General Payroll Preferences

The following table describes the preferences available on the Preferences subtab of the Set Up Payroll page. This page is located at Setup > Payroll > Setup Tasks > Set Up Payroll.

After you set a preference, you must update payroll information. For more information, see Updating Payroll Information.

Field Name	Function
General
Calculate Funding	Check this box if you want NetSuite to create a funding transaction. When this box is checked, a single transaction for the total of the payroll run is posted to your checking account. If this box is not checked, a transaction is listed for each individual paycheck in your checking account.
Expand Account Lists for Payroll Items	Check this box to associate additional general ledger accounts with payroll items. When this box is clear, you can associate payroll items with only their default accounts. Expense accounts for earning payroll items, and liability accounts for deduction payroll items. When this box is checked, you have more options: Deduction payroll item can be associated with a liability account, asset account, or expense account. If you associate a deduction payroll item with an asset or expense account, that account is credited in the general ledger. Earning payroll item can be associated with an expense account, asset account, or liability account. If you associate an earning payroll item with an asset or liability account, that account is debited in the general ledger. Important: This preference impacts the general ledger. After you check the box, you can clear the box only after all payroll items are associated with their default accounts. For example, deduction payroll items associated with liability accounts.
Pay PTO Prior to Pay Period (Days)	Enter the number of days prior to the current pay period to pay personal time off (PTO) for approved time entries. You should enter zero unless you plan to pay employees before the last pay period ended.
Pay Earnings Prior to Pay Period (Days)	Enter the number of days prior to the current pay period that you want to pay earnings not included in the last pay period. You should enter zero unless you plan to pay employees before the last pay period ended. If your employees have been tracking their time using the Time Tracking feature, note the following. If you are adding them to payroll and want to use this preference, you must enter their last paid date manually on their employee records. Manual entry ensures that the employee’s pay is calculated correctly. For more information, see Including an Employee in Payroll.
Payroll Issues Alert Email Addresses	Enter the email addresses for users who should receive alert messages when payroll issues occur. Use commas, semi-colons, or spaces to separate multiple addresses.
Main Office	Select the name of the workplace that represents the main or home office for your business. This workplace is used to calculate taxes for an employee when a workplace is not selected on the employee record. See Entering Workplace Records for Payroll.
Type of Organization	Select the type of organization that best describes your company: corporation, government agency, LLC (limited liability corporation), partnership, or proprietorship. The selection you make may affect the options available when setting up your payroll. For example, selecting Partnership enables you to set up partners with the correct tax exemptions.
Paychecks
Show Paychecks with Zero Amounts	Check this box to see paychecks for employees who worked zero hours on the Payroll Batch page.
Pay Expenses on Paychecks	Check this box to pay approved expense report amounts in NetSuite to employees on their paychecks. You must create an expense payroll item to use this preference. For more information, see Paying Expenses on Employee Paychecks with Payroll.
Pay Employee Commissions on Paychecks by Default	Check this box to pay approved commission amounts in NetSuite to employees on their paychecks. You must create a commission payroll item to use this preference. For more information, see Payroll Items Setup.
Always Classify Individual Paycheck Lines	Check this box if you want the Classify Individual Paycheck Lines box checked by default on paychecks. When the Classify Individual Paycheck Lines box is checked, you can classify individual paycheck lines by class, department, or location. For more information, see Classifying Individual Paycheck Lines.
Default “To Be Printed” on Paychecks	Check this box if you want the To Be Printed box checked by default when processing individual paychecks and when you process payroll.
Default “Do Not Accrue Time” on Paychecks	Check this box if you want the Do Not Accrue Time box on paychecks checked by default when processing individual paychecks and when processing payroll. If you check this box, sick and vacation accruals do not process.
Default “Pay Bonuses” on Paychecks	Check this box if you want the Pay Bonuses box on payroll batches checked by default. If the Pay Bonuses box is checked on payroll batches, bonuses for the pay period are added to paychecks when the payroll batch is calculated. Note: This preference is available only if the Compensation Tracking feature is enabled in your account. For more information, see Integrating Bonuses with Payroll.
Pay Sick/Vacation Time on Paychecks	Check this box if you want the Pay PTO box on paychecks checked by default when processing individual paychecks and when processing payroll. If you do not check this box, sick time and vacation time are not paid.
Show Only Vacation and Sick Payroll Items in PTO Hours	Check this box to limit the payroll items that appear in the PTO Hours subtab of paycheck records to Earning:Sick or Earning:Vacation. These payroll items appear in the PTO Hours subtab if you associate them with time-off pay codes. Paid time off codes are Paid Time Off – Taxable, Sick Pay, Holiday, and Personal. Clear this box to include any payroll item associated with a time-off pay code on the PTO Hours subtab. For example, you might want to include a payroll item related to jury duty.
Mask Social Security Numbers on Vouchers	Check this box to mask employees’ social security numbers on paycheck vouchers. When this box is checked, only the last four digits of the social security number are shown on the voucher (for example, xxx-xx-1234). For vouchers, this preference is influenced by the state of permissions and preferences. For example, Bob has full permission to view social security numbers. When this box is checked, social security numbers are masked when Bob views a voucher. For more information, see Working with Employee Social Security Numbers.
Print Single Copy Voucher	Check this box to include only one copy of the paycheck voucher with the paycheck. When this box is clear, the taxes and deductions included on paychecks may be truncated for employees with numerous tax and deduction line items. In addition, NetSuite prints two vouchers when you select vouchers at Transactions > Management > Print Checks and Forms.
Enable Multi-State Calculation	Check this box to calculate pertinent taxes for employees who work in different states during a pay period. Pertinent taxes include the jurisdiction where work is performed and the employee’s primary office and home jurisdictions. For more information, see Setting up Taxes for Employees who Work in Different States During a Pay Period.
Decrease Elective Deferral Limits and Automatically Calculate Catch-Up	Warning: Do not set this preference if you use 457(b) plans. Check this box to do the following: Decrease the annual elective deferral limit for specific employees on their employee records. Decrease the annual catch-up over age 50 limit for specific employees on their employee records. Note: If you need to clear or edit limits, you must do so at the beginning of each year. Automatically calculate catch-up over age 50 for employees who meet the following criteria: Have a catch-up over age 50 deduction assigned on their record Reach the annual elective deferral limit Be 50 years of age or older by the end of the current calendar year For more information, see Decreasing Elective Deferral Limits for an Employee and Setting up Automatic Catch-up Over Age 50 Calculations.
Show Payroll Item Descriptions on Summary Tab of Paychecks	Check this box to show payroll item descriptions on the Summary subtab of paychecks. You can add descriptions to payroll item records to provide additional information about a payroll item to your employees. For more information, see Creating Payroll Items.
Paychecks Visible to Employees	Specify when paychecks should be visible to employees in the Employee Center. Options are when the payroll batch is committed, on the check date, one day before the check date, or two days before the check date. If you use NetSuite OneWorld, this preference applies to all employees within a subsidiary who are paid with SuitePeople Payroll. If you do not use OneWorld, this preference applies to all employees in your organization who are paid with SuitePeople U.S. Payroll. For more information, see Specifying When Employees Can View Paychecks.
Reporting
Report Payroll Liabilities By	Choose to report your payroll liabilities quarterly or year-to-date (YTD).
Use Year-to-Date Values on Reports (This option is applicable only in the year that payroll is first implemented.)	Check this box if you want reports to reflect the YTD values you entered for employees during setup. When this box is checked, the values for checks and adjustments entered prior to the YTD data will not appear on reports. If this box is clear, check and adjustment amounts may result in report data not matching the amounts you committed during payroll setup.
Self-Service	For more information, see Enabling Employees to Update Direct Deposit Information.
Employees Can View or Change Banking Information	Check this box to let employees make changes to their bank accounts for direct deposit. Employees can edit their bank account information using their Employee Center roles.
Employees Can Choose to be Paid by Check	Check this box to let employees change their net payment method from direct deposit to check. Employees use the Employee Center role to change their payment method. This preference is available only if the Employees Can View or Change Banking Information box is also checked.

Field Name

Function

General

Calculate Funding

Check this box if you want NetSuite to create a funding transaction.

When this box is checked, a single transaction for the total of the payroll run is posted to your checking account. If this box is not checked, a transaction is listed for each individual paycheck in your checking account.

Expand Account Lists for Payroll Items

Check this box to associate additional general ledger accounts with payroll items.

When this box is clear, you can associate payroll items with only their default accounts. Expense accounts for earning payroll items, and liability accounts for deduction payroll items.

When this box is checked, you have more options:

Deduction payroll item can be associated with a liability account, asset account, or expense account. If you associate a deduction payroll item with an asset or expense account, that account is credited in the general ledger.
Earning payroll item can be associated with an expense account, asset account, or liability account. If you associate an earning payroll item with an asset or liability account, that account is debited in the general ledger.

Important:

This preference impacts the general ledger. After you check the box, you can clear the box only after all payroll items are associated with their default accounts. For example, deduction payroll items associated with liability accounts.

Pay PTO Prior to Pay Period (Days)

Enter the number of days prior to the current pay period to pay personal time off (PTO) for approved time entries.

You should enter zero unless you plan to pay employees before the last pay period ended.

Pay Earnings Prior to Pay Period (Days)

Enter the number of days prior to the current pay period that you want to pay earnings not included in the last pay period.

You should enter zero unless you plan to pay employees before the last pay period ended.

If your employees have been tracking their time using the Time Tracking feature, note the following. If you are adding them to payroll and want to use this preference, you must enter their last paid date manually on their employee records. Manual entry ensures that the employee’s pay is calculated correctly. For more information, see Including an Employee in Payroll.

Payroll Issues Alert Email Addresses

Enter the email addresses for users who should receive alert messages when payroll issues occur. Use commas, semi-colons, or spaces to separate multiple addresses.

Main Office

Select the name of the workplace that represents the main or home office for your business. This workplace is used to calculate taxes for an employee when a workplace is not selected on the employee record. See Entering Workplace Records for Payroll.

Type of Organization

Select the type of organization that best describes your company: corporation, government agency, LLC (limited liability corporation), partnership, or proprietorship.

The selection you make may affect the options available when setting up your payroll. For example, selecting Partnership enables you to set up partners with the correct tax exemptions.

Paychecks

Show Paychecks with Zero Amounts

Check this box to see paychecks for employees who worked zero hours on the Payroll Batch page.

Pay Expenses on Paychecks

Check this box to pay approved expense report amounts in NetSuite to employees on their paychecks.

You must create an expense payroll item to use this preference. For more information, see Paying Expenses on Employee Paychecks with Payroll.

Pay Employee Commissions on Paychecks by Default

Check this box to pay approved commission amounts in NetSuite to employees on their paychecks.

You must create a commission payroll item to use this preference. For more information, see Payroll Items Setup.

Always Classify Individual Paycheck Lines

Check this box if you want the Classify Individual Paycheck Lines box checked by default on paychecks. When the Classify Individual Paycheck Lines box is checked, you can classify individual paycheck lines by class, department, or location. For more information, see Classifying Individual Paycheck Lines.

Default “To Be Printed” on Paychecks

Check this box if you want the To Be Printed box checked by default when processing individual paychecks and when you process payroll.

Default “Do Not Accrue Time” on Paychecks

Check this box if you want the Do Not Accrue Time box on paychecks checked by default when processing individual paychecks and when processing payroll.

If you check this box, sick and vacation accruals do not process.

Default “Pay Bonuses” on Paychecks

Check this box if you want the Pay Bonuses box on payroll batches checked by default. If the Pay Bonuses box is checked on payroll batches, bonuses for the pay period are added to paychecks when the payroll batch is calculated.

Note:

This preference is available only if the Compensation Tracking feature is enabled in your account. For more information, see Integrating Bonuses with Payroll.

Pay Sick/Vacation Time on Paychecks

Check this box if you want the Pay PTO box on paychecks checked by default when processing individual paychecks and when processing payroll.

If you do not check this box, sick time and vacation time are not paid.

Show Only Vacation and Sick Payroll Items in PTO Hours

Check this box to limit the payroll items that appear in the PTO Hours subtab of paycheck records to Earning:Sick or Earning:Vacation. These payroll items appear in the PTO Hours subtab if you associate them with time-off pay codes. Paid time off codes are Paid Time Off – Taxable, Sick Pay, Holiday, and Personal.

Clear this box to include any payroll item associated with a time-off pay code on the PTO Hours subtab. For example, you might want to include a payroll item related to jury duty.

Mask Social Security Numbers on Vouchers

Check this box to mask employees’ social security numbers on paycheck vouchers.

When this box is checked, only the last four digits of the social security number are shown on the voucher (for example, xxx-xx-1234).

For vouchers, this preference is influenced by the state of permissions and preferences. For example, Bob has full permission to view social security numbers. When this box is checked, social security numbers are masked when Bob views a voucher.

For more information, see Working with Employee Social Security Numbers.

Print Single Copy Voucher

Check this box to include only one copy of the paycheck voucher with the paycheck.

When this box is clear, the taxes and deductions included on paychecks may be truncated for employees with numerous tax and deduction line items. In addition, NetSuite prints two vouchers when you select vouchers at Transactions > Management > Print Checks and Forms.

Enable Multi-State Calculation

Check this box to calculate pertinent taxes for employees who work in different states during a pay period.

Pertinent taxes include the jurisdiction where work is performed and the employee’s primary office and home jurisdictions. For more information, see Setting up Taxes for Employees who Work in Different States During a Pay Period.

Decrease Elective Deferral Limits and Automatically Calculate Catch-Up

Warning:

Do not set this preference if you use 457(b) plans.

Check this box to do the following:

Decrease the annual elective deferral limit for specific employees on their employee records.
Decrease the annual catch-up over age 50 limit for specific employees on their employee records.

Note:
If you need to clear or edit limits, you must do so at the beginning of each year.
Automatically calculate catch-up over age 50 for employees who meet the following criteria:
- Have a catch-up over age 50 deduction assigned on their record
- Reach the annual elective deferral limit
- Be 50 years of age or older by the end of the current calendar year

For more information, see Decreasing Elective Deferral Limits for an Employee and Setting up Automatic Catch-up Over Age 50 Calculations.

Show Payroll Item Descriptions on Summary Tab of Paychecks

Check this box to show payroll item descriptions on the Summary subtab of paychecks. You can add descriptions to payroll item records to provide additional information about a payroll item to your employees. For more information, see Creating Payroll Items.

Paychecks Visible to Employees

Specify when paychecks should be visible to employees in the Employee Center. Options are when the payroll batch is committed, on the check date, one day before the check date, or two days before the check date.

If you use NetSuite OneWorld, this preference applies to all employees within a subsidiary who are paid with SuitePeople Payroll. If you do not use OneWorld, this preference applies to all employees in your organization who are paid with SuitePeople U.S. Payroll. For more information, see Specifying When Employees Can View Paychecks.

Reporting

Report Payroll Liabilities By

Choose to report your payroll liabilities quarterly or year-to-date (YTD).

Use Year-to-Date Values on Reports

(This option is applicable only in the year that payroll is first implemented.)

Check this box if you want reports to reflect the YTD values you entered for employees during setup. When this box is checked, the values for checks and adjustments entered prior to the YTD data will not appear on reports.

If this box is clear, check and adjustment amounts may result in report data not matching the amounts you committed during payroll setup.

Self-Service

For more information, see Enabling Employees to Update Direct Deposit Information.

Employees Can View or Change Banking Information

Check this box to let employees make changes to their bank accounts for direct deposit. Employees can edit their bank account information using their Employee Center roles.

Employees Can Choose to be Paid by Check

Check this box to let employees change their net payment method from direct deposit to check. Employees use the Employee Center role to change their payment method. This preference is available only if the Employees Can View or Change Banking Information box is also checked.

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