Aatrix :: FAQs

I have several employees who have been gone for several years. How do I remove them from the program?

To remove an employee from the program:

Go to the "Employee Information" screen and select the employee from the list.
Click on the "Delete Employee" button on the top tool bar.

Note: Be cautious when deleting employees. Once you delete the employee they are completely removed from the program.

My employee Pay History records date back several years. Is there a required length of time I must keep payroll records? Can I delete old Pay History records?

The IRS requires you to maintain payroll records for 4 years. You can keep payroll records in the program for as long as you wish and are not required to delete old records.

If you wish to remove old payroll records:

In the payroll program go to the "Utilities" menu and select "Purge Data".
Read the next window and make the proper selection to continue.
Choose the information to purge.
Choose the time frame to be deleted.
Choose the desired employee list. (More than likely this will be.)
Click "Continue".
In the next window, read it carefully to make sure that is what you wish to do and delete the old information.

I have a deduction that will be a different amount / rate for each employee. How do I set it to calculate correctly for each employee?

You can personalize the deduction for each employee at their specific amount / rate.

In "Payroll Items", highlight an employee on the list and double click on the deduction.

Enter the amount / rate for this employee and click "OK".
It will place a "P" in front of the deduction with the employee highlighted on the list indicating that it has been personalized to calculate a specific amount for them.
Highlight other employees on the list and repeat the steps above.

I have employees that receive different pay rates depending on the job performed. Is it possible to set these up with the different rates?

Yes.

In the payroll program, go to the "Payroll Items" screen of the program.
Select the employee from the list and then click on the blue "New" button across from "Income".
Enter a name for the income item.
Set the Type - Chances are this will be Hourly or Salary.
To the right under Income Settings enter the rate in the box and click "OK".

If you need to assign the income item to other employees , select them on the list and place a check in front of the item to assign it to them.
If they receive a different rate, double-click on the income item and enter their pay rate under "Income Settings" on the right side of the box and click "OK" to personalize it for the employee.

I am ready to process payroll. When I click on Pay Employees it goes to the 2nd step to post the payroll. How do I get back to the screen to pay my employees?

In "Pay Employees", click the "Skip Step" button and skip through all the steps and click "Done" in the last step to reset the process.
Click on "Pay Employees", enter the "Pay Period Ending Date" and click "Continue".

After I have selected the employees to be paid how can I review the payroll before I process it?

After you have selected all employees to be processed and made all necessary changes click on the Reports button in the window.
Select the Summary report and preview it on the screen.
You can print this report with the Apple keyboard shortcut, which is the Command key and the letter P.
Once you have reviewed the report you can make any necessary corrections before the payroll is processed.

I pay the taxes for payroll monthly / quarterly and always skip the step to process the payments when doing payroll. How do I process the payments and get them into Quickbooks?

If you pay the taxes monthly or quarterly to do a payment:

Go to "Manage Liabilities".
Down the right side of the window in box 1, Choose the desired payment to be processed (For example the 941 Liability).
In box 2, select the desired employee list. (Chances are this will be "Master List" so it looks at all employees.)
In box 3, select the period for the payment and in box 4, click the "Calculate Amount Due" button.

The screen will show you the amount due and the breakdown of the payment. If you submit the payment electronically, you can click on "Record Check" to have it recorded into the program, or you can choose "Print Check" and print it on blank paper so you have a hard copy of the check. Choose a checkform that has "Liability" in the title.

After you have processed the payment in your payroll program to post the payment to Quickbooks:

First make sure that your Quickbooks program is open to the company.
In your payroll program, from the main "Payroll Navigator" screen click on "Quickbooks Links" in the bottom right.
Change the "Payroll Data Type" to "Liability Checks".
Enter the payment date in the "Date Recorded" box and then click "Send" to have the payment post to Quickbooks.

Each time I open the program I get this message box asking if I want to check for updates. How often should I check for updates to the program?

You can check as often as you are comfortable with.

We do recommend checking at least once per quarter for updates to your program.

Can I eFile the Federal and State Reports required for payroll by the government?

Yes, you can choose to eFile the forms required by the government for payroll from your payroll program through our eFile Center for a nominal fee per filing.

A subscription to the "Payroll Reports" is required and you must first set up your AATRIX eFile user at efile.aatrix.com.

You can contact our sales staff at 800-426-0854 for subscription purchase.

My Print & Mail Payroll Reports list is blank. How do I get them back?

With your payroll program closed, open your hard drive and go into "Documents" on the left side.
Go into the "Aatrix Form Viewer" folder and into the "Government Forms" folder inside there.
Trash the "Archived_Changes.txt" file.
Click on "Applications" on the left side of the window.
Go into your "Aatrix Top Pay" / "Paycheck" / "Ultimate Payroll" program folder and double-click on the "Aatrix Form Viewer" icon.
When prompted to check for updates choose "Internet Update".
From the list of updated forms packages choose the "Federal" and any states that you need and click "Update".

Once the updated forms have been installed, quit the "Form Viewer" and open your payroll program and verify that you now have forms under "Print & Mail".

I entered my new Tax Table registration code and the taxes are not calculating. What do I do?

Go to "Pay Employees" and click on the "Skip Step" button and skip through all the steps, then click "Done" in the last step to reset the process.
Go back to "Pay Employee"s, enter the "Pay Period Ending Date" and verify the taxes now calculate.

If you are not processing payroll at this time, be sure to skip through all the steps and click "Done" in the last step to reset the process.

I process my tax payments through "Manage Liabilities". When I tried to post my recent payments nothing posted. How do I get them to post?

Chances are there are no "Allocated Amounts" on the payment. Do the following:

In the payroll program go to "Manage Liabilities" and click on "View Register" located on the top tool bar.
Double-click on the payment to be posted.
Verify that the amounts for the allocated items show "0.00" and click "Cancel".
Delete the payment from the register and then close the register.
Go through the 4 steps on the left side to calculate the payment on the screen.
Record the payment into the program and repost it.

How do I change the name of an employee?

Go to "Employee Information" and highlight the employee on the list.
Go to the "Employee List" dropdown menu at the top of your list of employees (It is probably set to "Master List") and choose "Rename Employee".
Enter the name for the employee in the appropriate boxes and click "OK" to change the name.

I have a terminated employee on my list that I hired back. Do I have to enter them again, or can I use the old files?

Either way works.

If you want to use the old files, highlight the employee on the list and remove the date and the checkmark from the "Terminated" box.
Highlight another employee and save the changes when prompted.

My State Unemployment is calculating at the wrong rate. How do I change it?

Changing your State Unemployment rate is an easy process.

First go to "Payroll Items" and highlight "Employee List Settings" in red at the top of your employee listing on the left side.
Double-click on your "State Unemployment" listed under "Employer Paid".
Enter the new rate and click "OK" and "OK" again to update the changes.
Next, go to the "Edit" menu and select "Update Rates". From the "Change the Rate of" menu, select your "State Unemployment".
In the "To" box, enter the rate.
Make sure that the "For" records dated on or after is set to the first of the year and click "Update".

I processed payroll and when posting it to Quickbooks, it goes to Quickbooks but nothing imports. How do I get my payroll to post to Quickbooks?

There could be two solutions for this issue:

If you have another company set up in Quickbooks with the same EIN, you will need to change the EIN in the company that you do not want to post payroll to by adding a digit at the end, for example.
If you only have one company set up in Quickbooks, then restart your computer. If you do not reboot your computer daily you will need to reboot it before processing payroll for it to post to Quickbooks properly.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)