The Employees & Payroll reports read your pay runs and remittances, so you can see a whole period of payroll at once instead of opening runs one at a time. Use the Payroll Register to check each pay against the books, Payroll Summary by Employee to reconcile T4 slips at year-end, and Payroll Remittance History to make sure every source deduction remittance was paid on time.
Where to find them
- Reports ▸ Employees & Payroll: Payroll Summary by Employee, Payroll Register, Payroll Remittance History and Payroll Item List.
- Reports ▸ Report Centre, category Employees & Payroll.
The staff contact list is with the List reports (Employee Contact List).
Who can see them
Payroll figures show what other people are paid, so two things decide whether these reports appear:
- Your plan must include payroll. Payroll Register and Payroll Summary by Employee need pay runs on the plan; Payroll Remittance History needs remittances.
- Your role must be allowed to view pay runs (for the register and summary) or remittances (for the remittance history). See Roles and permissions explained.
When either is missing, the report is left out of the Report Centre, and opening it from the menu says This report is not available — the server may need updating, or your role cannot read it. Payroll Item List has no such check.
Which pay runs are counted
- By payment date, not pay-period end. The day the money reaches the employee decides the tax year: a period ending 28 December and paid on 3 January belongs to next year's payroll, and to next year's T4.
- Approved and posted runs only. A run still being built, or one that was reversed, can still change, so it is left out. When any were left out, a note under the report says how many.
When no pay run has been recorded yet, the reports say so rather than showing an error.
Payroll
Payroll Register
What it answers: every pay in the period: who was paid, how much, what was deducted, and what it cost the business on top.
Date: a period (by payment date).
Columns:
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Paid | The payment date of the run. |
| Employee | The employee's name. |
| Pay period | The period the pay covers. |
| Gross | Gross pay. |
| Income tax | Federal and provincial income tax withheld. |
| CPP/QPP | Canada or Quebec Pension Plan contributions withheld. |
| EI/QPIP | Employment Insurance and Quebec Parental Insurance Plan premiums withheld. |
| Other | Every other deduction, such as the deductions you set up in Payroll Items. |
| Net pay | What the employee received. |
| Employer cost | What the business pays on top of gross: its own CPP and EI shares, employer health tax and similar. It is never withheld from anybody. |
For a United States payroll, the two statutory columns read FICA and Medicare/SS.
Rows: one per employee per pay run, then a Total row.
Drill down: click a line to open Payroll Summary by Employee for that employee.
Related: its totals should agree with the payroll postings in your books for the same period. Gross, deductions and net per run are also on each run in Pay Employees.
Payroll Summary by Employee
What it answers: the same pays, rolled up to one line per person. This is the report a T4 is reconciled to.
Date: a period (by payment date).
Columns: Employee, Pays (how many pays in the period), Gross, Income tax, CPP/QPP, EI/QPIP, Other, Net pay and Employer cost.
Rows: one per employee, highest gross first, then a Total row.
Drill down: click an employee to open the Payroll Register for the period, showing only that employee's pays. The register's heading names the employee.
Payroll Remittance History
What it answers: what the business owed the tax authority for each remittance period, whether it was paid, and what is overdue.
Date: a period. A remittance period is listed when any part of it falls in the dates you choose.
Columns:
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Remittance period | The dates the remittance covers. |
| Due | The 15th of the month after the period ends: the ordinary due date for a regular monthly remitter. |
| Amount owed | The amount due to the authority for the period. |
| Paid | The date it was paid, if it has been. |
| Reference | The payment's reference. |
| Status | Paid, Outstanding, or OVERDUE when unpaid after its due date. |
Rows: one per remittance period, oldest first, then a Total row whose status says how much is outstanding, or All paid.
Notes: when any period is past due and unpaid, the first note says how many, and reminds you that the CRA charges a penalty of 3% to 10% of a late remittance.
Lists
Payroll Item List
What it answers: every payroll item: the statutory ones payroll calculates, and the benefits and deductions you have set up.
Date: none.
Columns: Payroll Item, Type (Tax, Addition, Deduction or Company Contribution), Code, Paid in cash and Taxable.
Rows:
- Statutory (calculated by payroll): Federal Income Tax, Provincial / State Income Tax, CPP / QPP, EI / QPIP, Vacation Pay and Employer Health Tax / WCB.
- Benefits (additions): the additions you set up in Payroll Items.
- Deductions: the deductions you set up there.
Common problems
A pay run is missing from the register. Check that it is approved or posted, and that its payment date is in the period. A run dated 3 January for December work is in January.
The register does not agree with the books. The register leaves out runs still being built; the books contain only posted runs. Read the notes for any runs left out, and check whether an approved run has not been posted yet.
The report does not appear in the Report Centre. Your plan does not include payroll, or your role cannot view pay runs or remittances. Ask your administrator.