Cash-basis Reporting and Payroll Accounts

By default, timesheet postings are not cash entries. To include payroll postings in your cash-basis reporting General Ledger, you must enable Cash-basis Reporting, then map payroll accrual accounts to your cash-basis accounts.

  • If you do not enable this option, the entire labor expense amount is posted to one overhead account (the cash-basis payroll expense account you have mapped to the job cost variance account).
  • If you enable this option, the labor expense amount is posted to separate accounts for direct and indirect labor, and separate accounts for employee types.

Mapping Payroll Accounts for Cash-basis Reporting

How you map your payroll accounts depends on how you want to manage payroll accounts in your cash-basis General Ledger. You specify how to map payroll accounts by selecting certain options during the configuration and setup of Vision.

The following table provides you with details on mapping payroll accounts for cash-basis reporting purposes.

Payroll Configuration Options Timesheet Configuration Options Comments
Post net payroll directly to bank = ON Enable cash-basis postings for labor transactions = OFF
  • Vision posts the net payroll amount to the cash account.
  • Map the job cost variance account 703.00 to the cash-basis labor expense account 709.00.
  • Do not map the payroll liability accounts to cash-basis accounts. The liability balances will clear as paid.
Post net payroll directly to bank = OFF Enable cash-basis postings for labor transactions= OFF
  • Vision makes no cash-basis posting for the payroll amount.
  • You must enter a cash-only journal entry to record the payroll disbursement (debit labor expense account 709.00).
  • Map the payroll liability accounts and the job cost variance account 703.00 to the cash-basis labor expense account 709.00.
Salaries Payable Account = Liability Enable cash-basis postings for labor transactions = OFF
  • Vision makes no cash-basis posting for the payroll amount.
  • You must enter a cash-only journal entry to record the payroll disbursement (debit labor expense account 709.00).
  • Map the payroll liability accounts and the job cost variance account 703.00 to the cash-basis labor expense account 709.00.
Post net payroll directly to bank = ON Enable cash-basis postings for labor transactions = ON
  • Vision posts the net payroll amount to the cash account, including the debit to the job cost variance account 703.00.
  • The timesheet posting represents the labor expense as the total of the labor expense debits along with the job cost variance amount.
  • Do not map the payroll liability accounts or the job cost variance account 703.00 to cash-basis accounts. The liability balances will clear as paid.
Salaries Payable Account = Liability Enable cash-basis postings for labor transactions = ON
  • Vision makes no cash-basis posting for the payroll amount.
  • You must enter a cash-only journal entry to record the payroll disbursement (debit labor expense account 709.00).
  • The timesheet posting represents the labor expense as the total of the labor expense debits along with the job cost variance amount.
  • Map all payroll liability accounts to the job cost variance account 703.00. Do not map 703.00 to 709.00.
Manual journal entry to record payroll disbursement Enable cash-basis postings for labor transactions = OFF
  • The journal entry can be posted to both the accrual and cash-basis general ledgers, or you can post cash-only amounts.
  • If you do not own the Payroll application, you need to complete a journal entry for both the accrual-basis and cash-basis General Ledger.

    The journal entry debits the job cost variance account and the employer portion of the FICA expense account on the accrual side, and debits the cash-basis labor expense account.

    The journal entry credits the appropriate salaries payable and payroll liability accounts on the accrual side, and credits the mapped cash-basis accounts.

Parent Topic: Cash-basis Reporting