Create a new pay period

A pay period is a specific period of time that is identified by a pay period start and end date and a unique identifying number. The number of regular pay periods in a year is determined by your pay frequency.

You must create a new pay period and select it to access the Payroll and Process menus and enter information.

Prerequisites

The correct deductions and contributions for this payroll are set up on the Deductions & Contributions Cycle Setup page.Closed From the Company menu, select Cycles > Deductions & Contributions Cycle Setup.. For more information see Set up deduction and contribution cycles.

Video

Create a pay period

Tasks

Create a new pay period

  1. Open the Select Pay page.Closed Click the Pay Period menu.

  2. Click the Create New Run button then select the appropriate run type.

    Note:

    • If no runs are open, you may create any run type.

    • If a run is open, other selections may not display.

    • You can only have one regular run and one extra payroll open at one time in Powerpay.

    • If a regular run is open and an extra run or ROE run is required, the regular run status will change to Suspended. No changes to the regular run are permitted until the alternate run is submitted for processing or closed by your Customer Support Team.

    • If a year-end run is open, no other selections display. The year-end run must be submitted before you can return to or create another run. The Create New Year-End Run selection displays during year-end (January – March).

  3. Select Yes to the question "Do you wish to proceed with creating a run at this time?"

  4. Click Save.

  5. Verify that the Pay Period Ending Date is correct.
  6. Click the Payment Date box and select the payment date.
  7. Select the Journal Entry This Pay checkbox to receive a Journal Entry. Typically, you request a Journal Entry either every pay or at the end of the month.

  8. (If required) Select the Statistics Canada Report check box to receive this report.

  9. Select a cycle from the Deductions & Contributions Cycle drop down list. Cycle 1 refers to the first pay of the month. Cycle 2 refers to the second pay date of the month, and so on. Each cycle represents a group of deductions and contributions that are applied to a payroll run.

  10. To override all employee direct deposits and transfers, select Cancel all Direct Deposits for this payroll run. When you select this option, all employees receive cheques for this payroll run. This feature is often used in the following situations:

    • to produce bonus cheques for employees

    • to process the payroll when there is insufficient time to process a direct deposit before the payment date

    Note: If this option is selected, it means that you have indicated to Dayforce that you do not want direct deposits transferred to employee bank accounts for this payroll run.

  11. (Optional) Enter a message to print on all employee pay statements for this payroll run (maximum 54 characters).

  12. Click Save.

  13. Click the Pay Period menu and click the Enter button for the pay period you want to work with. The Payroll and Process menus become available.

Field information

The type of payroll run selected. It can be one of the following: Regular Payroll Run, Extra Payroll Run, ROE Run or Year-End Adjustment Run.

The current pay period.

The pay period ending date for the current pay period.

The ending date is based on your payroll calendar. If you require changes to the Pay Period Ending Date, contact your Customer Support Team.

The payment date for this pay period in the format DDMMYYYY. This is the date employees can cash their cheques or direct deposits are made to employee bank accounts. This date is taken from your payroll calendar and it can be changed.

Payment Dates are validated. When you submit the payroll for processing, the payment date is checked against the submission date. If any problem exists, Powerpay displays a warning message. Allow three days from submission date to the Payment Date if you require direct deposits.

Select this checkbox to request a Journal Entry report. A Journal Entry report contains all data from the time the last Journal Entry was requested to the present. Typically, you request a Journal Entry either every pay or at the end of the month.

This report reflects your total payables (for example, deductions, contributions and net pay) as credits as well as wages and company expenses by distribution as debits. Generally, it is appropriate to request a journal entry either every pay or at the end of the month.

Defaults - Depending on the instructions you supplied to your Customer Support Team when your payroll was first set up, the default value of this option is one of the following three states:

  • Check box cleared - Select or clear this field for each payroll you create. If you do not select this checkbox, a journal entry is not produced for this pay period.
  • Check box selected with white background - You receive a journal entry by default unless you clear this checkbox.
  • Check box selected with gray background - You receive a journal entry every pay. You cannot edit this field. If you do not want to receive a journal entry for a particular pay period, contact your Customer Support Team with those instructions.

Note: On an extra run, permanent earnings and salaries are not automatically generated, so it is possible to request the Journal Entry without activating any payments.

Select this check box to request a Statistics Canada report for this pay. The report contains all data from the time of the last report entry to the entries processed on this pay period. It includes all information required for reporting purposes by Statistics Canada.

If you have been selected to participate in the Statistics Canada Business Payroll Survey, you are required by law to produce the report at the end of every month. You must sign and submit this report to Statistics Canada after receiving it in your payroll package from Dayforce.

Generally, you request a Statistics Canada report on the last pay period of the month. (You must consistently choose either Pay Period Ending Date or the Payment Date when considering which is the last pay of the month).

Note: On an extra run, permanent earnings and salaries are not automatically generated, so it is possible to request this report without activating any payments.

From the list, select the Deductions and Contributions Cycle to apply to this pay period. This cycle represents a group of deductions and contributions that can be applied to a payroll run.

For an Extra Run, the default is This Pay Only. The only cycle descriptions that appear in the list are the cycle descriptions set to display on the Deductions & Contributions Cycle Setup page.

Depending on how you have set up your cycles, you can perform one of the following actions:

  • Choose a cycle that works for this particular payroll (one that was set up previously or that you are planning to set up before submitting this payroll).

  • Select the cycle This Pay Only, and then specify deductions and contributions. Set up the cycle for This Pay Only on the Deductions & Contributions Cycle page.Closed From the Company menu, select Cycles > Deductions & Contributions Cycle.

    Note: If you select This Pay Only and do not set up deductions and contributions, no deductions and contributions are taken.

No deductions and contributions are taken on this extra run UNLESS you specify the following settings:

  • Select another cycle that has been set up with the deductions and contributions you want to take.

    OR

  • Set up your required deductions and contributions for This Pay Only on the Deductions & Contributions Cycle page.Closed From the Company menu, select Cycles > Deductions & Contributions Cycle.

    Click the Deductions & Contributions Cycle link to open the Deductions & Contributions Cycle page in a pop-up window to review what deductions and contributions apply to the cycle you have selected for this payroll run (the selected check boxes). All check boxes for the cycle descriptions that display are view only. For more information, see Set up deduction and contribution cycles.

    AND/OR

  • Enter one-time dollar amounts for each employee on the Deductions & Contributions Cycle page.Closed From the Company menu, select Cycles > Deductions & Contributions Cycle.

Select the Cancel all Direct Deposits for this payroll run checkbox to override all employee direct deposits and transfers. All employees then receive cheques for this payroll run. This feature is often used for the following reasons:

  • To produce bonus cheques for employees
  • To pay employees when there is insufficient time to process the payroll before the cheque date

For payrolls with Distributed Delivery enabled, Powerpay displays two options:

  • Cheques delivered to the primary location, (description of location).

  • Cheques delivered to the delivery location as specified on the Employee Profile page.Closed From the Payroll menu, select Hire/Profile > Employee Profile.

Enter a message to print on employee pay statements for this payroll run (maximum 54 characters).

When it is your last pay of the year (based on your current year's calendar), a Last Pay of Year? option appears. If you anticipate additional Extra Runs for your last run of the year (for example, for Christmas bonuses), select No. Select Yes if this is your company's last payroll run of the year.

After you select Yes, you receive your year-end reports in your payroll package and the employees' year-to-date information (hours, earnings, deductions, contributions) are cleared before the first payroll of the next year is processed.

Select Yes to have employee tax forms (T4, Relevé-1, etc.) produced with your last payroll of the year. Select No if you are not certain your year-to-date values are correct.

If you choose No, tax forms are produced some time in January or February of the following year.

If the last pay of the year contains errors that need to be corrected, contact your Customer Support Team.

If you selected No for the Last pay of year? option on the last pay of the year, Powerpay displays a First Pay of Year section when you open your first run of the year.

Advisory text indicates that you will receive the year-end reports with this payroll and that the employees' year-to-date information will be cleared prior to the processing of the first pay run of the year. (This action occurs with the first pay run of the year that is submitted - Regular or Extra - whichever is submitted first.)

Note: This section does not appear if you selected Yes for the Last pay of year? option on your final run of the previous year.

See also