Overview of Payroll Balance Definitions

A balance is a positive or negative accumulation of payroll results for an element or group of elements, over a specified period of time.

The balance can be monetary values, time element, such as hours or days worked, or any other numeric value. Every time you run a payroll process, such as, Calculate Payroll or Calculate Gross Earnings, the application updates these values.

Each defined balance holds a value for an individual at one of the two levels of the employment model.

• Payroll relationship

• Assignment

Most of the balances you require are predefined. Depending on your country extension, additional balances are automatically created when you create elements. You can edit the definition of these generated balances, or create additional balances.

For example, the Employer Contributions amount on the Statement of Earnings is fed by elements with a classification of Employer Taxes or Employer Liabilities. Similarly, an employee's Taxable Benefits is fed by elements with a classification of Taxable Benefits.

Balance Name

It's the actual name of the balance, such as, Regular Earnings. You can't have the same name for more than one balance. However, more than one balance can have the same reporting name.

A reporting name is the balance name that reports and payslips display. When multiple balances are created due to differences in setup but need to be reported the same way, you can assign the same reporting name for all of the balances.

Balance Categories

Each balance definition has a predefined balance category for quicker processing. Balance categories are a way of grouping balances so that you can set group attributes. Balance categories are predefined, and you can't create your own balance categories or modify the balance categories. When you create a balance during the implementation phase, associate it to one of the predefined categories.

You can however, create your own localized version of the balance categories you want to use. In the Setup and Maintenance area, use the Configure Payroll Legislations task to view the predefined balance categories. Edit the balance category name to include a display name appropriate for your legislation.

Units of Measure

When you create a balance, the predefined units of measure available for selection are Day, Hour (with different combinations of minutes and seconds), Integer, Money, and Number. Match the unit of measure of the balance with the unit of measure of the element input values that feed it.

Balance Contexts

Contexts restrict the run results included in a balance value. Context values are specified as part of the balance dimensions. For example, the REGULAR_ASG_TU_YTD balance is a Regular Earnings balance type with these context values associated in the balance dimension:

• Assignment

• Tax Reporting Unit

All contexts are predefined.

Generated Balances and Database Items

The country extension you select on the Features by Country or Territory page, determines what payroll-related components the element template generates when you create an element. The element template also creates a database item for each balance dimension. You can use the database items in your formulas or HCM extracts to use the value of a balance.

This table explains the components the element template creates, based on your selection of the country extension.

Country Extension	Components Generated by the Element Template
Payroll	When you create an element, the element template creates the element and associated objects, such as input values, formulas, and balances.
Payroll Interface	When you create regular and supplemental earnings elements, the element template creates the element and associated objects, such as input values, formulas, and balances. For all other elements, the template generates no other associated objects.
Human Resources or None	The element template doesn't generate associated objects like formulas, or balances.

Base Balances

You can specify a base balance when there is a dependent relationship between balances for processing and reporting. For example, Taxable Wages could be the base balance for Tax Withheld.

Remuneration

Only one balance in each legislation is predefined as the remuneration balance. This balance generates payments for employees and is predefined for the legislation. For example, a legislation might use Net Pay as the remuneration balance. This calculated balance is the sum of standard earnings and supplemental earnings minus all the deductions calculated for the run.