Tips and Tricks

Every calculation in Kwik-Pay is controlled by adding and removing pay items from employee pays.

Pretty much all pay calculations are managed by adding pay items to the employee's pay. You can either do that in the 'calculate pay' screen by clicking new to add the pay item, or if the pay item is to be added automatically to every normal pay, you can add the pay item to the standard pay tab of the employee details screen for the employee. Some statutory pay items such as tax are added automatically, but all other pay items have to be added manually.

The process is much the same whether you are add leave accruals, overtime or kiwisaver deductions.

The basic rule of thumb is that if it is a regular occurrence, add it to the standard pay tab, otherwise just add it to the employee's 'calculate pay' screen after you have opened the new period to create the default pays.

Every Kwik-Pay window that can be resized has a chevron shown in the bottom right corner of the window.

To resize a window, move the cursor over an edge of the window until the cursor changes to a small double arrow. The press the left mouse button and hold it down whilst you drag the mouse in the direction in which you wish to expand or contract the window.

To move a window, move the cursor to the title bar of the window, then press the left mouse button and hold it down whilst you drag the window to it's new position.

Kwik-Pay will remember the size and position of a window and redisplay it in the same position with the same size the next time you open the window.

The cash amount calculated by Kwik-Pay depends on the calculation type defined for the pay item and it's priority in relation to other pay items.

The first thing to check is the pay item's calculation type. Select View, Setup, Pay Items, select the pay item from the list and click the Edit button.

See Pay Item Calculation Methods for a full list of the calculation types and how they calculate the pay.

Some of the pay items are dependant on the values of other pay items. If that is the case, the pay item being calculated must have a lower priority. That is, it must appear below the other pay items in the pay items list form. For example, a pay item with a calculation type of %Taxable must be calculated after all the pay items that make up the Taxable total from which the percentage is calculated. The %Taxable pay item must be below all the Taxable pay items in the pay item list.

If the calculation type depends on an employee pay rate , check that there is a pay rate with an effective date prior to the start of the pay period. Also check if the employee has a standard pay item and the standard pay item has a start date that is before the earliest effective date for the employee's pay rates.

You can navigate Kwik-Pay windows using just the keyboard.

To move from one field to another, press the <TAB> key, and to move back to the previous field, press <SHIFT-TAB>, that is, hold the shift key down whilst you press the <TAB> key.

Where a form has an OK button, you will find that pressing <ENTER> will have the same effect as clicking the OK button, and pressing <ESC> has the same effect as clicking the Cancel or Close button.

To print the current form, press <CTRL-P>, that is, hold the <CTRL> key down whilst you press the <P> key. Note that in all versions of Windows prior to XP, just the current window is printed; in XP the main Kwik-Pay window is printed.

If the current form has a set of tabs, you can use the <Pg Dn> and <Pg Up> keys to page through the tabs one by one.

Kwik-Pay will guide you through the initial set up process after you create a new payroll. But it is useful to remember that when you enter the details of your pay groups in the set up wizard, the pay date and pay period end date refer to the first pay that you will enter in Kwik-Pay, and that you do not have to open that first pay period.

After completing the set up wizard, and entering your basic employee information, you can go straight to the pay calculation screen and enter the pay data for your first Kwik-Pay pay.

Have a look at Starting Kwik-Pay from scratch for more information.