Dundee Group Blog

Proper Setup of the Tax Withholdings Panel in Sage Abra Payroll

How do you setup an employee to have no Federal Income Tax or State Income Tax withheld? Can you set an employee to have a flat amount withheld in each check? In this post we'll examine how to do this. Abra has two settings in the exemption count field which can assist with this.

If you want Abra Payroll to accumulate wages for the employee, but not withhold any taxes, enter 99 in this field and select No in the Exempt field. (This is a special code you should use only for this situation.)

If you want Abra Payroll to accumulate wages for the employee and only withhold supplemental taxes enter 98 in this field and select No in the Exempt Field. (This is a special code you should use only for this situation.)

You can also combine the Extra Tax field to give you flat amounts.

Example: an employee needs to have $600 per pay period withheld. First set their exemptions to 98 or 99 as noted above. Next, enter 600 in the Extra Amount field. Select 'Absolute' for Extra Tax Type field. The 98/99 setting will ignore the tax table and withhold $0. The extra amount is added, $0+$600, and $600 will be withheld each pay period.

If you are pay a Bonus Earning taxed at Supplemental Tax Rates you will probably want to use 98 exemptions.

Example: An employee is setup to have $200 per pay period withheld. They are also receiving a $500 bonus earning this period. Your bonus earning is set to use the Supplemental Tax Rates.

If the employee is set at 99 exemptions, their regular check will have $200 Federal Income Tax withheld. Their bonus check will have $0, since the $200 amount was withheld in the first check.

If the employee is set at 98 exemptions, their regular check will have $200 Federal Income Tax withheld. Their bonus check will have $125 Federal Income Tax withheld ($500 * 25% Supplemental Federal Tax Rate).

Disclaimer: the purpose of this post is to educate you on how Sage Abra Payroll works. We are not giving tax advice. Please consult a tax professional if you have questions on what is allowed by State and Federal law.

Posted by: Tim Ross

Importing Hours into Sage Abra Payroll with Time & Attendance Software

Dundee Group's customers have a number of different Time & Attendance solutions that they use with their Sage Abra Payroll systems. Some they love and some not so much. Some systems have been built from the ground up to work with Abra and others are designed to work with a variety of payroll systems.

Without an automated Time & Attendance system, payroll staff key hours into Abra using 'Create Auto Time Sheet' or 'Enter/Update Time Sheet'. Both of these processes put records in the table PrPost. The goal of a Time & Attendance system is put those records in automatically with a Payroll Import. These hours are visible in the 'Time Sheet' tab when you run 'Edit/Update Time Sheet' for your payrgroup.

If your system has table-to-table integration with Abra, then it will write your hours directly to the PrPost table. Typically your Time & Attendance software has a process that you will run to write the records directly to Abra. Since the records are added outside of the Abra User Interface, you will need to Reform Indexes when you log into Abra to see your hours in Abra. (If you don't see any hours on the 'Time Sheet' tab you've forgotten this step!)

Other systems will create an import file which can be brought into Abra using an interface which converts the text file into FoxPro records. In this case the process is to 1) create the export file in the Time & Attendance software and then 2) convert and import the hours with your interface. An interface written to run inside of Abra will do your reindexing for you.

Some earnings are paid in dollars rather than hours such as stipends or bonuses. These earnings are visible in Abra on the 'Other Earnings' tab of 'Edit/Update Time Sheet'. If you plan to track these in your Time & Attendance system then you will need to have it update the table PrEarn. If the earning doesn't exist on the employees Earnings panel your interface should create it.

If you don't have an automated Time & Attendance system, we suggest you contact us to learn how Time & Attendance systems can improve your bottom line. If you have an existing Time & Attendance system, Dundee Group can write an interface for Sage Abra Payroll.

Posted by: Tim Ross

FMLA Changes Signed by President

Yesterday, President Obama signed into law the Fiscal Year 2010 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 2647). The new law includes an expansion of the recently-enacted exigency and caregiver leave provisions for military families under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA).

FMLA changes include:

Exigency leave - up to 12 weeks of leave for urgent needs related to a reservist family member's (spouse, son, daughter, or parent) call to active service. H.R. 2647 expands the exigency leave benefits to include family members of active duty service members. Under current law, only family members of National Guard and Reservists are eligible for exigency leave.

Caregiver leave - up to 26 weeks of unpaid leave to an employee to care for a family member (spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin) who is injured while serving on active military duty. H.R. 2647 expands the caregiver leave provision to include veterans who are undergoing medical treatment, recuperation or therapy for serious injury or illness that occurred any time during the five years preceding the date of treatment.

Posted by: Tim Ross

Reschedule Sage Abra HRMS v10 Webinar

The webinar introducing Sage Abra SQL HRMS Version 10.0 scheduled for October 8, 2009 has been rescheduled  for October 28, 2009 at 2PM Eastern. We will also have webinars in November for those unable to attend on the 28th.

Please join us for this 1 hour preview of Sage Abra SQL HRMS Version 10.0. Abra Version 10 was created to enhance the user expreience and provide the superior functionality you have come to expect from Sage Abra.

Click Here to sign up today and select the session that works for you.

Posted by: Tim Ross

Introducing Sage Abra SQL HRMS Version 10

Come see the future of Sage Abra HRMS.

Please join us for this one-hour event as we preview Sage Abra SQL HRMS version 10. This significant product release was created to enhance your user experience and provide you with the superior functionality that you have come to expect from Sage Abra.

October 8th, 2PM - 3PM Eastern

October 28th, 2PM - 3PM Eastern

Click Here to sign up today and select the session that works for you.

Check Out Our Updated Website

The Dundee Group website has a new look. Drop by for a visit. Important improvements for customers include access to support from every page and a new training request form.

Improved Access to Support

Our clients rely on Dundee Group for fast and complete answers. By using Citrix GoToAssist we can easily view your workstation using secure, easy-to-use remote-support technology. This technology dramatically reduces the time to solve your issue, getting you back to work fast and keeping support costs down. 

Look for the orange "Support" button in the upper right-hand corner of every page on our improved website.

Click the button to be brought to our GoToAssist access page. Give us a call at (413)445-5917 to receive a unique access code. Enter the code on the page and click the Click Here button to initiate the screen sharing session.

You will be prompted to download a small virus-free plug-in. With your permission, we can view your screen and control your mouse and keyboard. You are in full control of your computer at all times. You always have overriding control of your mouse  and keyboard and you can end your screen-sharing session at any time.

Training Class Request Form

Dundee Group offers regional training on Sage Abra in a variety of locations in New York and New England. All training is conducted by Tim Ross our Sage Certified Trainer.

Use our new request form to let us know about your training needs. We plan classes on:

Crystal Reports for Sage Abra
Sage Abra Payroll
Sage Abra Payroll Year-End
Sage Abra HR

Expected locations include:

Concord, NH
Springfield, MA
Albany, NY
Syracuse, NY

If you are interested in other locations or classes please let us know.

Posted by: Tim Ross

Hats Off to Lexington's Flame

"Good Morning America" will run a feature story about Lexington's rock band Flame. The popular morning show came to Lexington on August 8th and filmed Flame at various locations.

The story is scheduled to air on September 16th during the 8:00 am hour.

Lexington (Fulton County Chapter NYSARC) is a private, non-profit agency that provides a wide range of services to adults and children who are disabled and to their families.

We appreciate all that Lexington does and are glad this opportunity for Flame will give them some recognition. Keep up the good work!

Posted by: Tim Ross

What's New in Sage Abra Version 7.8

Join us for this Webcast as Sage Abra experts discuss the latest product enhancements included in Sage Abra version 7.8. Specifically, we will look at new product features that:

- Protect the privacy of your employees
- Keep you in compliance for governmental reporting
- Simplify paycheck printing
- Improve data synchronization
- And much more!

August 26, 2009 2PM - 3PM
September 2, 2009 2PM - 3PM

Sign up today! On the Dundee Group website click on "Register for your free Sage Abra webcast" and select the session that works for you.

Posted by: Tim Ross

Free HR Technology Expo Passes

This year's HR Technology Expo will be filled with information. Join us at the Expo where Sage Software will be launching the latest release of Sage Abra HRMS. Come by the Sage booth to see our new Desktop and Infoshare.

Contact Tim Ross about free admission to the Expo to be held September 30th and October 1st at McCormick Place, Chicago, IL.

Posted by: Tim Ross

Flying in the Face of Adversity

Join us August 6th at 2PM for Flying in the Face of Adversity: Encouraging and Motivating Your Employees During the Economic Recovery

This one-hour Webcast with Sage Abra and Kim Cressell, President of the Cressell Simmons Group, explore how to keep your employees encouraged and motivated in today's economic climate. You'll also learn how to leverage your Sage Abra solution to:

• Build a thriving employee culture
• Cultivate and nurture employee engagement
• Effectively communicate with your employees
• Keep managers informed

Sign up here for the Webcast.  Scroll down the page and click the green "Register" icon next to Flying in the Face of Adversity. Please mention Dundee Group when asked where you heard about the Webcast.

Posted by: Tim Ross