Adjusting benefit rates/amounts by employee

Sometimes when you add a benefit (either in Payroll Settings or Employee Defaults), there is just one standard amount or percentage for all employees. For example, maybe everyone gets 40 hours of sick time per year, with no exceptions. For these cases, your work is done once you've set them up.

But sometimes, you have one or more employees with unique situations. Maybe each employee selects a different rate for a benefit--as with 401K's, for example. Here's how to handle any employee-specific rates or amounts.

First, set up the default or standard rules for the benefit in the Payroll Settings wizard or (sometimes) Employee Defaults.
From the Maintain menu, select Employees/Sales Reps.

You would want to fill in the information on the General, Additional Info, and Pay Info tabs if you haven't already. In this topic, we're concerned with what you might need to do for added benefits.

The Withholding Info tab--Employee contributions for retirement plans and most flexible spending accounts (FSA's) are entered on the Withholding Info tab of Maintain Employees.

Just find the cell for the benefit you're adjusting and enter the percentage or FSA amount. You can enter catchup amounts for qualifying retirement plans.

The Vacation/Sick Time tab--Uncheck the This employee uses the company default settings... box to edit vacation or sick time information for this employee.

The Employee Fields tab--Health Savings Accounts (HSA's), insurance plans, and some customized benefits may need to be added on the Employee Fields tab of Maintain Employees.

Uncheck the box Use Defaults beside the benefit you're adjusting.
Make any changes, including entering the Amount per pay period that should be deducted for the benefit. (To enter an amount, the Calculated box must be unchecked.)

The Company Fields tab--If there is a company-paid portion of the benefit, it is normally a set percentage or amount that gets established in the Payroll Settings wizard or in the payroll formula. However, if there are exceptions, you can enter them here by unchecking the Use Defaults box.