About paygroups

Use paygroups to manage wages and the benefit packages for union shops, or open shops working Davis-Bacon projects. You can include the paygroups in the employee record or in the job record to provide the correct paygroup when entering timecards. The paygroup then becomes the source for wages and benefits on the timecard lines.

• For union shops, set up a paygroup for each combination of pay scale and benefits package that you need to report. Then assign the appropriate paygroup to each employee record. During timecard entry, Sage 100 Contractor assigns the paygroup from the employee record to each timecard line.

  When working with multiple unions, it is a good idea to provide the union number at the beginning of the paygroup description. Place the important information at the beginning of the description. For example, 80% Apprentice instead of Apprentice—80%.

• In open shops, the requirements between the prevailing-wage projects can vary, and employees can work under a variety of pay categories. For each prevailing-wage project, set up the appropriate paygroups for each combination of pay scale and benefits package that you need to report. Then in the job record, you can list only the paygroups for that job. When you enter a job number on a timecard line, Sage 100 Contractor looks for a list of paygroups. If the job record contains a list of paygroups, it then uses the employee’s position to determine the appropriate paygroup and inserts it on the timecard line.

When creating the paygroups, organize the paygroups by job or geographic area. When numbering the paygroups, skip a few numbers between groups in case you need to add other paygroups later. You may also want to include a job or area description in the paygroup name. This allows quick identification of the correct paygroup when entering timecards.

Each union or prevailing-wage project has specific requirements as to how the benefits are calculated. To manage the different benefit packages, you can assign an independent set of payroll calculations to each paygroup. It is important to review each benefit you provide and determine if it meets the requirements set forth by the governing agency. If not, you will need to create a new payroll calculation.