Home → Suggestions →

Form to fill out for paychecks

• Edit

Clint

05 Jul, 2009 05:57 AM

One of the best things in my current usage of Quicken 2005 is the paycheck form fill in screen.

This allows me to easily enter in info for Pre Tax deductions, Taxes, etc on my paycheck.

If Moneydance had a easy way and clear way (instead of just having to setup one manually using split transactions and having it memorized) I believe it would be a great move forward.

This is one of the things that I am considering in whether to go with Moneydance as my personal finance application.

1. 1 Posted by Kelly Miller on 05 Jul, 2009 01:52 PM

   

   I set up an asset account, called "Salary," to function in this manner. My gross salary goes into the account, and then it gets transferred into various other accounts as appropriate. So, taxes are deducted as expenses, my 401K deduction gets transferred to its investment account, my HSA deduction goes to its account, and my net pay (pay minus all deductions) gets transferred to my bank account. The "Salary" account keeps a zero running value -- the amount going in and coming out are equal after each paycheck.

   This has all the practical functionality you are looking for, and with autofill it is almost as straightforward to use as the sort of paycheck form screen you are talking about.

   • Edit

2. 2 Posted by Ben Spencer on 09 Jul, 2009 07:17 PM

   

   I like the idea of having a Paycheck for to simplify the process of enteringthe complexities of todays paychecks. I have created a suggestion ticket in our suggestion tracking system. Here is the link:

   http://moneydance.com/trac/ticket/1968

   If you register and log into trac you can vote on this ticket. The more votes a ticket gets the more likely it will be implemented.

   Sincerely

   Ben Spencer

   • Edit

3. 3 Posted by Nichelle on 28 Feb, 2010 03:43 AM

   

   I think this is a great idea.

   • Edit

4. 4 Posted by dave on 28 Feb, 2010 08:28 AM

   

   Sorry for necro-posting, but I didn't want to open a new topic just for this!

   I agree with the requirement for entering a paycheck, and already voted on the Trac system for it. Here are a couple of things I would like to see:

   Separate tabs for each category of line items (Earned income, Taxes, Before tax deductions, after tax deductions, and possibly employer matched contributions)

   Each tab should have its own separate balance for the totals entered within that tab, for easy checking for any fat-fingered transactions against the total on the paycheck.

   The entire set should have a bottom line total summing all the tabs together, comparing those to the total on the bank downloaded transaction, and displaying the difference (if any).

   The reason for adding the employer matched contributions is so that the 401k account is correctly updated - one of these days I'll figure out how to even add that into my finances, so that one isn't too important to me right now.

   That bottom line comparison is important to me though - I don't enter the splits currently until I have the downloaded transaction to work on, so I need to see if there is a difference in the figures I have entered compared to the total that was actually credited to the bank - I have been known to fat-finger entries a few (too many) times, and having the displayed difference is a great way of finding the error!

   • Edit

5. 5 Posted by dave on 27 Apr, 2010 07:42 AM

   

   I have been thinking about this one and have come up with a reasonably (sic) simple workaround that may help. This will take a little explaining, so please bear with me.

   Moneydance has built in calculation abilities in each numeric field, so build on this a little. Create a new (invisible) category called sub-total. This category, when used in a multi-split situation, will do the following:

   Look at this column in the row above me, is it a sub-total? If not, increment my total by the amount in that field. Move to the row above that and repeat. Continue this until a sub-total, blank field or beginning of form is found, then display the total.

   Hide the totals in a sub-total field from being added into the main total at the bottom of the form

   In this way, a payslip could be defined as follows:
   Gross Pay 999.99
   Overtime 99.99
   Expenses 99.99
   sub-total (1) 999.99

   Fed Inc Tax 199.99
   Medicare 99.99
   Soc Security 99.99
   State Tax 89.99
   sub-total (2) 299.99

   Sub-total 1 will totalize the fields above it for comparison with the sub-total block on the paycheck, allowing for quick identification of fat or skinny fingers. Sub-total 2 will totalize only those items since the last sub total, so only the taxes in this case, and again allow the user to compare with the paystub and check for errors in that portion.

   None of the subtotal categories should contribute to the totals at the bottom of the form, they should be treated solely as comments.

   Using this method, a user could build a payroll form very simply regardless of the complexity of the income documentation and have a way of checking, section by section, where the mistake (if any) lies.

   Also, I read with interest Kelly Miller's reply and wonder if this could be shown in a "how to" format - I'm very computer savvy so my math is exceptionally good, but accounting has always been a dark horse for me. Setting up those accounts based on a pay-check full of figures that change from one check to the next is a daunting task!

   • Edit

6. 6 Posted by Angie Rauscher on 30 Apr, 2010 03:08 AM

   

   Thank you all for your suggestions on this interesting possibility. I encourage you all to vote on the trac ticket, and I've added this feature to my list of features to discuss at our next visioning meeting.

   Please let me know if I can be of further assistance,

   Angie Rauscher
   Moneydance Support

   • Edit

7. Angie Rauscher closed this discussion on 30 Apr, 2010 03:08 AM.