General Ledger (GL) Configuration

Introduction

After setting up General Ledger (GL) in Empeon Workforce, regular maintenance may be required in order to ensure the correct mapping of payroll data to the appropriate accounts. Maintenance can be needed when there have been updates or additions to tax codes, pay types, and bank accounts that need to also be reflected in the GL.

This article explains each of the five sections set up within General Ledger Configuration, including what is configured there and where maintenance may be required in certain scenarios. For any major updates or mass changes to these configurations, please contact Empeon's Customer Support.

To view and maintain the GL set up within Empeon Workforce, navigate to Payroll section within the Company tab and select the General Ledger Card.

Within the General Ledger Card, select General Ledger Configuration.

General Setup

The first section that opens is the General Setup section. The main purpose of this section is to specify the accounting system being used by the organization, so that Empeon's GL report is mapped according to how it needs to be imported into the accounting system.

Please consider the following fields in this section:

Accounting System - This dropdown contains pre-loaded codes for various accounting systems recognized by Empeon. For recognized accounting systems that are selected here, the Report Fields within the Report Settings section will automatically be mapped according to how the accounting system will accept the GL file. For all other accounting systems, 'Other' will be selected and this will require the manual mapping of the Report Fields to align with the system's import requirements.
Accounting Source - It is recommended to leave this set to its initial default configuration. In most cases, this is set to Enter on screen, which means that within the sections for Expense Rules and Liability Rules, the appropriate GL accounts need to be manually entered for each expense and liability type.

If set to Import and select, all GL accounts are registered on this screen, and will then be made available for assignment within the Expense Rules and Liability Rules sections. While this eliminates the need for manually enter each account, it requires initial setup to register the accounts on the front end. It may also require ongoing maintenance when there are new GL accounts that are added.

For changes that need to be made to the Accounting System that is registered in this section, please contact Empeon's Customer Support.

Expense Rules & Liability Rules

The next two sections are Expense Rules and Liability Rules. Both sections require GL account mapping, however it is important to understand what each section is tracking.

Expense Rules track the costs incurred by the employer, such as wages, taxes, and reimbursements. These are considered expenses that directly impact the company's income statement.

On the other hand, Liability Rules track amounts that the employer owes but hasn't yet paid, such as employee deductions and taxes that need to be remitted to third parties. These amounts are considered liabilities and are recorded on the balance sheet.

Expense Rules

There are five categories within the Expense Rules that require consideration when it comes to GL tracking:

Earnings - This category tracks the wages paid to employees. From a GL perspective, earnings are mapped to the appropriate GL account to reflect the expenses related to employee compensation. If Cost Centers are being used, it is usually best to link them here so that earnings can be allocated accurately across the various Cost Centers that have been set up. This ensures a more detailed breakdown of employee earnings expenses, based on how the Cost Centers are set up and utilized.
Employer Tax - This category tracks the taxes an employer is responsible for paying, such as Social Security, Medicare, unemployment taxes, and any other employer-specific payroll taxes. From a GL perspective, these taxes are mapped to the appropriate GL accounts to reflect the employer’s tax-related expenses. If Cost Centers are used, they should be linked to ensure these tax expenses are allocated accurately across departments, locations, or other Cost Centers as needed. This allows for a more detailed breakdown of the employer’s tax expenses, providing visibility into how tax liabilities are distributed across different areas of the organization.
Reimbursement - This category tracks amounts reimbursed to employees for business-related expenses, such as travel, meals, or supplies. From a GL perspective, reimbursement amounts are mapped to the appropriate GL account to reflect the company's expenses for these reimbursements. If Cost Centers are used, linking them here ensures that reimbursement expenses are allocated correctly across the various Cost Centers, such as different departments, locations, or specific teams. This provides a clearer view of where reimbursement costs are being incurred within the organization, helping to maintain a more detailed breakdown of these expenses.
Memo Earnings - This category tracks earnings that don’t involve direct payments but are recorded for reporting or adjustment purposes. Examples include wage adjustments, corrections to previous pay periods, or employer contributions to retirement plans that aren’t processed immediately. These amounts are mapped to the relevant GL account to reflect their financial impact. If Cost Centers are used, linking them ensures these memo earnings are accurately tracked across different departments or other segments within the organization.
Billing - This category tracks the expenses associated with Empeon’s service fees. This field is simply assigning the appropriate GL account to reflect these expenses.

Liability Rules

Within the section for Liability Rules, there are four categories that require consideration when it comes to GL tracking:

Deductions – This category tracks amounts withheld from employee wages, such as benefits contributions, garnishments, or loan repayments. From a GL perspective, deductions are mapped to the appropriate liability account to reflect amounts held for future remittance or owed to third parties.
- Agency Deductions - A separate section allows for mapping deductions that are paid to a specific agency, such as garnishments. When a deduction is tied to an agency, the system will ignore the general deduction rules and use the agency-specific account mapping instead. This ensures accurate tracking and reporting of liabilities owed to third parties. If Cost Centers are being used, linking them here allows these deductions to be further allocated based on the Cost Center setup.
Taxes - This category maps the liability accounts for payroll taxes owed by the employer. From a GL perspective, these accounts reflect amounts that have been withheld or accrued for remittance to tax agencies. Unlike other categories, Cost Centers cannot be linked here, as tax liabilities are typically tracked at the company level rather than being broken down further.
Net - This category maps the liability accounts for the net pay amounts owed to employees. From a GL perspective, this represents the portion of wages remaining after deductions and taxes, which the employer is responsible for paying out. This tab is divided into two sections: Direct Deposit and (Paper) Checks. Each section allows for separate mapping to ensure accurate tracking of net pay liabilities based on the payment method.
Memo Earnings - This category tracks earnings that don’t involve direct payments but are recorded as future liabilities. These amounts are mapped to the relevant liability account, reflecting the money owed to employees for future disbursement. If Cost Centers are used, linking them ensures these memo earnings are accurately tracked across different departments or other segments.

Editing Expense & Liability Rules

Ongoing maintenance is often required for these categories when new DET (Deductions, Earnings & Tax) Codes and Cost Centers are added to Empeon Workforce and need to be incorporated into the GL account mapping.

To make any changes to the existing configuration, simply click within a field to edit it.

Assigned items will have an 'X' next to them, offering the option to remove them from being assigned. There will also be a dropdown where additional items can be added.

In the top right corner, there are buttons for Conditions and Dimensions.

Conditions offers the ability to add or remove Cost Center categories for GL tracking. This allows flexibility in associating different cost categories with specific GL accounts based on the preference of the organization.

Dimensions enables the ability to "string" the GL account. If the GL account is segmented for more detailed tracking, a dimension can be added. This dimension allows for more specific categorization, such as tracking by department, location, or other business criteria, providing greater visibility into financial data at a more granular level.

For any questions or concerns with making adjustments to these sections, please contact Empeon Customer Support for guidance.

Bank Accounts

The next section is Bank Accounts. This section is used to register the bank accounts associated with payroll processing. These accounts are necessary for directing funds for employee payments, tax remittances, or other payroll-related transactions.

When registering bank accounts within this section, only the accounts used specifically for payroll should be included here. Additional bank accounts not associated with payroll, such as those used for general business operations, are not required to be listed in this section.

Once a bank account is set up, it is mapped to a corresponding GL account to track the specific payroll transaction that uses that account. For example, a direct deposit bank account could be linked to a liability GL account for employee wages, while an account used for tax payments might be linked to a liability GL account for taxes owed. This mapping helps ensure that all payroll-related transactions are accurately reflected in the GL, which is essential for reporting, auditing, and maintaining proper financial records.

Ongoing maintenance may be required if there are new bank accounts being applied to payroll-related transactions or if there are outdated accounts that need to be removed.

For any questions or concerns with making adjustments to the bank accounts on file, please contact Empeon Customer Support for guidance.

Report Settings

The final section within General Ledger Configuration is Report Settings. This section influences how the GL report is formatted and mapped in order to make sure it can be imported successfully into the accounting system.

Consider the following setting within this section and how it impacts the GL report:

Specify the GL Suspense Account - This setting defines the temporary account used when there’s uncertainty about how a transaction should be categorized. It is automatically defaulted to “Suspense,” but can be adjusted based on the organization’s needs. The suspense account holds transactions until they are reassigned to the correct GL accounts.
Report Grouping - This setting defines how the GL report will be organized—either by Summary or Detail.
- Summary - This option provides a high-level overview by grouping data into broader categories. Associated with this option is an additional toggle for "Split By Month" which if toggled on, will sort the breakdown of totals by month.
- Detail - This option provides a more granular breakdown, listing individual transactions. Associated with this option is an additional toggle for "Summarize Employer Taxes" which controls whether employer taxes are summarized by GL account or detailed by employee pay. If enabled, taxes are grouped by GL account; if disabled, they are detailed by individual employee pay.
Include Memo Earnings – When this is toggled on, memo earnings will be included in the GL report. Memo earnings are earnings recorded for reporting or adjustment purposes, but not directly paid out, such as wage adjustments or corrections to previous pay periods.
Include Transfers and Checks – With this setting enabled, transfers and checks related to payroll transactions will be included in the GL report. This ensures that any payments made via check or transfers are captured in the financial report for accurate tracking.
Include Billing – When this is toggled on, billing information will be included in the GL report. Billing refers to charges related to payroll processing, which might involve fees for services or internal billing between departments or accounts.
Use Hours For System Memo - When enabled, this setting includes hours worked in system memo records within the GL report. This may be used for reporting purposes, but typically isn’t tied directly to payments or earnings.
Expense Post Date - This is the date used to record when payroll expenses, such as employee wages and benefits, are recognized in the GL. This date reflects when the expense is incurred, not necessarily when the payment is made.
Transfer Post Date - This is the date used to record when transfers, such as tax payments or vendor payments related to payroll, are recognized in the GL. This date determines when the financial transaction occurs in the accounting system, ensuring proper tracking of outflows related to payroll.

Below these settings is the Report Fields section, which defines how the report will be mapped for the GL import. This section is typically pre-filled automatically based on the Accounting System selected in the General Setup section. If the selected system is one that Empeon recognizes, the mapping will be configured automatically to meet the import format requirements of that accounting system.

If the Accounting System is set to "QuickBooks" or "Other," manual mapping is required. However, this process is handled during the implementation phase by an Empeon representative.

For any questions or concerns regarding adjustments to the report settings and mapping, please contact Empeon Customer Support for assistance.