Displays all employees with a Terminated status. No other employees are displayed until another filter is selected.