1. US Payroll Year-End Processing Guide
  2. Understanding Year-End Workfile Definition

Understanding Year-End Workfile Definition

Before you generate forms, reports, or electronic files that you use to create electronic filing, you must define:

  • The information that you want to process.

  • The methods that the system uses to process, print, and display data.

  • The employees to include in the process.

You define the year-end workfile to compile the information that you want to print on year-end forms and reports.

The first step to create a year-end workfile is to create a year-end ID. The year-end ID identifies the records that are associated with a particular year-end workfile build process. The ID should be unique for each processing year. For example, if you process separate year-end workfiles for companies 100, 200, and 300 during a tax year, then create year-end IDs 100, 200, and 300. Do not use the same year-end ID to process information for different workfile builds.

After you create the year-end ID, you define data criteria. When you define data criteria for the year-end workfile, you determine the data that you want to include, and the types of forms that you want to generate from the workfile build. You can generate only one type of form in a workfile build process. For example, you use the same process to create a W-2 workfile build, a 1099 workfile build, or a 499R-2 workfile build.