Standard Payroll Cancellation Procedure

OBJECTIVE

This How-To is aimed at users who have paid one or several of their employees and have ascertained that an error was made.

Depending on the situation, three methods are available to cancel a pay. The user must start by reviewing the following:

What pay period is affected?
Is the given pay period open or closed?
For which employee(s) must the pay be cancelled?
Which stage of the process have you reached?

Once the user has established the above information, they can select, among the following situations, the one that matches theirs and proceed accordingly:

Situation A →The employee’s cheque has been printed, but the bank deposit has yet to be made;

Situation B →The employee’s cheque has been printed and the bank deposit has been made. The corresponding payroll is open, fringe benefits have not been posted and time transactions have not been transferred to maestro*;

Situation C →The employee’s cheque has been printed and the bank deposit has been made. The corresponding payroll is either open or closed, fringe benefits (FB) have been posted or time transactions have been transferred to maestro*.

In maestro*, the printing of a cheque refers to the final step of the payroll process and does not necessarily imply that employees have been paid by means of a paper cheque (hardcopy). In fact, printing cheques signals the end of the payroll process.

SITUATION A — How to Cancel a Pay

When the employee’s cheque has been printed, but the bank deposit has not yet been made.

In this particular situation, the process involves reversing the pay entry.

1. Cancelling a Pay

maestro* > Time Management > Payroll > Miscellaneous > Cancel a Pay or an Advance

In the Parameter Selection window, select the pay period and the committee(s).
Select the Pay option in the Cheque Type field (it is the default option).
Click the Accept icon to display the Cancel a Pay or an Advance window.
In the Cancel a Pay or an Advance window, select the given pays to cancel by clicking the appropriate check boxes in the Selected column.

If several pays need to be canceled, it is recommended to transfer the spreadsheet data to Excel to view the list of employees and their net pay. To do so:

Click any of the spreadsheet’s fields.

Right-click and select Transfer to Excel from the drop-down list.

Check the Cancel Hours box only when an employee cheque has been printed by mistake and the hours entered in Hours Management must be deleted.
Click the Apply icon.
A message is displayed, asking that the user confirms that they indeed want to cancel the selected pays. Click Yes to confirm.
Click the Quit icon.

If a cheque has been printed by mistake and time transactions have been entered in the projects, the hours must be deleted manually in the Enter Hours option.

maestro* > Time Management > Project Time > Processing > Enter Hours

2. Correcting Time Transaction Entries

maestro* > Time Management > Project Time > Processing > Enter Hours

Make the required changes by entering or correcting the number of hours or the rates, as needed.
Proceed with the routine payroll processing.

SITUATION B — How to Cancel a Pay

The process starts by reversing the pay entry in each of the following cases:

The employee’s cheque has been printed;
The bank deposit has been made;
The pay period is open;
Fringe benefits accounting has not been processed yet in maestro*.

1. Cancelling a Pay

maestro* > Time Management > Payroll > Miscellaneous > Cancel a Pay or an Advance

In the Parameter Selection window, select the pay period and the committee(s).
Select the Pay option in Cheque Type field (it is the default option).
Click the Accept icon to display the Cancel a Pay or an Advance window.
In the Cancel a Pay or an Advance window, select the given pays to cancel by clicking the appropriate check boxes in the Selected column.

If several pays need to be canceled, it is recommended to transferthe spreadsheet data to Excel to view the list of employees and their net pay. To do so:

Click any of the spreadsheet’s fields.

Right-click and select Transfer to Excel from the drop-down list.

Check the Cancel Hours box only when an employee cheque has been issued by mistake (or if a direct deposit has been done) and the hours entered in Hours Management must be deleted.
Click the Apply icon.
A message is displayed, asking that the user confirms that they indeed want to cancel the selected pays. Click Yes to confirm.
Click the Quit icon.

If a cheque has been printed by mistake and time transactions have been entered in the projects, the hours must be deleted manually in the Enter Hoursoption.

maestro* > Time Management > Project Time > Processing > Enter Hours

2. Activating Bank Account Deposit for Advances

This step is required in either of the following cases:

The employee has been paid by direct deposit or by cheque;
An advance must be issued to replace the original deposit.

In both cases, an advance must be issued to replace the original deposit.

maestro* > Time Management > Maintenance > Payroll > Configuration

On the left-side panel of the Configuration window, click the Direct Deposit option.
In the right-side section, check the Activate Direct Deposit box.
Click the Save icon.
Click the Quit icon.

The Activate Direct Deposit option can remain active once the cancellation process is completed.

3. Activating the Recovery of Advances

This step is required and automates the complete recovery of the advanced amount that is paid to the employee.

Users who do not execute this step will need to enter manually, for each of their employees—in the Hours Management option of the Payroll submenu—the advance amounts that must be recovered.

maestro* > Time Management > Maintenance > Payroll > Configuration

On the left side of the Configuration window, click on General.
In the right-side section, select Immediate from the Advance Repayment drop-down menu.
Click the Save icon.
Click the Quit icon.

If the recovery mode for the advanced repayment was not already set to Immediate, reset the feature’s initial mode once the corrections are done.

4. Issuing Advances to Employees

4.1 Issue an Advance to an Employee

This step is mandatory if a cheque has been handed to the employee who has proceeded with a deposit, and if a bank account deposit has been transferred to the financial institution. This last aims at replacing the original pay (cheque or deposit) disbursed by the employer and to balance the bank account.

maestro* > Time Management > Payroll > Miscellaneous > Advance Cheques

In the Advance Cheques window:

Enter the date of either the bank deposit, the original cheque issue or the pay period.

Selecting the date according to the pay period ensures that the advance cheque is included in the same pay period as the cancelled pay period.

Select the employee and, in the Advance Amount field, enter the net pay amount that has already been deposited.

Use the Excel list that was produced during the step of cancelling the pay; working with data is easier in that form if when processing more than one employee.

Click the Save icon.
Click the Quit icon.

If the advance was issued by bank deposit, the bank deposits file must be apportioned to replace the pay disbursement with the advance disbursement.

4.2 Print the Advance Cheque

maestro* > Time Management > Payroll > Miscellaneous > Print Advance Cheques

Select the Bank Account.
Select a Pay Cheque Date.

The print date has no impact on the printing of the cheque, the bank deposit or the advance disbursement. Only the date of the advance is taken into account for creating or printing an advance cheque.

Select an Action from the list.
Click the Accept icon.
Click the Accept icon again in the new window Parameter Selection.
The maestro* report viewer is displayed. Print or save the cheque(s) as needed, and click the Quit icon.
When the confirmation of the cheque printing message is displayed click Yes.

4.3 Create a Bank Deposit File

To prevent the advance to be deposited a second time and by mistake, users can create a file of bank deposits, since the initial payroll run already made the deposit. This duplicate bank deposit file will use the same creation number as the original payroll file. It is important that the creation numbers are kept in sequence to meet the financial institution requirements.

maestro* > Time Management > Payroll > Payroll > Bank Deposit Files

Select the committee(s).
In the Parameter Selection window, select the Date Range. Select the period that includes the date of the advance cheque entered when creating the advance for the given employee(s); namely the date when the original cheque was deposited in the bank.
Select the account number.
Check the Include Previous Undeposited Pays box, if needed.
Click the Accept icon.
In the Bank Deposit File window, select the lines of the cheques or bank deposits that have not been deposited by checking the appropriate boxes in the Select column.
Click the Apply icon.
In the new Bank Deposit File window, replace the creation number by the number of the original payroll in the Creation No. field.
Click the Apply icon.
A new window is displayed to indicate the location of the newly created file. Click OK if the information is correct. Otherwise, click the Open Location button and indicate the required location.
Click the Quit icon.

5. Correcting Time Transaction Entries

The work hours that may have been entered and associated to projects must be deleted manually in the Enter Hours option.

maestro* > Time Management > Project Time > Processing > Enter Hours

Make the necessary corrections by entering or changing the number of hours or the rates, as needed.

6. Managing the Recovery of Advances

Once the pay has been corrected, and depending on the results of the payroll corrections, it may be that an amount is due to the given employee. It may also be that cumulative amounts are still showing for the given employee(s); in which case the amounts will need to be recovered (or deducted) in a subsequent payroll.

If the Advance Repayment field, in the Configuration option of the Payroll, is set to Postponed (maestro* > Time Management > Maintenance > Payroll > Configuration), the user will need to manually manage the recovery of advances.

maestro* > Time Management > Payroll > Payroll > Hours Management

In the Parameter Selection window, select the committee(s) as needed.
Select the pay period and click the Accept icon.
In the Hours Management window, enter the advanced amount to be repaid in the field Advance (+ / -).

The amount to be recovered, shown in field Advance (+ / -), must always be entered negative.

Click the Save icon.
Click the Quit icon.

7. Proceeding with Routine Payroll Processing

8. Creating the Bank Deposit File

maestro* > Time Management > Payroll > Payroll > Bank Deposit Files

In the Parameter Selection window, select the committee(s), as needed.
Select the Date Range.

The period covered by the date range does not need to be the same as the one when the advance cheque was created. It is possible to postpone to a later pay period the remittance of the corrected pay amount. To do so, check the boxInclude Previous Undeposited Pays, located at the bottom of the window.

Select the account number.
Check the Include Previous Undeposited Pays box to include the corrected pay.
Click the Accept icon.
In the Bank Deposit File window, select the lines that correspond to the pays that are to be included in the bank deposit file, including the employee’s corrected pay, by checking the appropriate boxes in the Select column.
Click the Apply icon.
In the Creation No. field, of the Bank Deposit File window, replace the appearing creation number by the creation number of the last pay. As an example, if maestro* displays the number 536, change this number for 535, which is the number that corresponds to the last pay.
Click the Apply icon.
A new window is displayed to indicate the location of the newly created file. Click OK if the information is correct. Otherwise, click the Open Location button and indicate the required location.
Click the Quit icon to close both Bank Deposit File windows.

9. Processing Reconciliations and Recognitions

Perform the following accounting, as needed:

Payroll reconciliation (fringe benefits);

maestro* > Time Management > Project Time > Accounting > Payroll Reconciliation

CNESST recognition (Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail), as needed;

maestro* > Time Management > Project Time > Accounting > W/C-CSST Recognition

Project base burden recognition (Régie du bâtiment du Québec), as needed.

maestro* > Time Management > Project Time > Accounting > Project Base Burden Recognition

SITUATION C — How to Cancel a Pay

When the employee’s cheque has been printed, the bank deposit has been made, the payroll is open or closed, fringe benefits have been posted and time entries have been transferred.

1. Opening Both the Payroll and Project Periods

This step is needed only when the payroll period for the pay that needs cancelling has already been closed. To be able to cancel a pay and associated fringe benefits the corresponding pay period must be open.

The project period will also need to be reopened if it has already been closed.

maestro* > Maintenance > General Maintenance > Period > Reopen a Pay Period

In the Reopen a Pay Period window, select a fiscal year by clicking the appropriate line in the Open Years section.
In the Periods for the committee section, locate the committees that belong in the fiscal period and remove the check mark from the pay period(s) that cover the pay that is to be cancelled.
Click the Save icon.
Click the Quit icon.

maestro* > Maintenance > General Maintenance > Period > Reopen a Period

In the Reopen a Period window, select the fiscal year by clicking the appropriate line in the Fiscal Years Already Open section.
Remove the check marks from the Job Cost, General Ledger and Payables columns that belong to the relevant period.
Click the Save icon.
Click the Quit icon.

When a pay period is opened from the Maintenance menu (maestro* > Maintenance > General Maintenance > Period > Reopen a Period), the period can be closed again from the same menu. However, if the corrected pay belongs to a CCQ employee (Commission de la construction du Québec), it is recommended that the period is closed from the Payroll submenu (maestro* > Time Management > Payroll > Payroll > Close a Period) to update the CCQ Employer’s Monthly Report.

2. Cancelling Fringe Benefits Reconciliation

The step is required only when hours, spending premiums and salary (hourly rate, commission-type bonus, bonus, annual bonus and earnings) need correcting. Such correction is necessary to modify project hours that have been previously transferred when fringe benefits were posted. Cancelling the posting of fringe benefits deletes the accounting entries that pertain to these transactions and resets the hours (time) to their non-transferred state.

maestro* > Maintenance > General Maintenance > Miscellaneous > Cancel Payroll Reconciliation

In the Cancel Payroll Reconciliation window:

Select the relevant pay period and associated committees.

The field All companies applies to the multidimensional mode of operations and is used to cancel the posting of fringe benefits across all the companies that operate in this mode. To cancel fringe benefits posting only for the current company, leave the check box blank.

When workmen’s compensation (W/C–CSST Recognition) and project base burden (Project Base Burden Recognition) have already been done for the given project, the cancellation of the fringe benefits posting (Cancel Payroll Reconciliation) will automatically cancel the other two.

Click the Accept icon.
Click the Quit icon.

3. Cancelling a Pay

maestro* > Time Management > Payroll > Miscellaneous > Cancel a Pay or an Advance

In window Parameter Selection, select the pay period and the committee.
Select the Pay option in field Cheque Type (it is the default option).
Click the Accept icon to display the Cancel a Pay or an Advance window.
In the Cancel a Pay or an Advance window, select the given pay to cancel by activating the relevant check box in the Selected column.

If several pays need to be canceled, it is recommended to transfer the spreadsheet data to Excel so that to view the list of employees and their net pay. To do so:

Click any of the spreadsheet’s fields.

Right-click and select Transfer to Excel from the drop-down list.

Check the Cancel Hours box only when an employee cheque has been issued by mistake and the hours entered in Hours Management must be deleted.
Click the Apply icon.
A message is displayed asking that the user confirms that they indeed want to cancel the selected pays. Click Yes to confirm.
Click the Quit icon.

4. Activating Bank Account Deposit for Advances

This step is required in either of the following cases:

The employee has been paid by direct deposit or by cheque;
An advance must be issued to replace the original deposit.

In both cases, an advance must be issued to replace the original deposit.

maestro* > Time Management > Maintenance > Payroll > Configuration

On the left-side panel of the Configuration window, click the Direct Deposit option.
In the right-side section, check the Activate Direct Deposit box.
Click the Save icon.
Click the Quit icon.

The Activate Direct Deposit option can remain active once the cancellation process is completed.

5. Activating the Recovery of Advances

This step is required and automates the complete recovery of the advanced amount that is paid to the employee.

Users who do not execute this step will need to enter manually, for each of their employees—in the Hours Management optionof the Payroll submenu—the advance amounts that must be recovered.

maestro* > Time Management > Maintenance > Payroll > Configuration

On the left side of the Configuration window, click on General.
In the right-side section, select Immediate from the Advance Repayment drop-down menu.
Click the Save icon.
Click the Quit icon.

6. Issuing Advances to Employees

6.1 Issue an Advance to an Employee

This step is mandatory if a cheque has been handed to the employee who has proceeded with a deposit, and if a bank account deposit has been transmitted to the financial institution. This last aims at replacing the original pay (cheque or deposit), disbursed by the employer, and to balance the bank account.

maestro* > Time Management > Payroll > Miscellaneous > Advance Cheques

In the Advance Chequeswindow:

Enter the date of either the bank deposit, the original cheque issue or the pay period.

Selecting the date according to the pay period ensures that the advance cheque is included in the same pay period as the cancelled pay period.

Select the employee and, in the Advance Amount field, enter the net pay amountthat has already been deposited.

Use the Excel list that was produced during the step of cancelling the pay; working with data is easier in that form if when processing more than one employee.

Click the Save icon.
Click the Quit icon.

If the advance was issued by bank deposit, the bank deposits file must be apportioned to replace the pay disbursement with the advance disbursement.

6.2 Print the Advance Cheque

maestro* > Time Management > Payroll > Miscellaneous > Print Advance Cheques

Select the Bank Account.
Select a Pay Cheque Date.

The print date has no impact on the printing of the cheque, the bank deposit or the advance disbursement. Only the date of the advance is taken into account for creating or printing an advance cheque.

Select an Action from the list.
Click the Accept icon.
Click the Accept icon again in the new Parameter Selection window.
The maestro* report viewer is displayed. Print or save the cheque(s) as needed, and click the Quit icon.
When the confirmation of the cheque printing message is displayed click Yes.

6.3 Create a Bank Deposit File

maestro* > Time Management > Payroll > Payroll > Bank Deposit Files

In the Parameter Selection window, select the Committees.
Select the period’s Date Range. Select the period that includes the date of the advance cheque entered when creating the advance for the given employee(s); namely the date when the original cheque was deposited in the bank.
Select the account number.
Check the Include Previous Undeposited Pays box, if needed.
Click the Accept icon.
In the Bank Deposit File window, select the lines of the cheques or bank deposits that have not been deposited by checking the relevant boxes in the Select column.
Click the Apply icon.
In the new Bank Deposit File window, replace the creation number by the number of the original payroll in the Creation No. field.
Click the Apply icon.
A new window is displayed to indicate the location of the newly created file. Click OK if the information is correct. Otherwise, click the Open Location button and indicate the required location.
Click the Quit icon to close both Bank Deposit File windows.

7. Correcting Time Transaction Entries

The work hours that may have been entered and associated to projects must be deleted manually in theEnter Hours option.

maestro* > Time Management > Project Time > Processing > Enter Hours

Make the necessary corrections by entering or changing the number of hours or the rates, as needed.

8. Managing the Recovery of Advances

maestro* > Time Management > Payroll > Payroll > Hours Management

In the Parameter Selectionwindow, select the committee(s) as needed.
Select the pay period and click the Accept icon.
In the Hours Managementwindow, enter the advanced amount to be repaid in the field Advance (+ / -).

The amount to be recovered, shown in field Advance (+ / -), must always be entered negative.

Click the Save icon.
Click the Quit icon.

9. Proceeding with Routine Payroll Processing

10. Creating the Bank Deposit File

maestro* > Time Management > Payroll > Payroll > Bank Deposit Files

In the Parameter Selection window, select the Committee as needed.
Select the Date Range.

The period covered by the date range does not need to be the same as the one when the advance cheque was created. It is possible to postpone to a later pay period the remittance of the corrected pay amount. To do so, check the boxInclude Previous Undeposited Pays, located at the bottom of the window.

Select the account number.
Check the Include Previous Undeposited Pays box to include the corrected pay.
Click the Accept icon.
In the Bank Deposit File window, select the lines that correspond to the pays that are to be included in the bank deposit file, including the employee’s corrected pay, by checking the relevant boxes in the Select column.
Click the Apply icon.
In the Creation No. field, of the Bank Deposit File window, replace the appearing creation number by the creation number of the last pay. As an example, if maestro* displays the number 536, change this number for 535, which is the number that corresponds to the last pay.
Click the Apply icon.
A new window will display to indicate the location of the newly created file. Click OK if the information is correct. Otherwise, click the Open Location button and indicate the required location.
Click the Quit icon to close both Bank Deposit File windows.

11. Processing Reconciliations and Recognitions

Perform the following accounting, as needed:

Payroll reconciliation (fringe benefits);

maestro* > Time Management > Project Time > Accounting > Payroll Reconciliation

CNESST recognition (Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail), as needed;

maestro* > Time Management > Project Time > Accounting > W/C-CSST Recognition

Project base burden recognition (Régie du bâtiment du Québec), as needed.

maestro* > Time Management > Project Time > Accounting > Project Base Burden Recognition

Formerly, How-to no. 37

Last modification: November 12, 2024