AWC 7.8 handles the reset password process differently than previous versions.

The Abra Workforce Connections Logon page includes a link to the new Change or Reset Password page, which allows employees to change or reset their password. When an employee uses this page, Abra Workforce Connections confirms the change by sending an e mail message to the employee. The password is no longer included in the e mail message. A reset will not change the password to 'newuser'. The user must go to the Change or Reset Password page and enter a new password. This page replaces the Request Logon Information page.

Note: When the employee clicks on the change or reset password link, the validation fields will depend on Initial Logon Fields selected in the Logon Setup in AWC

Posted by: Tim Ross

How do you setup an employee to have no Federal Income Tax or State Income Tax withheld? Can you set an employee to have a flat amount withheld in each check? In this post we'll examine how to do this. Abra has two settings in the exemption count field which can assist with this.

If you want Abra Payroll to accumulate wages for the employee, but not withhold any taxes, enter 99 in this field and select No in the Exempt field. (This is a special code you should use only for this situation.)

If you want Abra Payroll to accumulate wages for the employee and only withhold supplemental taxes enter 98 in this field and select No in the Exempt Field. (This is a special code you should use only for this situation.)

You can also combine the Extra Tax field to give you flat amounts.

Example: an employee needs to have $600 per pay period withheld. First set their exemptions to 98 or 99 as noted above. Next, enter 600 in the Extra Amount field. Select 'Absolute' for Extra Tax Type field. The 98/99 setting will ignore the tax table and withhold $0. The extra amount is added, $0+$600, and $600 will be withheld each pay period.

If you are pay a Bonus Earning taxed at Supplemental Tax Rates you will probably want to use 98 exemptions.

Example: An employee is setup to have $200 per pay period withheld. They are also receiving a $500 bonus earning this period. Your bonus earning is set to use the Supplemental Tax Rates.

If the employee is set at 99 exemptions, their regular check will have $200 Federal Income Tax withheld. Their bonus check will have $0, since the $200 amount was withheld in the first check.

If the employee is set at 98 exemptions, their regular check will have $200 Federal Income Tax withheld. Their bonus check will have $125 Federal Income Tax withheld ($500 * 25% Supplemental Federal Tax Rate).

Disclaimer: the purpose of this post is to educate you on how Sage Abra Payroll works. We are not giving tax advice. Please consult a tax professional if you have questions on what is allowed by State and Federal law.

Posted by: Tim Ross

Dundee Group's customers have a number of different Time & Attendance solutions that they use with their Sage Abra Payroll systems. Some they love and some not so much. Some systems have been built from the ground up to work with Abra and others are designed to work with a variety of payroll systems.

Without an automated Time & Attendance system, payroll staff key hours into Abra using 'Create Auto Time Sheet' or 'Enter/Update Time Sheet'. Both of these processes put records in the table PrPost. The goal of a Time & Attendance system is put those records in automatically with a Payroll Import. These hours are visible in the 'Time Sheet' tab when you run 'Edit/Update Time Sheet' for your payrgroup.

If your system has table-to-table integration with Abra, then it will write your hours directly to the PrPost table. Typically your Time & Attendance software has a process that you will run to write the records directly to Abra. Since the records are added outside of the Abra User Interface, you will need to Reform Indexes when you log into Abra to see your hours in Abra. (If you don't see any hours on the 'Time Sheet' tab you've forgotten this step!)

Other systems will create an import file which can be brought into Abra using an interface which converts the text file into FoxPro records. In this case the process is to 1) create the export file in the Time & Attendance software and then 2) convert and import the hours with your interface. An interface written to run inside of Abra will do your reindexing for you.

Some earnings are paid in dollars rather than hours such as stipends or bonuses. These earnings are visible in Abra on the 'Other Earnings' tab of 'Edit/Update Time Sheet'. If you plan to track these in your Time & Attendance system then you will need to have it update the table PrEarn. If the earning doesn't exist on the employees Earnings panel your interface should create it.

If you don't have an automated Time & Attendance system, we suggest you contact us to learn how Time & Attendance systems can improve your bottom line. If you have an existing Time & Attendance system, Dundee Group can write an interface for Sage Abra Payroll.

Posted by: Tim Ross