Multi Step Approvals
Request & Approvals
We are excited to announce a significant update to our Request & Approval workflows. Clients can now configure multi-step approval processes to streamline decision-making. For example, employee PTO requests can be set to undergo a sequential approval process, starting with the employee's direct manager, followed by HR, and finally the payroll manager.
This enhancement extends across all Request & Approval workflows.
Additionally, we have introduced a feature that restricts approvals to only the designated assignees. With the Assignee-Only Approval setting activated, requests can only be approved by the specific assignees to whom they are assigned.
These updates empower organizations to tailor approval processes to their specific needs.
Add multiple approvers:
Approvals by sequence:
Employee Onboarding
We have also extended the multi-step approval process to the employee self-onboarding approval process. This allows organizations to ensure a thorough review and approval of new hires, enhancing the onboarding experience and ensuring compliance with company policies.
Pivot Style Report Builder with Chart Visualization
We are excited to introduce our latest feature, the Pivot Style Report Builder, with enhanced chart visualization! This powerful tool enables you to create pivot-style reports effortlessly using a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface and visualize your data with automatic charts.
Customize, save, and reuse your report setups, offering dynamic ways to analyze your data.
Please Note! Currently, this tool supports payroll history data only. Stay tuned for more updates and expanded capabilities!
How to Access: Navigate to Reports > Live Reports > Pivot Grid.
ESS TaxMap
Over the past few months, we've introduced the Empeon TaxMap feature, designed to automate employee tax setups. With this release, we've implemented the final touches. Now, for clients using the Empeon TaxMap service, when an employee's address change request is approved, the system will automatically check if the new address impacts the employee's tax setup and update it accordingly.
Please note: With this update, the Auto Approve feature for employee address change requests is no longer available for clients using the Empeon TaxMap service. This change ensures that all potential tax implications are reviewed and addressed accordingly.
MTA Tax Automation
In response to recent changes by the New York State Department of Taxation, which has now differentiated the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Mobility Tax (MTA payroll tax) into two distinct zones with varying tax rates, we are pleased to announce a new feature in our latest update. This feature automatically identifies the applicable MTA tax code for employees, ensuring the correct application of MTA tax rates.
To activate this feature and for more details, please contact your support team.
Please Note! Clients already enrolled in the Empeon TaxMap service have the MTA zone determination feature included automatically, requiring no additional action.
New Mailing Address Field
In the employee profile, alongside the existing address field, we have added an optional Mailing Address field to accommodate employees with multiple addresses.
This mailing address is accessible both on the admin side and in Employee Self-Service (ESS).
If a mailing address is provided, it will be used for printing on checks and year-end documents. For clients using Empeon's direct mailing service, checks and year-end documents will be sent to the specified mailing address.
Please Note! For clients utilizing the Empeon TaxMap service, the primary address will continue to be used for tax calculations.
Block Auto Pay
In this release, we've introduced a feature that prevents users from inadvertently setting employees to Auto Pay. Once activated, this feature disables the Auto Pay settings, which is particularly useful for companies that do not want any employees to be set to auto pay.
To enable this setting for your company, please contact our support team.
Misc. Updates
Auto set PBJ Employee Type
Now, when entering a new Agency employee, the system will automatically set the PBJ Employee Type field to "Contract." Previously, this had to be done manually by the user.
VM Batches Cannot be Deleted
Prior to this update, users could accidentally delete Void/Manual (VM) batches. With this release, we have implemented a safeguard that prevents the deletion of VM batches.
Renamed the Salary Field in the Employee Profile
Previously, when entering the salary for a new employee, it was unclear whether the amount inputted should reflect the employee's annual salary or the amount per pay period. We've addressed this by updating the field to explicitly state "Salary Per Pay Period" clarifying that the amount entered should represent the gross amount for each pay period, rather than the annual gross amount.
Daily Schedule Report Update
When running a Daily Schedule Report, we've added the option for you set the predefined date to "Tomorrow". Prior to this release the user would need to manually select the date.
Exclude Hours From General Ledger (GL)
For clients who include payroll hours in their GL exports, we added the ability to exclude hours from specific earning codes. The setting is found in the earning code setting.
Set Default Employee Import Configuration
Clients can now designate a specific employee import configuration as the default. This update eliminates the need to select the configuration each time you import employees, streamlining the process.
Bug Fixes:
Fixed: When running a manual check, we observed that the 'Comment' column did not display the enrolled benefit plan name for any benefits being deducted on the check. This is now fixed.
Fixed: Previously, when employees set their Federal Income Tax status to 'EXEMPT' in Employee Self-Service (ESS), the system would update internally but fail to display the 'EXEMPT' status accurately on the generated W4 form. We have now resolved this issue to ensure that the 'EXEMPT' status is correctly reflected on the W4 forms.
Fixed: In some scenarios, when trying to filter user access to Agency employees only, the system returned an error. This issue has now been fixed.
Fixed: In some scenarios, when trying to clear the "Managed By" field in the employee profile, it would not clear. This is now fixed.