Organize, Don't Agonize In 2019 5220

Organize, Don't Agonize In 2019

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Huzzah! The Holiday season has officially begun and I for one couldn’t be more excited. I say give me all the pumpkin, nutmeg, eggnog EVERYTHING! Between the good food, the good friends and the good times I am as happy as can be. There is one thing however that gnaws at the back of my mind while I’m gnawing down on some turkey: the mounting pile of work and tight deadlines waiting for me back at the office.

While the holiday magic might not be powerful enough to complete our To Do lists for us, there are steps that we can take to ensure that things go as smoothly as possible come 2019. “Organize, don’t agonize.”


Step 1: Get your ducks in a row: know what you need.
In order to process your 1099s, you will need to have Aatrix installed on the workstation that you plan to use to complete your 1099s. Aatrix typically has annual updates in order to keep current with the most recent government regulations so be sure to use the Aatrix installation Wizard to ensure that you’re on the most up to date version. Check on these steps for details on how to update or install Aatrix.

Our recommendation is that you use eFiling options with Aatrix. If you consider the costs of printing, processing, and mailing paper tax forms, this is the most efficient and cost-effective option. If you do wish to print out physical forms, the forms must be ordered from Blackbaud Forms to guarantee alignment. Only forms sold by Blackbaud will be supported. It is good practice to print a test on a blank piece of paper and then hold that against an official form up to a light to compare the alignment.
Aatrix will only print employee/recipient copies on four-part perforated paper, which can be purchased through Blackbaud Forms.


Step 2: Run Reports
With just a few clicks, you can quickly preview the list of vendors that will appear when you run your full 1099 process. It's a wise idea to run reports, preview them and make corrections before hand. We recommend running a 1099 Activity Report in Accounts Payable > Reports > Vendor Reports as well as a  query for all activity over the 1099 box minimums for all vendors during the last year (include the 1099 box on the Output tab.) Compare the amounts on the report and query to make sure all applicable activity has been marked as 1099 activity. 

Likewise, you will want to run the Payroll Register and Adjusted Gross Wage reports in the Payroll module to use for reconciling against your 941.             


Step 3: Test your 1099s
Go through the entire process, click-by-click so that nothing comes as a surprise when you’re under a real time crunch.

Step 4: Test your 2019 Payroll
Before you process the first payroll of 2019, it’s important that you create a schedule for 2019 using the same Schedule ID as your 2018 schedule. Check the pay dates for your 2019 schedule to confirm that they are correct before paying your last 2018 payroll. This is because schedules in Configuration cannot be modified or deleted once a record has been calculated against the schedule. Because they are linked, when the new year begins, default schedules update automatically for all employees assigned to the copied schedules. Schedules for compensation types do not automatically update. The first time you are prompted to update compensation schedules. If you click Yes, the program updates the compensation types according to the employees’ default schedule.

Step 5: Just in case (frequently asked questions and their answers)
  1. In your query, select the line "Total Payment Amount Greater Than Or Equal To" and right click
  2. Click Change
  3. Select the Filters tab
  4. Select "Voided?" and click Select
  5. In the parameters, select "Equals" and "No"
  6. Click Ok
News ARCHIVED | Financial Edge® Tips and Tricks 11/26/2018 4:20pm EST

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