Overview of Balance Exceptions

Balance exceptions define the criteria you use to identify overpayments, underpayments, and trends. The variance may also be a result of incorrect setup or adjustment.

Create a balance exception and the Balance Exception Report, and then run the Balance Exception Report. Run the report to generate a report output that displays payroll balance results as per the defined exception criteria. This information helps you detect the balance adjustments needed to correct payments or correct the balance setup.

Use the Balance Exceptions task to create a balance exception and consider these components when you create a balance exception.

Comparison Types

When you're creating balance exceptions, select a comparison type. Comparison types define the period that you use to determine whether an exception has occurred. For example, select Average in months as the comparison type and enter 3 in the Comparison Value field. In this scenario, the current month value is compared to the average of the previous three months.

Some comparison values are preset and you can't change them:

Current month, Current period, Current quarter, and Current year always have a comparison value of 0.
Previous period and Previous month have a comparison value of 1.

This table lists each comparison type that you can select and explains how it operates as a basis of comparison.

Comparison Type	How it Operates as a Basis of Comparison
Average in months	Compares the current month to date balance with the average of previous months to date. Only available if you have a Month to Date balance dimension for assignment or payroll relationship.
Current month	Compares values to the total for the current month to date balance. Doesn't use any previous month as a basis for comparison. Only available if you have a Month to Date balance dimension for assignment or payroll relationship.
Current period	Compares values to the total for the current period to date. Doesn't use any previous period as a basis for comparison. Only available if you have a Period to Date balance dimension for assignment or payroll relationship.
Current quarter	Compares values to the total for the current quarter to date. Doesn't use any previous period as a basis for comparison. Only available if you have a Quarter to Date balance dimension for assignment or payroll relationship.
Current year	Compares values to the total for the current year to date. Doesn't use any previous period as a basis for comparison. Only available if you have a Year to Date balance dimension for assignment or payroll relationship.
Previous month	Uses the previous month as a basis of comparison. Only available if you have a Month to Date balance dimension for assignment or payroll relationship.
Previous period	Uses the previous period as a basis of comparison. Only available if you have a Period to Date balance dimension for assignment or payroll relationship.

Note: Comparison Value field is shown for Average in Months. It is hidden for other comparison types.

If you select a Comparison Type of Average in months, you must enter a Comparison Value to determine the number of months that are averaged for the comparison.

Variance Operators

Variance operators enable you to specify the precise range of variance that you want to report on.

For example, you want to determine the monthly car allowance paid to employees in excess of 600 more than the previous month for the same payroll relationship. You can setup a balance exception for this example using these values:

Comparison type is previous month
Balance name is monthly car allowance
Dimension name is relationship month to date
Previous month amount is 500
Variance value is 100

This table describes the effect of using each of the variance operators for balance exception reporting. The Results column indicates the effect of selecting each variance operator.

Variance Operator	Balance Exception Report Output	Results (based on sample data)
Variance, plus or minus Note: This operator applies only for comparison types of 'Previous', like Previous Months or Previous Period, as well as 'Average in Months'.	All relationships whose balance value either exceeds or are less than the previous month amount by the amount or percentage stated in the variance value.	Returns all relationships with a value less than or equal to 400 and greater than or equal to 600.
Less than	All relationships that are less than the previous month amount by the amount or percentage stated in the variance value.	Returns all relationships with a value of less than 400.
Less than or equal	All relationships with a current value either equal to or less than the previous month amount by the amount or percentage stated in the variance value.	Returns all relationships with a value of 400 or less.
Equal	All values that are exactly equal to the higher limit or the lower limit of the variance value.	Returns all relationships with a current value equal to 400 or 600.
Greater than	All relationships that are greater than the previous month amount by the amount or percentage stated in the variance value.	Returns all relationships with a value of more than 600.
Greater than or equal	All relationships with a current value either equal to or greater than the previous month amount by the amount or percentage stated in the variance value.	Returns all relationships with a value of 600 or more.
Does not equal	All relationships with a current value not equal to the previous month amount.	Returns all relationships with a value other than 500.

Select a Balance Type and Balance Dimension that specifies the balance value that's evaluated for the exception. You can only select balance dimensions that are compatible with the Comparison Type you specified. For example, if the Comparison Type is Current Period, you can only select balance dimensions of type 'Period to Date'.

Severity Level

Severity Level controls the order in which the exceptions are displayed in the balance exception report. Balance exceptions with the higher severity are displayed first (1 being the highest).

Using Formula Variance Type

You can write a fast formula using the Balance Exception formula type to return a variance value that you can use for identifying exceptions for a balance. To use this feature, select the Formula variance type on the Create Balance Exception page and then select the formula that you created from the Formula Name field.

Using Balance Variance Type

To reference two balances in the balance exception equation, select the Balance variance type on the Create Balance Exception page and then select the Target Balance Name and Target Dimension Name. This is applicable only when the Comparison Type is of type Current Month, Period, Quarter, or Year. The context values for Target Dimension Name are inherited from the Dimension Name you select on the left-hand side of the Create Balance Exception page as the first dimension. No additional contexts are set for Target Dimension Name.